Finance

Finance focuses on how individuals and business organizations raise money and capital, and how those resources are allocated among competing investment and consumption opportunities. The field focuses on domestic and international financial economies and the role of financial markets and institutions key in the movement of savings and investment capital from lenders to borrowers. It also deals with how individuals and corporate managers evaluate alternative investment and savings opportunities and how they choose among various financial instruments.

Careers in Finance

Finance is a broad field that prepares students for positions in banking, investments, insurance, corporations, and government. Careers include positions in securities analysis and investment management, retail and commercial bank management, retail investment brokerage, and financial advising and consulting.

Finance Degree Requirements and Sample Schedules

IN FOCUS
Nittany Lion Fund: The multi-million-dollar fund allows student managers to oversee millions of dollars from real investors. The Nittany Lion Fund regularly outperforms the S&P 500 and the placement rate for graduate seniors reaches 100 percent.

A bachelor's degree is typically required for entry to the finance field, but higher-level certifications (CFA, CFC, etc.) and post-undergraduate degrees (MBA, Ph.D.) are very desirable.

IN FOCUS
Rogers Family Trading Room: The Trading Room at Smeal replicates a real-world trading experience and functions as a classroom and a laboratory. Each of the more than 50 workstations in the facility is equipped with the software needed for simulated trading, deal capture, settlement, analytics, pricing, and other finance-related challenges.