Bachelor of Science in Business Administration in Finance
Finance, or more specifically financial economics, is the management, creation, and study of money and investments. The finance major at the Boler College of Business focuses on corporate finance and investments, although the skills students learn in our program apply throughout all areas of finance. The program includes a unique blend of coursework, including a capstone case-based course in corporate finance. Our students are highly sought after by all the major corporations throughout Northeast Ohio as well as governmental and private financial institutions located in the major finance centers like New York City and Chicago.
Program Information
Boler finance graduates apply their tools, training and judgement in a variety of situations and professions. As a corporate finance professional, you deal with a company’s day-to-day financial operations and short- and long-term business goals. As an investment banker, you focus on advising corporate clients on financial decisions, raising capital through both public and private placements and conducting merger and acquisition deals. Responsibilities include brokerage services, financial analysis, financial planning, underwriting, venture capital, and portfolio management.
You might also work for a private equity firm or governmental organization, such as the US Federal Reserve. Boler finance students are actively sought by corporate recruiters and have become high-ranking financial officers of prominent and successful companies or have achieved important positions in banks and governmental agencies.
Finance applies fundamentals from economics, accounting, and mathematics to financial decision making. Whether you study corporate finance, international finance, investment, or financial institutions, your close examination of financial theory will be challenged by real-world practice; concepts of ethical behavior will move from the abstract to the concrete.
At the Boler College of Business, finance majors emerge well-rounded, with a firm grounding in the liberal arts, sciences, and communications. Our students learn to balance financial advantage seeking with a deep sense of personal and professional integrity. You will graduate understanding that high ethical principles and professional standards, more than rules and regulations, generate sustainable outcomes and lasting value.
The Dornam Fund is our student managed investment fund (SMIF). Students get hands-on experience from day one by working with the Dornam Fund and the Bloomberg Terminal in “Investments 101” (FN 1101) and after learning the basics, students graduate to actually making buy/sell decisions in “Portfolio Management” (FN 452).
A select group of students participate in the CFA Challenge, a global competition hosted by the Chartered Financial Analysts Institute (CFA Institute). The Boler CFA Challenge team has won the local competition for 6 years in a row and several of those teams have moved on the Semi-Global competition.
Every year in January, the Student Finance Association sponsors a student trip to either NYC or Chicago to visit a variety of financial institutions. Our student group has visited the floor of the NYSE, Bloomberg’s headquarters, KPMG, KeyBank Capital Markets, Jefferies, Baron Capital, among many others.
The broad goal of the finance program is to extend the understanding of financial theory and practice among our students, the University, and the broader community. We pursue this goal through quality teaching and advising, significant research, and appropriate community involvement.
Upon graduation, finance majors from John Carroll University should have a strong academic foundation in finance that allows them to:
Enter a career in financial management and have the potential to lead.
Enter a quality graduate program in a variety of fields, especially in business.
Seek further professional certification in finance or a related field (for example, as a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA), or Certified Managerial Accountant (CMA), or Series 6 and Series 7 exams).
A total of 65-68 credit hours as described below.
Business Core: 41 credit hours, including MHR 461 or MHR 463. A complete listing of the Business Core can be found under the Graduation Requirements for the Boler School (p. 101).
Prospective finance majors must complete FN 312 with a minimum grade of B (or Department Chair approval).
Students must complete the University’s Integrative Core Curriculum in addition to the Boler Core Curriculum. In completing the Integrative Core Curriculum, Boler College of Business students must take PL311 (Business Ethics) as one of the choices in the category of Jesuit Heritage.
Advanced problems of financial reporting by corporations, including the conceptual framework of financial reporting; the establishment of reporting standards; techniques of data accumulation and preparation of financial statements; applications of accounting principles. Finance majors may take this course or the AC 303-304-305 sequence to fulfill accounting requirements. Prerequisite: AC 202. Offered: Spring only.
Course Code
AC 3303
Course Description
Preparation and analysis of the income statement, the statement of comprehensive income, the balance sheet, and the statement of cash flows. Coverage of key issues in financial reporting, including receivables and inventories. Prerequisite: AC 201 (min grade C) and AC 202 (min grade C). Corequisite: AC 210.
Course Code
AC 3304
Course Description
Preparation and analysis of the income statement, the statement of comprehensive income, the balance sheet, and the statement of cash flows. Coverage of key issues in financial reporting, including property, plant, and equipment, debt, stockholders’ equity, leases, accounting changes, error correction, statement of cash flows, and international financial reporting standards (IFRS). Prerequisite: AC 303 (min grade C).
Course Code
EC 3301
Course Description
Analysis of the behavior of consuming and producing units, determination of prices and outputs through the market, resource allocation and distribution. Problems of decision-making and planning. Prerequisite: EC 201, EC 202; MT 130 or MT 133 and MT 134 or MT 135; or permission of chair.
