Master of Science in Financial Technology and Digital Assets
Financial infrastructure in Africa is being rebuilt in this decade — instant payment systems, interoperable mobile money, central bank digital currency pilots and tokenised assets — and the institutions doing it are competing for a very sma...
Employment thesis
What this programme is designed to produce
Forward publishes the destination of every programme before you enrol. If the thesis stops holding, the programme is reviewed and, where necessary, retired. Next review: 2031.
Roles
- Financial technology architect
- payments and settlement specialist
- quantitative risk analyst
- digital assets specialist
- regulatory technology lead
- central bank technology adviser
- product lead for financial infrastructure.
Employer types
- Central banks and financial regulators
- commercial banks and payment switches
- mobile money operators
- digital asset and tokenisation firms
- financial technology companies
- development finance institutions
- and consulting firms.
Target outcomes we hold ourselves to
- A scarce and highly paid specialisation with strong central bank, institutional and international demand.
Compulsory · The Forward Core
How the Core works →Every Forward programme, including this one, carries the same five cross-cutting requirements. They are graded, not optional.
- AI Fluency
- Quantitative Reasoning
- Ethics and African Context
- Human-Advantage Skills
- Enterprise
Includes 12 months paid work-integrated learning
Am I eligible?
Check yourself against the published requirements
7 questions written specifically for Master of Science in Financial Technology and Digital Assets. Every answer is checked against a requirement Forward has published, and the result tells you which page that requirement comes from. Indicative only, the admissions office decides on your full file.
What is the highest qualification you hold?
Curriculum structure
The same degree, in both pathways
Every Forward programme is published in both pathways: Path One, the term plan of two six-month terms, and Path Two, the block sequence of twelve four-week blocks. Same competencies, same assessments, same award. Toggle to see this programme in each.
Path One term plan shown
Path One · The Term Model
| Code | Course | CU | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| FDC 501 | Applied Intelligence for Professionals Both | 4 | 2-2-0 |
| FDC 502 | Research Evidence and Method Both | 4 | 2-2-0 |
| DBF 510 | Financial Markets, Instruments and Institutions Both | 5 | 3-2-2 |
| DBF 511 | Quantitative Methods for Finance Both | 6 | 4-2-2 |
| DBF 512 | Payment Systems and Financial Market Infrastructure Performance | 6 | 3-2-4 |
| DBF 513 | Financial Regulation and Supervision Both | 5 | 3-2-2 |
| Code | Course | CU | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| FDC 503 | Governance, Ethics and Leadership of Intelligent Systems Both | 4 | 2-2-0 |
| DBF 520 | Distributed Ledgers, Digital Assets and Tokenisation Performance | 7 | 4-2-4 |
| DBF 521 | Credit, Market and Model Risk Analytics Performance | 6 | 3-2-4 |
| DBF 522 | Regulatory Technology and Supervisory Analytics Performance | 5 | 2-2-4 |
| DBF 523 | Central Bank Digital Currency and Monetary Technology Both | 5 | 3-2-2 |
| DBF 524 | Advanced Elective Objective | 3 | 2-2-0 |
| Code | Course | CU | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| DBF 530 | Dissertation: Financial Infrastructure Build or Research Performance | 20 | 0-2-38 |
| DBF 531 | Financial Crime, Sanctions and Cross Border Compliance Both | 5 | 3-2-2 |
| DBF 532 | Research Communication and Technical Reporting Objective | 5 | 4-2-0 |
Total credit units: 90
Curriculum source
Forward University Curriculum Compendium
Assessment
Coursework + project + integrated exam
Work-integrated learning
12 months paid co-operative education
Your week at Forward
A typical week on Master of Science in Financial Technology and Digital Assets
Path One, the Term Model: your own pace across a six-month term, one live session a week, short flexible lessons, and assessment on demand.
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Curriculum explorer
Drill into the degree, step by step
Choose a study path, then a year, then a term or block, then a course. Credit totals add up as you go, and every course shows what comes before it and what it unlocks.
Step 1, choose a year
Step 2, choose a term
TERM 1 (SIX MONTHS) | FORMERLY SEMESTER 1
Year 1 · this step is worth 30 CU
Cumulative
30
Programme total
90
30 CU of 90 CU completed by the end of this step (33%)
Step 3, choose a course
Pick a course to see the detail
Credits, assessment, prerequisites and what each course unlocks later.
The twelve Forward capabilities
What this programme develops in you
Every Forward degree develops the same twelve cross-cutting capabilities. The profile below is the level this programme is designed to develop and verify by graduation, on the four-level scale in Part B2 of the Curriculum Compendium. Every claim above Level 2 is verified by someone other than the teaching lecturer.
- C1Intelligent Systems Fluency CriticalLevel 4 of 4, Leading
- C2Quantitative and Evidential Reasoning CriticalLevel 4 of 4, Leading
- C3Ethical and Contextual Judgement CriticalLevel 3 of 4, Independent
- C4Communication and PersuasionLevel 4 of 4, Leading
- C5Disciplinary MasteryLevel 4 of 4, Leading
- C6Technical Production and Craft CriticalLevel 4 of 4, Leading
- C7Problem Framing and Systems ThinkingLevel 4 of 4, Leading
- C8Collaboration and Multidisciplinary TeamingLevel 3 of 4, Independent
- C9Enterprise, Value and Commercial LiteracyLevel 3 of 4, Independent
- C10Professional Conduct and Workplace PerformanceLevel 4 of 4, Leading
- C11Learning to Learn and Adaptive CapacityLevel 4 of 4, Leading
- C12Stewardship and Public ContributionLevel 3 of 4, Independent
Critical capabilities for this programme: Intelligent Systems Fluency · Quantitative and Evidential Reasoning · Ethical and Contextual Judgement · Technical Production and Craft. A graduate cannot pass out of this programme below the stated level on any capability marked critical.
Programme Learning Outcomes
What you will be able to do
Each outcome is assessed, and each is tagged with the Forward capabilities it is verified against.
- PLO 1Design and evaluate payment, settlement and financial market infrastructure.
- PLO 2Build quantitative models for pricing, risk and credit in digital finance.
- PLO 3Analyse distributed ledger and tokenised asset systems technically and legally.
- PLO 4Apply and anticipate financial regulation, including for novel instruments.
- PLO 5Build regulatory technology and supervisory analytics solutions.
- PLO 6Conduct applied research or a build project to institutional standard.
Why this programme exists
Financial infrastructure in Africa is being rebuilt in this decade — instant payment systems, interoperable mobile money, central bank digital currency pilots and tokenised assets — and the institutions doing it are competing for a very sma...
Admission requirements
A Bachelor's degree of at least Second Class Lower Division in finance, economics, computing, engineering, mathematics or a cognate discipline; professional experience in financial services is an advantage. Alternative pathways: Foundation Year, diploma entry with advanced standing, mature age entry and recognition of prior learning, all governed by Part A5 and Part G. Online applicants additionally complete the compulsory Digital Readiness orientation under Part D6.
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