Curriculum & Courses

Foundational ERM course. Addresses all major ERM activities: risk framework; risk governance; risk identification; risk quantification; risk decision making; and risk messaging. Introduces an advanced yet practical ERM approach based on the integration of ERM and value-based management that supports integration of ERM into decision making. Provides a context to understand the differences between (a) value-based ERM; (b) traditional ERM; and (c) traditional "silo" risk management.

Availability

On Campus: Every term
Online: Every term

Two distinct topics in this course: (1) Traditional ERM frameworks (such as COSO, ISO 31000) and their tools, techniques, and risk vocabulary; and (2) Traditional "silo" risk management grouped into the four risk categories – strategic, operational, financial, and insurance – as well as traditional risk management practices at banks and insurance companies. Provides familiarity with a range of current ERM and risk practices in the market.

Availability

On Campus: Fall and Spring
Online: Fall and Spring

Provides a global review of ERM requirements of regulators, rating agencies, and shareholders. Addresses three industry sectors: (1) insurance; (2) banking; and (3) corporate.

Availability

On Campus: Every term
Online: Every term

Students will be introduced to the fundamental financial issues of the modern corporation. By the end of this course, students will understand the basic concepts of financial planning, managing growth; debt and equity sources of financing and valuation; capital budgeting methods; and risk analysis, cost of capital, and the process of securities issuance.

Availability

On Campus: Every term
Online: Every term

Students will gain an overview of major concepts of management and organization theory, concentrating on understanding human behavior in organizational contexts, with heavy emphasis on the application of concepts to solve managerial problems. By the end of this course students will have developed the skills to motivate employees, establish professional interpersonal relationships, take a leadership role, and conduct performance appraisal.

Availability

On Campus: Every term
Online: Fall (and Spring, starting in 2020)

Workshop-like course that addresses a variety of communication skills, including listening skills, presentation skills, leadership communications, conflict resolution, management interactions, and professional communication techniques.

Availability

On Campus: Fall and Spring
Online: Fall and Spring

You will work through a case assignment as a team, demonstrating the key knowledge and skills you have gained throughout the program. The capstone will involve the student team working with a case study, which is based on a blend of actual ERM programs in the marketplace. The student team will assess a case study of an organization’s ERM program and recommend/implement enhancements, potentially to all aspects of the case ERM program, depending on the case assignment. Teams will work with the instructor at the outset of the course to select and customize the case parameters to match the ERM curriculum paths of the case team.

Availability

On Campus: Every term
Online: Every term

Review of the types of strategic risks, such as a flawed strategy, inability to execute the strategy, competitor risk, supply chain risk, governance risk, regulatory risk, M&A risk, international risk, etc. Includes case studies, research, and common mitigation techniques, such as strategic planning practices, management techniques, governance practices, supply-chain management, etc.

Availability

On Campus: Every term
Online: Every term

Review of the types of operational risks, such as technology risk (e.g., cyber-security), human resources risk, disasters, etc. Includes case studies, risk analysis frameworks and metrics, and common mitigation techniques, such as insurance, IT mitigation, business continuing planning, etc.

Availability

On Campus: Every term
Online: Every term

A survey of market, credit, liquidity, and systemic risk. Includes case studies, risk quantification methods, and common mitigation techniques using portfolio management, hedging, and derivatives. Also addresses traditional risk management practices at banking institutions.

Availability
On Campus: Every term
Online: Every term

Review of types of insurance risk, such as pricing risk, underwriting risk, reserving risk, etc. Includes case studies, risk quantification methods (e.g., market-consistent economic capital models, dynamic financial analysis (DFA) models, catastrophe models, etc.), and common mitigation techniques, such as asset-liability management (ALM), reinsurance, etc. Also addresses traditional risk management at insurance companies and ERM actuarial standards of practice (ASOPs).

Availability
On Campus: Fall and Spring
Online: Not offered

Students without a strong math background will require significant additional time and effort to achieve the learning objectives and work through the course assignments. This course builds a foundation in the mathematics and statistics of risk management. Students are empowered to understand the output of quantitative analysts and to do their own analytics. Concepts are presented in Excel and students will have the opportunity to practice those concepts in Excel, R or Python. This course is a required prerequisite for registering for the following courses: Financial Risk Management, Insurance Risk Management, ERM Modeling.