Course Code
EC 3302
Course Description
Theories of the determination of the level of national economic activity: output, income, employment, and its relationship to economic growth, stability, and the price level. Particular emphasis on the components of aggregate demand and aggregate supply. Prerequisite: EC 201, EC 202; MT 130, MT 133 and MT 134, or MT 135; or permission of chair.
Course Code
EC 3311
Course Description
Money and credit; historical and institutional development of the U.S. financial system; monetary theory; policies of financial regulators. Prerequisite: EC 201 and EC 202.
Course Code
FN 3316
Course Description
Prerequisite: minimum grade of C in FN 312. Examines the functions financial intermediaries perform in transferring and transforming wealth in financial markets. Provides a broad understanding of the characteristics of domestic and global financial markets and features of instruments that are traded in them.Offered: Spring semester only.
Course Code
FN 3342
Course Description
Prerequisite: FN 312 (minimum grade of C), MT 130 (minimum grade of C). Principles in the selection and management of investments, from the viewpoints of large and small investors.
Course Code
FN 4440
Course Description
Expands the student’s understanding of corporate finance developed in FN 312. Topics include agency theory, efficient markets theory, capital budgeting, financial planning, working capital management, capital structure, dividend payout policy, financing decisions, and mergers and acquisitions.Prerequisite: AC 310, FN 316, and FN 342; or approval of the Department Chair.Offered: Fall semester only.
Course Code
FN 4441
Course Description
Prerequisites: FN 440 or approval of the Department Chair. The capstone course in the finance major. Incorporates the case study method so that students can demonstrate their knowledge of corporate finance, financial markets, and financial institutions from previous course work in the major, including economics and accounting courses. Also emphasizes oral and written communication skills.Offered: Spring semester only..
Students may choose to pursue a double major in Finance and Economics, or Finance and Financial Planning and Wealth Management. Interested students should consult with their advisors and review the suggested sequence of courses found on the advising resources page.
*Finance majors are required to take either AC 3310 (by itself) OR AC 3303 and AC 3304 *Finance majors are required to take either EC 3311 (by itself) OR EC 3301 and EC 3302.
Electives
Course Code
Course Name
Course Code
FN 4405
Course Description
Prerequisites: minimum grade of C in FN 312 and/or as announced. Contemporary issues in finance not covered in depth in other departmental courses. Topics, method of presentation, and requirements designated by the seminar leader.
Course Code
FN 4418
Course Description
Introduction to real estate with a focus on financial aspects; theory and measurement of returns and risks on real estate and real estate-related assets; valuation theory for owner-occupied and income-producing properties. Prerequisite: FN 312 (minimum grade of C).
Course Code
FN 4439
Course Description
Tools and techniques necessary to understand the financial management of the firm in an international environment. Exchange rate determination, risk analysis, transactions denominated in foreign currency, nontraditional trading practices, and the unique problems faced by multinational firms. Exchange rate risk in foreign securities investments. Prerequisite: FN 312 (minimum grade of C).
Course Code
FN 4442
Course Description
Focuses on the management of business risks whose outcomes are subject to some degree of direct control (e.g., fire damage that may be preventable), as compared to risks whose outcomes are a result of changing market forces. Prerequisite: FN 312 (minimum grade of C).
Course Code
FN 4444
Course Description
Introduction to analytical and decision-making processes used to transfer risk with futures and options. Theory and application of pricing, speculating, and hedging techniques in financial markets. Prerequisite: FN 312 (minimum grade of C).
Course Code
FN 4452
Course Description
Focuses on the Dornam Fund, a student-managed investment portfolio. Provides theory and experience in professional money management; identification of investment objectives, information assessment for security selection, and evaluation of fund performance. Prerequisite: FN 342; permission of instructor.
Course Code
FN 4498
Course Description
Research project supervised by a member of the department willing to act as advisor. The student selects an aspect of finance, establishes goals, and develops a plan of study that must be approved by the chair and filed with the dean’s office. Consult the chair for department guidelines established for such study. Prerequisite: Finance major with a minimum overall GPA of 3.0; permission of chair or instructor.
Students must take one of the seven above courses.
Recent Placements
Pursue a Double Major
Students who wish to double major in both Finance and Financial Planning & Wealth Management can do so with the addition of 15 credit hours of coursework (EC 301, AC 310, FN 316, FN 440, & FN441 [15 credit hours]). This combination is particularly useful for students who not only wish to earn a CFP® credential but also the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) credential. Students who intend to pursue a double major with finance may use the same financial planning and wealth management elective to count as their finance elective.
To view the suggested course sequence for the double major with Finance, please visit the Boler advising page.
We encourage every Boler student to earn Bloomberg Certification. By completing the (free) self-paced Bloomberg Market Concepts (BMC) e-learning course, you gain a credential that tells employers you have a firm grasp of the gold standard financial markets data platform.
