Finance, Bachelor of Science in Business Administration
Department of Economics, Finance, and Accounting
The W. A. Franke College of Business
This program is accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB)
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To receive a bachelor's degree at Northern Arizona University, you must complete at least 120 units of credit that minimally includes a major, the liberal studies requirements, and university requirements as listed below.
- All of Northern Arizona University's diversity, liberal studies, junior-level writing, and capstone requirements.
- All requirements for your specific academic plan(s).
- At least 30 units of upper-division courses, which may include transfer work.
- At least 30 units of coursework taken through Northern Arizona University, of which at least 18 must be upper-division courses (300-level or above). This requirement is not met by credit-by-exam, retro-credits, transfer coursework, etc.
- A cumulative grade point average of at least 2.0 on all work attempted at Northern Arizona University.
The full policy can be viewed here.
In addition to University Requirements:
- 46 units of business core requirements
- 30 units of major requirements
- Up to 9 units of major prefix courses may be used to satisfy Liberal Studies requirements; these same courses may also be used to satisfy major requirements.
- Elective courses, if needed, to reach an overall total of at least 120 units.
Students may be able to use some courses to meet more than one requirement. Contact your advisor for details.
| Minimum Units for Completion | 120 |
| Highest Mathematics Required | MAT 121 |
| Additional Admission Requirements | Required |
| Fieldwork Experience/Internship | Optional |
| University Honors Program | Optional |
| AZ Transfer Students complete AGEC-B | Recommended |
| Progression Plan Link | View Progression Plan |
Purpose Statement
The study of finance involves the use of credit and debt, securities, and investment to finance current projects using future income flows. Students of finance understand financial concepts such as the time value of money, interest rates, currency exchange, and related topics. In addition, students learn to use financial information to inform strategic decision-making in an organization.
Students will learn the processes and formulas associated with stock and bond pricing, capital budgeting, short and long-term financing of assets, international currency exchange, and investment decision-making. Students will analyze and discuss a variety of investment strategies, how money moves through the investment process, how securities markets work, and how to use financial decisions to create strategic advantage for an organization.
Students who take the elective Student-Managed Investment Fund courses will have deep exposure to investment strategy, will analyze various investment options, and will make recommendations for the investment of significant university foundation funds. Elective courses may lead to an additional certificate in investments, risk management and insurance, financial planning, or corporate managerial finance.
The Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with a major in Finance prepares students for careers related to security markets, financial institutions, risk management, international finance, investment principles, corporate financial management, financial analysis, and financial modeling. Job titles in finance include financial analyst, banker, certified financial planner, risk/insurance manager, portfolio manager, investment analyst, corporate financial manager, and loan underwriter.
Student Learning Outcomes
- Technical Skills
- Value Assets: When valuing stocks, bonds, projects, or other assets, learners can identify appropriate inputs and articulate how those inputs affect value.
- Apply the Principles of the Time Value of Money: Learners will be able to apply the concepts of the time value of money in a variety of situations.
- Forecast Financial Statements: Learners will forecast an income statement, balance sheet, and cash flow statement using appropriate inputs such as receivables, contracts, and market values.
- Assess Risk: Learners will be able to identify and explain the causes of risk, how to measure and price risk, and how to assess the effects of risk in decision-making.
- Analyze Financial Statements: Learners will be able to identify, define, and describe the components of financial statements, including the income statement, balance sheet, and cash flow statement. Learners will be able to describe the relationship between the different financial statements and will be able to construct financial statements using that knowledge. In addition, learners will be able to construct and describe various financial ratios and convert the information in financial statements into common size and percentage change formats.
- Explain the Principal-Agent Problem: Learners will be able to identify and assess the conflict in priorities between business stakeholders and business management (known as the principal-agent problem). Learners will be able to articulate the strengths and weaknesses of a company that are based on, and identifiable from, corporate structure, governance, policies, and leadership composition.
- Describe the Impacts of Global Systems: Learners will be able to describe different financial systems across the world and how financial activity takes place across those systems.
