2026-2027 Course Catalog

Source: https://catalog.illinois.edu/undergraduate/bus/finance-bs/ Parent: https://catalog.illinois.edu/undergraduate/

for the degree of Bachelor of Science Major in Finance

The field of finance is primarily concerned with the acquisition and management of funds by business firms, governments, and individuals. A business seeks financial advice when considering the purchase of new equipment, the expansion of present facilities, or the raising of additional funds. Determining the value of financial and real assets and derivatives is a key activity in finance.

As the study of finance is designed to provide the student with both the theoretical background and the analytical tools required to make effective judgments in finance, many students select careers in business financial management, commercial and investment banking, investments, government finance, insurance, and real estate. In addition to the finance major requirements, students in finance must meet the University General Education requirements and the Gies College of Business core requirements (for more detail, see the Gies College of Business undergraduate section).

for the degree of Bachelor of Science Major in Finance

Advising Notes

• Courses taken to fulfill major requirements may not be taken on a credit-no credit basis.
• It is recommended that Finance majors take additional accounting. ACCY 201 and ACCY 202 are required in the business core. Many employers look favorably upon additional accounting courses.

Core Curriculum

Normally, students must register for no fewer than 12 hours or more than 18 hours in each semester. Students should take mathematics, economics, and accountancy courses in the semesters indicated in the sample schedule of courses. The computer science course must be taken during the first year. The computer science requirement no longer allows ACE 161 as an equivalent course.

Up to 8 hours of Kinesiology activity courses, numbered 100-111 may be counted toward the 124 hours for the degree. The same section of a course may not be repeated for credit. Credit is limited to a maximum of 12 credit hours for 199 courses. Students may receive foreign language credit for courses only 2 levels below highest level taken in high school. For example: 4 years of high school French-no credit below FR 102.

Credit toward the 124 degree hours is not given for MATH 101. Once the math requirement is completed, lower level math courses cannot be taken for credit.

There is no limit on the hours of Military Science/ROTC courses that will count towards graduation.

Any course used to fill a specific degree requirement may not be taken on the credit-no credit grade option. Only free electives may be taken on the credit-no credit option. All finance and accountancy courses must be taken for a grade. It is recommended that all courses taken in the business administration area be taken for a grade.

Graduation Requirements

Minimum hours required for graduation: 124 hours.

University Requirements

Minimum of 40 hours of upper-division coursework, generally at the 300- or 400-level. These hours can be drawn from all elements of the degree.  Students should consult their academic advisor for additional guidance in fulfilling this requirement.

The University and residency requirements can be found in the Student Code (§ 3-801) and in the Academic Catalog.

General Education Requirements

Follows the campus General Education (Gen Ed) requirements. Some Gen Ed requirements may be met by courses required and/or electives in the program.

University Composition Requirements

Course List

 | Code | Title | Hours |

| --- | --- | --- | | Composition I | | 4-6 | | Advanced Composition | | 3 | | Humanities & the Arts (6 hours) | | 6 | | Natural Sciences & Technology (6 hours) | | 6 | | Social and Behavioral Sciences (6 hours) | | 6 | | fulfilled by ECON 102 and ECON 103 | | | | Cultural Studies: Non-Western Cultures (1 course) | | 3 | | Cultural Studies: US Minority Cultures (1 course) | | 3 | | Cultural Studies: Western/Comparative Cultures (1 course) | | 3 | | Quantitative Reasoning (2 courses, at least one course must be Quantitative Reasoning I) | | 6-10 | | fulfilled by CS 105; and MATH 115, MATH 220, MATH 221, MATH 231, MATH 234, or STAT 100 | | | | Language Requirement (Completion of the third semester or equivalent of a language other than English is required) | | 0-15 |

Business Core Requirements

Course List

 | Code | Title | Hours |

| --- | --- | --- | | ACCY 201 & ACCY 202 | Accounting and Accountancy I and Accounting and Accountancy II | 6 | | BUS 101 | Professional Responsibility and Business | 3 | | BUS 201 | Business Dynamics | 3 | | BUS 301 | Business in Action | 3 | | BUS 401 | Crafting Your Purpose in Business | 3 | | BADM 210 & BADM 211 | Business Analytics I and Business Analytics II | 6 | | BADM 275 | Introduction to Operations and Supply Chain Management | 3 | | BADM 300 | The Legal Environment of Bus | 3 | | BADM 310 | Mgmt and Organizational Beh | 3 | | BADM 320 | Principles of Marketing | 3 | | BADM 449 | Business Policy and Strategy | 3 | | CMN 101 | Public Speaking | 3 | | CS 105 | Intro Computing: Non-Tech | 3 | | ECON 102 & ECON 103 | Microeconomic Principles and Macroeconomic Principles | 6 | | FIN 221 | Corporate Finance | 3 | | Business Core Math | | 3-5 | | Choose one course from list below: | | | | MATH 115 | Preparation for Calculus | | | MATH 220 | Calculus | | | MATH 221 | Calculus I | | | MATH 231 | Calculus II | | | MATH 234 | Calculus for Business I | | | STAT 100 | Statistics | | | Minimum Total Hours | | 57 |

Finance, BS major requirements

Course List

 | Code | Title | Hours |

| --- | --- | --- | | FIN 300 | Financial Markets | 3 | | FIN 321 | Advanced Corporate Finance | 3 | | FIN 411 | Investment & Portfolio Mngt | 3 | | Four additional full-semester, 3 hour 400 level-Finance courses except FIN 494 or FIN 495 (Senior Research). A maximum of 3 credit hours of FIN 490 (Special Topics) can count toward this requirement. | | 12 | | One additional full-semester, 3-hour Finance course at the 200-level or above. | | 3 | | Minimum Total Hours | | 24 |

for the degree of Bachelor of Science Major in Finance

Sample Sequence

This sample sequence is intended to be used only as a guide for degree completion. All students should work individually with their academic advisors to decide the actual course selection and sequence that works best for them based on their academic preparation and goals. Enrichment programming such as study abroad, minors, internships, and so on may impact the structure of this four-year plan. Course availability is not guaranteed during the semester indicated in the sample sequence.

Students must fulfill their Language Other Than English requirement by successfully completing a third level of a language other than English. For more information, see the corresponding section on the Degree and General Education Requirements page.

Total Hours: 124

for the degree of Bachelor of Science Major in Finance

1. Discipline-based competency: Students will acquire sufficient discipline based competency to address current and future corporate and investment finance problems. Such competency includes using finance knowledge and tools necessary to value real and financial assets, analyze a company’s financial performance, and identify risk factors underlying such valuations or analysis.
2. Written and verbal communication competency: Students will be able to effectively integrate information into a coherent, well-organized, professional report.
3. Proficiency in the tools of the trade: Students should be able to demonstrate proficiency in the tools of the trade. First and foremost is Excel, but proficiency in Bloomberg, Morningstar, Capital IQ and the other tools of our trade.
4. Professional practice and ethics: Students should be familiar with professional practice and demonstrate consistent ethical behavior.

for the degree of Bachelor of Science Major in Finance

Finance department website

Gies College of Business website