Kennesaw State’s new Fintech master’s degree is right on the money, students say

by James · February 9, 2023

KENNESAW, Ga. | 6 February 2023

Each year, Georgia companies process 118 billion digital financial transactions worth more than $2 trillion, and a new master’s program at Kennesaw State University is helping students find or advance careers in the growing financial technology field.

One of these students, Devendar Bukya, works in financial information technology at a consulting company that deals with banking services and accounts payable and receivable. He said he wanted more specific training on the technologies and processes used to handle transactions that take place between the parties he serves. He said he has already noticed the breakneck speed of development in fintech.

“I wanted to get a degree that would help me improve my current career and introduce me to the theoretical and operational aspects of these new technologies,” Bukya said. “I need to be able to understand what technologies and processes my company and banking partners use to communicate.”

Bukya considered similar programs elsewhere, but chose KSU because it offered exactly what he was looking for, was affordable, and could be completed at his own pace.

Classes in the Master of Science in Digital Financial Technologies, located in the Coles College of Business, began in fall 2022. Program director Humayun Zafar said KSU is uniquely positioned to help students jump into the center of the action.

“There are millions of daily fintech users, doing things like sending money to a friend using Zelle or taking a picture of a check with a smartphone, and 70 percent of all transactions on a global scale go through companies headquartered in metro Atlanta,” said Zafar, who is also a professor of information security and safety.

Zafar said students at KSU’s online fintech master’s program are trained for careers such as blockchain developers, compliance experts, cybersecurity analysts and more. Given the volume of daily digital transactions, companies including FIS Global, NCR, Equifax, Fiserv and Global Payments create an estimated 1,000 new fintech jobs annually.

Ross Colona, who serves as assistant director of local government finance for the Tennessee Comptroller of the Treasury, knew what he wanted to study and found that KSU’s new program suited his needs. He said the program’s flexibility makes it convenient to balance full-time work and school.

And with one semester under her belt, Colona, who already has two master’s degrees, said the forward-looking courses have been exciting.

“I’ve taken a lot of courses and seen a lot of repeated material, so it’s refreshing to see new ideas that are important about the future of how we’re going to handle money,” he said.

Colona said that while much of fintech is used for private transactions, it’s just as important that he and his colleagues in the public sector understand advanced financial technology to be good stewards of taxpayer funds and protect against cybersecurity threats.

“Although this program is not specifically about information security, having a deeper knowledge of fintech can help local authorities protect themselves from financial risk to public funds,” he said.

After completing his degree in 2024, Colona said he will be able to better advise and serve local utilities and governments across Tennessee.

“Being able to have these new skill sets that our office doesn’t currently have will hopefully allow me to position myself as a subject matter expert on something that we’re going to continue to get questions about from the state legislature and others,” he so.

The new program is an extension of the university’s participation in the Georgia Fintech Academy, which aims to develop a workforce pipeline for the financial services industry.

– By Thomas Hartwell
Photos submitted

Kennesaw State University is a leader in innovative teaching and learning, offering undergraduate, graduate and doctoral degrees to its more than 43,000 students. Kennesaw State is a member of the University System of Georgia with 11 academic colleges. The university’s vibrant campus culture, diverse population, strong global ties and entrepreneurial spirit draw students from across the country and the world. Kennesaw State is a Carnegie-designated Graduate Research Institution (R2), placing it among an elite group of only 7 percent of US colleges and universities with R1 or R2 status. For more information, visit kennesaw.edu.