Finance
- Bachelor of Science
- Minor
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The Finance Program
Finance is the art and science of managing money. By studying finance, you gain an understanding of how the capital markets and systems interact and use that information to make sound financial decisions. The major in Finance provides students with strong finance fundamentals but allows them to deepen their studies in one of four academic tracks (corporate finance, investment management, behavioral finance and computational finance). By their senior year, students refine their studies towards data analytics, sitting for the CFA or CFP exams, the psychology of investing, or the mathematics of investing.
Undergraduate Programs
What Can I Do With a Major in Finance?
Graduates will be well suited to begin careers at investment-specific firms or finance departments of any business. In addition, students may pursue continued education through master's or Ph.D. programs.
- The McKenna School’s finance major is one of the few undergraduate programs in the United States with a curriculum that provides the advanced training necessary to pass the CFA Level I Exam and the CFP Certification Exam.
- The McKenna School offers SAP Business One certification. SAP’s comprehensive business software suite is utilized by thousands of prominent world class companies such as Kennametal Inc., Heinz Corporation, KPMG, Latrobe Specialty Steel Co. and Siemens.
- Examples of the jobs that our students can acquire include Corporate & Institutional Banking, Investment Manager, Derivatives Analyst, Lean Operations Facilitator, Financial Analyst and Operations Specialist.
Curriculum Requirements
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Requirements for a Bachelor of Science Degree in Finance
The Business and College Core curriculum is required for all five tracks:
Business core (44 credits)
BA 100 Financial Accounting I (freshman year) - 3 credits
BA 170 Organizational Behavior (freshman year) - 3 credits
BA 220 Principles of Marketing (sophomore year) - 3 credits
BA 265 Management Information Systems (sophomore year) - 3 credits
BA 305 Business Ethics (junior year preferred) - 3 credits
BA 320 Corporate Finance I (sophomore year) - 3 credits
BA 340 Business Law (junior year) - 3 credits
BA 350 Statistics I and BA 350A Excel Lab (sophomore year) - 4 credits
BA 351 Statistics II and BA 351A Excel Lab - 4 credits
or EC 360 Econometrics (sophomore year) - 3 credits
BA 495 Business Policy and Strategy (senior year) - 3 credits
EC 101 Principles of Microeconomics (freshman year) - 3 credits
EC 102 Principles of Macroeconomics (freshman year) - 3 credits
PS 100 Principles of American Politics - 3 credits
MA 109/111 Calculus I (freshman year) - 4 credits
BA 00P ePortfolio Requirement - 0 credit
Finance Major Requirements: Corporate Finance Track (27 credits)
BA 101 Financial Accounting II (freshman year) - 3 credits
BA 200 Intermediate Accounting I - 3 credits
BA 321 Corporate Finance II - 3 credits
BA 324 Advanced Personal Finance - 3 credits
BA 325 Analysis of Financial Statements - 3 credits
BA 353/EC 353 International Finance - 3 credits
BA 362 Investments I: Securities - 3 credits
BA 363 Investments II: Derivatives - 3 credits
BA 385 Financial Institutions - 3 creditsFinance Major Requirements: Computational Finance Track with Math Minor (40 credits)
BA 101 Financial Accounting II (freshman year) - 3 credits
BA 353/EC 353 International Finance - 3 credits
BA 362 Investments I: Securities - 3 credits
BA 363 Investments II: Derivatives - 3 credits
BA 385 Financial Institutions - 3 credits
BA 488 Portfolio Theory - 3 credits
BA 489 Valuations and Modeling - 3 credits
MA 112 Calculus II (freshman year) - 4 credits
MA 211 Calculus III - 4 credits
MA 212 Ordinary and Partial Differential Equations - 4 credits
MA 251 Linear Algebra - 3 credits
MA 421 Real Analysis I - 4 creditsNote: Students planning to seek a Ph.D. or Masters in Finance should strongly consider doing the computational finance trace, Real Analysis II, Econometrics, Intermediate Microeconomics, Advanced Microeconomics and Game Theory.
