The courses in the finance program: (1) provide an understanding of the importance of financial information and decision-making for businesses, government, investors, and creditors; (2) teach students how to acquire, process, and analyze information; (3) provide rigorous training for finance careers in industry, financial institutions, and government.

Selected Educational Outcomes

  1. Graduates will demonstrate knowledge of corporate financial management.
  2. Graduates will demonstrate knowledge of investments.
  3. Graduates will use technology to analyze financial challenges.
  4. Graduates will communicate findings of financial analyses.

The finance faculty use a variety of methods to assess the educational outcomes, including examinations, quizzes, oral presentations, written assignments, and finance-related case studies. The faculty use the assessment results to continuously review and improve the finance curriculum.

Requirements for the B.B.A. with a Major in Finance

Core Curriculum60
Core IMPACTS (See VSU Core Curriculum) 142
Field of Study Requirements 218
Applied Business Statistics
The Environment of Business
Information Systems and Data Transformation in Business
Principles of Microeconomics
Principles of Accounting I
and Principles of Accounting II
Finance Major Curriculum60
Required Senior College Core 221
BUSA 3450Management Information Systems3
DATA 3100Introduction to Data Analytics3
DATA 3200Data Visualizations and Analytics3
FIN 3350Financial Management3
MGNT 3250Management and Organization Behavior3
MKTG 3050Introduction to Marketing (Strategic Management Option: Select one of the following:)3
Strategic Management Option: Select one of the following:3
Strategic Management
Strategic Management of MNEs
Strategic Management of an Enterprise
International Option--select one of the following:3
International Economics
Multinational Corporate Finance
Introduction to International Business
International Marketing
International Management
Professional Growth
BUSA 2999Career Development0
BUSA 3999Experiential Learning0
BUSA 4999Career Path0
Required Finance Core 2
FIN 3360Advanced Financial Management with Digital Transformation3
FIN 4520Investments3
FIN 4760Modern Financial Intermediaries & Risk Management3
Finance Electives 212
Any 3000- or 4000-level ACCT, BUSA, ECON, FIN, HCAD, IB, MGNT, or MKTG courses not listed above. At least 6 hours must be FIN 4000-level courses.
Business Electives 29
Any 3000- or 4000-level business courses not selected above
General Electives 36
Electives may be undergraduate and/or graduate business and/or non-business courses 4
Total hours required for the degree120
1

 If ECON 2105 is taken in Area E, the grade must be a "C" or better.

2

The grade in each of these courses must be a “C” or better.

3

 If PERS 2799 Personal Finance is not taken in Area B, it must be taken as a general elective.
 If ECON 2015 is not taken in Area E, it must be taken as a general elective, and the grade must be a "C" or better.

4

No more than 9 hours of MBA or MAcc courses may be counted toward the major.

Accelerated Undergraduate-to-Graduate Track

Contingent upon acceptance in to the Accelerated Undergraduate-to-Graduate Track, students wishing to pursue a Master of Business Administration (M.B.A.) or a Master of Accountancy (M.Acc.) at Valdosta State University may take up to 9 semester hours of graduate-level coursework (courses numbered 5000 or above) that will count toward Business electives for their major or toward general electives for the undergraduate degree.

Acceptance in to the Accelerated track requires:

1.  written notification by an LCOBA professional advisor from the Student Engagement Center to the LCOBA Director of Graduate Programs of her/his willingness to serve as the student's Accelerated Undergraduate-to-Graduate Track advisor.

2.  completion of 75 credit hours of undergraduate coursework: 

a.  at least 15 hours must be LCOBA courses, with at least a 3.0 GPA for those LCOBA credits; and

b.  a grade of “C” or better must be earned in each of those LCOBA courses.

3.  an overall GPA in undergraduate course work of at least 3.0.

Graduate courses taken as an undergraduate will count toward the 120-hour graduation requirement but will not count toward the student’s undergraduate GPA or the calculation of academic honors.

Upon acceptance into the Accelerated Undergraduate-to-Graduate Track in the M.B.A. or M.Acc., students must maintain an overall GPA of 3.0 to remain in good standing. Students who do not maintain good standing or who do not wish to continue with the Accelerated Undergraduate-to-Graduate Track may revert to their original track to complete the remaining requirements for their undergraduate business degree (B.B.A.).