Academic Bulletin

School of Business Administration - Undergraduate

FINANCE - Dept. Code: FIN

Educational Objectives | Degree Programs | Major | Minor

Introduction

The finance major is designed to prepare students for a wide variety of careers.  Because finance is focused on valuation and decision making, it is applicable to virtually every possible type of organization.

Educational Objectives

The finance discipline is focused on two primary issues.  The first is determining value.  The second is making the best decisions with respect to value.  We study these issues in a variety of contexts and industries.  The three primary areas of finance are financial management, investments, and financial markets and intermediaries.  Financial management focuses on how an organization can accomplish its mission.  For example, a corporation seeks to create and maintain wealth, and a non-profit organization seeks to improve the world in some way.  All organizations want to achieve their mission to the greatest extent possible, and that requires making the best decisions with respect to value.  The area of investments studies the purchase and sale of financial securities, such as stocks, bonds, options, and futures from the point of view of an investor.  Financial markets are created to facilitate the trading (buying/selling) of financial securities.  Financial intermediaries sell claims on themselves to investors, such as stock, life insurance, or a bank deposit.  Financial intermediaries then invest the money from such sales in other assets such as loans, real estate, or other financial securities.

Degree Programs

A Finance major can earn either a Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) or a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration (BSBA) by meeting the appropriate School of Business Administration requirements.

Majors
Finance
International Finance and Marketing
Real Estate

Minors
Finance

Finance Major

Important Note: To major in finance, a student must earn a grade of “B” (grade point of 3.0) or higher in FIN302, and have a cumulative University of Miami grade point average of 2.5 or higher, after having completed FIN302.

The Finance major consists of a minimum of 18 semester hours beyond the core course, FIN302.

Required Courses                                                               Prerequisites
FIN303          Intermediate Financial Management          FIN302
FIN320          Investment and Security Markets                 FIN302
and
Twelve (12) additional semester hours taken from the departmental offerings, excluding FIN300. Six (6) of the semester hours must be taken at the 400 or 500 level.

Note: Students are strongly encouraged to take FIN303 and FIN320 during the same semester.

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Minor

A minor in Finance consists of 12 semester hours as follows:
FIN302
FIN303
FIN320
and
One (1) additional finance course at the 300, 400, or 500 level, excluding FIN300.

All courses must be taken within the current prerequisite structure.

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