Finance majors find career opportunities in a wide variety of diverse and dynamic industries. The finance curriculum has been designed to give you more flexibility in helping to prepare for specific finance-related jobs in banking, corporate finance, financial services, and investments.
Requirements for the Major
You must take at least 18 credit hours in finance courses and may, if you want, take as many as 24 hours.
Required Courses (12 hrs.)
The following courses are required courses that must be taken by all finance majors:
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| FIN 4303 | Financial Institutions and Markets | 3 |
| FIN 4504 | Investments | 3 |
| FIN 4414 | Advanced Corporation Finance | 3 |
| FIN 4443 | Financial Policies and Strategies | 3 |
Finance Electives (6-12 hrs.)
For the remaining courses, you can elect to take any 3000 or 4000 level course with an FIN, REE, or RMI prefix. At least one of these electives must have an FIN prefix. This allows you substantial latitude in picking a set of courses that will help prepare you to meet your career goals. A grade of C- or higher is required in all major courses.
An Alternative - A Minor in Finance
If you have already selected another major in business but would like to gain a broader background in finance, we offer a 12 credit hour minor. To earn a minor in finance, you must complete the four courses listed above under "Required Courses" for majors. A grade of C- or higher required in all minor courses.
What Kinds of Jobs are There for Finance Majors?
A career in finance can be both financially and intellectually rewarding. There is a wide variety of jobs where you can utilize your financial expertise. Most finance majors ultimately will find employment in banking, corporate finance, financial services, or investments.
Careers in banking offer many opportunities. One is in commercial lending, which involves working with business clients to analyze their financial statements and help them secure loans to expand their firms. Another possibility is in bank branch management where you would work with individual customers to supply a wide range of banking services. Still another option is in trust management, where you would help clients with estate problems and the management of their wealth.
Jobs in corporate finance give you the opportunity to help firms make decisions about what assets to acquire and how to finance them. As corporate finance specialist, you might also find yourself heavily involved in determining a firm's working capital position. With the development of many new corporate securities in recent years, there is a real need for people who understand the complexities of these instruments.
Financial services is a rapidly growing area where a wide variety of positions are available. Financial planners advise individuals and business clients on ways to accumulate wealth and help them in constructing appropriate portfolios and selecting individual investments. There are also many opportunities available in finance related sales which include stock brokerage, insurance, and real estate.
Career opportunities in investments typically follow one of two paths: security analysis or portfolio management. Security analysts usually work for brokerage firms, investment management firms, or maybe mutual fund management companies. They analyze different publicly held companies and make recommendations to their clients regarding the purchase of the bonds and stocks issued by those companies. Portfolio managers acquire securities to form portfolios that will meet their client's risk and return needs.
