Finance
Department Office: 340 Wohlers Hall, 1206 South Sixth, Champaign, (217) 244-2239
Curriculum in Finance
For the Degree of Bachelor of Science in Finance
The field of finance is primarily concerned with the acquisition and management of funds by business firms, governments, and individuals. A business seeks financial advice when considering the purchase of new equipment, the expansion of present facilities, or the raising of additional funds. Determining the value of financial and real assets and derivatives is a key activity in finance.
As the study of finance is designed to provide the student with both the theoretical background and the analytical tools required to make effective judgments in finance, many students select careers in business financial management, commercial and investment banking, investments, government finance, insurance, and real estate.
In addition to the finance major requirements, students in finance must meet the University General Education requirements and the College of Business core requirements (for more detail, see the College of Business undergraduate section). Minimum requirements in the major for the Bachelor of Science degree in Finance are:
| Hours | Required Courses |
|---|---|
| 3 | FIN 300 - Financial Markets (Prerequisite: FIN 221 Corporate Finance; CS 105 or electronic spreadsheet competency) |
| 12 | Twelve additional hours of Finance courses must be taken. Any Finance course except Finance 100, 199, and 299 may satisfy this requirement. Of the twelve additional hours of Finance courses, at least nine must be advanced hours, where advanced hours courses include: Fin 311 Fin 321 Any 400-level course except Fin 494 or 495 (Senior Research). |
| 3 | Major elective. Choose one of the following: |
ACCY 301 - Accounting Measurement & Disclosure (Prerequisite: ACCY 202) |
|
ACCY 302 - Decision Making for Accountancy (Prerequisite: ACCY 202) |
|
ACE 428-Commodity Futures and Options Markets |
|
BADM 374-Management Decision Models (Prerequisite: ECON 202 or consent of instructor) |
|
Economics: any 300- or 400-level course excluding ECON 302 |
|
GEOG 483 - Urban Geography |
|
Mathematics or statistics: any course above the minimum mathematics or statistics requirement of the college with the exception of MATH 225. |
|
Other courses as recommended by the Department of Finance faculty and approved by the Department of Finance chairperson. |
Advising Notes
-Courses taken to fulfill major requirements may not be taken on a credit-no credit basis.
-It is recommended that finance majors take twelve to fifteen hours of accounting. ACCY 201 and 202 are required. However, many employers look favorably upon additional accounting courses. It is possible to earn enough hours to take the CPA exam. For those interested in financial reporting, we suggest ACCY 301 as the next course of choice; should you wish to take additional courses beyond ACCY 301, we would recommend ACCY 303.. For those interested in managerial control and decision making, we would recommend ACCY 301 and 302, followed by ACCY 304, followed by ACCY 312.
-Career tracks: No specific courses are required. It is possible, though, to select courses to match areas of interest. Possible combinations include:
Corporate Finance |
| FIN 461-Financial Intermediation |
| FIN 321-Advanced Corporate Finance |
| FIN 422-Cases in Corporate Finance |
| FIN 423-Financing Emerging Businesses |
| FIN 451-International Financial Markets |
| ACCY 301/303 or 301/302/304, 312 |
Investments |
| FIN 311-Investments |
| FIN 412-Options and Future Markets |
| FIN 413-Financial Engineering |
| FIN 445-Real Estate Investment |
| FIN 321-Advanced Corporate Finance |
| FIN 422-Cases in Corporate Finance |
| FIN 461-Financial Intermediation |
| FIN 451-International Financial Markets |
| ACCY 301, 303, 312 |
| ECON 303-Intermediate Macroeconomic Theory |
Financial Institutions and Markets |
| FIN 461-Financial Intermediation |
| FIN 321-Advanced Corporate Finance |
| FIN 432-Managing Financial Risk for Insurers |
| FIN 311-Investments |
| FIN 451-International Financial Markets |
| FIN 446-Real Estate Financial Markets |
| ACCY 301, 303, 312 |
| ECON 311-Introduction to Public Finance |
| ECON 303-Intermediate Macroeconomic Theory |
| ECON 440-Economic of Labor Markets |
| ECON 421-Contemporary Issues in International Economics |
| ECON 451-Transition Economics |
Insurance and Risk Management |
| FIN 230-Introduction to Insurance |
| FIN 232-Personal Wealth Management |
| FIN 321-Advanced Corporate Finance |
| FIN 431-Property-Liability Insurance |
| FIN 432-Managing Financial Risk for Insurers |
| FIN 433-Corporate Risk Management |
| FIN 434-Employee Benefit Plans |
| BADM 403-Principles of Business Law |
| BADM 374-Management Decision Models |
| ECON 311-Introduction to Public Finance |
| ECON 303-Intermediate Macroeconomic Theory |
| ECON 471-Introduction to Applied Econometrics |
Real Estate and Urban Economics |
| FIN 241-Fundamentals of Real Estate |
| FIN 443-Legal Issues in Real Estate |
| FIN 431-Property-Liability Insurance |
| FIN 444-Urban Real Estate Valuation |
| FIN 445-Real Estate Investment |
| FIN 446-Real Estate Financial Markets |
| ACCY 312 |
| ARCH 401-Independent Study |
| CEE 320-Construction Engineering |
| GEOG 483-Urban Geography |
-Typical seasonal offerings:
- Fall: FIN 230, 444, 414, 443, 445
- Spring: FIN 431, 432, 433, 446