Financial Services Operations and Systems

Financial Services Operations and Systems (FSOS) is a challenging and evolving field of study.  This challenging field involves the innovative application of computer technology and analytical skills to understand the information needs within the operations of the financial services industry.  Demand for FSOS professionals who are skilled in both technology and service operations is expected to rise given the evolving nature of the financial services industry worldwide.

Students majoring in FSOS receive a comprehensive education in the design, analysis, development, and management of information systems.  Several specialized courses tailored to the needs of the 21st century financial services industry distinguish this major from others.  FSOS students are educated in financial markets and institutions, financial service operations, business continuity, risk management, and data mining.  FSOS graduates have strong analytical, technical, and managerial skills spanning the business functional areas and are experienced in oral and written communication.

Features of our innovative program include interactive lectures, individual and team assignments, and experiential learning to help students build successful careers.  Under the direction of highly-qualified and experienced faculty, students work with local companies both individually and as team members to develop solutions for software and data management problems.  Alliances with Microsoft provide students access to a wide array of contemporary software tools.  Partnerships with information systems professional associations provide many opportunities for student interaction with the business community.  Guest lecturers from business and government are regularly featured.  Internships with well-known corporations are available to qualified students.  This combination of skills and experience prepares our FSOS graduates to be leaders of the next generation of professionals in the financial services industry.

Topics of Study

• Finance concepts and their implementation as financial services operations.
• Principles of system theory and its application to financial services operations.
• Information systems analysis and design focused on integrating information technology solutions and business processes to solve business problems and exploit business opportunities. 
• Planning process as it applies to the information systems development life cycle in the financial services industry.
• Disaster recovery, risk management, ethical & legal issues, and information security.
• Database design and administration.
• Data mining to improve service operations.
• Principles of object-oriented programming that formulate a solution to a business problem.
• Web programming concepts including client and server-side development.

Career and Graduate School Opportunities

The FSOS program prepares students for careers in financial services organizations as service operations managers, systems analysts, programmers, database developers and Web site managers. After several years of experience and with additional training, graduates can become project managers, database administrators, and directors of the service operations function within their organizations.

Through UT’s partnership with the Financial Florida, graduates are adequately prepared to pursue successful careers in the major financial services firms in the state of Florida. Graduates are also well prepared to pursue graduate degrees in many business fields. To learn more about graduate programs offered at UT, visit our Graduate Business Programs page.

High School Preparation

No previous experience with computers is required. However, any computer-oriented high school curriculum would be excellent preparation for the FSOS major.

On-Campus Associations

Financial Services Operations and Systems majors are encouraged to participate in the activities of local chapters of professional organizations. Business knowledge can also be enhanced through participation in eight campus professional organizations including the UT Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) Student Chapter. In addition, some students are invited to join Alpha Iota Mu, a national Information Systems Honor Society and/or Beta Gamma Sigma, a national Business Honor Society.