Finance Major

Students who graduate with a finance major are prepared to enter positions in corporations, financial institutions, brokerage firms, investment banks, and government. They also are prepared for post-graduate study in all areas of business.

Learning goals

• Identify the functions of financial markets and institutions and examine their impact on the level of interest rates and interest rate differentials.
• Investigate advanced time value of money concepts and extend these concepts to mortgage mathematics, commercial mathematics, and capital budgeting.
• Explore the international integration of financial markets and analyze implications for financial managers.
• Examine the nature of the commercial banking business. Ascertain the measures of bank return and risk performance and how they are applied to bank valuation decisions and management performance assessment.
• Identify and analyze derivative instruments and strategies used by investors and corporations to hedge financial risks. Emphasis will be placed on identification of financial risk and designing optimal risk management strategies.
• Determine and analyze the appropriate measures of risk and return for various financial instruments. Understand the mechanics and regulation of financial securities exchanges and determine how the value of stocks, bonds, and securities are calculated.

Degree requirements

• 60 credits of lower division course work including business pre-core courses.
• 60 credits of upper division course work, including business core courses, finance major courses, and upper division business electives.
• Finance major courses require a grade of "C" or higher.

Suggested two year plan of study