MBA Major in Finance

Finance majors will acquire the analytic and theoretical tools required to master practical issues in Finance, with applications to the financial management in business firms, financial institutions, government, and not-for-profit entities. While courses in the Finance Department include descriptive, institutional, and historical aspects of the field, with emphasis on the theory and methods of analysis that make extensive use of relevant techniques of economic analysis, mathematics, and statistics.

Students wishing to major in Finance begin by taking the two Finance core classes, FNCE 6110, Corporate Finance, and FNCE 6130, Macroeconomics and the Global Economic Environment. These courses provide an overview of the key role of finance in core business strategies and an understanding of the broad macro-environment for business decisions. Beyond the required courses, students may choose from many electives to structure a program of study to match their interests and career objectives. The Finance Department urges prospective majors to satisfy the core corporate finance requirement as soon as possible because it is a prerequisite for all upper-level courses in Finance.

Please note that a student cannot declare both the Quantitative Finance (QFNC) major and the Finance (FNCS) major.

CORE COURSE REQUIREMENTS

The Finance major requires six credit units. All Finance majors must take FNCE6110 and FNCE6130, unless they successfully apply to substitute an upper-level finance course. Although the Finance Department does not grant waivers, it does permit qualifying students to substitute an upper-level finance course for a core course. Students with a strong background in Finance may apply to replace FNCE 6110 with any upper-level finance course to fulfill their core corporate finance requirement. (Please note, however, that neither Independent Study Projects (FNCE 8990), nor Global Modular Courses can be used for this purpose.) Students who have taken an intermediate macroeconomics course and earned at least a B+ (or equivalent) may apply to replace FNCE 6130 with one of three following upper-level Finance courses: 1. FNCE 7190, International Financial Markets and Cryptocurrencies; 2. FNCE 7320, International Banking; or FNCE 7400 Central Banks, Macroeconomic Policy, and Financial Markets.

FINANCE ELECTIVES

To complete the major, students must take an additional four credit units of upper-level Finance electives.

Students may choose a variety of different Finance electives to fit their specific intellectual and career objectives.  The Finance Department urges majors to resist the temptation to become too specialized because exposure to a broad range of Finance courses will provide the best preparation for the dynamic environment students will encounter.  For this reason, the Finance Department will reject proposals for Individualized Majors that suggest a student has specialized in some field in Finance. This would rule out titles that include terms such as finance, financing, investment, investing, funding, buyouts, mergers and acquisitions, private equity, etc. If students wish to signal to prospective employers their depth or intensity of interest in some subject in finance, they should highlight the key courses on their resumes or provide a brief narrative to show how the courses they have selected provide them with special expertise.

Please note that:

• Only courses taken for a grade will count for the Finance Major. Pass/fail courses will not be counted toward satisfying major requirements.
• No more than one credit unit may be an Independent Study Project (FNCE 8990), or a Finance Department-approved Global Modular Course. You may combine 0.5 cu from each category, but the total credited to your major requirement must not exceed 1 cu.
• Courses offered in other departments will count toward the Finance major only if they are cross-listed by the Finance Department and bear a FNCE prefix.
  For students in Wharton MBA for Executives (WEMBA) only, ACCT 7471 can count for up to 0.5 CU towards the major in Finance.
• No course from a study abroad program will count toward your major requirements.

Unfortunately, it is not possible to offer courses every semester. The Finance Department website lists all courses offered each semester along with a brief description and syllabi.

 

CONTACTS:

Academic Affairs: (Scheduling/ISPs/Grades)
Stacy Franks – stacyf@wharton.upenn.edu

Faculty advisor to the MBA Major in Finance:
Professor Richard Herring – herring@wharton.upenn.edu