Finance Program Requirements

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Faculty

  • Matt Crouse
  • Richard Haskell
  • Lauren Lo Re (chair)
  • Students can choose either the Bachelor of Science in Finance, or the Bachelor of Arts in Finance.

View Finance Courses

Program Goals

The Finance Program offers a major leading to a Bachelor of Science or Bachelor of Arts degree that will prepare students for career options in corporate finance, international finance, new venture financing, investments, banking, consulting, or business financial planning. The integrated theoretical and practical aspects of finance provide students with critical thinking skills and analytical tools as a foundation for life-long learning. Students completing a Bachelor of Science degree in Finance should:

  • Explain the firm’s financial structure and the role of finance in maximizing a firm’s value.
  • Use financial theories, practices, analytical tools, and models for making critical decisions.
  • Develop solutions to complex financial problems.
  • Communicate complex financial concepts, analyses, strategies, and decisions.
  • Develop ethical awareness.

Program Requirements

To fulfill the requirements for the major in Finance, students must complete the courses outlined below and maintain a minimum 2.3 GPA in all coursework required by the program. Students are also required to complete the ETS Major Field Test in Business before they are eligible to graduate (exceptions may be considered by program chair when relocation or other conditions make completion of the test impractical).

Students must meet the college-wide graduation requirements in addition to the Finance major:

  • 124 total hours
  • 30 upper division hours
  • WCore or Honors College requirements

Undergraduate Business Core

Students in all business majors (with the exception of some economics programs) complete a common undergraduate core designed to develop skills in all functional areas of business.

There are two components to the common undergraduate core: the lower-division requirements, and the upper-division requirements. Since many of the lower-division core requirements are prerequisites for upper-division core requirements, students should work to complete lower-division courses early in their programs. Upper-division core requirements should be taken when prerequisites are met. Prerequisites are noted in the table below.

Requirement Description Credit Hours Prerequisites
I. Core Lower Division Courses 25  
ACCT 213 Financial Accounting 3 BUSI 102* or BUSI 101A and BUSI 101B
BUSI 101A Business Fundamentals I: Communicating  3  
BUSI 101B Business Fundamentals I: Calculating 3 MATH 101 or above
BUSI 200 Applied Business Math and Modeling  3 BUSI 102* or BUSI 101A and BUSI 101B
BUSI 225 Business Law and Ethics  3 BUSI 102* or BUSI 101A and BUSI 101B
ECON 253 Elementary Macroeconomics  3 MATH 101 or above
ECON 263 Elementary Microeconomics    MATH 101 or above
Choose one of the following courses:    

DATA 150 

DATA 220

Data and Society 

Introduction to Statistics

4

4

  
II. Core Upper Division Courses 23-25  
ACCT 313 Managerial Accounting 3 ACCT 213
BUSI 300 Information Technology  3 BUSI 200
BUSI 350

Business Fundamentals II: Integrative Core 

The ETS exam is administered in BUSI 350. For ETS information, click here

 2 ACCT 313; BUSI 225, 300; DATA 150 or 220; ECON 263; FINC 300; MGMT 305, MGMT 309; MKTG 300.

BUSI 440 or

BUSI 441 or

BUSI 442

Business Fundamentals III: Internship or 

Business Practicum or

Business Portfolio

1-8

2-4

2

 BUSI 350, junior or senior standing, and signed approval from the Practice/Exp Director.
Transfer students must complete a min. of 15 Westminster credit hours or obtain permission of instructor prior to completing an internship for credit.

All business majors are required to complete BUSI 440 or BUSI 441 or BUSI 442.

 

  
FINC 300

Business Finance 

 3 BUSI 200 and ACCT 213
MGMT 305

Principles of Management

 4 BUSI 102* or BUSI 101A and BUSI 101B
MGMT 309

Operations Management 

 3 BUSI 200
MKTG 300

Principles of Marketing 

 3 BUSI 102* or BUSI 101A and BUSI 101B
Total Hours for the Program 48-50  

* BUSI 102, Business Fundamentals I for Transfer Students, is only an option for transfer students or student majoring in arts administration; all other students should take BUSI 101A/BUSI 101B.

