Majors › Finance, B.S. (Business)
Finance at Penn State: 4‑year plan & entrance requirements
Penn State’s suggested 8-semester route through the Finance B.S. at University Park, 120 credits in all, with every course titled and the Entrance to Major courses marked.
Entrance to Major
The courses you need before you can formally enter the major.
- One of: ENGL 15 Rhetoric and Composition or ENGL 30H Honors Rhetoric and Composition or ESL 15 ESL Composition for American Academic Communication II or ENGL 137H Rhetoric and Civic Life I or CAS 137H Rhetoric and Civic Life I
- One of: MATH 110 Techniques of Calculus I or MATH 140 Calculus With Analytic Geometry I or MATH 140B Calculus and Biology I
- One of: SCM 200 Introduction to Statistics for Business or SCM 200H Honors Introduction to Statistics for Business or STAT 200 Elementary Statistics
- One of: ECON 102 Introductory Microeconomic Analysis and Policy or ECON 102H Introductory Microeconomic Analysis and Policy (Honors)
- One of: ACCTG 211 Financial and Managerial Accounting for Decision Making or ACCTG 211H Financial and Managerial Accounting for Decision Making or (ACCTG 201 Introduction to Financial Accounting and ACCTG 202 Introduction to Managerial Accounting)
- One of: MGMT 301 Basic Management Concepts or MGMT 301H Basic Management Concepts (Honors) or MGMT 301W Basic Management Concepts
- One of: MKTG 301 Principles of Marketing or MKTG 301H Principles of Marketing (Honors) or MKTG 301W Principles of Marketing
- One of: FIN 301 Corporation Finance or FIN 301H Corporation Finance (Honors)
Each course needs a grade of C or better.
The bulletin gives more than one GPA figure depending on your situation, so check the official section for the one that applies to you.
There are other conditions too, such as credit windows, application deadlines or space limits, that aren’t summarised here.
Semester-by-semester plan
The order Penn State suggests, so prerequisites come first and credit loads stay balanced.
Entrance marks a course that counts toward the Entrance to Major requirements.
First year · Fall 15 credits
| Course | Credits |
|---|---|
| PSU 6 First-Year Seminar Business | 1 |
| MATH 110 Techniques of Calculus I or MATH 140 Calculus With Analytic Geometry I Entrance | 4 |
| ENGL 15 Rhetoric and Composition or ENGL 30H Honors Rhetoric and Composition or ESL 15 ESL Composition for American Academic Communication II or ENGL 137H Rhetoric and Civic Life I or CAS 137H Rhetoric and Civic Life I Entrance | 3 |
| ECON 102 Introductory Microeconomic Analysis and Policy Entrance | 3 |
| World Language - Level One (4th credit level) | 4 |
First year · Spring 14 credits
| Course | Credits |
|---|---|
| MGMT 301 Basic Management Concepts Entrance | 3 |
| SCM 200 Introduction to Statistics for Business or STAT 200 Elementary Statistics Entrance | 4 |
| World Language - Level Two (8th credit level) | 4 |
| General Education — United States Cultures (US) | 3 |
Second year · Fall 17 credits
| Course | Credits |
|---|---|
| MKTG 301 Principles of Marketing Entrance | 3 |
| ACCTG 211 Financial and Managerial Accounting for Decision Making Entrance | 4 |
| ECON 104 Introductory Macroeconomic Analysis and Policy | 3 |
| World Language - Level Three (12th credit level) | 4 |
| General Education — International Cultures (IL) | 3 |
Second year · Spring 15 credits
| Course | Credits |
|---|---|
| FIN 301 Corporation Finance Entrance | 3 |
| SCM 301 Supply Chain Management | 3 |
| ENGL 138T Rhetoric and Civic Life II or CAS 138T Rhetoric and Civic Life II or CAS 100 Effective Speech | 3 |
| MIS 250 Introduction to Problem Solving with Spreadsheet Analysis and Information Systems Management | 3 |
| General Education | 3 |
Third year · Fall 15 credits
| Course | Credits |
|---|---|
| FIN 305W Financial Management of the Business Enterprise | 3 |
| FIN 408 Financial Markets and Institutions or FIN 406 Security Analysis and Portfolio Management | 3 |
| ENGL 202D Effective Writing: Business Writing | 3 |
| BLAW 341 Business Law I: Introduction to Contracts, Liability Issues, and Intellectual Property or BA 342 Socially Responsible, Sustainable and Ethical Business Practice | 3 |
| General Education | 3 |
Third year · Spring 15 credits
| Course | Credits |
|---|---|
| FIN 4XX - Finance Elective | 3 |
| FIN 406 Security Analysis and Portfolio Management or FIN 408 Financial Markets and Institutions | 3 |
| General Education — Natural Sciences (GN) | 3 |
| BA 342 Socially Responsible, Sustainable and Ethical Business Practice or BLAW 341 Business Law I: Introduction to Contracts, Liability Issues, and Intellectual Property | 3 |
| General Education | 3 |
Fourth year · Fall 14 credits
| Course | Credits |
|---|---|
| FIN 4XX - Finance Elective | 3 |
| Business Breadth Course | 3 |
| Business Breadth Course | 3 |
| General Education — Natural Sciences (GN) | 3 |
| Elective | 2 |
Fourth year · Spring 15 credits
| Course | Credits |
|---|---|
| FIN 4XX - Finance Elective | 3 |
| BA 411 or a Business Breadth course | 3 |
| General Education | 3 |
| General Education | 3 |
| Elective | 3 |
Source: the Suggested Academic Plan in the Penn State Undergraduate Bulletin. GradGPS is an independent student project and isn’t affiliated with Penn State. Requirements change, so confirm your plan with your adviser.
Already partway through?
This plan assumes you start from zero. GradGPS reads your LionPATH transcript, checks off what you’ve done, and reflows the rest of this plan around you, including AP, transfer credit and switched majors.
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