Finance Program Requirements

Jump to a section:
Download PDF

Faculty

  • Matt Crouse
  • Richard Haskell
  • Lauren Lo Re (Chair)

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 theoretical and practical aspects of finance are integrated to 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 university-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 101A/101B/101C
BUSI 101A Business Fundamentals I: Communicating  3  
BUSI 101B Business Fundamentals I: Calculating 3 MATH 101 or above
BUSI 101C Business Fundamentals I: Company Lab 0  
BUSI 200 Applied Business Math and Modeling  3 BUSI 101A/101B/101C
BUSI 225 Business Law and Ethics  3 BUSI 101A/101B/101C
ECON 253 Elementary Macroeconomics  3 MATH 101 or above
ECON 263 Elementary Microeconomics  3 MATH 101 or above

DATA 220

Introduction to Statistics

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. Learn more about ETS.		 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 minimum 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 101A/101B/101C
MGMT 309 Operations Management  3 BUSI 200
MKTG 300 Principles of Marketing  3 BUSI 101A/101B/101C
Total Hours for the Program 48-50  

 

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 15  
FINC 200 Introduction to Investing: A Course for Everyone 3  
FINC 305 Investment and Analysis -- offered Spring 4 FINC 300
FINC 309 Concepts and Applications of Corporate Finance -- offered Fall 4 FINC 300
FINC 405A Investment Strategies and Applications I -- offered Fall 2 FINC 305
FINC 405B Investment Strategies and Applications II -- offered Spring 2 FINC 405A
III. Elective 4  
Students will select one 4 credit hour course from the following:
BUSI 400 Business Analytics -- offered Spring 4  
ECON 499 Econometrics -- offered Fall 4 ECON 253 or 263; DATA 150 or 220
IV. Senior Capstone 4  
FINC 495 Finance Capstone 4 FINC 305, 309, senior standing
Total Hours for the B.S. Finance Program 71-73  

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 university 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 15  
FINC 200 Introduction to Investing: A Course for Everyone 3  
FINC 305 Investment and Analysis -- offered Spring 4 FINC 300
FINC 309 Concepts and Applications of Corporate Finance -- offered Fall 4 FINC 300
FINC 405A Investment Strategies and Applications I -- offered Fall 2 FINC 305
FINC 405B Investment Strategies and Applications II -- offered Spring 2 FINC 405A
III. Elective 4  
Students will select one 4 credit hour course from the following:
BUSI 400 Business Analytics -- offered Spring 4  
ECON 499 Econometrics -- offered Fall 4 ECON 253 or 263; DATA 150 or 220
IV. Senior Capstone 4  
FINC 495 Finance Capstone  4 FINC 305, 309, senior standing
Total Hours for the B.S. Finance Program 71-73  

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 university hours requirement.

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

Starting Business as a First-Year Student

Fall Semester Spring Semester
 Year 1 WCore 1
WCore 2
BUSI 101A/101B/101C (LC)

 WCore 3
WCore 4
ACCT 213
DATA 220
Year 2 WCore 5
FINC 200 (WCSAM)
BUSI 200
BUSI 225
ECON 253		 ACCT 313
BUSI 300
ECON 263
FINC 300
MGMT 305
Year 3

FINC 309
MKTG 300
ECON 499
Language I (B.A.)

 BUSI 350
FINC 305
BUSI 400
Language II (B.A.)
Year 4 MGMT 309
FINC 405A
Language II (B.A.)		 FINC 405B
FINC 495
BUSI 440, 441, or 442

 

Starting Business as a Sophomore

Fall Semester Spring Semester
Year 1 WCore 1
WCore 2
FINC 200 (WCSAM)		 WCore 4
WCore 5
WCore 6
Year 2 ACCT 213
BUSI 101A/101B/101C
ECON 253
DATA 220		 BUSI 200
BUSI 225
ECON 263
FINC 300
MGMT 305
Year 3

ACCT 313
BUSI 300
FINC 309
ECON 499

 MKTG 300
FINC 305
BUSI 400
Language I (B.A.)
Year 4 MGMT 309
BUSI 350
FINC 405A
Language II (B.A.)		 FINC 405B
FINC 495
BUSI 440, 441, or 442
Language III (B.A.)