Department of Finance

For information regarding the GRADUATE PROGRAM, click here.  

What is Finance?

Finance is the study of how individuals, businesses, and organizations acquire and utilize capital (i.e., money). Two basic elements of finance include the tradeoff between expected returns and risk and the importance of timing of future cash flows.

As a partner of the CFA (Chartered Financial Analyst program, the Department of Finance prepares students for careers in investments through coursework and helps them develop knowledge in studies related to real estate, risk management, insurance, and business law.

Opportunities in Finance

Areas: Business Finance, Investments, Financial Markets and Institutions, Real Estate, Risk and Insurance

Employers: Investment Banking, Asset Managers, Energy Companies, Consulting Companies, Banks/Financial Institutions, Private Equity Companies, State Retirement Systems, Wealth Management Firms, Real Estate Investment Trusts, Property Managers, Developers, Appraisers

B.S. in Finance

The bachelor of science in finance is a 120-hour degree program with several learning objectives for students:

• Obtain a broad functional knowledge of basic theory and practice of finance
• Access and analyze financial statements to evaluate the financial health of the firm and the strategies it employs to create value for its shareholders
• Develop and apply financial modeling skills for the valuation of the firm and of individual capital assets, securities, and other investment vehicles
• Apply principles of asset allocation and diversification to formulate portfolio strategies through experiential learning
• Understand and apply various measures to evaluate portfolio performance
• Demonstrate effective skills in written and oral communication and in teamwork

Students majoring in finance have the opportunity to study under nationally renowned faculty and access to the Securities Markets Analysis Research and Trading (SMART) Lab, a classroom modeled after an investment company’s trading room. The SMART Lab provides state-of-the-art software, including Bloomberg, and data fees for financial analysis.

Refer to the E. J. Ourso College section for admission requirements.

In the Department of Finance, the second digit of the course number denotes the subject area of the course, as follows: 2–Business Law; 3–Real Estate; 4–Risk and Insurance; 6–Finance (capital markets and financial institutions); 7–Finance (financial management); 8–Finance (investment analysis/portfolio theory); 9–General Courses.

Prerequisites for any finance course may be waived in exceptional cases with consent of the instructor and approval of the department chair.

Programs

• Finance, BS