Apr 19, 2024  
2019-2021 Undergraduate Catalog 
    
2019-2021 Undergraduate Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

Finance, B.S.B.A.


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Finance is the study and practice of making money-denominated decisions. Individuals, business corporations, and government agencies located worldwide are all concerned with securing, managing, and investing funds efficiently; i.e., they must practice sound financial decision making. As a discipline, finance can be classified into six areas: corporate financial management, investments, financial institutions and markets, banking and insurance, personal financial planning, and real estate investment and valuation. The finance program at Shippensburg University offers a full range of courses in these areas. Our program is unique in the emphasis placed on the application of finance concepts. In addition to two applied courses in market, company, and security analysis, the finance major can apply for admission to the Investment Management Program class. In this class students utilize their accumulated knowledge and skills in the management of a real-money investment portfolio.

By the beginning of the sophomore year, a student majoring in finance will be expected to have access to a personal computer which is compatible with the hardware and software used in the finance program. Our computer labs, though well-equipped, are utilized by a large percentage of students from the college of business. Due to this high demand, a personal computer is invaluable to fulfilling the major finance course requirements.

B.S.B.A. Core Requirements


All B.S.B.A. majors in the John L. Grove College of Business should satisfactorily complete the 100-/200-level business core courses during their freshman and sophomore years and the 300-400-level business core courses during their junior and senior years, as listed below.

Note:


  • Students who place at the advanced level in the mathematics placement/competency test are not required to take MAT 140A /MAT 140B . In lieu of MAT 140A /MAT 140B , students are required to take an additional free elective.
  • Completion of ECO 101  and ECO 102  will satisfy the requirement for ECO 113 .
  • Completion of MAT 117  taken at Shippensburg University will satisfy the requirement for SCM 200  .
  • MGT 447   Satisfies university diversity requirement.

Major Course Requirements


Students should meet with their faculty advisor to plan the sequencing of their major program of study. Students interested in a double major and/or minor shall be required to take the prescribed courses in each respective major and/or minor. Students can double count one course between business majors with the permission of the respective department chair(s). Refer to the index under Double Majors and Minors for further information.

Finance Career Opportunities


Students develop a wide range of analytical skills with both theoretical and real problems and can, therefore, choose a career within a full spectrum of jobs: corporate financial analyst (revenue and capital budget), financial planner, security analyst, portfolio manager or analyst, pension fund manager, security broker or dealer, banking industry analyst, mortgage analyst, corporate risk manager, or consultant on mergers and acquisitions.

Shippensburg University graduates who majored in finance have obtained responsible positions in major corporations, profit and non-profit, and positions in a variety of major and regional banks and other financial institutions.

For those students with a concentration in real estate, career opportunities are available in a wide array of firms. For example, a graduate may take a position with a real estate development firm, a financial institution or real estate investment firm, a real estate brokerage firm, a real estate management firm, or an appraisal firm. There are also a wide variety of job opportunities in the non-profit or governmental sector for a student with an expertise in real estate.

General Education Requirements


Foundations (15-16 cr.)


Foundational courses coupled with other experiences provide students with their core First Year Experience, providing opportunities to develop the requisite quantitative, analytical, written communication, and oral communication skills needed to succeed while in college and throughout life after college. Five program goals express the purpose of these foundational courses and how they support student success.

Interconnections (9 crs.)


This curriculum will provide students with opportunities to explore human behavior, social interactions, and global communities through humanities and the social and behavioral sciences. Open discourse about the causes and consequences of human behavior and thought, and the interconnectedness of societies revealed by examining traditions and structures, provides a pathway to mutual respect and tolerance in a diverse world.

Three program goals express what we will do for students. Each goal has an associated rubric that outlines what we expect students to learn or accomplish. Students must complete three (3) courses in this curriculum, with at least one (1) course being a diversity course (‘D’ rubric) and at least one (1) course being a global perspectives course (‘G’ rubric).

Global Perspectives


Guide and prompt students to develop global perspectives by analyzing systems, and evaluating interrelationships

Citizenship and Responsibility (6 crs.)


This curriculum will provide students with opportunities to consider the function and development of institutions, as well as their own responsibilities in society. Tools for development of students as informed and responsible citizens can include study of principles and research in social science, analysis of the development of social and political systems and practices, application of critical analysis and reasoning, and contemplation of ethics and values. Each goal has an associated rubric that outlines what we expect students to learn or accomplish.

Students are required to complete two (2) courses (or their equivalents) in this curriculum, with no more than one (1) course being attributed with the same program goal.

Citizenship


Guide and prompt students to understand responsible citizenship through the development of ideas of citizenship and rights, how society protect or fails to protect basic rights, and avenues for individual or collective action.

Ethical Reasoning


Guide and prompt students to identify ethical theories or guidelines and apply appropriate ethical reasoning to reach conclusions and support moral judgments.

Natural World and Technology (9 crs.)


This curriculum will provide students the opportunity to learn how new knowledge is created by applying scientific principles and technology to address historical and contemporary questions. Two program goals express what we will do for students. Each goal has an associated rubric that outlines what we expect students to learn or accomplish.

Students must complete 3 courses in this curriculum, with at least two (2) courses (or their equivalents) involving the natural world (‘N’ rubric).

Creativity and Expression (6 crs.)


This part of the curriculum will provide students with opportunities to explore artistic and literary disciplines and their modes of expression, considering the processes by which artistic works are imagined and created as well as the analytical tools for describing and appraising works of art and literature. Each goal has an associated rubric that outlines what we expect students to learn or accomplish.

Students must complete two (2) courses (or their equivalents) in this curriculum, with one (1) course being a literature course (‘L’ rubric)and one course in either the arts or creativity (‘A’ or ‘C’ rubrics).

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