The Lally School of Management at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) has launched several new STEM-designated degree programs designed to mold a new generation of leaders fluent in the emerging technologies reshaping American society.

The programs include Bachelor of Science degrees in finance and marketing, as well as an MBA focused on AI and advanced computing.  

“Today, technology and business are inseparable, and leaders need fluency in both,” said Liad Wagman, Dean of RPI’s Lally School of Management. “These state-of-the-art finance and marketing programs directly address the shifts we are seeing in our tech-centric world — especially the heightened need for rigorous, data-driven risk analysis that leaders can act on — and our STEM-designated MBA program doubles down on this intersection.”

The undergraduate major focusing on financial markets, advanced technologies and risk merges rigorous finance and risk management with cutting‑edge tech and analytics to prepare students for careers in finance. With electives focused on financial modeling and technology, the program gives students hands-on experience in complex, data-driven financial environments. They will have access to Lally’s proprietary financial datasets, finance club, and new Bloomberg Lab, where they will work with real-time financial data, manage real-world funds, and perform in-depth market analyses to prepare for careers in investment banking, asset management, and other related fields.

The undergraduate major in Marketing and Advance Computing will prepare students for careers at the intersection of marketing, analytics, and technology. The interdisciplinary curriculum combines marketing fundamentals with data analytics, business intelligence, machine learning, and statistics. Students will have access to Lally’s new Behavioral Research Lab: designed especially for this program, the lab will provide students with the newest technology to capture decision-making data — such as real-time gaze and attention — allowing them to design and lead cutting-edge consumer research.

At the graduate level, the STEM-designated MBA in Artificial Intelligence and Advanced Computing will train future business leaders to translate breakthroughs in machine learning, large language models (LLMs) and generative AI into tomorrow’s competitive advantages. Students will develop fluency with cutting-edge generative AI tools and undertake institution‑wide explorations of large‑language‑model applications in coursework, research, and capstone projects, including practical use cases of GPT models and LLM integration in real business contexts. Electives span computer science, cognitive science, data policy, and technical communication, reflecting the holistic skill set employers demand from AI strategists.

Students in all three programs will benefit from Lally’s personalized academic environment and have full access to the IBM Quantum System One and the AiMOS supercomputer. A hallmark of education at RPI, students will acquire practical, real-world skills through platforms such as Bloomberg, FactSet, S&P Capital IQ Pro, and OpenAI’s ChatGPT for Education. They will also have access to RPI’s extensive network of alumni executives at companies such as Goldman Sachs, Citi, JP Morgan, Morgan Stanley, Oppenheimer & Co, Google, and many others.

“Lally has always empowered students to think beyond traditional boundaries, positioning them for extraordinary career success,” said RPI student Nick Khoo ‘25. “These new majors are a natural extension of that.”  

“At RPI, we are preparing students to shape the future, not just participate in it; we're defining what management education needs to be about in the digital age, not just keeping pace with it,” Wagman added. “This includes preparing students for leadership roles in AI strategy, data-driven decision-making, and emerging fields like quantum finance and AI policy.”

For details on the new programs please contact Lynda Holt, Director of Recruitment and Partnerships at Lally, at holtl3@rpi.edu.