Best Financial Risk Specialist programs in Kentucky, ranked by enrollment
Analyze and measure exposure to credit and market risk threatening the assets, earning capacity, or economic state of an organization.
21 schools in Kentucky run programs that feed this job, graduating 1,580 people a year. The job pays a median of $74,640 in Kentucky across about 500 jobs (BLS OEWS May 2025).
Fields of study in Kentucky that lead to this job
Grouped at the 4-digit CIP level. Numbers are graduates per year in this state.
8 programs in Kentucky that lead to this job
Ranked by graduates per year in Kentucky (IPEDS completions). Graduate earnings and debt are national College Scorecard figures reported at the 4-digit CIP level, so specializations within one field share a figure. Each program also links to its own Kentucky page.
| # | Program | Graduates / yr | Share of pipeline | Schools | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Median debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | CIP 52.0301In Kentucky → | 787 | 49.8% | 20 | $51,824 | $24,433 |
| 2 | CIP 52.0801In Kentucky → | 640 | 40.5% | 11 | $53,572 | $23,672 |
| 3 | CIP 52.0601In Kentucky → | 74 | 4.7% | 3 | $53,269 | $21,962 |
| 4 | CIP 27.0305In Kentucky → | 57 | 3.6% | 2 | $60,930 | $21,143 |
| 5 | CIP 52.0305In Kentucky → | 15 | 0.9% | 3 | $51,824 | $24,433 |
| 6 | CIP 52.1304In Kentucky → | 4 | 0.3% | 1 | $62,069 | $23,500 |
| 7 | CIP 52.0807In Kentucky → | 2 | 0.1% | 1 | $53,572 | $23,672 |
| 8 | CIP 52.0304In Kentucky → | 1 | 0.1% | 1 | $51,824 | $24,433 |
Top 21 schools in Kentucky
Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 10 of the 21 schools in this state.
| # | School | Graduates / yr | Top feeder program | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Grad rate | Net price | Acceptance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | University of Kentucky Lexington, KY Public · 4 feeder programs | 597 | Finance, General | $58,422 | 71% | — | 93% |
| 2 | University of Louisville Louisville, KY Public · 3 feeder programs | 168 | Accounting | $51,923 | 61% | — | 79% |
| 3 | Murray State University Murray, KY Public · 4 feeder programs | 161 | Accounting | $42,322 | 61% | — | 86% |
| 4 | Western Kentucky University Bowling Green, KY Public · 3 feeder programs | 155 | Accounting | $50,104 | 56% | — | 94% |
| 5 | University of the Cumberlands Williamsburg, KY Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 116 | Finance, General | — | 50% | $11,672 | 99% |
| 6 | Eastern Kentucky University Richmond, KY Public · 2 feeder programs | 104 | Accounting | $40,726 | 50% | — | 78% |
| 7 | Northern Kentucky University Highland Heights, KY Public · 1 feeder programs | 55 | Accounting | $52,425 | 52% | — | 68% |
| 8 | Morehead State University Morehead, KY Public · 2 feeder programs | 44 | Accounting | $43,607 | 52% | — | 77% |
| 9 | Bellarmine University Louisville, KY Private not-for-profit · 3 feeder programs | 32 | Finance, General | — | 64% | $22,542 | 86% |
| 10 | Campbellsville University Campbellsville, KY Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 23 | Accounting | — | 42% | $18,824 | 80% |
| 11 | Transylvania University Lexington, KY Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 22 | Accounting | $58,803 | 71% | $21,881 | 87% |
| 12 | Georgetown College Georgetown, KY Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 19 | Accounting | — | 49% | $12,666 | 91% |
| 13 | Thomas More University Crestview Hills, KY Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 15 | Accounting | $55,385 | 40% | $18,902 | 90% |
| 14 | Asbury University Wilmore, KY Private not-for-profit · 3 feeder programs | 14 | Accounting | — | 65% | $19,816 | 63% |
| 15 | Midway University Midway, KY Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 13 | Accounting | — | 41% | $23,658 | 95% |
| 16 | Alice Lloyd College Pippa Passes, KY Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 9 | Accounting and Business/Management | — | 39% | $18,384 | 75% |
| 17 | Brescia University Owensboro, KY Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 9 | Accounting | — | 54% | $14,604 | 35% |
| 18 | Sullivan University Louisville, KY Private for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 8 | Accounting | $46,444 | 71% | $29,703 | — |
| 19 | Spalding University Louisville, KY Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 7 | Accounting | — | 52% | $23,661 | 99% |
| 20 | Kentucky Wesleyan College Owensboro, KY Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 5 | Accounting | — | 47% | $36,525 | 72% |
| 21 | Union Commonwealth University Barbourville, KY Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 4 | Accounting and Business/Management | — | 32% | $28,386 | 63% |
All 21 schools in Kentucky
Every school in Kentucky with a program that feeds this job, ordered by graduates per year. Earnings are shown for the ranked schools above; open a school profile for the rest.
