Courses
Financial Technology & Innovation-2025/2026
| Level 1 | ||||
| Take all of the following Mandatory Courses: | ||||
| FINA-6032 | Personal Finance in Canada | 3 | ||
| This course introduces graduate-level international students to personal finance in Canada. Topics include financial institutions, employment income and deductions, taxation, borrowing money, savings and investments, insurance, and financial scams - all within a Canadian context. Students will also learn about the cost of living in Canada, including the cost of rental accommodation, and set financial goals. Students will create and revise a budget based on knowledge gained throughout the course. | ||||
| CANS-6001 | Contemporary Canadian Society | 3 | ||
| Using a sociological lens, this course introduces students to the Canadian social landscape and key societal topics. Students will learn about Canada's history and the experiences of various ethnic, linguistic, and racial groups within the nation. Through understanding the myriad dynamics of culture, socialization, and oppression, students will gain critical insight and holistic understanding of Canadian contemporary society. Topics relevant to race, gender, class, and immigration will be examined in the context of increased equity, diversity, and inclusion initiatives within Canadian institutions. | ||||
| CANS-6002 | Citizenship & Immigration in Canada | 3 | ||
| What are the factors that have influenced Canada's ever-evolving immigration and citizenship policies and how do these factors influence us today? These are the two major questions that we will address in this course. In answering these questions, we will look at why immigration was central to Canada's nation-building, why there was backlash to immigration, and why World War II was a catalyst for change in Canadian immigration policies. Through understanding the past, we will learn about today's understandings of culture, society, politics, civic responsibility, and belonging in relation to Canadian citizenship and immigration. | ||||
| COMM-6046 | Canadian Workplace Communications | 3 | ||
| This course will introduce post-graduate level international students to communication within the Canadian workplace. Topics to be covered will include verbal, non-verbal and written communications, with a focus on cultural differences. In this course, students will learn how to create basic workplace messages (including social media), engage in workplace conversations, organize workplace meetings, and deliver informal presentations. Instruction will emphasize the importance of tone, audience, purpose, body language, word choice, and grammar in the Canadian context. Through group work, students will develop interpersonal strategies for common face-to-face workplace interactions. By the end of the course, students will be able to confidently engage in basic communication with co-workers, clients and customers in the Canadian workplace. | ||||
| DEVL-6035 | The Canadian Workplace | 3 | ||
| This course will teach post-graduate level students that are new to the Canadian workplace the fundamentals of job searching practices, the various processes related to applying to jobs, interview techniques and employer expectations when interviewing. It will also examine workplace culture and on-the-job expectations in order to be successful in Canada. Students will become familiar with their rights and employment standards in Canada, and specifically in Ontario. Students will be able to create targeted resumes for various levels of employment in Canada. Students will also be introduced to the importance and value of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion as it relates to workplace organizations. By the end of the course, students will have the necessary tool kit, including essential entry-level marketing documents and various resources to be successful, to begin their career journey in Canada. | ||||
| DEVL-6036 | Post-Secondary Learning in Canada | 3 | ||
| This course will prepare graduate-level international students for the learning environment in Canadian post-secondary institutions. Topics to be covered will include academic integrity, research methods and online learning. Students will learn to apply research, information evaluation and citation skills in addition to learning critical Academic Integrity principles. Students will also be exposed to common teaching and learning methods used in graduate certificate programs, including case-based learning, problem-based learning and experiential learning, and investigate relevant study skills and College resources that will support their learning and development Students will work individually and in groups, both in F2F and online learning environments, and will have ample opportunity for skill development that will support their success in future coursework. | ||||
| POLI-6001 | Canadian Government & Politics | 3 | ||
| Canada's governments and political systems are faced with the challenge of governing a diverse population who inhabit the second-largest nation in the world. Understanding those systems is key to living, learning and working in Canada. Students taking this course will learn the history and current status of Canadian political systems and leaders - from the foundations of the nation at Confederation to the policies and issues behind current government decisions. Students will understand the rights of citizens, the laws of the nation, the political parties that seek to govern us, our three levels of government, and how to engage with those levels for specific issues or needs. Throughout the course, students will learn how to find reliable Canadian media sources to develop the skills needed to critically analyse current issues and consider ways in which the political system could be improved - in part, by considering the policies and practices of other nations. | ||||
| Level 2 | ||||
| Take all of the following Mandatory Courses: | ||||
| INFO-6157 | AI & Machine Learning | 3 | ||
| This course provides students with examples of how AI is transforming the way consumers interact with money while helping the financial industry to streamline and optimize processes ranging from credit decisions to quantitative trading and financial risk management. | ||||
| FINA-6034 | Regulation, Privacy & Ethics | 3 | ||
| This course will provide an overview of the services. Discussion and debate will include reflection on regulations vs ethics and the ever-present potential for identity theft and misuse of sensitive customer data. Students will also assess consumer expectations around philanthropy, sustainability, user experience and customer centricity. | ||||
| MGMT-6194 | Leadership & Management in FinTech | 3 | ||
| This course will enhance students' understanding of leadership and management approaches appropriate to both start-up and enterprise-level work environments as well as self-employment. Emphasis will be placed on skills related to professional communication, planning, decision making, conflict resolution, effective team building, negotiating, and navigating change. This course covers practical issues that must be addressed daily by entrepreneurs creating new FinTech companies. These include identifying opportunities, selecting and negotiating with potential partners, and "making the pitch" to potential investors. Students will develop a business plan that an entrepreneur would present to potential investors. | ||||
