Program of Finance and Business Law
Dr. Alfred J. Francfort, Director
Professors
J. Albert, F. Damanpour, A. Francfort, A. Hamilton, H. Hobson, B. Marshall, D. Thomas
Associate Professor
M. Usry
Assistant Professors
K. Fink, J. Fink, T. Michael
Instructors
Instructor
Mission Statement
The Program of Finance and Business Law strives to prepare students for decision-making roles in an increasingly technological and global environment.
Goals
To support its mission, the Program of Finance and Business Law is committed to the following
- Creating an educational environment that fosters an intellectual curiosity about the functioning of commerce and the facilitating role of finance and business law.
- Using an integrative instructional approach to provide a quality comprehensive educational, cultural and social experience for students.
- Raising expectations and aspirations of students.
- Providing a proper balance between challenge and support in the education process.
- Providing the larger university community with access to the basic principles and applications of finance for essential life cycle decisions through courses designed for non-finance students and through innovative and contemporary curriculums.
Career Opportunities
The finance major is designed to prepare students for careers in the financial management of industrial and commercial enterprises; commercial, retail and mortgage banking; investment analysis and portfolio management; real estate; insurance; finance positions in federal, state and local governments and graduate study.
Corporate Finance
- Junior Analyst – Finance, Planning and Administration
- Financial Analyst – Revenue
- Financial Analyst – Capital Budgets
- Manager, Capital Budgeting
- Manager, Project Finance
- Manager of Financial Planning for Subsidiaries
- Manager, Financial Planning
- Vice President of Finance
Portfolio Management
- Securities Analyst – Common Stock
- Securities Analyst – Private Placements
- Direct Loan Analyst
- Securities Analyst – Publicly Traded Bonds
- Portfolio Analyst
- Manager, Pension Fund Investments
- Director, Investor Relations
- Account Executive (Securities Broker)
Working Capital Management
- General Credit Manager
- Assistant Treasurer – Cash Control and Risk Management
- Senior Banking Analyst
Corporate Real Estate, Insurance and Miscellaneous
- Mortgage Analyst – Production
- Mortgage Analyst – Closing
- Director of Risk Management
- Corporate Model Analyst
- Consultant – Mergers and Acquisitions
Corporate Taxes
- Manager, Income Tax Compliance
- Director, Tax Department
General Accounting
- Staff Assistant – Corporate Reporting
- Staff Supervisor – Financial Reporting
- General Auditor
- Controller – Components and Materials Group
Banking and Financial Institutions
- Corporate Banking Officer
- Lending Officer – European Corporate Banking
- Marketing Officer – Metropolitan Banking
- Vice President – Credit Policy (Financial Analysis Department)
Co-curricular Activities and Organizations
- Financial Management Association
- Madison Investment Fund
- Quantitative Finance Club
Degree and Major Requirements
The Program of Finance and Business Law offers programs leading to the Bachelor of Business Administration degree in finance and the B.S. degree in quantitative finance. As part of the JMU assessment program, graduating seniors are required to participate in assessment activities. Assessment information is used to assist the College of Business faculty in modifying curricula.
Bachelor of Business Administration in Finance
The B.B.A. degree in finance requires a minimum of 120 credit hours of undergraduate course work. Fifty percent of this work or 60 credit hours, must be taken outside of the College of Business. In counting the 60 credit hours of non-business courses, students may include all hours taken in General Education (usually 41-44), up to a total of nine hours in economics (GECON courses must be counted as economics) and three hours of COB 191, Business and Economic Statistics. The remaining hours, to bring the total to 60, must be taken from any department outside the College of Business. Students should carefully select these non-business electives to help them gain additional knowledge and expertise for their careers and personal lives.
Required major courses provide all finance majors with an emphasis in financial management. Electives within the major permit students to obtain an additional emphasis. The finance major conforms to the general structure of the B.B.A. degree programs set forth on Page 160. The credit-hour requirements for each of the program components are as follows.
Degree Requirements
|
Credit Hours |
| B.B.A. core courses 1 |
44-45 |
| Finance major requirements |
24 |
| Free elective 2 |
3 |
| General Education courses 3 |
41 |
| Non-business electives |
7-8 |
|
120 |
Major Requirements
| Core Corses |
Credit Hours |
| FIN 360. Money and Capital Markets |
|
| FIN 365. Intermediate Finance |
|
| COB 487. Strategic Management |
|
| FIN 488. Advanced Financial Policy |
|
| Finance electives |
|
Recommended Schedule for Majors
First Two Years
Students planning to major in finance must complete the 29- to 30-hour, lower-division B.B.A. core curriculum set forth on Page 160 prior to enrolling in upper-division core courses, normally taken in the first semester of the junior year. It is expected that the lower-division core curriculum will be completed during the first two years of study along with all, or most, of the university General Education curriculum. Failing to complete all lower-division core requirements on time will delay enrollment in upper-division core and major courses until at least the second semester of the junior year.
