Finance

Bachelor of Science Degree

The major in finance is designed for students interested in specializing in the finance industry. Graduates can seek employment within organizations such as banks, investment companies, brokerage houses, or in the finance departments of corporations.

Finance is one of the principal topic areas within business management. All students preparing in business should know the principles of finance, since money is a basic measure of business activity and capital funds are an essential element for all organizations. However, students majoring in finance study not only the fundamental principles, but also in-depth and varied finance topics.

Although the finance major offers a focused learning experience by using elective opportunities for finance coursework, the overall degree requirements give students a broad business management perspective. The degree requirements which follow are based upon four years of study, and the students may fulfill many of these requirements through transfer credits

Degree Requirements

B.S. Program

Arts and Science – 64 semester hours. Must complete seven of ten general education categories (1-10) with a minimum of 30 general education credits.

Required Courses (including categories 1-4)

  • Elements of Calculus (3 cr. minimum)1 MAT 112
  • Statistics (3 cr. minimum) STA 100
  • Natural Science (3 cr. minimum)2
  • Microeconomics (3 cr. minimum)3  ECO 110
  • Macroeconomics (3 cr. minimum) ECO 112
  • Basic Communication (3 cr. minimum)4 ENG 101
  • Upper Division Writing (3 cr. minimum) COM 307
  • Behavioral Science (3 cr. minimum)

Additional General Education (categories 5-10)

  • American History 5
  • Western Civilization 6
  • Other Civilizations 7
  • Humanities* 8
  • Arts 9
  • Foreign Language 10
  • Arts/Science Elective (remainder of credits)

Business Requirements – Minimum 33 semester hours

  • Financial Accounting (3 cr. minimum)  ACC 201
  • Managerial Accounting (3 cr. minimum) ACC 205
  • Introduction to Business (3 cr. minimum) BUS 101
  • Business Law (3 cr. minimum) BUS 105
  • Finance Principles (3 cr. minimum) FIN 302
  • Marketing Principles (3 cr. minimum) MKT 301
  • Organizational Behavior (3 cr. minimum) MGT 307
  • Human Resource Management (3 cr. minimum) MGT 318
  • Issues in Business & Society (3 cr. minimum) BUS 451
  • Management Science (3 cr. minimum) MGS 411
  • Strategic Management (3 cr. minimum) BUS 485
  • Business Elective (remainder of credits)

Finance Requirements – Minimum 15 semester hours

  • Intermediate Accounting (3 cr. minimum) ACC 385
  • Investments (3 cr. minimum) FIN 332
  • Financial Institutions (3 cr. minimum) FIN 341
  • Financial Management Problems (3 cr. minimum)  FIN 411
  • Financial Analytics (3 cr. minimum) FIN 420
  • Unrestricted Electives (remainder of credits)

Total (Minimum 124)

NOTE: A minimum of a C (2.00 GPA) is required in all finance and business core courses taken at SUNY Poly, requirements and electives. All business transfer courses must have a grade of “C” or better to apply to the degree program.

*Written communication and technical writing courses do not fulfill this requirement.

Finance Minor
See academic minor section.