Finance, Criminal Justice, and Sport Management—Wilson Offers Exciting New Majors

The College has added three majors, beginning fall 2021, to the wide choice of majors already available. All are growing in popularity with students and importance with employers nationally—Finance, Criminal Justice, and Sport Management.

These majors continue Wilson’s tradition of providing academically rigorous and profession-oriented programs enhanced through a liberal arts education. Employers prize this combination of career-specific skills and knowledge with the ability to think creatively and communicate effectively. These three majors will position graduates to pursue careers in industries that are expected to provide well-paying, professional, and stimulating careers for decades to come.

“Finance is the seventh-largest major in the US. Looking at some projections, employers will be hiring people in the business and financial areas at an increase of 10 percent a year through 2026,” said Thomas Armstrong, assistant professor of business, economics, and finance. The major will cover corporate finance, investment markets, and institutions. It will prepare students for careers as personal financial advisers, financial managers, budget or finance analysts, loan officers and credit analysts, stock brokers, and investment bankers.

“There is no start-up, small business, medium-size corporation, or large corporation that does not need the financial component that a finance major provides,” Armstrong said.
Criminal Justice is a popular major nationally with over 50,000 degrees awarded in the 2017-2018 academic year alone. “Wilson’s Criminal Justice major will be a bachelor of arts degree rooted in the liberal arts, with a social justice focus, and an emphasis on diversity and underserved communities and transforming communities,” said Jill Hummer, associate professor of political science. 

The major will prepare students for a wide variety of career pathways and entry into multiple fields. Hummer expects some graduates to go on to law school, while others will use their degrees to enter the workplace directly. Career pathways include “working for the FBI as a corrections specialist, the Department of Homeland security as a homeland security professional, a park ranger, or the secret service. There are also many opportunities in state and local government, including working as a state trooper or as a corrections, probation, or parole officer. And it is a pathway into the private nonprofit world as a victim advocate,” Hummer said.

Sport Management is a program tailored for the sports-minded student interested in a career in one of the fastest-growing industries in the country. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the annual growth rate for careers in the sport industry is 10 percent, with growth in spectator sports as high as 17 percent.

“Sport Management is a career-relevant program that includes course work in accounting, business, economics, athletic coaching, sport management, exercise science, psychology, and sociology. This major provides broad professional skills in an environment of academic rigor,” said Lori Frey, professor of physical education. “Students will be prepared to lead and manage in an ever-growing field, qualifying them for a vast array of sports careers.”

The addition of these three majors is emblematic of Wilson’s continuing commitment to a relevant and rigorous education that dovetails student interests with employers’ needs. The additions expand student options, meet their interests, and provide them the best possible platform for their professional lives upon graduation.