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Business program

DePaul's Finance program will provide you with a solid foundation in financial management and an understanding of public and private financial processes, financial markets, analysis and investments.

As a Finance major, you will take courses in:

  • Corporate finance​
  • Analytics
  • Investment theory and practice

You will also take multiple elective courses. Depending on your career goals, you may take a series of courses that focus on one of the following areas:

  • Banking and financial services
  • Corporate financial management
  • Investment analysis/ management
  • Risk management

DePaul's Driehaus College of Business is located in downtown Chicago, in the heart of the city's financial district, providing you with countless opportunities to intern and work professionally with leading companies in the business industry. You are encouraged to complete an internship with a Chicago-area business during the summer preceding either your junior or senior year.

Program Requirements Quarter Hours
Business Core Requirements 60
Liberal Studies Requirements 72
Major Requirements 34
Open Electives 26
Total hours required 192

Learning Outcomes:

  • Understand financial theory and how it can be applied to financial decision making. Develop appropriate cash flows and discount rate analysis of projects, and financial instruments (e.g. bonds and stocks). Apply and interpret the appropriate risk measures (e.g. beta, standard deviation) to situations under uncertainty. Understand the role of agents and impact of governance.
  • Understand the structure of the financial markets and the roles of institutions in those markets. Understand the flow of funds in the private and public markets. Know the determinants of the cost of funds. Understand how derivative instruments work and can be used for risk management.
  • Develop appropriate cash flows and discount rate analysis of projects, and financial instruments (e.g. bonds and stocks).
  • Apply and interpret the appropriate risk measures (e.g. beta, standard deviation) to situations under uncertainty.
  • Understand the role of agents and the impact of governance.
  • Understand the flow of funds in the private and public markets.
  • Know the determinants of the cost of funds.
  • Understand how derivative instruments work and can be used for risk management.

College Core Requirements

Business Core Requirements

All undergraduate students in the Driehaus College of Business complete foundational courses in the areas of accountancy, economics, finance, management, and marketing. The core curriculum also includes courses that emphasize the increasingly quantitative and technological nature of business, the importance of the entrepreneurial mindset, and how students can use their business education to address important social challenges.

Course Requirements

For a student to complete the Bachelor of Science in Business, the following Business Core courses totaling at least 60.0 hours are required:

Course Title Quarter Hours
Business Core Courses
ACC 101INTRODUCTION TO ACCOUNTING I 14
ACC 102INTRODUCTION TO ACCOUNTING II 14
BUS 101INTRODUCTION TO DRIEHAUS: BUSINESS FUNDAMENTALS AND THE ENTREPRENEURIAL MINDSET4
BUS 102BUSINESS ANALYTICS4
BUS 103BUSINESS FOR SOCIAL GOOD4
ECO 105PRINCIPLES OF MICROECONOMICS4
ECO 106PRINCIPLES OF MACROECONOMICS4
FIN 310INTRODUCTION TO FINANCE4
MAT 137BUSINESS STATISTICS4
MGT 300PRINCIPLES OF MANAGEMENT4
MGT 301PRINCIPLES OF OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT4
MKT 301PRINCIPLES OF MARKETING4
Business Technology 2
Select one of the following:4
BUSINESS TECHNOLOGY
INTRODUCTION TO COMPUTER SCIENCE I
SYSTEMS ANALYSIS AND DESIGN
Business Communication 3
Select one of the following:4
EFFECTIVE BUSINESS COMMUNICATION
BUSINESS AND PROFESSIONAL COMMUNICATION
Global Business Perspective 4
Select one of the following:4
EUROPEAN ECONOMIC HISTORY
RADICAL RESPONSES TO CAPITALISM
TOPICS IN GLOBAL ECONOMIES
UNDERSTANDING CHINA'S ECONOMY
ECONOMICS OF LOW-INCOME COUNTRIES
INTERNATIONAL TRADE
INTERNATIONAL MONETARY ECONOMICS
ECONOMICS OF THE EUROPEAN UNION
INTERNATIONAL FINANCE
GLOBAL IPOs & VENTURE CAPITAL
INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS SEMINAR
GLOBAL HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
MARKETING ACROSS CULTURES: A CULTURAL PERSPECTIVE ON MULTICULTURAL MARKETS
MARKETING IN A GLOBAL ENVIRONMENT
INTERNATIONAL MARKETING
WORK IN A GLOBALIZED WORLD
A course taken as part of a term-long study abroad program
1

Strobel students take specially designated sections of all required ACC classes, including ACC 101 and ACC 102 (excluding ACC 250, ACC 300, ACC 301).​

2

Actuarial Science and Economic Data Analytics majors must take CSC 241.

