Program Description
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.
Student Learning Outcomes
The learning goals of the finance major are to produce graduates who understand:
1. General principles of financial planning.
2. Insurance planning and risk management.
3. Employee benefits planning.
4. Investment planning.
5. Income tax planning.
6. Retirement and estate planning.
Major Requirements
The major requires a minimum of 72 semester hours (SH) of required courses, of which 18 SH may be used to satisfy general education requirements. These include 27 SH of courses in the major and 45 SH in the business core (12 SH of which are general education courses). Pre-requisites include 3 SH of pre-calculus (which also satisfies general education requirements), and 3 SH of business communications (which also satisfies general education requirements). Students not prepared to take pre-calculus may need to take additional preparatory mathematics classes.
Students must earn a grade of “C” or better in all courses required to graduate that are taken in the School of Business and Economics (SBE) and in MAT 1312. SBE courses are those prefixed by ACC, BCO, BLA, BUA, ECO, FIN, MGT, MIS, MKT, or QBA.
Courses
Pre-Requisite Courses (prerequisites for business core courses)
BCO 2311 - Business Communication (GE)
MAT 1312 – Pre-calculus (GE) (unless placement into Calculus)
Business Core Curriculum (45)
ACC 2316 – Principles of Financial Accounting
ACC 2317 – Principles of Managerial Accounting (prereq ACC 2316)
BLA 2325 – Legal Environment of Business (GE) (prereq BCO 2311, one other written communications course in general education)
ECO 2311 – Principles of Microeconomics (GE)
ECO 2312 – Principles of Macroeconomics (GE)
FIN 3351 – Principles of Financial Management (prereq. ACC 2316, MAT 1312 (“C” or higher)).
MAT 2317 – Calculus I (GE) or MAT 2333 – Calculus for Business (GE)
MGT 3322 – Organizational Behavior (Junior Status)
MGT 3350 – Introduction to International Business
MGT 4399 – Business Policy (prereq. MGT 3322, MKT 3331, FIN 3351, QBA 3370)
MIS 1380 – Microeconomic Applications (or CSC 1306 – Computers and Its Use)
MKT 3331 – Principles of Marketing (prereq BCO 2311)
QBA 2325 – Business & Economic Statistics (prereq MAT 1312)
QBA 3370 – Statistics and Quantitative Methods of Business (prereq QBA 2325)
QBA 4377 – Production and Operations Management (prereq QBA 3370)
Major Courses (27)
ACC 3314 - Income Tax Accounting I (prereq ACC 2316)
BUA 3302 - Business Ethics (GE) (prereq BCO 2311, one other written communications course in general education)
ECO 3313 - Intermediate Microeconomic Theory (prereq ECO 2311) or ECO 3316 - Applied Econometrics and Forecasting (prereq QBA 3370)
ECO 4331 - Money and Banking (prereq ECO 2311, ECO 2312) or ECO 4384 - International Trade and Financial Institutions (prereq ECO 2312)
FIN 2357 - Personal Financial Planning (GE) (prereq MAT 1311)
FIN 4378 - Investment Planning (prereq FIN 3351)
FIN 4383 - Insurance Planning (prereq ECO 2311, ECO 2312, BLA 2325, ACC 3314, QBA 3370)
FIN 4384 - Retirement & Estate Planning (prereq FIN 2357, FIN 3351)
FIN 4385 - Advanced Financial Planning (prereq FIN 4378, FIN 4383, FIN 4384) or
FIN 4381 - Intermediate Financial Management (prereq FIN 3351)
Notes: Students wishing to be eligible to sit for the Certified Financial Planner examination are required to take FIN 4385. Students who use BUA 3302 (Business Ethics)or FIN 2357 (Personal Financial Planning) as components of general education are required to select other courses in economics or finance as substitute electives to complete the major.
Other Information
Certified Financial Planner Curriculum and Careers
The Certified Financial Planner designation is recognized as the highest and most credible of all the certifications for individuals practicing in the personal financial planning field. Across the United States, approximately 62,000 individuals have earned this designation, and over 2,000 practice in North Carolina. Tangible and intangible rewards to successful practitioners are substantial.
Attainment of the right to use the Certified Financial Planner designation requires that an individual have a minimum of an undergraduate degree from a four-year accredited university, complete a required course of study covering all aspects of personal financial planning, receive a passing grade on a nationally-administered examination, work in the financial planning field for three years and then submit to a background check and agree to abide by the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards Standards of Practice and Code of Ethics. Certificants are required to complete periodic Continuing Education courses to maintain certification.
The two education requirements (undergraduate degree and completion of required course material) can be accomplished in two ways. If the student takes the course material as part of the requirements for an undergraduate degree at a university which has registered its curriculum with the CFP Board of Standards, both education requirements have been fulfilled. This is what the WSSU CFP Board registered curriculum offers. On the other hand, an individual with an undergraduate degree who did not take the CFP Board registered courses will have to complete a CFP Board registered Certificate Program. The certificate programs are offered on-line and face-to-face.
WSSU’s CFP curriculum has been registered with the CFP Board of Standards since October of 2008, and WSSU is the first and only HBCU in the United States with a registered undergraduate curriculum. The registered courses are offered in the School of Business and Economics as an area of focus in the finance major. Courses include Personal Financial Planning (FIN 2357), Microeconomics (ECO 2311), Macroeconomics (ECO 2312), Income Tax Accounting I (ACC 3314), Insurance Planning (FIN 4383), Investment Planning (FIN 4378), Retirement/Estate Planning (FIN 4384) and Advanced Financial Planning (FIN 4385).
In order to obtain the degree within four years and to be able to sit for the Certified Financial Planner examination at the end of that time period, the following is the suggested sequence of CFP Board Registered Courses.
SUGGESTED SEQUENCE OF CFP BOARD REGISTERED COURSES
The following courses should be taken no later than the end of the Sophomore Year:
FIN 2357 Personal Financial Planning
ECO 2311 Principles of Microeconomics
ECO 2312 Principles of Macroeconomics
ACC 3314 Income Tax Accounting
The following courses should be taken during the Junior Year:
FIN 4383 Insurance Planning
FIN 4378 Investment Planning
FIN 4384 Retirement & Estate Planning
The following course should be taken during the Senior Year:
FIN 4385 Advanced Financial Planning
Students are encouraged to take a CFP Exam Prep Seminar during the Spring Semester of their Senior Year.
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