The University of Tennessee, Knoxville’s Haslam College of Business is first in the world for number of students earning Bloomberg Market Concepts certification and first in the Southeastern Conference (SEC) for number of Bloomberg terminals. An average of 1,200 Haslam students yearly earn the certification consisting of e-learning modules in economics, currencies, fixed income and equities.

“This is important because, not only does it distinguish our business program, it gives our students a chance to leverage assets in the college of business to use outside in the work world,” says Laura Cole, director of the Masters Investment Learning Center. “Most corporations, not just on Wall Street but nationally and internationally, have Bloomberg terminals in their headquarters. Our students learn how to navigate them, and this gives them an advantage.”

Located behind a glass wall in the atrium of the Haslam Business Building, the Masters Investment Learning Center offers an impressive sight for passers-by. Inside the center, stock ticker prices light up a wall as students trade more than $3 million in funds at 20 Bloomberg terminals.

Students complete their Bloomberg Market Concepts certification as part of an upper-level finance course, and are invited to hone their knowledge by participating in a number of different organizations. Those include the University of Tennessee Investment Group, Trade Like a Girl and the Tennessee Capital Market Society.

Katie Fowlkes, a senior finance major, got her first real-world trading experience with one of the college’s five individual Torch Funds. She used the Bloomberg terminals to research and value companies, and to develop an investment thesis. Now she’s certified in Bloomberg Market Concepts and interviewing for positions.

“I’ve had a lot of interviewers comment on my certification because Bloomberg is very expensive software that a lot of students don’t have access to,” Fowlkes says.

For Carson Hollingsworth, a recent MBA graduate now working for the valuations department of KPMG in Cincinnati, the Bloomberg training he received at Haslam provided an advantage while interviewing with recruiters.

“It really sets you apart when you’re going into the industry,” Hollingsworth says. “Training with the software and creating actual outcomes in real-life scenarios was truly helpful to me, and I’m incredibly proud that we have the No. 1 status.”