Best Financial Risk Specialist programs in West Virginia, ranked by enrollment
Analyze and measure exposure to credit and market risk threatening the assets, earning capacity, or economic state of an organization.
18 schools in West Virginia run programs that feed this job, graduating 522 people a year. The job pays a median of $94,350 in West Virginia across about 50 jobs (BLS OEWS May 2025).
Fields of study in West Virginia that lead to this job
Grouped at the 4-digit CIP level. Numbers are graduates per year in this state.
4 programs in West Virginia that lead to this job
Ranked by graduates per year in West Virginia (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 West Virginia page.
| # | Program | Graduates / yr | Share of pipeline | Schools | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Median debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | CIP 52.0301In West Virginia → | 335 | 64.2% | 16 | $51,824 | $24,433 |
| 2 | CIP 52.0801In West Virginia → | 130 | 24.9% | 3 | $53,572 | $23,672 |
| 3 | CIP 52.0601In West Virginia → | 37 | 7.1% | 1 | $53,269 | $21,962 |
| 4 | CIP 52.0305In West Virginia → | 20 | 3.8% | 3 | $51,824 | $24,433 |
Top 18 schools in West Virginia
Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 8 of the 18 schools in this state.
| # | School | Graduates / yr | Top feeder program | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Grad rate | Net price | Acceptance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | West Virginia University Morgantown, WV Public · 3 feeder programs | 259 | Finance, General | $48,645 | 65% | — | 89% |
| 2 | American Public University System Charles Town, WV Private for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 113 | Accounting | $50,688 | 57% | $10,199 | — |
| 3 | Marshall University Huntington, WV Public · 1 feeder programs | 34 | Accounting | $43,355 | 51% | — | 96% |
| 4 | Blue Ridge Community and Technical College Martinsburg, WV Public · 2 feeder programs | 21 | Accounting and Business/Management | — | 32% | — | — |
| 5 | Southern West Virginia Community and Technical College Logan, WV Public · 1 feeder programs | 15 | Accounting | — | 29% | — | — |
| 6 | University of Charleston Charleston, WV Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 12 | Accounting | $45,410 | 46% | $21,939 | 62% |
| 7 | West Liberty University West Liberty, WV Public · 1 feeder programs | 10 | Accounting | — | 60% | — | 97% |
| 8 | West Virginia Junior College - Morgantown Morgantown, WV Private for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 10 | Accounting | $31,860 | 71% | $19,134 | — |
| 9 | West Virginia University Institute of Technology Beckley, WV Public · 1 feeder programs | 7 | Accounting | $51,824 | 33% | — | 37% |
| 10 | West Virginia Wesleyan College Buckhannon, WV Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 7 | Accounting | — | 57% | $17,325 | 93% |
| 11 | Davis & Elkins College Elkins, WV Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 6 | Finance, General | — | 39% | $19,284 | 94% |
| 12 | Eastern West Virginia Community and Technical College Moorefield, WV Public · 1 feeder programs | 6 | Accounting and Business/Management | — | 42% | — | — |
| 13 | Shepherd University Shepherdstown, WV Public · 1 feeder programs | 6 | Accounting | — | 51% | — | 97% |
| 14 | Wheeling University Wheeling, WV Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 5 | Accounting | — | 23% | $18,042 | 63% |
| 15 | Bethany College Bethany, WV Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 4 | Finance, General | — | 47% | $15,783 | 59% |
| 16 | Fairmont State University Fairmont, WV Public · 1 feeder programs | 3 | Accounting | $47,630 | 44% | — | 99% |
| 17 | New River Community and Technical College Beaver, WV Public · 1 feeder programs | 3 | Accounting | — | 36% | — | — |
| 18 | Strayer University - West Virginia Scott Depot, WV Private for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 1 | Accounting and Business/Management | $52,373 | 0% | $16,943 | — |
All 18 schools in West Virginia
Every school in West Virginia 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| West Virginia University | Morgantown | Public | 259 | 3 |
| American Public University System | Charles Town | Private for-profit | 113 | 1 |
| Marshall University | Huntington | Public | 34 | 1 |
| Blue Ridge Community and Technical College | Martinsburg | Public | 21 | 2 |
| Southern West Virginia Community and Technical College | Logan | Public | 15 | 1 |
| University of Charleston | Charleston | Private not-for-profit | 12 | 1 |
| West Liberty University | West Liberty | Public | 10 | 1 |
| West Virginia Junior College - Morgantown | Morgantown | Private for-profit | 10 | 1 |
| West Virginia University Institute of Technology | Beckley | Public | 7 | 1 |
| West Virginia Wesleyan College | Buckhannon | Private not-for-profit | 7 | 1 |
| Davis & Elkins College | Elkins | Private not-for-profit | 6 | 2 |
| Eastern West Virginia Community and Technical College | Moorefield | Public | 6 | 1 |
| Shepherd University | Shepherdstown | Public | 6 | 1 |
| Wheeling University | Wheeling | Private not-for-profit | 5 | 1 |
| Bethany College | Bethany | Private not-for-profit | 4 | 2 |
What financial risk specialists earn in West Virginia
What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.
U.S. median $117,330. West Virginia pays below the national figure.
1.00× means the state has its expected share of these jobs.
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 West Virginia
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 West Virginia.
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 335 degrees in West Virginia in 2024-25, 64.2% 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 4 programs to this occupation. The largest are Accounting and Related Services, Finance and Financial Management Services, Business/Managerial Economics. Together they graduate about 522 people a year in West Virginia.
How much do financial risk specialists earn in West Virginia?+
The median is $94,350 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). That is 19.6% 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 West Virginia?+
18 institutions in West Virginia reported graduates from at least one of the 4 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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