- Professional Skills
- Communicate effectively in written and oral formats for a variety of purposes, situations, and audiences. Additionally, learners will communicate effectively as both individuals and as part of a group presentation.
- Demonstrate team collaboration skills to achieve a common objective within a diverse workforce, including productively contributing to team activities and goals, and effectively interacting/engaging with others based on individual differences and group dynamics.
Additional Admission Requirements
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Individual program admission requirements over and above admission to NAU are required.
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Admission to Northern Arizona University qualifies you for admission into the preprofessional program in The W. A. Franke College of Business. You must meet the following requirements to enter our professional programs:
- Complete at least 56 units with a cumulative grade point average (GPA) of 2.0 or better.
- Complete the following courses with a grade of "C" or better in each course:
- Complete six (6) different Pathways experiences (one pathway credit must be the Career Steps online module). Transfer students who have met all of the requirements listed above need to complete four (4) Pathways experiences (one pathway credit must be the Career Steps online module) during their first semester in The W. A. Franke College of Business.
- If you have a 2.75 GPA in these courses and have satisfactorily completed Pathways activities designated by The W. A. Franke College of Business, we guarantee your acceptance into our professional program. If your average is less than a 2.75 but you have at least a 2.5 and have satisfactorily completed all designated Pathways activities, we admit you into the professional program on a space-available basis according to the rank order of your grade point average in these courses.
- If you are in the preprofessional program and have completed all required courses with "C" or better, but have a GPA in those courses that is below the acceptable grade point average for admission to the professional program, you may repeat up to two of the required courses in which you earned a "C" to meet the minimum GPA requirement. You may only repeat a required course in which you earned a grade of "C" one time.
Major Requirements
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This major requires 76 units distributed as follows:
- Business Core: 46 units
- Major Requirements: 30 units
- Business Core (46 units):
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Students must earn a Grade of "C" or better in FIN 311 to continue as a Finance Major.
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Major Courses (30 units)
- ECO 473 (3 units)
- FIN 331, FIN 340, FIN 350, FIN 480 (12 units)
- Select three courses from the following (9 units):
- Select one additional course from the following (3 units):
- Select one from the following which meet the junior-level writing requirement (3 units):
- International Requirement is met, in the major, by FIN 480
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These courses represent the General Academic Requirements (GAR) for The W. A. Franke College of Business. Some of these courses also fulfill liberal studies requirements.
For information about the overlap between the GAR and liberal studies, consult an advisor in Room 222 of the college.
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You must have completed all of the coursework used to fulfill these requirements within the last 10 years.
General Electives
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Additional coursework is required if, after you have met the previously described requirements, you have not yet completed a total of 120 units of credit.
You may take these remaining courses from any of the academic areas, using these courses to pursue your specific interests and goals. You may also use prerequisites or transfer credits as electives if they weren't used to meet major, minor, or liberal studies requirements.
We encourage you to consult with your advisor to select the courses that will be most advantageous to you.
Additional Information
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- You must complete at least 15 units in your major and 9 units of the upper-division business core at The W. A. Franke College of Business (FCB).
- You must earn 50% of your overall business units required for your degree at the FCB.
- All transfer credits must be approved by the FCB and are subject to guidelines listed in the current general catalog. The FCB does not accept upper-division transfer credits from programs not accredited by the AACSB (such as the University of Phoenix or the Bachelor of Business Administration program at NAU-Yuma).
- Students must complete the following courses at the FCB: MGT 490C (Business Strategy) and the junior writing requirement (if filled by MGT 350W (Business Communication)). Students who satisfy the junior writing requirement with ENG 302W (Technical Writing) must complete that course at Northern Arizona University.
- Students earning two BSBA majors within The W. A. Franke College of Business must take 18 credit units in the first major and an additional 18 units exclusive to the second major (for a total of 36).
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Be aware that some courses may have prerequisites that you must also successfully complete. For prerequisite information, click on the course or see your advisor.