Finance Major Requirements: Investment Management Track CFA (27 credits)
BA 101 Financial Accounting II (freshman year)
BA 324 Advanced Personal Finance - 3 credits
BA 353/EC 353 International Finance - 3 credits
BA 362 Investments I: Securities - 3 credits
BA 363 Investments II: Derivatives - 3 credits
BA 385 Financial Institutions - 3 credits
BA 485 CFA Review Level I - 3 credits
BA 488 Portfolio Theory - 3 credits
BA 489 Valuations and Modeling - 3 creditsFinance Major Requirements: Investment Management Track CFP (36 credits
BA 101 Financial Accounting II (Freshman year) - 3 credits
BA 310 Taxes I - 3 credits
BA 311 Taxes II - 3 credits
BA 324 Advanced Personal Financial Planning - 3 credits
BA 353/EC 353 International Finance - 3 credits
BA 362 Investments I: Securities - 3 credits
BA 363 Investments II: Derivatives - 3 credits
BA 385 Financial Institutions - 3 credits
BA 484 Risk Management - 3 credits
BA 485 Financial Planning and Analysis - 3 credits
BA 488 Portfolio Theory - 3 credits
BA 489 Valuations and Modeling - 3 creditsFinance Major Requirements: Behavioral Finance Track with Psychology Minor (39 credits)
BA 101 Financial Accounting II (freshman year) - 3 credits
BA 353/EC 353 International Finance - 3 credits
BA 362 Investments I: Securities - 3 credits
BA 363 Investments II: Derivatives - 3 credits
BA 385 Financial Institutions - 3 credits
BA 324 Advanced Personal Finance - 3 credits
BA 488 Portfolio Theory - 3 credits
PY 100 Introduction to Psychology - 3 credits
PY 243 Abnormal Psychology - 3 credits
PY 244 Theories of Personality - 3 credits
PY 260 Social Psychology - 3 credits
PY 308 Cognitive Psychology - 3 credits
PY 309 Learning - 3 credits -
Requirements for a Dual Bachelor of Science Degree in Finance and Mathematics
Finance and Mathematics Major Requirements - B.S.
Business Core (45 credits)
BA 100 Financial Accounting I (freshman year) - 3 credits
BA 170 Organizational Behavior (freshman year) - 3 credits
BA 220 Principles of Marketing (2nd semester freshman year) - 3 credits
BA 265 Management Information Systems (sophomore year) - 3 credits
BA 305 Business Ethics (junior year preferred) - 3 credits
BA 320 Corporate Finance I (sophomore year) - 3 credits
BA 340 Business Law (junior year) - 3 credits
BA 350 Statistics I (sophomore year)/BA 350A Excel Lab - 4 credits
BA 351 Statistics II (sophomore year)/BA 351A Excel Lab - 4 credits or
EC 360 Econometrics (sophomore year) - 3 credits
BA 495 Business Policy and Strategy (senior year) - 3 credits
EC 101 Principles of Microeconomics (freshmen year) - 3 credits
EC 102 Principles of Macroeconomics (freshmen year) - 3 credits
PS 100 Principles of American Politics - 3 credits
MA 111 Calculus I (freshman year) - 4 credits
BA 00P ePortfolio Requirement (semester of graduation--pass/fail) 0
Finance -- Computational Finance Track (25 credits)
MA 112 Calculus II (freshman year) - 4 credits
BA 101 Financial Accounting II (freshman year) - 3 credits
BA/EC 353 International Finance - 3 credits
BA 362 Investments I: Securities - 3 credits
BA 363 Investments II: Derivatives - 3 credits
BA 385 Financial Institutions - 3 credits
BA 488 Portfolio Theory - 3 credits
BA 489 Valuations and Modeling - 3 credits
Mathematics Requirements (32 credits)
MA 211 Calculus III - 4 credits
MA 212 Ordinary & Partial Differential Equations - 4 credits
MA 251 Linear Algebra - 3 credits
MA 321 Complex Variables - 3 credits
MA 421 Real Analysis I - 4 credits
MA 422 Real Analysis II - 4 credits
PH 111 General Physics I - 3 credits
PH 113 General Physics I Lab - 1 credit
PH 112 General Physics II - 3 credits
PH 114 General Physics II Lab - 1 credit
CS 110 Computer Science I - 3 credits -
Requirements for a Minor in Finance
Finance Minor Requirements
Finance Minor—Required courses
BA 100 Financial Accounting I - 3 credits
BA 320 Corporate Finance I - 3 credits
BA 362 Investments: Securities - 3 credits
BA 363 Investments: Derivatives - 3 creditsIn addition to the above, any two of the following:
BA 321 Corporate Finance II - 3 credits
BA 325 Analysis of Financial Statements - 3 credits
BA 353/EC353* International Finance - 3 credits
BA 385 Financial Institutions - 3 credits
BA 484 Risk Management - 3 credits
BA 485 CFA Review Level I - 3 credits
BA 488 Portfolio Theory - 3 credits
BA 489 Valuations and Modeling - 3 credits
* BA 353/EC 353 does not count for International Business majors.
