Finance Curriculum

Students entering the University of San Diego and/or declaring a major during 2021-22, should follow information contained in the printed course catalog (also known as the "catalog of record") published on April 1, 2021. Access the catalog of record at https://catalogs.sandiego.edu.

The Finance Major

Students majoring in finance must satisfy the USD core curriculum requirements as set forth in the catalog, lower-division business courses in preparation for the major, the major requirements (i.e., the Business Component and the Major Component), and the Professional Development Passport Program. 

Lower-Division Preparation for the Major

Students must earn a C- or better in all lower-division business preparatory courses for the major.

Students who are pursuing a business major are expected to complete all lower-division business preparatory courses before earning 60 units. Students who have completed 45 – 59 units will receive an email reminding them of the policy that business majors need to complete all lower-division business preparatory courses by 60 units and recommending that they meet with a business advisor if needed.  Students, who have completed 60-74 units but still have outstanding lower-division business preparatory courses, will have an advisor hold placed on their account and must meet with a business advisor before registering for any upper-division business courses.  If a student has earned 75 or more units and still has not completed all of the lower-division business preparatory courses then the student will not be able to register for any upper-division business courses until the lower-division business preparatory courses have been successfully completed with a C- or better.

Major Requirements

The courses in the finance major serve two purposes:

1. they give students a broad background in the major functional areas of business administration, i.e., the Business Component; and,
2. they allow students to focus on the field of finance, i.e., the Major Component. 

The finance major requires a minimum of 24 upper-division units in the major be completed at USD, of which 12 upper-division units must be in the major component.

Students will develop a study plan with their academic advisor. 

A sample study plan for the finance major: