Program: Finance (BS) - American University

Apr 05, 2025

American University Catalog 2024-2025

Finance, B.S. (Sample Plans)

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 KSB-421 Integrative 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 KSB-221 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

65 credit hours with grades of C or better, including at least 18 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

Students are responsible for fulfilling university and school requirements following a prescribed sequence. The academic advisors in the Kogod School’s Office of Undergraduate Programs must be consulted for counseling and advice when preparing class schedules. However, it is the student’s responsibility to consult course descriptions to identify course prerequisites and when courses are offered.

Business Core (38 credit hours)

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

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.