Purpose
Finance is a discipline dealing with the allocation of funds within an organization and the acquisition of funds to meet its current and future needs. The finance specialization is designed for students who are interested in financial management as it relates to both financial and non-financial firms. Areas of emphasis included within the finance specialization are business financial analysis and management, investment analysis and management, financial markets and institutions management, risk analysis and management, and personal financial planning. Career opportunities associated with the finance specialization include, but are not restricted to, the following: cash management, credit management, financial analysis, capital budgeting, investment analysis, securities analysis, portfolio management, securities brokering, commercial lending and loan management, retail bank management, risk management, insurance company operations and management, and personal financial planning and management.
BSBA General Degree Requirements
Students completing the finance specialization must complete University, general degree, admission core, and business core requirements for the BSBA degree, including admission to the BSBA program.
Concentration in financial planning
The concentration in financial planning is designed to provide students with an academic and professional level of education in the field of financial planning and prepare them to advise individual investors on insurance, investments, tax, retirement, and estate planning. The financial planning concentration requires students to complete the following eight courses (24 credit hours): FIN 3400 , FIN 3500 , FIN 4130 , FIN 4140 , FIN 4210 , FIN 4350 ; ACCT 3410 , ACCT 4440 .
Upon successful completion of the concentration, students will meet the educational requirements of the Certified Financial Planner (CFP®) Board of Standards and be eligible to sit for the CFP® certification examination, offered several times each year by the CFP® Board of Standards. Successful completion of the CFP® exam, along with meeting other CFP® Board of Standards requirements, is necessary to receive the CFP® designation.
Concentration in Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA)
The CFA Concentration is designed to prepare business students to become successful investment professionals with CFA professional designation. The program offers the academic and professional levels of education covering a significant portion of the CFA Program Candidate Body of Knowledge (CBOK). The CFA concentration requires students to complete ECON 3030 as past of BSBA Business Core and the following seven finance courses (21 credit hours): FIN 3400 , FIN 3500 , FIN 4350 , FIN 4130 , FIN 4360 , FIN 4450 & FIN 4550 beyond the general degree requirements for a BSBA degree.
Upon successful completion of concentration requirements, students can sit for Level I Exam of the CFA Institute, the first step to become a CFA holder. Based on students’ progress towards the completion of the concentration requirements, students may apply for CFA scholarships which will partially subsidize the registration fee for the CFA Level I Exam.