Undergraduate Program

Finance Concentration

The finance concentration develops the skills necessary to work at a high level of expertise in all areas of finance, including: asset management and financial markets; investment banking in a global context; the financial management of commercial and industrial enterprises as well as of financial institutions; the financial aspects of venture capital, mergers and acquisitions; and global management consulting. Concentrating in finance also equips students for careers in law and the public sector.

To complete the finance concentration, students are required to take FNCE 1000, FNCE 1010 and at least four (4) additional credit units (c.u.) from courses offered by the Finance Department.

Students wishing to concentrate in Finance should also note the following policies:

• Concentration courses cannot be taken pass/fail.
• Only a maximum of one (1) CU in Global Modular classes, ASPs courses or FNCE 3990: Supervised Independent Study in Finance may be applied to the concentration.
• Students cannot obtain credit for both FNCE 1010 and ECON 1020. Students who have already taken ECON 1020 must take a higher-level FNCE elective in lieu of the FNCE 1010 requirement. This elective must be in addition to the other four c.u. required for the finance concentration.
• 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.
• No course from a study abroad program will count toward your major requirements.

The Finance department consistently offers a very wide range of upper-level courses and new ones are introduced regularly. Each of the tracks recommended below provides a specialization in a different area of finance. Students may wish to pursue one or more of these tracks or, instead, design a more individualized path.

Effective 2023, The Wharton Finance Undergraduate Program is now STEM certified.

CORPORATE FINANCE (4 c.u.)

This track discusses the sources of funding of corporations, the actions that managers take to increase the firm value and the tools used to best allocate financial resources. The main concepts are applicable to the financial problems of all kinds of firms.

One (1) additional course

FNCE 2030 Advanced Corporate Finance

At least two (2) credit units from the following list

FNCE 2310 Global Valuation and Risk Analysis

FNCE 2380 Capital Markets

FNCE 2560 Energy Finance

FNCE 2830 Strategic Equity Finance

FNCE 2910 Corporate Restructuring

CAPITAL MARKETS AND BANKING (4 c.u.)

This track builds expertise in the works of financial markets and institutions. It helps students understand key financial services such as investment banking, lending, equity sales and trading, research and consulting

One (1) additional course

FNCE 2070 Valuation

At least two (2) credit units from the following list

FNCE 2190 International Financial Markets and Cryptocurrencies

FNCE 2320 International Banking

FNCE 2380 Capital Markets

FNCE 2400 Central Banks, Macroeconomic Policy and Financial Markets

FNCE 2510 The Finance of Buyouts and Acquisitions

FNCE 2830 Strategic Equity Finance

PRIVATE EQUITY AND VENTURE CAPITAL (4 c.u.)

This track covers investments in non-conventional asset categories that differ in regulation, degree of risk such as private equity and venture capital. These asset classes are highly complex and often held by institutional investors. 

One (1) additional course

FNCE 2500 Venture Capital and the Finance of Innovation 

At least two (2) credit units from the following list

FNCE 2070 Valuation

FNCE 2510 The Finance of Buyouts and Acquisitions

FNCE 2530 Distressed Investing

FNCE 2800 FinTech

INVESTMENTS (4 c.u.)

This track covers the fundamentals used in financial analysis and asset management. It provides tools that are necessary for careers in asset management (e.g., mutual funds, hedge funds) and in private wealth management.

Two (2) additional courses

FNCE 2050 Investment Management

FNCE 2070 Valuation

At least one (1) credit units from the following list

FNCE 2020 Consumer Financial Decision Making

FNCE 2090 Real Estate Investment

FNCE 2250 Fixed Income

FNCE 2540 Impact Investing

FNCE 3860 Hedge Funds

QUANTITATIVE FINANCE (4 c.u.)

This track focuses on the application of advanced quantitative and computational tools the finance industry. It is suited for students interested in quantitative modelling of financial markets.

One (1) additional course

FNCE 2050 Investment Management

At least two (2) credit units from the following list

FNCE 2170 Financial Derivatives

FNCE 2190 International Financial Markets and Cryptocurrencies

FNCE 2250 Fixed Income

FNCE 2370 Data Science for Finance

FNCE 2570 Foundations of Asset Pricing

Not all courses are offered each semester. View the current Finance course schedule with links to syllabi and review the course descriptions.

For questions please contact the Associate Director, Stacy Franks, (stacyf@wharton.upenn.edu)

Finance Concentration Advisor, Professor Bilge Yilmaz, (yilmaz@wharton.upenn.edu)