Dr. Jamie Emerson, Chair
410-677-6578
Advisement for the major is available from the Economics and Finance Department.
Finance is broadly defined as the art and science of making decisions involving money in a variety of contexts. People study finance to learn how to allocate their scarce resources over time under conditions of uncertainty utilizing the financial system (i.e., financial markets and institutions) as well as economic organizations (i.e., corporations and governments) with the goal of wealth maximization. Not only is finance exciting and challenging, it continues to evolve at a dizzying pace. The finance major provides the student with a broad background covering the areas of corporate finance, international finance, investments and financial markets/institutions. Students in the finance major prepare for careers in corporate treasury functions and in a variety of financial services firms including commercial banks, securities firms, investment banks, money management firms, insurance companies, real estate companies, financial planners, etc., as well as graduate programs in business. Finance majors are employed by organizations of various size and focus including regional, national and multinational enterprises as well as nonprofit and government agencies.
In addition to the major in finance, for students who desire to focus in a specialization area in finance, the department offers three alternative specialization tracks: Financial Planning, Investments and Corporate Finance.
Students who decide to pursue a second major/concentration/ track must complete a minimum of 12 hours of new credits for each additional major/concentration/track.
The Corporate Finance Track focuses on decision making about the financial management of a firm on topics such as forecasting, budgeting, plant expansions, choice of securities to use to finance future acquisitions, evaluating merger/acquisition opportunities, etc. Students in this track normally follow a career path in the finance/treasury function of large corporations, government agencies, non-profit organizations, etc. Simultaneous completion of an accounting minor is highly recommended.
Finance Policies & Procedures
-
A student with an intended finance major will be classified in a pre-professional track until the student has applied to and been accepted in the finance B.S. major.
-
Finance majors must submit applications for admission to the Professional Program. No finance student will be allowed to remain in 300/400 level Perdue School courses if s/he has not submitted this application.
-
A GPA of 2.0 or higher in all upper-division courses is required.
-
Lower division core, upper division core, major and special requirements may be repeated only once. Students desiring to repeat an SU course to improve a grade must repeat that course at SU.
-
Track courses are to be taken at SU. A maximum of 6 credit hours of comparable courses may be approved if taken at AACSB (Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business) accredited schools.
-
For Additional Policies and Procedures: Please refer to Department of Economics and Finance.
ABLE Requirement
The applied business learning experience (ABLE) is normally completed during the second semester of the junior year or the first semester of the senior year and can be met through an internship.
Internships are normally completed off campus at a variety of business, government or not-for-profit organizations. For an internship to satisfy the ABLE requirement, must involve the students in working with an organization in a planned, progressive-development program for a minimum of 100 hours over a 10-week period.
For additional information concerning ABLE program requirements students should see the undergraduate programs coordinator in the Perdue School of Business.
Checklist
This checklist is an unofficial tool for planning. Matriculated students and advisors should consult the Academic Requirements Report in GullNet before and after registering for classes each semester to track academic progress.
