Alex G. McKenna School of Business, Economics, and Government

The Finance Program

Finance is the art and science of managing money. By studying finance you can gain an understanding of how the capital markets and systems interact, and use that information to make sound financial decisions. The major in Finance provides students with strong finance fundamentals, but allows them to explore, through its three academic tracks (i.e., corporate finance, investment management, and computational finance), senior-level courses, which interest them most.

Distinctive features of McKenna School’s Finance Major

McKenna business majors are accredited by the Accreditation Council of Business Schools and Programs (ACBSP)—one of the top two premier accrediting agencies for business schools worldwide. With a requirement for faculty professional development and courses primarily (at least 70% at SVC) taught by PhDs, the ACBSP is the number one business accreditation program devoted to teaching excellence and service to students.

Our finance job and internship placements are exceptional.

2010-11 Finance job placements within six months of graduation:
Placement: 8 out 9 graduates, 1 unknown, median starting salary is $58,750.

PNCbank, Treasury Management (2 students)	PNCbank, Investment Operations and Finance
PNCbank, Business Credit	BNY Mellon
Federated Investors, Market Performance Analyst	Loyalhanna Management Services
US Steel, Management Associate—capabilities management

2010: 13 out of 13 placed by September 1, 2010.

Rankings: The McKenna business seniors score exceptionally well on the ETS undergraduate business field test. Out of 685 accredited (i.e., ACBSP and AACSB) business schools, we consistently rank overall in the top 10% of the nation. In finance, the McKenna School finished the 2009 academic year in the top 8.1% of the nation and in 2010, the top 13.6%. In spring 2009, we broke the grading curve in finance and finished in the top 2.9%
The McKenna School has three tracks in finance: computational finance, corporate finance, and investment management.
Students may join Women in Business, the Finance Club, Marketing Matrix, the OE Club, the Entrepreneurship Club, and Delta Mu Delta, the national Greek honor society for business majors.

The finance major emphasizes:

financial statement analysis underscored by a thorough understanding of the "why" and "how" questions in finance;
its theoretical roots by deriving equations and reading original works of great finance academics;
and seeks to enable students to apply theoretical models and knowledge in real life settings through case analysis, security selection games and senior-level portfolio projects;
risk management techniques to analyze asset allocations and in the utilization of derivatives.

The McKenna School also offers a minor in Finance.

FINANCE—CORPORATE FINANCE TRACK

Business core (43 credits)
BA 100* Financial Accounting I (freshman year) - 3 credits
BA 104* Introduction to Management (freshman year) - 3 credits
BA 220 Principles of Marketing (sophomore year) - 3 credits
BA 265 Management Information Systems (sophomore year) - 3 credits
BA 305 Business Ethics (junior year preferred) - 3 credits
BA 320 Corporate Finance I (sophomore year) - 3 credits
BA 340 Business Law (junior year) - 3 credits
BA 350 Statistics I (sophomore year) - 3 credits
BA 351 Statistics II or EC 360 Econometrics (sophomore year) - 3 credits
BA 495 Business Policy and Strategy (senior year) - 3 credits
EC 101 Principles of Microeconomics (freshman year) - 3 credits
EC 102 Principles of Macroeconomics (freshman year) - 3 credits
PS 100* Principles of American Politics - 3 credits
MA 109/111* Calculus I (freshman year) - 4 credits

Finance Major: Corporate Finance Track (28 credits)
BA 101 Financial Accounting II (freshman year) - 3 credits
BA 200 Intermediate Accounting I - 3 credits
BA 321 Corporate Finance II - 3 credits
BA 353/EC 353 International Finance - 3 credits
BA 362 Investments I: Securities - 3 credits
BA 363 Investments II: Derivatives - 3 credits
BA 385 Financial Institutions - 3 credits
BA 415 Mergers and Acquisitions - 3 credits
MA 110/112 Calculus II (MA 112 recommended) - 4 credits

College Core (48 credits)
TH 119 First Theology (freshman year) - 3 credits
Theology (200 Level) - 3 credits
Theology (300 Level) - 3 credits
History (100 Level) - 3 credits
History (200 Level) - 3 credits
PL 101 1st Philosophy - 3 credits
Philosophy Elective (PL 215 Ethics suggested) - 3 credits
Natural Science 100 Level with lab - 4 credits
Natural Science 200 Level with lab - 4 credits
EL 102 Language and Rhetoric (freshman year) - 3 credits
English Elective (Literature Course) - 3 credits
English Elective - 3 credits
Fine Arts (100 Level) - 3 credits
Foreign Language Intermediate Level - 3 credits
Foreign Language Intermediate Level - 3 credits
First-Year Seminar (additional hour) - 1 credit
Electives (5 credits)

*Satisfies Core Curriculum requirements in Social Sciences and Mathematics.
** Students who will eventually pursue an MBA in Finance are strongly advised to take Calculus III, Differential Equations, and Econometrics.

