In response to changing industry demand, the finance and general business (FGB) department will be renamed finance and risk management (FRM), effective July 1, 2022. In addition to the name change, the department will be offering new financial technology (fintech) programs for students. 

About FRM 

The FRM department offers a dynamic range of majors, tracks, minors, and undergraduate and graduate certificates.  

The FRM department houses the risk management and insurance program, one of the few programs of its kind in the Midwest. But many of the department’s other programs, such as the finance major and legal studies in business minor also have a risk management focus. 

“We hope the name change will draw more students to the risk management and insurance program and better reflect our wide array of course offerings that have a risk management focus,” said Dr. Jeff Jones, FRM department head. 

Jones believes the updated name will make it easier for employers to interpret what the department offers. 

“We have tremendous industry demand for students with a solid foundation in risk management,” Jones said. 

A new track 

In addition to its new name, FRM will begin offering a fintech track for finance students as well as a fintech graduate certificate in fall 2022. 

While the term ‘fintech’, short for financial technology, may be new to some, it has been around for quite some time. 

There is no longer a need to write checks or visit the bank to make a ‘wire transfer,’ explained Jones. Instead, applications like Venmo have allowed individuals to send payments directly to friends and retailers, and people can set up autopayments for everyday bills. Investments can also be monitored and traded on a smartphone.  

Fintech makes this possible. 

“Fintech coursework and programs like this have slowly been popping up around the U.S. but they are not yet widely offered,” Jones said. “New graduates with both finance and tech skills are in high demand and we believe it will be an attractive offering to students with an interest in both finance and IT.” 

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