Finance, Insurance, & Business Law
Bachelor's Degree Curriculum
Pamplin College of Business
Office Location: 1016 Pamplin Hall
Telephone: (540) 231-5904
Departmental home page

Faculty Resources:
Raman Kumar, Department Head
Mark McNabb, Career Advisor

I. Description of the Field

Finance is a speciality that deals with the allocation of resources on the corporate, institutional and personal levels. Money is the life blood of the economic system and the flow of money through corporations, capital markets, and financial institutions are integral to how that life blood gets pumped through the system, how it nourishes the health of the system, and how the economy sustains and perpetuates the standard of living that we enjoy. A degree in finance will prepare you for careers in a wide variety of sectors of the economy. Traditionally, three separate but related fields within finance are identified:

Corporate Financial Management or "business finance" focuses on the internal decisions of companies to raise funds and invest in corporate assets. The corporate financial officer is primarily concerned with the allocation of resources among competing projects, controlling the cash flow from operations, and tapping internal and external sources of capital.

Investments focuses on the purchase and sale of stocks and bonds or their derivaties by individuals and institutions. This usually requires the professional to assess the value of securities and design investment policies and portfolios that are consistent with the goals of the investor: individuals, corporations, banks or other institutions such as pension funds.

Financial Institutions focuses on the management and regulation of institutions such as banks and the role that financial insitutions play in economy. Financial services professionals often find themselves playing a role as intermediary between corporate financial managers and investors in capital and money markets. Thus, within this speciality there is a need to understand the other specialties in finance while also coping with a vast web of regulations and restrictions.

The distinctions betwen the three fields are beginning to blur as deregulation and the globalization of business are occurring. For example, the use of derivative securities by a corporation to hedge their foriegn exchange and product price risks might involve a bank dealer of derivatives and the need for corporate treasurer to value the derivative security as well as assess its appropriate use by the corporation.

The finance department has expertise in all these areas.  Additionally, it actively promotes student participation in study abroad programs.

The department offers courses in Business Law as  service to the College of  Business and provides pre-law advising to students interested in a legal career.

II. Curriculum and Specialization

The undergraduate curriculum requires students to take courses in each of the fields to provide a strong broad-based foundation.  Students are also required to take a course in Computer Based Financial Analysis which provides the basic analytical, communications, and technological skills needed in the finance program and in the job place.  In addition, students take four elective courses that lead to a deeper understanding of the areas in Finance.  Different combinations of elective courses that lead to a deeper understanding of the areas in Finance.  Different combinations of elective courses fulfill the requirement of a General Finance track or special in Financial Accounting and Financial Risk Management.

III. Affiliation with the Cooperative Education Program

The department encourages and supports the participation of its majors in the Cooperative Education Program in which the student may alternate an academic semester with a semester of professional employment.  The co-op program prepares the student for his or her career and helps in securing employment graduation.

IV.    Careers and Employment Outlook
Manufacturing, financial services, the securities industry, and consulting are the primary business sectors for entry level jobs among finance graduates.  Employment positions available to finance majors include:  

The breadth of interest in finance graduates among potential employers is encouragingly high.  Last year about 180 employers contacted finance graduates during on-campus recruiting through Career Services.  Average salaries have been increasing by about 10% a year over the last four years.  The employment outlook for finance majors is good.

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Last update provided by the department 9/15/00
Questions about this major should be directed to the department and contacts listed at the top of this page.