MIS majors must take MIS 360.

3

MKT majors and Sales minors must take MKT 276.

4

A course taken for Global Business Perspective that is in a student's major or minor field must be completed with a minimum grade of C- .

Business Core Timeline

  • BUS 101BUS 102 and BUS 103 are intended to be completed by students during their first year of enrollment in the college.  
  • Business core requirements may be prerequisites to other courses.
  • Planning is essential to a student’s graduation timeline.
  • Academic advisors work with students to co-create customized degree completion plans and assist with balancing course load.

Business Ethics

All undergraduate students in the Driehaus College of Business complete a course in Business Ethics. It is recommended students take MGT 248 or PHL 248 in Philosophical Inquiry or MGT 228 or REL 228 in Religious Dimensions in the Liberal Studies Program (or University Honors Program) Requirements.

Second Majors and Minors

The addition of a second major or minor may affect the Business Core classes required for a student. Meet with an academic advisor to confirm requirements.

Business Technology requirement for all business majors (except Management Information Systems majors)

  • Business Technology requirement may be replaced by CSC 243.

Math requirement for all business majors (except Actuarial Science majors)

Global Business Perspective

If a FIN course is shared between Global Business Perspective and the Finance major, additional hours of Open Elective credit are required.

Grade Minimum Requirements for Finance Major

A minimum grade of C- is required for the following: ACC 101, ACC 102, BUS 101, BUS 102, BUS 103, BUS 202, ECO 105, ECO 106, FIN 310, MAT 137, and any FIN course used for Global Business Perspective.

Liberal Studies Requirements

Honors program requirements can be found in the individual Colleges & Schools section of the University Catalog. Select the appropriate college or school, followed by Undergraduate Academics and scroll down.

Plan of Study Grid
First Year ProgramHours
Chicago Quarter
LSP 110
DISCOVER CHICAGO
or EXPLORE CHICAGO
4
Focal Point
LSP 112 FOCAL POINT SEMINAR 4
Writing
WRD 103 COMPOSITION AND RHETORIC I 1 4
WRD 104 COMPOSITION AND RHETORIC II 1 4
Quantitative Reasoning
Not Required
Sophomore Year
Race, Power, and Resistance
LSP 200 SEMINAR ON RACE, POWER, AND RESISTANCE 4
Junior Year
Experiential Learning
Required 4
Senior Year
Capstone
BUS 392 SENIOR SEMINAR 1 4
1

Students must earn a C- or better in this course.

Learning Domains

Arts and Literature (AL)

  •  3 AL Courses Required

Historical Inquiry (HI)

  • 2 HI Courses Required 

Math and Computing (MC)

  • Not Required

Philosophical Inquiry (PI)

  • 2 PI Courses Required1

Religious Dimensions (RD)

  • 2 RD Courses Required1

Scientific Inquiry (SI)

  • 1 Lab Course Required

Social, Cultural, and Behavioral Inquiry (SCBI)

  • 1 SCBI Course Required
1

PHL 248 / MGT 248 is required in PI or REL 228 / MGT 228 is required in RD.

Notes

Specified required courses within Liberal Studies may have grade minimums (e.g. C- or better). Please consult your advisor or your college and major requirements.​

Courses offered in the student's primary major cannot be taken to fulfill LSP Domain requirements. If students double major, LSP Domain courses may double count for both LSP credit and the second major. Students who choose to take an experiential learning course offered by the major may count it either as a general elective or the Experiential Learning requirement.

In meeting learning domain requirements, no more than one course that is outside the student’s major and is cross-listed with a course within the student’s major, can be applied to count for LSP domain credit. This policy does not apply to those who are pursuing a double major or earning BFA or BM degrees.

