PRMIA today announced the PRMIA Risk Accreditation Program. The program is designed to identify and endorse university degree programs that prepare candidates for careers as professional risk managers.
Students completing appropriate courses within accredited degree programs will be eligible for exemption from PRMIA's Professional Risk Manager (PRM) Exams I and II, which form a major part of the PRM certification program, the global standard for the world's top financial risk professionals. All students will still be required to pass Exams III and IV in the PRM program.
"Prospective students can be confident that accredited degree programs have a high degree of commonality with the PRM curriculum, a body of knowledge that industry leaders have identified as crucial for professional risk managers," says Jodi Lundell, PRMIA Director of Risk Training and Education. She adds, "They can also be confident that these degree programs are appropriately rigorous, are taught by high quality faculty, and are recognized by potential employers."
A secondary aim of the Risk Accreditation Program is to further enhance relationships between PRMIA and quality educational institutions. Close links between the industry and academics can help to build a better educated risk management profession and ensure that the PRM certification maintains its exacting standards.
The first two degree programs accredited under this new program are the MSc in Financial Risk Management at the ICMA Centre, University of Reading, UK (which is also offered by distance learning) and Masters in Applied Finance at Macquarie University, offered at its Beijing, Melbourne, Singapore, Sydney and Tokyo campuses.
The ICMA Centre has an international reputation for providing high quality undergraduate and Masters degrees as well as PhD and professional programmes across most areas of the finance industry. Masters degrees in Risk Management have been offered at the Centre since 2000 and these have always been taught by faculty with international academic and professional reputations who, consistent with the ethos of the ICMA Centre and PRMIA, fully recognize the value of integrating theory and practice. The Risk Management degree is international in composition and is taken full-time and through a fully supported distance learning programme.
Professor Carol Alexander, Chair of Financial Risk Management and Director of Research at the ICMA Centre, and Chair of PRMIA's Academic Advisory Council, says, "Our Financial Risk Management MSc course is moving from strength to strength, and the recent news about PRM accreditation is welcomed by professionals, academics and students alike." For more information, visit www.icmacentre.ac.uk.
The Macquarie Masters in Applied Finance (MAF) program has been taught in Australia and Asia for over 25 years and is the largest of its type in the world. Teaching faculty have both excellent educational qualifications and substantial industry experience, creating courses with a truly applied, rather than theoretical focus. Lectures are in convenient CBD locations in each teaching centre, catering to working professionals as well as full-time students. Specializations are in Risk Management, Funds Management, Corporate Finance and Instruments and Valuation. For more information about the Masters in Applied Finance and other activities of the Macquarie Applied Finance Centre, visit www.mafc.mq.edu.au.
Associate Professor Elizabeth Sheedy, Co-Editor of the PRM Handbook says "At Macquarie we are convinced of the importance of financial risk management. All our Masters students are required to take risk management courses and many choose from our wide range of risk management elective courses as well. The partnership with PRMIA will build on the industry focus that has always been Macquarie's trademark."
Universities who want more information on the PRMIA Risk Accreditation Program may contact Sue Rod by email at sue.rod@prmia.org or by telephone +1 612-216-4349, or by fax at +1 212-898-9076).
