Finance Major

The field of finance lies at the center of corporate and personal cash flow planning. Finance offers numerous opportunities for majors to develop a career in fields such as commercial and investment banking, internal planning and risk management, wealth advisory services, valuation, insurance, or real estate.  

»Ê¹Ú²©²ÊÍøַ’s finance majors receive a solid introduction to the fields of managerial and corporate finance, investments, valuation, and financial modeling. Four required electives round out the core foundation and allow students to design a course of study that best prepares them for a variety of career tracks. Elective topics include derivatives, fixed income securities, financial statement analysis, applied portfolio management, and programming in R and Python. Through the core and an extensive menu of approved electives, students acquire a combination of theoretical insights and practical modeling abilities that prepare them for entry-level positions in banking, investment services, personal financial planning, and corporate financial management. The Finance program relies on the guidance of professors and »Ê¹Ú²©²ÊÍøÖ· graduates working in Finance to ensure that course content is timely, relevant, and effective.

Program Highlights

  • »Ê¹Ú²©²ÊÍøַ’s Student Managed Investment Fund has more tan $1,000,000 under management, a size that puts it in the top 10% of such funds in the world.
  • The endowed Trading Room resources include three Bloomberg terminals, which help students obtain Bloomberg certifications.
  • CFA Level 1 exam scholarships and discounts are possible because of »Ê¹Ú²©²ÊÍøÖ·'s Affiliated University status from the CFA Institute.  
  • Students perform competitively in the WNY CFA Research Challenge (CFARC) and often rank top in this competition.
  • The department offers annual activities such as an on-campus finance conference with networking opportunities and a field trip to NYC every Fall, featuring networking and visits to banks, hedge funds, and other finance firms.
  • »Ê¹Ú²©²ÊÍøַ’s rich network of successful alumni works in every major sector of finance and is passionate about helping current students.