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:
- a course in the calculus sequence (MATH 151, MATH 170, or MATH 171 depending on placement, please see here for additional information on mathematics placement),
- ECON 111 and ECON 112 (AP Exam Scores of 4 or 5 will be awarded credit)
- Fundamentals of Accounting (INBM 110)
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.
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
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.