Major Requirements

Course ​Requirements

In addition to FIN 310, a student majoring in Finance is required to complete the following courses totaling at least 34.0 hours:
Course Title Quarter Hours
FIN 250CAREER EXPLORATION & PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT2
FIN 311CORPORATE FINANCE4
FIN 315DATA ANALYTICS IN FINANCE4
FIN 330INVESTMENTS: THEORY & PRACTICE4
Select five elective courses from the following: A maximum of one may be a non-FIN course:20
FINANCIAL REPORTING I
FOUNDATIONS OF DATA SCIENCE
INTERMEDIATE MICROECONOMICS
INTERMEDIATE MACROECONOMICS
INVESTMENT BANKING
MONEY AND BANKING
COMMERCIAL BANKING
BANKING & CREDIT ANALYSIS
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS ANALYSIS
PORTFOLIO MANAGEMENT
EQUITY RESEARCH
INTERNATIONAL FINANCE
REAL ESTATE ANALYSIS 1
GLOBAL IPOs & VENTURE CAPITAL
ENTERPRISE RISK MANAGEMENT
DERIVATIVES: PRICING & APPLICATIONS
PRINCIPLES OF RISK & INSURANCE
FINANCIAL MODELING
CASES IN FINANCIAL DECISION MAKING
BEHAVIORAL FINANCE
FINANCE INTERNSHIP (see note below)
INVESTMENT SEMINAR
SPECIAL TOPICS (multiple topics may be used)
INDEPENDENT STUDY
INTRODUCTION TO APPLIED PROGRAMMING
STATISTICAL METHODS USING SAS
APPLIED PROBABILITY
REAL ESTATE LAW
URBAN PLANNING AND PUBLIC POLICY
PROJECT MANAGEMENT: DESIGN & CONSTRUCTION
REAL ESTATE ANALYSIS 1
REAL ESTATE FINANCE
REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT
REAL ESTATE VALUATION
SPECIAL TOPICS
INDEPENDENT STUDY
1

RE 350 and FIN 350 are cross listed and may only be completed once for credit.

The Department of Finance enforces all course prerequisites; exceptions will not be made.

Students are encouraged to seek an internship with a Chicago-area business during the summer preceding either their junior or senior year.

Open Electives

Open elective credit (26.0 hours) is needed to meet the minimum graduation requirement of 192 hours.

Global Business Perspective

If a FIN course is shared between Global Business Perspective and the Finance major, additional hours of Open Elective credit are required. Any FIN course used toward Global Business Perspective must be passed with C- or higher.

Career Management Course

Students are required to complete the Career Course (250) associated with the major. Students who double major may choose the Career Course (250) associated with either major provided that hours for graduation are satisfied.​ Students should take the Career Course as soon as possible.

Experiential Learning

If FIN 393 or FIN 324 is completed in the Finance major consult with academic advisor regarding options for Experiential Learning.​

Graduation Requirements

All Finance (FIN) courses and any courses used toward the Finance major must be completed with a minimum grade of C- and with a combined GPA of 2.000 or higher.

Curricular Specializations

The Department offers four recommendations for students who would like to focus their studies on one area of expertise. These areas are optional; no curricular specialization is required for the major.

Banking

Course Title Quarter Hours
INVESTMENT BANKING
MONEY AND BANKING
COMMERCIAL BANKING
BANKING & CREDIT ANALYSIS
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS ANALYSIS
GLOBAL IPOs & VENTURE CAPITAL
ENTERPRISE RISK MANAGEMENT
FINANCIAL MODELING

Corporate Finance

Course Title Quarter Hours
MONEY AND BANKING
BANKING & CREDIT ANALYSIS
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS ANALYSIS
INTERNATIONAL FINANCE
GLOBAL IPOs & VENTURE CAPITAL
ENTERPRISE RISK MANAGEMENT
FINANCIAL MODELING

Risk Management

Course Title Quarter Hours
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS ANALYSIS
PORTFOLIO MANAGEMENT
ENTERPRISE RISK MANAGEMENT
DERIVATIVES: PRICING & APPLICATIONS
FINANCIAL MODELING

Investment/Financial Analysis

Course Title Quarter Hours
BANKING & CREDIT ANALYSIS
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS ANALYSIS
PORTFOLIO MANAGEMENT
ENTERPRISE RISK MANAGEMENT
DERIVATIVES: PRICING & APPLICATIONS
FINANCIAL MODELING
BEHAVIORAL FINANCE
INVESTMENT SEMINAR