Third and Fourth Years
Finance majors will follow the course schedule below to complete the final two years of their program. It is possible to deviate from this program, but care must be taken to ensure that all course prerequisites are met.
Junior Year
| First Semester |
Credit Hours |
COB 300A. Integrated Functional Systems: Management
| 3 |
|
| COB 300B. Integrated Functional Systems: Operations |
3 |
| COB 300C. Integrated Functional Systems: Operations |
3 |
| COB 300D. Integrated Functional Systems: Marketing |
3 |
| FIN 360. Money and Capital Markets1 |
3 |
|
15 |
| Junior Year |
Credit Hours |
| FIN 365. Intermediate Finance1 |
3 |
| Finance electives1 |
6 |
| General Education or non-business electives |
6 |
|
15 |
Senior Year
| First Semester |
Credit Hours |
| Finance elective1 |
3 |
| Finance or accounting elective1 |
3 |
| Free elective |
3 |
| General Education or non-business electives |
6 |
|
15 |
| Second Semester |
Credit Hours |
| COB 487. Strategic Management |
3 |
| FIN 488. Advanced Financial Policy 1 |
3 |
| Finance or business law elective 1 |
3 |
| General Education or non-business electives |
6 |
|
15 |
Bachelor of Science in Quantitative Finance
The B.S. degree in quantitative finance is designed to prepare students for careers in financial engineering, structured finance, financial modeling, securitization, actuarial science, financial analysis and portfolio management. The focus of this program is on problem solving in the quantitative areas of finance with an added emphasis on the application of complex securities to a variety of financial situations.
The quantitative finance program, which is an interdisciplinary major with many courses co-listed with the math department, is a highly structured program requiring minor fields in both mathematics and economics. Students electing this program should consult with their major adviser as early as possible to identify the appropriate course sequencing. The required courses for the B.S. in quantitative finance are listed.
Major Requirements
| COB 241. Financial Accounting |
|
| Finance Courses |
|
| FIN 345. Financial Management |
|
| FIN 360. Money and Capital Markets |
|
| FIN 365. Intermediate Finance |
|
| FIN 380. Elemental and Derivative Securities |
|
| FIN/MATH 395. Mathematical Finance |
|
| FIN/MATH 405. Securities Pricing |
|
| FIN 450. Financial Risk Management |
|
| FIN 480. Seminar in Financial Engineering |
|
| Choose two of the following: |
|
| FIN/MATH 328. Time Series Analysis |
|
| FIN/MATH 465. Seminar in Actuarial Science I |
|
| FIN/MATH 466. Seminar in Actuarial Science II |
|
| FIN/ECON 372. International Finance and Payments |
|
| FIN 455. International Financial Management |
|
| FIN 471. Advanced Topics in Investments |
|
| FIN 488. Advanced Financial Policy |
|
| BLAW 470. Financial Products: Regulation and Protection |
|
| Mathematics Courses1 |
|
| MATH 236. Calculus II |
|
| MATH 237. Calculus III |
|
| MATH 248. Computer and Numerical Algorithms |
|
| MATH 238. Linear Algebra and Differential Equations. |
|
| MATH 318. Introduction to Probability and Statistics |
|
| MATH 387. Fourier Analysis and Partial Differential Equations |
|
| Economics Courses2 |
|
| GECON 200. Introduction to Macroeconomics |
|
| ECON 331. Intermediate Microeconomic Theory |
|
| ECON 332. Intermediate Macroeconomic Theory |
|
| ECON 385. Econometrics or MATH 322. Applied Linear Regression |
|
| One upper-level economics elective |
|
Minor Requirements
The College of Business offers a minor in finance that is designed to give business students fundamental knowledge and skills required for financial careers. The program is open to students in good academic standing from all majors and is especially tailored to provide business majors with financial theory, tools, skills and training. Entry into the program requires COB 241, Financial Accounting, and junior standing or permission of the head of the department. Because several courses in the minor are undergraduate prerequisites for graduate business courses, the minor will also facilitate entry into graduate programs. A minor in finance requires students to take 18 credit hours of finance courses (or courses cross-listed as finance courses).
| Required Courses |
Credit Hours |
| Choose one of the following courses: |
3 |
| FIN 345. Managerial Finance |
|
| COB 300B. Integrated Functional Systems: Finance |
|
| FIN 360. Money and Capital Markets |
3 |
| FIN 365. Intermediate Corporate Finance |
3 |
| Finance electives |
9 |
|
18 |
The nine credit hours of finance electives allow students completing a minor in finance to concentrate in a particular area of finance. It is recommended that students majoring in accounting or economics take FIN 380, Elemental and Derivative Securities Analysis. Furthermore, three elective credit hours could include (with permission) an upper-level accounting or economics course.
Transfer Credit
In general, all finance course work must be completed at JMU. Transfer credit for finance courses is awarded only in certain circumstances. In no case will transfer credit be awarded for more than two finance courses, and in no case will transfer credit be awarded for FIN 488, Advanced Financial Policy. Contact the program director for more information on transfer credit.
|