| School | City | Control | Graduates / yr | Feeder programs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| University of Kentucky | Lexington | Public | 597 | 4 |
| University of Louisville | Louisville | Public | 168 | 3 |
| Murray State University | Murray | Public | 161 | 4 |
| Western Kentucky University | Bowling Green | Public | 155 | 3 |
| University of the Cumberlands | Williamsburg | Private not-for-profit | 116 | 2 |
| Eastern Kentucky University | Richmond | Public | 104 | 2 |
| Northern Kentucky University | Highland Heights | Public | 55 | 1 |
| Morehead State University | Morehead | Public | 44 | 2 |
| Bellarmine University | Louisville | Private not-for-profit | 32 | 3 |
| Campbellsville University | Campbellsville | Private not-for-profit | 23 | 1 |
| Transylvania University | Lexington | Private not-for-profit | 22 | 1 |
| Georgetown College | Georgetown | Private not-for-profit | 19 | 2 |
| Thomas More University | Crestview Hills | Private not-for-profit | 15 | 2 |
| Asbury University | Wilmore | Private not-for-profit | 14 | 3 |
| Midway University | Midway | Private not-for-profit | 13 | 1 |
What financial risk specialists earn in Kentucky
What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.
U.S. median $117,330. Kentucky pays below the national figure.
1.00× means the state has its expected share of these jobs.
Metro areas in Kentucky
Job outlook
Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections, 2024 to 2034.
Growth and openings are national. The Bureau of Labor Statistics does not publish employment projections at state level, so these figures describe the occupation across the whole U.S., not this state alone.
How to get in
The full skills, tools, and day-to-day breakdown lives on the national Financial Risk Specialists page.
How to become a Financial Risk Specialist
Job zone 4 of 5 · SVP 7.0 to < 8.0- Typical entry education
- Bachelor's degree
Most of these occupations require a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not.
A considerable amount of work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is needed for these occupations. For example, an accountant must complete four years of college and work for several years in accounting to be considered qualified.
Employees in these occupations usually need several years of work-related experience, on-the-job training, and/or vocational training.
The same job in other states
Where else this occupation employs the most people, and what it pays there.
Related careers in Kentucky
Every major mapped to this job
The official federal mapping behind the rankings above.
All 12 majors mapped to Financial Risk Specialists12 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
- 27.0305Financial Mathematics
- 52.0215Risk Management
- 52.0301Accounting
- 52.0304Accounting and Finance
- 52.0305Accounting and Business/Management
- 52.0601Business/Managerial Economics
- 52.0801Finance, General
- 52.0806International Finance
- 52.0807Investments and Securities
- 52.0808Public Finance
- 52.0810Financial Risk Management
- 52.1304Actuarial Science
Common questions
Answers for people weighing financial risk specialists programs in Kentucky.
What degree do you need to become a Financial Risk Specialist?+
Bachelor's degree is the typical entry-level education BLS reports for this occupation. The most common program people actually graduate from is Accounting, which awarded 787 degrees in Kentucky in 2024-25, 49.8% of everyone graduating from a program that feeds this career.
Which college majors lead to becoming a Financial Risk Specialist?+
The NCES CIP-to-SOC crosswalk maps 8 programs to this occupation. The largest are Accounting and Related Services, Finance and Financial Management Services, Business/Managerial Economics, Applied Mathematics, plus 1 more. Together they graduate about 1,580 people a year in Kentucky.
How much do financial risk specialists earn in Kentucky?+
The median is $74,640 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). That is 36.4% below the U.S. median of $117,330. This is pay for people already working in the occupation, not the same thing as graduate earnings one year after finishing a degree.
Is demand for financial risk specialists growing?+
BLS projects a +6.5% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, faster than average, with roughly 4,800 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.
How many schools offer programs for this career in Kentucky?+
21 institutions in Kentucky reported graduates from at least one of the 8 programs that feed this occupation in IPEDS 2024-25. Rankings on this page use graduates per year, because the federal data publishes no enrollment count by program.
What other job titles do financial risk specialists work under?+
Employers advertise this work under many names. O*NET records Analyst, Risk Analyst, Risk Specialist, Securities Analyst among the most commonly reported, all mapping to SOC 13-2054.
About the data on this page
Rankings use IPEDS completions 2024–25, degrees awarded per year. That is the closest federal measure of how many people a program puts into a career, because no federal dataset publishes enrollment by program. Wages and employment come from BLS OEWS May 2025, growth and openings from BLS Employment Projections 2024-34, and which majors lead to which jobs from the NCES CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk. Occupation descriptions, tasks, skills and tools are O*NET 30.3 (CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor/ETA).
BLS Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics
May 2025Wages, employment counts, location quotients and metro breakdowns.
BLS Employment Projections
2024–34Projected growth, annual openings and typical entry-level education.
IPEDS Completions
2024-25 (provisional)Graduates per year by program and institution — the ranking metric.
College Scorecard, Field of Study
2020-21 cohortsMedian graduate earnings one year after completion, and median debt.
Census Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes
latest availableGraduate earnings 1/5/10 years out, where the state participates.
NCES CIP 2020 and the CIP-to-SOC 2018 crosswalk
CIP 2020 / SOC 2018Which college programs officially lead to this occupation.
O*NET Database 30.3
30.3Tasks, skills, knowledge, tools, job zone and alternate job titles.
Official source →CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor / ETA
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