UM business school to add four new concentrations

The Stephens College of Business at the University of Montevallo has added four new concentrations – two in management and two in finance – that will be available to students starting fall 2022.

The new concentrations in finance are sustainable finance and financial sales. The new management concentrations are international management and human resources.

These four concentrations are a part of eight new concentrations that have been added to the Stephens College of Business since fall 2021.

“We’re excited about the new opportunities for students interested in focusing their studies in particular areas as opposed to general management or finance degrees,” said Dr. Amiee Mellon, interim dean and associate professor of business. “These four new concentrations are in addition to the three concentrations we added to marketing last year – sales management, advertising and digital marketing.”

Mellon said adding financial sales will help students focusing on finance gain strong customer service skills, and understand different relationship building techniques.

Sustainable finance offers a unique opportunity for students to take steps in an innovative direction.

“One of the reasons we’ve added sustainable finance is that there’s no concentration like this offered in Alabama right now,” she said. “With our environmental studies program, we want to incorporate a background in this. We want to explain what ESG – environmental social governance – is and why it’s important to investing and business right now. “We felt that it was a great opportunity to blend two different areas together to broaden our students’ perspectives.”

Mellon said one of the most important aspects of management currently is international business.

Those who aim to be successful in business need to understand the various cultures and differences of the people they plan to make business deals with. This will be highlighted through studying Alabama’s foreign automotive plants.

Mellon said the human resources management concentration will examine the dynamics of potentially having up to five generations of people working for the same company, and how it’s important to understand how that affects individual employees.

The Stephens College of Business is a competitive, prominent business school committed to providing its students with the most beneficial resources available. To learn more, visit montevallo.edu/scob.