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Finance Advising

Introduction

The finance major at Dickinson is grounded in the liberal arts and built on well-established curricular and programmatic strengths. You will develop rigorous quantitative and analytical skills alongside the ability to communicate clearly, think ethically and evaluate financial systems in social and global contexts. With a curriculum drawing on economics, international business & management, mathematics and data analytics, Dickinson's finance major reflects the inherent interdisciplinarity of finance.

A required experiential learning component, access to Bloomberg Terminals, support from the Burgess Institute for the Global Economy and close faculty mentorship ensure that you will apply what you learn beyond the classroom.

As a finance major, you'll graduate prepared for competitive careers and further study, equipped not only with technical tools but with the judgment, flexibility and perspective that define a Dickinson education.

Placement information

A first-year student interested in finance should take:

Importantly, the suggested first-year course requirements facilitate exploration of several potential majors including: economics, finance, international business and management, international studies, and quantitative economics.

Advice to students

Our advice to first-year students: be sure to begin the calculus sequence early to account for the vertical nature of the requirements, especially in economics.

Requirements

The finance major consists of 12 courses and a required experiential learning component.

Foundational Requirements (5)

  • MATH 170: Single-Variable Calculus
  • Statistics (MATH 121 or DATA 180 or MATH 225)
  • INBM 110: Fundamentals of Accounting
  • ECON 111: Introduction to Microeconomics
  • ECON 112: Introduction to Macroeconomics

Intermediate Requirements (4)

  • INBM 250: Finance
  • ECON 247: Money & Banking
  • ECON 298: Econometrics
  • INBM 311: Managerial Accounting

Interdisciplinary Elective (1)

  • one course, in a department other than ECON or INBM, investigating alternative views on finance, as approved by the finance program coordinator. See below for learning outcomes and the list of pre-approved electives.

Advanced Requirements (2)

  • INBM 350: Investments
  • any other upper-level finance course with INBM 250 as a prerequisite [1]

Experiential learning component

  • a registered experiential learning component: Academic Internship & Research Program (INTR 7xx, REXP 7xx) or other pre-approved course designation, using finance skills broadly defined, any time after completion of INBM 250.

 

[1] Currently this would include INBM 351: Corporate and Entrepreneurial Finance and ECON 357: Empirical Finance

INTERDISCIPLINARY FINANCE ELECTIVES

Finance majors are required to take one course, in a department other than economics or international business and management, investigating alternative views on finance. Upon completion of courses approved to satisfy the interdisciplinary finance elective requirement, students should be able to demonstrate at least three of these five learning outcomes: 

  • Analyze financial institutions, practices, or outcomes within broader social, political, cultural, historical, or environmental contexts. 

  • Critically assess the assumptions, values, and limitations underlying common financial models, narratives, or policies. 

  • Integrate basic financial reasoning or concepts with methods, theories, or perspectives from another discipline. 

  • Articulate and defend ethical judgments related to financial decisions, policies, or systems. 

  • Communicate clearly, in writing, discussion, or presentation, about complex financial issues to audiences beyond a technical or disciplinary context. 

Pre-approved interdisciplinary finance electives

  • PHIL 104: Practical Ethics

  • PHIL 258/DATA 198: Philosophy of Data

  • POSC/INST 273: International Political Economy

  • SOCI 230: Sociology of Money

  • SOCI 237: Global Inequality

 

Suggested curricular flow through the major

This pathway assumes a mathematics entry point of MATH 170, based on the mathematics placement exam. A smaller number of students may place into MATH 151 or MATH 171.

First year:

  • ECON 111: Introduction to Microeconomics
  • ECON 112: Introduction to Macroeconomics
  • MATH 170: Single-Variable Calculus
  • INBM 110: Fundamentals of Accounting

Sophomore:

  • Interdisciplinary elective
  • ECON 247: Money & Banking
  • Statistics (MATH 121 or DATA 180 or MATH 225)
  • INBM 250: Finance

Junior:

  • INBM 311: Managerial Accounting
  • ECON 298: Econometrics

Senior:

  • INBM 350: Investments
  • upper-level finance elective

Co-curricular activities/programs

A required experiential learning component, access to Bloomberg Terminals, support from the Burgess Institute for the Global Economy and close faculty mentorship ensure that you will apply what you learn beyond the classroom.