Academic Department
Risk Management
Build the analytical skills to quantify risk, navigate uncertainty, and make informed business and investment decisions.
Business Is Changing Faster Than Ever
Technologies like AI are rapidly advancing. Global and national markets are shifting. The role of institutions is in flux. As the pace of change accelerates, businesses need professionals who can evaluate uncertainty, balance competing risks, and help organizations succeed over the long term.
At Penn State Smeal College of Business, you'll learn to combine quantitative analysis, AI-enabled insights, and human judgment to identify, assess, and respond to risk.
Programs in the Risk Management Department allow students to explore topics including:
Risk management in organizations
Financial risk analysis
Insurance and risk financing
Investment and portfolio analysis
Probability and decision analysis
Real estate investment and development
Risk modeling and quantitative analysis
Legal, regulatory, and ethical frameworks for business
International business, including global governance, trade, culture, and international relations
Academic Programs in Risk Management
Academics
Undergraduate and Graduate Programs
Through rigorous academics and hands-on experiences, you'll learn to tackle complex challenges across insurance, finance, and industry. Choose among six areas of study: actuarial science, business economics, business law, international business, real estate, and risk management.
Add a Legal Perspective to Your Degree
Explore how the legal environment shapes business and discover the Legal Environment of Business (LEBUS) minor.
Hands-On Learning & Industry Engagement
Put Risk Management Into Practice
Connect with employers, researchers, alumni, and industry leaders. Gain experience that complements your coursework and prepares you for careers in risk management, insurance, actuarial science, and commercial real estate.
Professional Connections Actuarial Science Career Fair
Meet recruiters from leading insurance companies, consulting firms, healthcare organizations, and financial institutions through one of the nation's largest student-run actuarial career fairs.
Penn State Realty Association
Engage with commercial real estate professionals through guest speakers, networking events, industry programs, and career development activities.
Research & Discovery Borrelli Institute for Real Estate Studies (BIRES)
Participate in research, competitions, educational programming, and industry events that advance commercial real estate education.
Center for Global Business Studies (CGBS)
Engage with the international business community through research, student opportunities, and industry partnerships that strengthen Smeal's global connections and advance international business education.
Laboratory for Economics Management and Auctions (LEMA)
Study how people and organizations make decisions through market experiments, negotiations, simulations, and interdisciplinary research.
Risk Management by the Numbers
Rankings, research centers, and professional recognition reflect the department's impact in actuarial science, real estate, and risk management.
#14
Graduate Real Estate
U.S. News & World Report (2026)
CAE
Center of Actuarial Excellence
Society of Actuaries
#25
Worldwide Research Performance
UT-Dallas Worldwide Business Research Rankings
Research That Shapes Professional Practice
Faculty explore topics including insurance, actuarial science, commercial real estate, risk management, business law, international business, and decision analysis.
Through the and the , the department advances research that helps organizations, industries, and policymakers better understand risk and respond to change.
Learn From Risk Management Experts
Study with faculty, staff, and doctoral students whose expertise spans actuarial science, risk management, insurance, commercial real estate, and decision analysis.