- I’m a business major and want to try some finance courses. What
do I do?
- I’m not a business major and want to try some finance courses.
What do I do?
- I want to learn about the stock market and investing for myself.
What do I do?
- What about the Finance major?
- Are there concentrations available within the finance major?
- Is there a Finance minor?
- When are the various finance courses being offered?
- Should I major in Finance or Economics?
- Who do I contact for more information?
1.
I’m a business major and want to try
some finance courses. What do I do?
Well,
you’re in luck since FIN 3300 Principles
of Financial Management is required of all business
majors. Note that Economics
1203 or 1200 is
a prerequisite for Fin 3300. You can also take FIN 2302 Introduction
to Investing, FIN 2335 Principles
of Real Estate, or FIN 3303 Financial
Institutions (note that Econ 1203 is a prerequisite
to Fin 3303). If you have less than 30 hours of credit
in the College of Business then you could also take
FIN 1330 Personal
Finance, although this course is primarily for
the non-business major.
After
taking Fin 3300 you can take any of the other finance
courses that our department offers.
2. I’m not a business major and want
to try some finance courses. What do I do?
There
are three courses of primary interest to you:
·
FIN 1330 Personal
Finance: This course cover general issues of general
interest in managing your personal finances. The topics
covered include consumer credit, various types of
insurance, financial markets, and personal financial
management. This is the course for you if you’re interested
in general background on many areas of personal finance;
if you only want information on investments then you
should consider Fin 2302 below.
·
FIN 2302 Introduction
to Investing: This focus of this course is more specific compared to Fin
1330 in that it deals exclusively with investment
opportunities and financial assets such as stocks,
bonds, and derivative securities. This is the course
for you if you want to concentrate on managing (and
understanding) your personal investment portfolio.
You are probably not interested in taking FIN 3302 Investments,
which is primarily for finance majors and minors,
and is deals more with the theory of investments,
rather than the sort of practical guide you would
receive in this course.
·
FIN 2335 Principles
of Real Estate: This is usually a tele-course
and deals exclusively with real estate issues.
If
you have taken Economics 1203
or 1200 then
you could take FIN 3300 Principles
of Financial Management. This course is required
of all business majors and the focus is finance from
the viewpoint of the corporation. It deals with issues
of cash flow, corporate finance policy, and the valuation
of financial assets. Fin 3300 is not the course for
you if you want to deal with your personal finances.
It is the course for you if you’re interested in the
financial issues that face corporations. If you’ve
taken Econ 1203 you could also take FIN 3303 Financial
Institutions.
3.
I want to learn about the stock market
and investing for myself. What do I do?
4.
What about the Finance major?
Ahh, an excellent choice.
The
finance major requires the following core courses:
FIN 3300 Principles
of Financial Management (Note that this course
is a prerequisite to further finance courses), Fin 3302 Investments,
Fin 4200 Managerial
Finance, Fin 4301 Financial
Theory. As for electives you must 12 more hours
of finance courses, as well as the usual College and
University requirements.
Here
are a few links for more information:
·
You can get
the full curriculum in finance here.
·
Recommended
classes sequence for Finance majors
·
Our undergraduate information
page has info about the careers available to finance
majors.
If you’re thinking about graduate
school, you can check out our Ph.D. program or MBA program.
By the way, if you’re thinking of
entering a Ph.D. program then you should certainly
consider more than the minimum courses in mathematics
and statistics. You should at least go through the
two semester calculus sequence and maybe take a course
in linear algebra. A statistics course would also
prove beneficial.
5. Are there concentrations available within the finance major?
Yes,
in lieu of the 12 hours of finance electives you can
choose three courses in a specific area. The concentrations
available are:
Concentration
in Banking and Financial Institutions
Concentration
in Corporate Finance
Concentration
in Insurance
Concentration
in Investments
Concentration
in Real Estate
6.
Is there a Finance minor?
Sure
there is. To obtain a minor in finance you need to
complete the following courses:
FIN 3300 Principles
of Financial Management, 3302 Investments,
Fin 4200 Managerial
Finance and 9 hours of finance electives.
7.
When are the various finance courses
being offered?
·
You
can get the schedule for all Fall 2000 Economics,
Finance, and QMBE courses here.
·
You
can get a list of future course offerings in Economics,
Finance, and QMBE here (this needs to be updated).
8.
Should I major in Finance or Economics?
Either
is an excellent choice and both will prepare you for
careers in business. Our undergraduate information
page has links to information
regarding the career opportunities of economics and
finance majors. The difference is in scope. A
degree in finance obviously prepares you for a career
in finance; that is, working in the financial management
division of a firm, in a financial institution such
as a bank, or in the investments field. An economics degree may offer you a wider range
of options but you won’t develop the in-depth knowledge
of finance and financial markets that the finance
degree offers.
9.
Who do I contact for more information?
To get more information
on the finance major you could contact either Dr. Lane (department chair)
in KH 438 or Dr. Wei (associate chair)
in KH 438D.