Bachelor of Science in Finance

Requirement Description Credit Hours Prerequisites
I. Undergraduate Business Core 48-50  
Please refer to Undergraduate Business Core for requirements.
II. Major Requirements 12  
FINC 305 Investment and Analysis  4 FINC 300
FINC 309 Concepts and Applications of Corporate Finance 4 FINC 300
III. Electives 8-12  

Students are not limited to this list, and with adviser approval, may use other upper division business courses.

ACCT 374 Cost Accounting- offered spring 4 ACCT 313
ECON 499 Econometrics- offered fall 4 ECON 253 or 263; DATA 150 or 220
FINC 310 Financial Institutions 2 FINC 300
FINC 405A Investment Strategies and Applications- offered fall 4 FINC 305
FINC 410 Raising Money for New Business  2  
FINC 412A  Introduction to Real Estate Investing  2 FINC 300
FINC 412L Advanced Investing Topics 2 FINC 300
FINC 435 International Finance- offered fall 4 FINC 300
FINC 493 Business Forecasting- offered spring 4 DATA 150 or 220, ECON 263, FINC 300
IV. Senior Capstone 4  
FINC 495 Finance Capstone 4 FINC 305, 309, senior standing
Total Hours for the B.S. Finance Program 68-74  

Note: All students must complete 124 hours of coursework to graduate, 30 hours of which must be upper division (300 level or above). Students may need to take other courses to complete the college hours requirement.

Bachelor of Arts in Finance

Requirement Description Credit Hours Prerequisites
I. Undergraduate Business Core 48-50  
Please refer to Undergraduate Business Core for requirements.
II. Major Requirements 12  
FINC 305 Investment and Analysis  4 FINC 300
FINC 309 Concepts and Applications of Corporate Finance  4 FINC 300
III. Electives 8-12  

Students are not limited to this list, and with adviser approval, may use other upper division business courses.

ACCT 374  Cost Accounting- offered spring 4 ACCT 313
ECON 499 Econometrics- offered fall 4 ECON 253 or 263; DATA 150 or 220
FINC 310 Financial Institutions 2 FINC 300
FINC 405A Investment Strategies and Applications- offered fall 4 FINC 305
FINC 410 Raising Money for New Business  2  
FINC 412A  Introduction to Real Estate Investing 2 FINC 300
FINC 412L Advanced Investing Topics 2 FINC 300
FINC 435 International Finance- offered fall 4 FINC 300
FINC 493 Business Forecasting- offered spring 4 DATA 150 or 220, ECON 263, FINC 300
IV. Senior Capstone 4  
FINC 495 Finance Capstone  4 FINC 305, 309, senior standing
Total Hours for the B.S. Finance Program 68-74  

 

Note: All students must complete 124 hours of coursework to graduate, 30 hours of which must be upper division (300 level or above). Students may need to take other courses to complete the college hours requirement.

Recommended Plan of Study (B.A. and B.S.)

Starting Business as a First-Year Student

Fall Semester Spring Semester
 Freshman Year WCORE 1
WCORE 2
BUSI 101A (LC)
BUSI 101B (LC) 		WCORE 3
WCORE 4
DATA 150 OR DATA 220
ACCT 213
Sophmore Year WCORE 5
WCORE 6
BUSI 200
ECON 253
BUSI 225 		ECON 263
ACCT 313
MGMT 305
BUSI 300
FINC 300
Junior Year  FINC 309
MKTG 300
Language I (B.A.) 		BUSI 350
FINC 305
FINC Elective
Language II (B.A.)
Senior Year MGMT 309
FINC Elective
Language II( (B.A.) 		FINC 495
BUSI 440, 441 or 442

Starting Business as a Sophomore

Fall Semester Spring Semester
Freshman Year  WCORE 1
WCORE 2
WCORE 3 		WCORE 4
WCORE 5
WCORE 6
Sophmore Year BUSI 101A
BUSI 101B
ECON 253
DATA 150 or DATA 220 		BUSI 200
ACCT 213
ECON 263
MGMT 305
BUSI 225
Junior Year  ACCT 313
MKTG 300
BUSI 300
MGMT 309
FINC 300
FINC 309 		BUSI 350
FINC Elective
Language I (B.A.)
Senior Year FINC 305
FINC Elective
Language II (B.A.) 		FINC 305
FINC 495
BUSI 440, 441 or 442
Language III (B.A.)