Availability

On Campus: Every term
Online: Every term

(Students must complete ERMC PS5360: Financial Risk Management prior to registering for this course.) Provides the opportunity to learn how business units operate at an investment bank. Several industry practitioners will each spend one to two sessions providing a hands-on experience that recreates the operations and decision-making process of front, middle, and back office work at a bank. Data flow, risk assessment, and decision making will be simulated.

Availability

On Campus: Every term
Online: Not offered

Examination of areas critical to an organization’s success from strategic, operational, financial, and insurance perspectives, and examines why many companies fail in spite of the vast knowledge of factors driving success. Several case studies examined in depth.

Availability

On Campus: Every term
Online: Every term

A study of financial, economic, and engineering disasters from a common systems engineering perspective, to better understand and model risk in complex process systems. Course topics will introduce process systems engineering concepts and tools such as digraphs, fault trees, probabilistic risk assessment, HAZOP, FMEA, etc., for modeling enterprise-wide risk. We will develop risk models and analyze them for real-life inspired examples and case studies. Several disaster case studies will also be discussed.

Availability

On Campus: Fall and Spring
Online: Fall and Spring, starting in Spring 2020

This class equips students with the basics of risk measurement and simulation using a hands-on approach to ERM modeling. Some sessions will be workshops while others will be lectures. Recorded video presentations will be available to help students learn the material. Concepts are presented in Excel and students will have the opportunity to practice those concepts in Excel, R or other programming languages of their choice.

Availability

On Campus: Every term
Online: Every term

Students will learn how to better identify and manage a wide range of IT risks as well as better inform IT investment decisions that support the business strategy. Students will develop an instinct for where to look for technological risks, and how IT risks may be contributing factors toward key business risks. This course includes a review of IT risks, including those related to governance, general controls, compliance, cybersecurity, data privacy, and project management. Students will learn how to use a risk-based approach to identify and mitigate cybersecurity and privacy related risks and vulnerabilities. No prior experience or technical skills required to successfully complete this course.

Availability

On Campus: Every term
Online: Every term

Competition, espionage, theft, sabotage, and warfare, traditionally carried out “in the field” have erupted online. State-sponsored cyber-attacks target critical infrastructure, financial systems, government agencies, political adversaries, retail, and consumer databases, and the intellectual property of technology firms. This course covers the defensive techniques that address perimeter and data security. Business model relationships to security architecture are examined, in particular managing vulnerability introduced through mergers and acquisitions, and Active Directory migrations. Service and Administrative account management and other aspects of network design will be analyzed. Students will investigate recent newsworthy cases and devise countermeasures aimed at both incident prevention and effective CIRT (Cyber Incident Response) management.

Availability

On Campus: Not offered
Online: Fall and Spring

Explores key concepts of behavioral economics and cognitive psychology, how to identify key cognitive biases in ERM activities, and how to apply techniques to address these, enhancing the quality and integrity of an ERM program. The course also includes best practices in leveraging analytic models to improve decision making.

Availability

On Campus: Every term
Online: Fall and Summer

This course requires students to experience firsthand an ERM-related job in a real working environment. With six bi-weekly class sessions, this course supplements the on-the job experience with support from the instructor and peers. Students will learn: how to set and achieve professional goals in the ERM field; how to identify and strengthen skills valued in their profession; and how to add value for employers in an ERM-focused role. This course is Pass/Fail. In advance of registration, students must secure their own internship and receive formal approval of its suitability for this course

Availability

On Campus: Not offered
Online: Every term

Students will examine the generally accepted account principles (GAAP) underlying financial statements and their implementation in practice. The perspective and main focus of the course is from the users of information contained in the statements, including investors, financial analysts, creditors, and management. By the end of the class students will be able to construct a cash flow statement, balance sheet and decipher a 10K report.

Availability

On Campus: Every term
Online: Every term