Job Placements and Careers
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Job Placements and Internships
Our students have secured jobs and internships in several areas of finance and related fields. Some include:
Avpro
AXA Advisors
Axon
Bank of America
Blue Chip Financial Group
BNY Mellon
Citizens Bank
Comity Land
Demming Financial Services
Duncan Financial Group
Enterprise Bank
Evoqua Water Technologies
Federated Investors
First Commonwealth Bank
First Energy
First National Bank
Hefren Tillotson (now Baird)
Herbein and Company
JP Morgan Chase
KeyBank
Levin Furniture
Merrill Lynch
Northwestern
Pioneer B1 (SAP)
PNC
PPG
PTC Alliance
Robindale Energy
SEI Investments
Stanley Black & Decker
State Farm
Walnut Capital Management
Wlsely Industrial Group
Masters Programs:
Villanova University, MS in Finance
Saint Vincent College, MSMOE
University of Connecticut, PhD in Fniance
University of Pittsburgh, MPA at GSPIA
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Career Options
There are many career options in finance including:
Commercial Banking
Investment Banking
Financial Advisor
Financial Analyst
Finance Department (any business)
Private Equity
Retail Investment
Graduate School
Accreditation
The McKenna School of Business has seven undergraduate programs and one graduate program accredited by the Accreditation Council for Business Schools and Programs (ACBSP). They are: Accounting, Business Education Information Technology, Business Economics, Finance, International Business, Economics, Management, Marketing and the Master of Science in Management: Operational Excellence graduate program. Three programs in Business Data Analytics (launched Fall 2020), Sports Management (launched Fall 2021) and Business Administration (launched Fall 2021) are in candidacy for accreditation.
With a requirement for faculty professional development (e.g., publications and research) and courses primarily taught by faculty holding doctorates, the ACBSP is the leading business accreditation program devoted to teaching excellence and service to students. Attributable to our ACBSP accreditation, students receive in depth knowledge in 12 business core competency areas: Accounting, Management, Business Ethics, Marketing, Information Systems, Business Finance, the Legal Environment of Business, Statistics, Business Policies, Economics, Quantitative Skills and Global Dimensions in Business.
The McKenna School is also a member of the Middle Atlantic Association of Colleges of Business Administration. The Politics and Criminal Justice programs are not accredited through the ACBSP; however, all programs in the McKenna School have regional accreditation through the Middle States Association. The ACBSP is one of the two premier accrediting agencies for business schools worldwide.
Distinctive Features of McKenna School's Finance Major
- Students complete the CFA Level I curriculum.
- CFP designated Business School.
- Finance job placements are exceptional. Since 2013, we have had 100 percent placement within 3 months of graduation. The Class of 2018 had 16 out of 16 graduates successfully placed within 1 week of graduation at a median starting salary of $60,000.
- Rankings: The McKenna business seniors score exceptionally well on the ETS national undergraduate business field test. Out of 496 accredited (i.e., ACBSP and AACSB) business schools, we ranked overall in the top 19.8% of the nation in 2018. In finance, the McKenna School finished the in the top 15.0% of the nation in 2018.
- Students use Morningstar financial analysis software in finance classes.
- Attributable to our ACBSP accreditation, students receive in depth knowledge in 12 business core competency areas: Accounting, Management, Business Ethics, Marketing, Information Systems, Business Finance, the Legal Environment of Business, Statistics, Business Policies, Economics, Quantitative Skills and Global Dimensions in Business.
- Students may join Women in Business, the Accounting Club, Pizza and Politics Club, the Finance Club, the OE Club, and Delta Mu Delta (the national Greek honor society for business majors).
Faculty
Nicholas Racculia
Professor of Finance
nicholas.racculia@stvincent.edu
Christian Kalhoefer
Professor of Finance
christian.kalhoefer@stvincent.edu
Mark Abramovic
Instructor of Finance
mark.abramovic@stvincent.edu
Jayme Meredith
Adjunct
jayme.meredith@stvincent.edu
David Riehl
Adjunct
david.riehl@stvincent.edu
Gregory Forsythe
Adjunct
gregory.forsythe@stvincent.edu
Joseph Yezovich
Adjunct
joseph.yezovich@stvincent.edu