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.
Code | Title | Units |
---|---|---|
ACCT 201 | Principles of Financial Accounting | 3 |
ACCT 202 | Principles of Managerial Accounting | 3 |
ECON 101 | Principles of Microeconomics | 3-4 |
ECON 102 | Principles of Macroeconomics | 3 |
ECON 216 | Stats for Business & Econ | 1-4 |
or ECON 217 | Applied Regression Analysis | |
ECON 217 is restricted to incoming transfer students and must receive pre-approval | ||
ITMG 100 | Information Systems | 3 |
MATH 130 | Survey of Calculus | 3 |
or MATH 150 | Calculus I | |
Total Units | 19-23 |
Major Requirements
The courses in the finance major serve two purposes:
- they give students a broad background in the major functional areas of business administration, i.e., the Business Component; and,
- they allow students to focus on the field of finance, i.e., the Major Component.
Code | Title | Units |
---|---|---|
BUSINESS COMPONENT: | ||
DSCI 300 | Foundations of Business Analytics | 3 |
DSCI 303 | Operations Management | 3 |
ETLW 302 | Business and Society | 3 |
or PHIL 332 | Business Ethics | |
ETLW 311 | Business Law I | 3 |
FINA 300 | Financial Management | 3 |
MGMT 300 | Organizational Behavior | 3 |
MGMT 497 | Strategic Management | 3 |
MKTG 300 | Fundamentals of Marketing | 3 |
or MKTG 303 | Fundamentals of Marketing Alternative | |
Business Component Total Units | 24 | |
MAJOR COMPONENT: | ||
Required Courses | ||
FINA 402 | Investments | 3 |
FINA 404 | Advanced Corporate Finance | 3 |
FINA 408 | Financial Statement Analysis | 3 |
Required Courses Total Units | 9 | |
Elective Courses | ||
Select two of the following courses: | 6 | |
FINA 401 | Commercial Bank Management | |
FINA 403 | Derivatives | |
FINA 405 | International Financial Management | |
FINA 406 | Personal Finance | |
FINA 407 | New Venture Finance | |
FINA 409 | Financial Modeling and Analysis | |
FINA 494 | Special Topics in Finance | |
Any pre-approved Finance elective, which may include a BUSN 498 internship | ||
Elective Courses Total Units | 6 | |
Total Units | 39 |
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:
Freshman Year | ||
---|---|---|
Semester I | Units | |
ECON 101 | Principles of Microeconomics | 3 |
MATH 115 | College Algebra | 3 |
Core or general electives | 9 | |
Semester II | Hours | |
ECON 102 | Principles of Macroeconomics | 3 |
ITMG 100 | Information Systems | 3 |
MATH 130 or 150 | Survey of Calculus Calculus I | 3-4 |
Core or general electives | 6 | |
Sophomore Year | ||
Semester I | Hours | |
ACCT 201 | Principles of Financial Accounting | 3 |
ECON 216 | Stats for Business & Econ | 4 |
Core or general electives | 9 | |
Semester II | Hours | |
ACCT 202 | Principles of Managerial Accounting | 3 |
FINA 300 | Financial Management | 3 |
MKTG 300 | Fundamentals of Marketing | 3 |
Core or general electives | 6-9 | |
Junior Year | ||
Semester I | Hours | |
ETLW 302 or PHIL 332 | Business and Society Business Ethics | 3 |
MGMT 300 | Organizational Behavior | 3 |
FINA 402 or FINA 404 or FINA 408 | 3 | |
Core or general/major electives | 6-9 | |
Semester II | Hours | |
DSCI 300 | Foundations of Business Analytics | 3 |
ETLW 311 | Business Law I | 3 |
FINA 402 or FINA 404 or FINA 408 | 3 | |
Core or general/major electives | 6 | |
Senior Year | ||
Semester I | Hours | |
DSCI 303 | Operations Management | 3 |
FINA 402 or FINA 404 or FINA 408 | 3 | |
Core or general/major electives | 6-9 | |
Semester II | Hours | |
MGMT 497 | Strategic Management | 3 |
Core or general/major electives | 12 |
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.
Minor Requirements
Code | Title | Units |
---|---|---|
Required Lower-Division Courses | ||
ACCT 201 | Principles of Financial Accounting | 3 |
ACCT 202 | Principles of Managerial Accounting | 3 |
Required Upper-Division Courses | ||
FINA 300 | Financial Management | 3 |
FINA 402 | Investments | 3 |
Elective Courses | ||
Select two of the following courses: | 6 | |
FINA 401 | Commercial Bank Management | |
FINA 403 | Derivatives | |
FINA 404 | Advanced Corporate Finance | |
FINA 405 | International Financial Management | |
FINA 406 | Personal Finance | |
FINA 407 | New Venture Finance | |
FINA 408 | Financial Statement Analysis | |
FINA 409 | Financial Modeling and Analysis | |
Total Units | 18 |
Knauss School of Business