As demand heats up for data-savvy professionals in the insurance industry, recent college graduates, career changers, and insurance professionals seeking to harness the power of data and digital transformation have a new educational option: the Master of Professional Studies in Insurance Analytics and Management program at the College of Professional Studies.
The new graduate degree, enrolling students for the fall 2022 term, was designed in collaboration with insurance industry leaders, who identified areas of knowledge and skills they seek in their recruiting—and that they anticipate needing as their companies evolve to meet contemporary challenges.
“The changing risk landscape requires a workforce experienced with the adoption of advanced technologies and with the social and emotional skills to bridge the gap between AI and machine learning and the human client,” says Uwe Hohgrawe, faculty director of the Analytics and Enterprise Intelligence domain. “These challenges and market needs provide the contextual approach for this flexible master’s degree program in insurance analytics and management that is experiential in nature and focused on skills and competencies that are in high demand by the insurance industry and talent acquisition.”
Among the trends addressed in the curriculum is the increasing need for strong analytics, knowledge of machine learning, and skills in artificial intelligence (AI). With such industry changes in mind, students in the program will focus on the competencies most critical to a modern enterprise, including data management and analysis, data visualization, problem-solving, advanced analytical tools, and emotional and psychological intelligence. To meet the needs of learners and the insurance industry, the new degree program will also include coursework in leadership and project management.
To prepare learners to join a growing industry, core courses will emphasize analytics. Students will have the option to choose between two standard concentrations—Decision Support and Customer Engagement—or to explore a specialized or custom concentration. Experiential learning, a core value across disciplines at Northeastern, will occur throughout the program, with ample opportunities for applied learning. To provide real-world experience, the program offers operational immersion in hands-on data manipulation and analysis as students learn to extract insights applicable to the insurance sector.
In an industry where technology is becoming increasingly important, the program will also emphasize the interpersonal skills required for success. In courses such as “Developing Your Leadership Capacity,” and “Managing the Customer Experience,” students will learn to translate technical information into human terms for clients, colleagues, and other stakeholders.
Designed to inspire and prepare professionals for success—and to provide a pathway to upward mobility—the Master of Professional Studies in Insurance Analytics and Management will aim to produce graduates who are thinkers, designers, and developers, providing the knowledge and tools to merge applications, humanics, data and technology in the age of digital transformation.