Finance

The finance major prepares students for professional careers in corporate finance and the financial services industry. Augsburg finance majors learn requisite skills through courses focused on financial theory and practice, investment and portfolio theory, intermediate accounting theory, money and banking, and international finance. In addition, finance majors take courses in other business areas necessary so that they have a broad understanding of how finance serves the needs of business managers and others who rely on financial information.

Besides careers in the finance/accounting area in all businesses large and small, this major leads to careers in banking, asset management, insurance, and investment banking. Students will gain the knowledge and skills to work as financial analysts and financial managers in business, government, and nonprofit organizations, and to work in other positions requiring engagement with financial information. Students are encouraged to complete an internship prior to graduation. Proficiency in the use of spreadsheets such as Excel is expected. Coursework provides a foundation for graduate school and professional career examinations such as the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA), conducted by the CFA Institute, and the Certified Financial Planner (CFP).

Business Core Requirements
Seven courses including:

• ACC 221 Introduction to Financial Accounting
• ACC 222 Introduction to Managerial Accounting
• BUS 242 Principles of Management or BUS 200 Exploring Business as Vocation
• ECO 113 Principles of Microeconomics
• MIS 260 Problem Solving for Business
• MKT 252 Principles of Marketing
• FIN 331 Financial Management

Required Finance Courses
Eight courses including:

• ECO 112 Principles of Macroeconomics
• ACC 322 Accounting Theory and Practice I
• BUS 301 Business Law
• BUS 379 Quantitative Methods for Business and Economics
• FIN 433 Financial Theory: Policy and Practice
• FIN 438 Investment Theory
• FIN 460 International Finance
• ECO 315 Money and Banking

Graduation skills in Critical Thinking (CT), Quantitative Reasoning (QR), Speaking (S), and Writing (W) are embedded throughout the offered courses and are met by completing the major. Transfer students must consult an adviser about potential adjustments to their course requirements to fulfill each of these skills.

Note: Finance majors are encouraged to take KEY 490 Vocation and the Meaning of Success to fulfill the Augsburg Core Curriculum Senior Keystone requirement. (See course description under Augsburg Core Curriculum.)

Business Finance Certificate Program

The Business Finance Certificate provides non-major students with the knowledge needed to pursue positions in the banking or brokerage industry, provides basic background for Series 6, 7, 63 examinations and will partially meet requirements for the Level I CFA examination. It is designed for students who want to supplement a previously obtained bachelor’s degree or who are looking to enhance skills in their current job or to pursue a new career. The certificate is only available through the Weekend College program to non-degree seeking students. The certificate consists of six courses: ECO 112, ACC 221, FIN 331, FIN 433, FIN 438, and ECO 315. More information can be found here: Business Finance Certificate Program

Students are required to be in math placement group 3. They must also have a background in computer skills (especially spreadsheets), or take MIS 260 before admission to the certificate program. Students must achieve a minimum 2.00 grade point average in all Business Finance Certificate courses.