Finance Major

Department of Finance

Finance Major Requirements (24 credits)

Required Grades and GPA

Major GPA of 2.0 or higher – GPA includes all courses counting toward the Finance major; a grade of C- or better in BUS-F 303 and BUS-F 305 is required. Accounting Department prerequisites and minimum grade requirements apply to all Accounting courses.

Other Policies

Students also majoring in Accounting must follow the required course substitutions at the bottom of the Finance major requirements.

Required courses (10.5 credit hours)

  • BUS-A 310: Intermediate Financial Reporting and Analysis: A User's Perspective (3 credits) P: BUS-A 304/307 and BUS-A 306/309 with grades of C or higher
    • Does not count toward the Accounting major. See below for substitutions for students also majoring in Accounting.
  • BUS-A 324: Cost Management (1.5 credits) P: BUS-A 304/307 and BUS-A 306/309 with a grades of C or higher
    • Does not count toward the Accounting major. See below for substitutions for students also majoring in Accounting.
  • BUS-F 303: Intermediate Investments (3 credits) P: BUS-F370 or BUS-F304 with a grade of C+ or higher
  • BUS-F 305: Intermediate Corporate Finance (3 credits) P: BUS-F370 or BUS-F304 with a grade of C+ or higher

Elective accounting courses (Choose one of the following)

  • BUS-A 327: Tax Analysis and Applications (1.5 credits) P: BUS-A 304/307 and BUS-A 306/309 with a grades of C or higher
    • Does not count toward the Accounting major. See below for substitutions for students also majoring in Accounting.
  • BUS-A 329: Taxes and Decision Making (3 credits) P: BUS-A 304/307 and BUS-A 306/309 with a grades of C or higher
  • BUS-A 422: Accounting for Mergers, Acquisitions, and Complex Financial Structures (3 credits) P: P/C: BUS-A 312 with a grade of C or higher; P: BUS-A 310 with a grade of C or higher

Elective Finance courses (12 credit hours; at least 6 credits must be at the 400 level)

  • BUS-F 307: Working Capital Management (3 credits) P: BUS-F370 or BUS-F304 with a grade of C+ or higher
  • BUS-F 317: Venture Capital and Entrepreneurial Finance (3 credits) P: BUS-F 370 or BUS-F 304 with a grade of C or higher
  • BUS-F 335: Security Trading and Market Making (3 credits) P: BUS-F370 or BUS-F304 with a grade of C+ or higher
  • BUS-F 355: TOPIC: Applied FinTech (3 credits) P: BUS-F 370/304 with grade of C+ or higher
  • BUS-F 355: TOPIC: Cryptoassets (3 credits) P: BUS-F 370/304 with grade of C+ or higher
  • BUS-F 365: Personal Financial Planning (3 credits) P: BUS-F370 or BUS-F304 with a grade of C+ or higher
  • BUS-F 369: Insurance, Risk Management, and Retirement Planning (3 credits) P: BUS-F370 or BUS-F304 with a grade of C+ or higher
  • BUS-F 390: Finance Topics Abroad (1 - 5 credits) P: Varies by program
    • Students can count one course and/or up to 3 credits (whichever is in the student's best interest) of BUS-F 390 toward the Finance major.
  • BUS-F 402: Corporate Financial Strategy and Governance (3 credits) P: BUS-F 303 and BUS-F 305 with grades of C- or higher
  • BUS-F 419: Behavioral Finance (3 credits) P: BUS-F 303 and BUS-F 305 with grades of C- or higher
  • BUS-F 420: Equity and Fixed Income Investments (3 credits) P: BUS-F 303 and BUS- F 305 with grades of C- or higher
  • BUS-F 421: Derivative Securities and Corporate Risk Management (3 credits) P: BUS-F 303 and BUS-F 305 with grades of C- or higher
  • BUS-F 434: Quantitative Finance (3 credits) P: P/C: BUS-S 364 or BUS-S 432
  • BUS-F 446: Banking and Financial Intermediation (3 credits) P: BUS-F 303 and BUS-F 305 with grades of C- or higher
  • BUS-F 470: Finance Topics Abroad (1 - 5 credits) P: Varies by program
    • Students can count one course and/or up to 3 credits (whichever is in the student's best interest) of BUS-F 470 toward the Finance major.
  • BUS-F 494: International Finance (3 credits) P: BUS-F 303 and BUS-F 305 with grades of C- or higher
  • BUS-G 345: Money, Banking, and Capital Markets (3 credits) P: ECON-B 251 and ECON-B 252 with grades of C or higher
  • BUS-S/F 432: Applied Data Programming & Financial Data Analytics (3 credits) P: BUS-F 303 & BUS-F 305 with grades of C- or higher
    • Students enroll in BUS-BE 432 
    • Previous course number: BUS-F 455: TOPIC: Financial Data Analytics

Required substitutions for Finance majors also majoring in Accounting

  • Accounting majors must follow the requirements for all BUS-A courses in the Accounting major, as listed in the Accounting major section of this bulletin. 
  • Accounting majors who are also majoring in Finance follow the standard requirements for the BUS-F courses in the Finance major, with one exception:
    • Students who complete A311 and A312, per Accounting major requirements, are only required to take 9 total credits of Finance electives, with a minimum of 3 credits at the 400 level. Thus, Accounting majors must take the following BUS-F courses, along with their Accounting major requirements, to complete the Finance major:
      • BUS-F 303
      • BUS-F 305
      • 9 credits of Finance electives, including at least 3 credits at the 400 level
  • Accounting majors should not take BUS-A 310, A324, and A327.  These courses do not count toward the Accounting major. 

Other Permitted Substitutions

  • ECON-E 305 can substitute for BUS-G 345 for a Finance major elective.
  • Any Kelley student who completes A325 can substitute it for the combination of BUS-A 324 and one elective accounting course (BUS-A 327, A329, or A422) for the Finance major.
  • Any Kelley student who completes BUS-A 311 and A312 can substitute these courses for the combination of A310 and one 400-level Finance elective. 
    • NOTE: Students who take BUS-A 311 without BUS-A 312 must complete BUS-A 310.