Butler University’s Lacy School of Business will introduce an online Master of Science in Risk and Insurance (MSRI) program—among the first of its kind in the nation—beginning in January 2019 to help address the gap between the risk and insurance industry’s personnel needs and the limited talent pool that exists in today’s job market.
The degree is intended to serve students who aspire to advanced roles in corporate risk management. It will also serve students with a few years of finance or legal experience seeking employment in the insurance field, as well as early-phase professionals already working for insurance firms in both property and casualty, and life and health, and students who have an undergraduate degree in risk and insurance and want to pursue advanced study in the industry.
More information about the program is available www.butler.edu/msri. Applications will be open beginning August 1.
“The need for risk management professionals in the professional services industry is well-documented,” said Donald J. Ortegel, Resident Managing Director of Aon. “The good news is that the trend line is positive for professionals with a specific, applicable risk management four-year degree. Someone holding an advanced degree or additional education in this area would have an edge over other professionals competing for open and career-advancement opportunities.”
The part-time MSRI program will be conducted exclusively online, except for two required in-residence experiences—one on the Butler campus at the start of the program and one at the end of the program in the “world’s risk capital,” Bermuda. Coursework will take approximately 24 months to complete.
Zach Finn, Clinical Professor and Director of Butler’s Davey Risk Management and Insurance program, said Butler’s goal with the new MSRI program is to prepare students for an industry that anticipates needing 400,000 new employees by 2020.
“As one insurance executive said in our focus group: ‘This degree is an automatic $10,000 raise for any employee who acquires it,’” said Victor Puleo, Butler Associate Professor of Risk Management and Insurance, who will run the MSRI program.
The MSRI curriculum will include content dealing with property and casualty, and health and life. It also will have unique and hard-to-find courses on insurance-linked securities and a hands-on opportunity to run a captive insurance entity.
Puleo said graduates of the program will have access to some of the best jobs available for corporate risk managers. Other candidates will be able to enter or accelerate their careers with insurance carriers and brokers. High-caliber graduates from this program will possess the capability to attain senior level positions in these firms.
Butler already boasts a robust undergraduate program for Risk Management and Insurance, including the MJ Student-Run Insurance Company, known in industry parlance as a “captive.”
The company, the first of its kind for a university, insures Butler programs and items including the live mascot Butler Blue III, rare books, artwork, and the telescope at the Holcomb Observatory. Students learn how to write the insurance policy and what the coverage terms will be, and they’re figuring out how to finance the company. In doing so, they are able to apply their risk-management expertise in accounting, investments, and numerous other areas.
Media contact:
Marc Allan MFA ’18
mallan@butler.edu
317-940-9822