Finance Major, BS

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The Bachelor of Science degree with a major in Finance is the ideal program of study for students planning on either a lucrative career in the booming sector of financial planning, or in the traditional sector of corporate finance. The modern employment culture in the United States places the financial planning burden on the individual. For example, the era of reliable pension plans has ended. The financial planning courses required for students majoring in finance address insurance planning, investment planning, retirement planning and estate planning. Proficiency in these subjects is vital for the individual, but also is sought by financial institutions which offer professional advice. In addition, students majoring in finance have the opportunity to become fully prepared to pursue positions in traditional corporate finance via courses dealing with capital budgeting, project analysis, and investments. The educational goals of the finance program will be served by faculty committed to effective teaching, to expanding intellectual knowledge in their fields and to providing community service.

Students who major in finance are required to complete 41 semester hours of general education core courses, 45 semester hours of business core, 30 semester hours of major program requirements and 6 semester hours of electives. In total, students are required to complete 122 semester hours (excluding developmental skills courses).

Learning Goals

The learning goals of the finance major are to produce graduates who understand:

General principles of financial planning.
Insurance planning and risk management.
Employee benefits planning.
Investment planning.
Income tax planning.
Retirement and estate planning.

Bachelor of Science Degree with a Major in Finance

Freshman

Fall Semester (16)

ENG 1301 - Freshman Composition I ^(GE)
MAT 1312 - Pre-Calculus I ¹ or
MAT 1313 - Pre-Calculus II ¹
SBE 1103 - Freshman Seminar ^(GE)
BIO 1301 - Biological Concepts ^(GE)or
BIO 1320 - Environmental Biology ^(GE)
MUS 1301 - Introduction to Music (non-majors) ^(GE) or
ART 1301 - Introduction to Art (Non major) ^(GE)
MIS 1380 - Microcomputer Applications or
CSC 1306 - The Computer and its Use I

Spring Semester (16)

ENG 1302 - Freshman Composition II ^(GE)
MAT 2333 - Calculus for Business Majors ¹ or
MAT 2317 - Calculus I ¹
PED Physical Education ^(GE) (1)
Physical Science ⁶^(GE) (4)
Social Science ^{2, 5}^(GE) (3)
HED 1201 - Concepts of Fitness and Health ^(GE)

Sophomore

Fall Semester (15 or 18)

ACC 2316 - Principles of Financial Accounting
ECO 2311 - Principles of Microeconomics ^(GE)
FIN 2357 - Personal Financial Planning ³^(Major)
BCO 2311 - Business Communications
Humanities ^3,4^(GE) (3)
Af. Am. Experience ⁴^(GE) (0/3)

Spring Semester (18)

ACC 2317 - Principles of Managerial Accounting
ECO 2312 - Principles of Macroeconomics
QBA 2325 - Business & Economic Statistics
SPH 2321 - Oral Interpretation of Literature ^(GE) or
SPH 2341 - Fundamentals of Speech ^(GE)
Social Science ^{2, 5}^(GE) (3)
ENG 2301 - World Literature I ^(GE) or
ENG 2302 - World Literature II ^(GE)

Junior

Fall Semester (15)

Spring Semester (15)

Senior

Fall Semester (15)

FIN 4383 - Insurance Planning ^(Major)
ECO 3313 - Intermediate Microeconomic Theory ^(Major) or
ECO 3316 - Applied Econometrics and Forecasting ^(Major)
ECO 4384 - International Trade and Financial Institutions ^(Major) or
ECO 4331 - Money and Banking ^(Major)
Elective ^{1, 7}^(Major) (3)
Elective or Co-op ⁷ (3)

Spring Semester (12)

FIN 4385 - Advanced Financial Planning ^(Major) or
FIN 4381 - Intermediate Financial Management ^(Major)
MGT 4399 - Business Policy
Elective ⁷ (3)
Elective ⁷ (3)

Total Hours: 122 Semester Hours

^(GE) General Education Core Requirements

^(Major) Finance Major Requirements

^{1. Math placement test is used to select the initial Math course. Students placed into MAT 1312 (or higher) receive credit for MAT 1311 (and MAT 1312).

2. Choose two (2) social sciences with different prefixes from: POS 2311, PSY 2301, (HIS 1301, 1302, 3341, or 3342) and SOC 2301. See note five (5) below.

3. Students choose either (FIN 2357, 4385) or (FIN 2356, 4381). Credit cannot be earned for both FIN 2356 and FIN 2357.

4. Choose one (1) Humanities course from: ART 2306, HUM 2310, REL 3311, PHI 2301, PHI 2303. See note five (5) below.

5. One African American Experience (AAE) course is required. This course also can either fulfill the humanities requirement (ART 2306, HUM 2310, REL 3311), a social science requirement (HIS 3341, HIS 3342) or neither (SOC 4311).

6. Choose one (1) pair from: (PHS 2336 & 2136); (PHS 2337 & 2137); (CHE 1311 & 1111); (CHE 2311 & 2111); (PHY 2321 && 2121); (PHY 3431 & 3131).

7. Double major or minor requirements may be used as electives. Suggested electives are ACC 4317, MGT 4387, MIS 3330, and MKT 3335. Students seeking to be fully-prepared to sit for the CFP™ Examination should take ACC 4317.

8. QBA 3370 was formerly listed as QBA 3323.}

^Note:^{Grades of “C” or better are required in all Finance Major Requirements and in all School of Business & Economics courses. The latter are courses prefixed by ACC, BCO, BLA, BUA, ECO, FIN, MGT, MIS, MKT, QBA or SBE.}