2011 - 2012 Finance

Program Requirements | Bachelor of Science | Bachelor of Arts | Plan of Study | Course Descriptions

Department Chair: Gaylen Bunker
Faculty: Gaylen Bunker, Rich Collins, John Groesbeck, Richard Henage, Lauren Lo Re, Richard Parsons, Rob Patterson

Students can choose either the Bachelor of Science in Finance, or the Bachelor of Arts in Finance. All students completing undergraduate programs in the Finance Program meet educational requirements for the Accelerated MBA Program for Westminster Graduates.

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:

Develop an understanding of the functional structure within a firm and the role of finance for the goal of maximizing a firm's value.
Develop an understanding of economic and financial concepts, analytical tools, and the theories and models of making critical managerial decisions.
Develop the ability to conceptualize problems and to develop solutions to complex financial problems and support the decision with rational justification of conclusions.
Develop the ability to effectively communicate complex financial concepts, analyses, and decisions.
Develop financial ethical awareness and an understanding of global financial issues.

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.

For course prerequisites, please refer to the course description.

Bachelor of Science in Finance

Requirement Description		Credit Hours
I.	Undergraduate Business Core	50
	Please refer to the Undergraduate Business Core for requirements.
II.	Major Requirements	20
	The following courses are required for Finance Majors (12 credits): FINC 305 Investment and Analysis (4) FINC 309 Concepts and Apps. of Corp Finance (4) FINC 495 Strategic Financial Mgmt & Entrepreneurship (4) Students can elect to take between 4-8 credits from the following electives: FINC 310 Financial Institutions and Industrial Banking (4) FINC 320 Financial Derivatives (4) FINC 405 Investment Strategies and Applications (4) FINC 435 International Finance (4) FINC 493 Business Forecasting (4) FINC Any upper division course approved by advisor (4) ECON 303 Money and Banking (4) ECON 499 Econometrics (4) Students can also choose up to four hours as electives from the following: FINC 315 Personal Financial Planning & Insurance (4) FINC 316 Retirement Planning & Employee Benefits (4) FINC 317 Securities Regulations and Trading (4)
III.	Practice/Experience Courses	2-4
	FINC 440* Internship or FINC 441* Finance Practicum or FINC 442* Professional Portfolio *Note to transfers: all internships (440) must be taken at upper division level. For transfer of credit for 441 or 442, please see the Practice Experience Coordinator.	2-4 4 2
TOTAL HOURS FOR B.S. FINANCE PROGRAM		72-74

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

Undergraduate Business Core

Please refer to the Undergraduate Business Core page for requirements.

II.

Bachelor of Arts Requirements

Students completing the Bachelor of Arts option (B.A.) must complete either:

a.	A declared academic minor other than the Business Minor; or
b.	Twelve credit hours of a single foreign language; or
c.	Eight credit hours of a single foreign language, and either:
	four credit hours of a Westminster May term study/cultural international experience, or four credits of an international study tour transferred from an accredited college or university.

See Foreign Language Requirement for equivalencies, AP and CLEP credit policy.

III.

Major Requirements

The following courses are required for Finance Majors (12 credits):

FINC 305 Investment and Analysis (4)
FINC 309 Concepts and Apps. of Corp Finance (4)
FINC 495 Strategic Financial Mgmt & Entrepreneurship (4)

Students can elect to take between 4-8 credits from the following electives:

FINC 310 Financial Institutions and Industrial Banking (4)
FINC 320 Financial Derivatives (4)
FINC 405 Investment Strategies and Applications (4)
FINC 435 International Finance (4)
FINC 493 Business Forecasting (4)
FINC Any upper division course approved by advisor (4)
ECON 303 Money and Banking (4)
ECON 499 Econometrics (4)

Students can also choose up to four hours as electives from the following:

FINC 315 Personal Financial Planning & Insurance (4)
FINC 316 Retirement Planning & Employee Benefits (4)
FINC 317 Securities Regulations and Trading (4)

IV.

Practice/Experience Courses

2-4

FINC 440* Internship
or
FINC 441* Finance Practicum
or
FINC 442* Professional Portfolio

*Note to transfers: all internships (440) must be taken at upper division level. For transfer of credit for 441 or 442, please see the Practice Experience Coordinator.

2-4

4

2

TOTAL HOURS FOR B.A. FINANCE PROGRAM

84-86

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 for Finance

	Fall Semester	Spring Semester
Freshman Year	ECON 253 MATH 141 Language I (B.A.)	MATH 150 Language II (B.A.)
Sophomore Year	ACCT 213 ECON 263 IRM 200 Language III (B.A.)	FINC 300 MGMT 230 MGMT 305 PHIL 206
Junior Year	FINC 305 MGMT 325 MKTG 300	FINC 309 FINC Elective
Senior Year	FINC Elective FINC Elective (B.S.) FINC 440/441/442	FINC 495 MGMT 475