Bachelor's Degree in Finance
Finance
Sound fiscal management is the foundation of success for businesses and financial institutions across every sector and in every corner of the world. Salve Regina University's multi-faceted bachelor's degree in finance provides students with the knowledge of fundamental management tools while focusing on developing critical thinking, analytical and interpersonal skills.
Gain Proficiency in the Business Environment
Salve Regina's major in finance provides students with the skills and tools required to analyze an organization’s finances and ensure its long-term fiscal health. Students interested in working for themselves or in launching corporate careers in the banking, financial services, insurance and real estate industries will delve into the many core issues of capital management and gain proficiency in the language and tools of the business environment.
Our program enables students to pursue professional certifications such as Certified Financial Planner (CFP) and Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA). Additional requirements may include further education, professional experience and exams. Students interested in sales of stocks, bonds, mutual funds, insurance and real estate will need to obtain the appropriate professional licenses for each specialty.
Available concentrations in corporate finance and wealth management allow students to tailor their bachelor's degree to their interests and career aspirations. And through Salve Regina's popular combined program, qualified undergraduates can earn their bachelor’s degree in financial management and a master’s degree in business administration or healthcare administration within five years.
Program Spotlight: Charitable Initiatives
Salve Regina students who manage a growing stock portfolio as part of the course MGT320: Investment Planning regularly donate the fund's earnings to charitable organizations. Samuel Sacco, lecturer in the Department of Business and Economics, said the "Doing Good by Doing Well" student initiative is their unanimous response to the economic distress and hardship being experienced by many families.
The course started as a special topics workshop under the guidance of Sacco, and students opened a Morgan Stanley account with an initial $1,000 investment. Students started making real stock purchases based on market and industry analysis, and the equity portfolio has since grown from that initial investment to a valuation over $62,000.
Our Faculty
I have an opportunity to integrate my many years of financial management experiences with course content and share the combined results with students. The knowledge transfer is a way to fulfill a mission of sharing and helping students develop in both theory and practice as well as an awareness of the business and financial worlds in which they live and will practice professionally.
Samuel Sacco, lecturer
Life After Salve Regina
Graduates with a degree in finance will typically enter into careers as financial managers and analysts. These professionals work in various firms and oversee their financial activates and plan for their ongoing success.
Our graduates have pursued a wide variety of careers, including:
- Financial consultant
- Financial analyst
- Program manager
- Management consultant
- Project coordinator
- Valuation analyst
- Data analyst
- Billing administrator
- Investment analyst
- Financial specialist
- Senior financial advisor
- Bank officer
- Senior internal auditor
- Institutional funds administration manager
- Regional investment consulting director
- Financial planning and analysis director
Graduates may consider pursuing the following professional certifications and designations:
- Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA
- Certified Public Accountant (CPA)
- Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst (CAIA)
- Certified Financial Planner (CFP)
- Financial Risk Manager (FRM)
- Financial Modeling Certification (FMC)
Program Spotlight: Internship Experience
As an undergraduate, Nathan Gonzalez completed a 10-week summer internship with TD Ameritrade at its corporate offices. Operating under a broad-based position title of retail, support and operations intern, he shadowed executives in risk management, new client development, project management and social media.
As a member of the multi-skilled Better Way Team, which works to promote lean development and productivity improvements, Gonzalez and his teammates were challenged to develop a trust metric designed to increase communication, accountability and reliability outcomes between managers and employees, or between business partners. This initiative was deemed especially critical because of integration challenges resulting from TD Ameritrade’s recent acquisition of Scott Trade and its 500-plus investment offices.
Gonzalez also competed as part of a five-member team in a company-wide investment simulation using $500,000 in simulated funds. Using the same analytical tools that TD Ameritrade utilizes for its clients, his team finished in the top 20 across all U.S. offices.
Major in Finance (B.S.)
19 courses | 60-62 credits
Business core requirements:
- ACC101: Financial Accounting
- ACC104: Managerial Accounting
- ECN101: Introductory Macroeconomics
- MGT120: Management and Organizational Behavior
- MGT212: Business Communications
- MGT270: Financial Management
- MGT280: Principles of Marketing or MGT356: Entrepreneurial Marketing
- MGT300: Ethics for Business
- MGT403: Business Law
- MGT490: Strategic Business Planning Capstone
- MTH172: Quantitative Methods for Business, MTH191: Applied Calculus or MTH195: Calculus I
- STA173: Statistical Methods
Additional required courses:
- ECN102: Introductory Microeconomics
- ECN305: Money and Banking
- ECN412: Multinational Finance and Investments
- MGT320: Investment Planning
- MGT491: Professional Internship in Business
Students choose two additional courses from a list of electives focusing on accounting, applied technology, data science, economics and management. All finance majors are required to be certified in the most recent version of Microsoft Excel by the end of their sophomore year.
Minor in Finance
Open to students from all disciplines, the minor in finance is designed to promote financial literacy. In an increasingly complex financial environment, professionals from nearly any discipline require the comprehension of financial skills and concepts in both their professional careers and their personal lives.
6 courses | 20 credits
Required courses:
- ACC101: Financial Accounting
- ACC104: Managerial Accounting
- MGT270: Financial Management
- MGT320: Investment Planning
Students also choose two of the following:
- ECN307: Introduction to Econometrics
- ECN412: Multinational Finance
- MGT310: Personal Financial Planning
- MGT325: Advanced Financial Management and Modeling
- MGT430: Portfolio Management
Concentrations
Corporate Finance
The concentration in corporate finance prepares students to lead and grow organizations by maximizing shareholder and stakeholder value. Students become familiar with accounting and finance concepts such as cost-volume-profitability analysis, strategic planning, process improvement and business operations performance, enabling them to increase organizational effectiveness. With this concentration, students are prepared for exciting career paths such as financial analyst, treasurer, business analyst or chief financial officer.
Additional required courses:
- ECN202: Intermediate Microeconomics
- MGT325: Advanced Financial Management and Modeling
Students also choose two of the following:
- ACC201: Intermediate Accounting I
- ACC331: Federal Income Taxes I
- ECN307: Introduction to Econometrics
- ECN351: Risk Management
Wealth Management
The concentration in wealth management introduces the principles of managing financial assets for individuals, families and institutions. Wealth management requires the consideration of client objectives, risk tolerance and constraints within the context of investment policy development as well as a deep understanding of investment instruments, asset classes and portfolio theory. With this concentration, students actively engage in the planning process for various client types and create and monitor multi-asset class portfolios designed to fulfill their objectives.
Additional required course:
- MGT430: Portfolio Management
Students also choose three of the following:
- ACC201: Intermediate Accounting I
- ACC331: Federal Income Taxes I
- ECN201: Intermediate Macroeconomics
- MGT310: Personal Financial Planning
- MGT355: Professional Selling