Finance (BS)

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Offered by the Kogod School of Business , the Finance (BS) program meets the needs of students pursuing professional financial careers in industrial, financial, governmental, not-for-profit, and consulting organizations. Students complete the business undergraduate core and 24 credits of advanced-level courses providing an in-depth knowledge of finance. Students successfully completing these requirements should be well prepared for professional financial careers, to sit for the first level of the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) or the Certified Financial Planner (CFP) exams, to continue their education in one of KSB’s master’s programs, or to pursue additional study towards a graduate degree at other institutions.

Admission to the Program

New first-year and transfer students are admitted through the university’s Admissions Office.

In addition to university requirements for transfer admission, transfer students are required to take MGMT-458 Strategic Management (3) and at least 21 upper-level credit hours toward their major requirements in residence. Transfer credits for business courses at or above 300-level are subject to validation by the appropriate department chair and may be conditional on successful completion of a more advanced course at American University. Transfer students may transfer into American University up to 18 credit hours of their general business core, including FIN-365 Business Finance (3) and FIN-464 Financial Markets and Institutions (3) , with grades of B or better from an AACSB-accredited institution. Final determination of valid transfer credit will lie with the department chair.

University Requirements

120 credit hours with minimum 2.00 cumulative GPA (Undergraduate Academic Regulation 2 )
Completion of all requirements for a major (Undergraduate Academic Regulation 9 )

AU Core Requirements

Completion of AU Core foundation requirements (Undergraduate Academic Regulation 8.2-8.6 )
Completion of AU Core Habits of Mind requirements (Undergraduate Academic Regulation 8.7 )
Completion of AU Core integrative course requirements (Undergraduate Academic Regulation 8.8-8.11 )

For additional information, see AU Core Curriculum .

Major Requirements

71 credit hours with grades of C or better, including at least 45 credit hours at or above 300-level, and minimum 50 percent of the credit hours earned at American University
No more than 3 credit hours from FIN-576 Student-Managed Investment Fund (1-3) may be applied to the major, and no more than a total of 6 credit hours from FIN-576 may be applied to a combination of undergraduate and graduate degrees from the Kogod School of Business
No more than 50 percent of total coursework may be completed within the Kogod School of Business
No more than 6 credit hours from internship may be counted toward the 120 credit hours graduation requirement
Minimum 2.00 cumulative GPA required to enroll in business courses

Course Requirements

The sequencing of courses is particularly important in the case of the Finance (BS). For this reason, students are responsible for consulting with advisors in the KSB Office of Undergraduate Programs as they plan their overall programs and semester class schedules.

Economics (3 credit hours)

ECON-150 Economics for Business (3)

Analytics (3 credit hours)

ITEC-320 Business Analytics (3)

Statistics (4-5 credit hours)

Complete one of the following options:

Introduction to Basic Statistics

STAT-204 Introduction to Business Statistics (4)

Data Analysis and Basic Statistics

Note: Available only to students who transferred statistics from another institution or completed STAT-202 Basic Statistics (4) prior to enrollment in Kogod.

Data Analysis and Basic Statistics with Calculus

Note: Available only to students who transferred statistics from another institution or completed STAT-203 Basic Statistics with Calculus (4) prior to enrollment in Kogod.

Business Core (34 credit hours)

AT = analytical tool emphasis; provides a strong foundation in business analytical software

C = case analysis emphasis; provides growth opportunities for students to evaluate cases

O = oral communication emphasis; assists in the development of oral presentation skills

T = teamwork emphasis; focuses on teamwork and the importance of interpersonal relationships and communication

W = written communication emphasis; develops business writing skills, written assignments account for a significant part of the course grade

Note: Students not taking KSB-100 Business 1.0 (3) in their first year take a 300- or 400-level business course in its place.

Finance Core (18 credit hours)

Calculus

Complete 3 credit hours from the following:

MATH-211 Applied Calculus I (3)
MATH-221 Calculus I (4) (recommended)

Required

Electives (9 credit hours)

Complete 9 credit hours from one professional track, or any of the following:

Corporate Finance

Real Estate

FIN-463 International Finance (3)
/ IBUS-463 International Finance (3)
FIN-467 Mortgage Finance (3)
FIN-475 Real Estate Management and Development (3)
FIN-496 Selected Topics: Non-Recurring (1-6) (approved topic)
FIN-576 Student-Managed Investment Fund (1-3) (maximum 3 credit hours)
REAL-470 Real Estate Investment Trust (3)

Security Analysis, Trading, and Portfolio Management

Wealth Management

Combined Bachelor’s and Master’s Degrees

American University offers students the opportunity to earn both undergraduate and graduate degrees through its combined bachelor’s/master’s programs. Advanced undergraduates admitted to a combined degree program that includes a master’s degree from Kogod are eligible to take graduate-level courses and may apply up to 9 graduate credit hours earned as an undergraduate toward the requirements for both degrees. See Combined Bachelor’s and Kogod School of Business Master’s Programs for more information.