| FINA-6035 | Financial Services & Products | 4 | ||
| In this course, students will learn about key financial product lines and services and also explore how the financial services industry continues to benefit from technological innovation. The similarities and differences between domestic and international financial services industries will also be explored. Students will be introduced to the impact of technology on the financial services industry. Students will be introduced to FinTech terminology and applications. | ||||
| INFO-6158 | Business Analysis for FinTech | 4 | ||
| This course focuses on equipping students with the knowledge and skills needed to understand, analyze, and solve business problems in the dynamic field of financial technology (FinTech). Students will explore the transformative influence of FinTech on traditional banking and financial systems and be guided through practical business analysis tools and methodologies that can be applied to FinTech. Students will learn how to be the conduit between business and technology and learn the key stills of requirement gathering, process modeling, data analysis, and strategy development. Real-world case studies will form a significant part of the curriculum, providing students with valuable hands-on experience and the opportunity to apply learned concepts to practical situations. | ||||
| INFO-6159 | Security Technology for Fintech | 4 | ||
| This course explores the best practices for data and information security. It provides a comprehensive overview of data and information security concepts crucial for safeguarding financial institutions and individuals from cybercrimes. Students also learn to implement cybersecurity policies using FinTech applications. The course also addresses secure network design, technologies for securing systems and infrastructure, access control methods for AAA services, and strategies for business continuity and disaster recovery planning in information systems. | ||||
| COOP-1020 | Co-operative Education Employment Prep | 1 | ||
| This workshop will provide an overview of the Co-operative Education consultants and students' roles and responsibilities as well as the Co-operative Education Policy. It will provide students with employment preparatory skills specifically related to co-operative education work assignments and will prepare students for their work term. | ||||
| Level 3 | ||||
| Take all of the following Mandatory Courses: | ||||
Group 1 | ||||
| INFO-6160 | Blockchain & Cryptocurrency | 3 | ||
| Blockchain technology is one of several distributed, decentralized ledger database systems. This course focuses on distributed ledger systems (DLT) and their applications. Content will inform students about cryptocurrencies and the impact they have had on financial services. Students will analyze the various technology frameworks that support them and how they can impact financial institutions' operations. In addition, the course covers other non-financial applications of DLT and cryptocurrencies. Other topics include central-bank issued digital currencies, Bitcoin and other crypto-currencies and tokens are changing the way that firms acquire funding. The course will cover the technology and economics driving these changes including consensus mechanism and use case students and other applications. | ||||
| INFO-6161 | Big Data & Enterprise FinTech | 4 | ||
| This course will differentiate big data and the critical role it will play in FinTech's present and future. It will teach students to identify and integrate data from different FinTech systems into a decision support system useful for a variety of analysis to support both financial and operational decisions. Students will learn about various analytical tools and techniques and how to correctly tell the story of the analysis results to the intended audience. | ||||
| FINA-6036 | Financial Design, Dev't & Disruption | 4 | ||
| This course covers the principles and proper methodologies associated with the design of web and mobile applications. At the end of the course, students will be able to express their ideas through a design, and will know what it takes to create a positive user experience. | ||||
| FINA-6037 | Automated Investing | 3 | ||
| This course will cover how data science and machine learning algorithms are changing various types of investing and financial planning technology. | ||||
| MGMT-6195 | Strategic Client Engagement | 4 | ||
| This course introduces students to the principles and application of the sales process. Included in this course are the following topics: prospecting, approach, presentation, close techniques, objection handling, and relationship management. Students are required to execute effective individual sales presentations, conduct interviews, and complete written proposals and reports. | ||||
Group 2 | ||||
| Students will be enrolled in one of the following courses: INNV-6001 or MGMT-6196 | ||||
| INNV-6001 | Innovation Applications | 4 | ||
| Organizations and individuals need to be innovative to succeed in the complex and rapidly-changing global market place. In this course, you will learn the fundamentals of innovation and how innovation applies to your discipline or field. Using this foundational knowledge, you will select and apply the novel and adaptive thinking processes and tools presented in the course to complete an innovative learning project in collaboration with other students. The project will be based on a real-world scenario involving an external live client identified in consultation with your professor, and you will interact directly with the client. The project may involve a multi-disciplinary approach. Throughout the course, novel and adaptive thinking skills and collaboration skills will be evaluated through self assessment and peer assessment. This course is designed to give students in graduate certificate programs the opportunity apply innovative thinking to a real-world problem presented by an external client. | ||||
| MGMT-6196 | Capstone Project | 4 | ||
| In cross-functional teams, students will design a FinTech start-up and present their ideas in a mock stage 1 venture capital pitch competition. With the assistance of a faculty advisor, students will complete both primary and secondary research on their proposed product/service concept. Students will demonstrate a clear understanding of their target customers' needs and demonstrate how their concept meets those needs in an advanced, original and viable manner, relative to the competition. Students will be encouraged to pursue project ideas that reflect their preferred area of employment within the FinTech industry as their project work will display their readiness to enter the professional world. | ||||
| Program Residency | ||||
| Students Must Complete a Minimum of 17 credits in this program at Fanshawe College to meet the Program Residency requirement and graduate from this program | ||||