Finance—Computational Finance Track with Mathematics Minor

Business Core (43 credits)
BA 100* Financial Accounting I (freshman year) - 3 credits
BA 104* Introduction to Management (freshman year) - 3 credits
BA 220 Principles of Marketing (sophomore year) - 3 credits
BA 265 Management Information Systems (sophomore year) - 3 credits
BA 305 Business Ethics (junior year preferred) - 3 credits
BA 320 Corporate Finance I (sophomore year) - 3 credits
BA 340 Business Law (junior year) - 3 credits
BA 350 Statistics I (sophomore year) - 3 credits
BA 351 Statistics II or EC 360 Econometrics (sophomore year) - 3 credits
BA 495 Business Policy and Strategy (senior year) - 3 credits
EC 101 Principles of Microeconomics (freshman year) - 3 credits
EC 102 Principles of Macroeconomics (freshman year) - 3 credits
PS 100* Principles of American Politics - 3 credits
MA 109/111* Calculus I (freshman year) - 4 credits

Finance -- Computational Finance Track with Math Minor (39 credits)

BA 101 Financial Accounting II (freshman year) - 3 credits
BA 353/EC 353 International Finance - 3 credits
BA 362 Investments I: Securities - 3 credits
BA 363 Investments II: Derivatives - 3 credits
BA 385 Financial Institutions - 3 credits
BA 488 Portfolio Theory - 3 credits
BA 489 Valuations and Modeling - 3 credits
MA 112 Calculus II (freshman year) - 4 credits
MA 113 Calculus III - 4 credits
MA 114 Ordinary and Partial Differential Equations - 4 credits
MA 115 Linear Algebra - 3 credits
CS 110 Computer Science I - 3 credits
College Core (48 credits)
TH 119 First Theology (freshman year) - 3 credits
Theology (200 Level) - 3 credits
Theology (300 Level) - 3 credits
History (100 Level) - 3 credits
History (200 Level) - 3 credits
PL 101 1st Philosophy - 3 credits
Philosophy Elective (PL 215 Ethics suggested) - 3 credits
Natural Science 100 Level with lab - 4 credits
Natural Science 200 Level with lab - 4 credits
EL 102 Language and Rhetoric (freshman year) - 3 credits
English Elective (Literature Course) - 3 credits
English Elective - 3 credits
Fine Arts (100 Level) - 3 credits
Foreign Language Intermediate Level - 3 credits
Foreign Language Intermediate Level - 3 credits
First-Year Seminar (additional hour) - 1 credit

*Satisfies Core Curriculum requirements in Social Sciences and Mathematics.
*Students planning to seek a PhD or Masters in Finance should strongly consider doing the computational finance track, Real Analysis I, Econometrics, Intermediate Microeconomics, and Advanced Microeconomics.

Finance—Investment Management Track

*Satisfies Core Curriculum requirements in Social Sciences and Mathematics.

Finance Minor—Required courses
BA 100 Financial Accounting I - 3 credits
BA 101 Financial Accounting II - 3 credits
BA 320 Corporate Finance I - 3 credits

In addition to the above, any three of the following:
BA 321 Corporate Finance II - 3 credits
BA 325 Analysis of Financial Statements - 3 credits
BA 353/EC353 International Finance - 3 credits
BA 362 Investments I: Securities - 3 credits
BA 363 Investments II: Derivatives - 3 credits
BA 385 Financial Institutions - 3 credits
BA 415 Mergers and Acquisitions - 3 credits
BA 485 CFA Review Level I - 3 credits
BA 488 Portfolio Theory - 3 credits
BA 489 Valuations and Modeling - 3 credits

Minor in Entrepreneurship
BA 102 Survey of Accounting (non-business majors only) or Financial Accounting I and Managerial Accounting - 3 credits
BA 104 Introduction to Management or BA 220 Principles of Marketing - 3 credits
BA 230 Introduction to Entrepreneurship - 3 credits
BA 265 Management Information Systems - 3 credits
BA 320 Corporate Finance I - 3 credits
BA 322 Entrepreneurial Finance - 3 credits

Students obtaining a Bachelor of Science degree in Finance will possess the necessary prerequisite coursework to satisfy the standards of our accrediting agency (The Accreditation Council for Business Schools and Programs). Students will achieve knowledge in the following areas: management, accounting, marketing, economics, statistics, finance, business ethics, legal environment of a business, business policy and strategy, quantitative skills, global dimensions of business, and information systems.

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