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), ECON 111 and 112, and 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
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), ECON 111 and 112, and 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.
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 will consist of 12 courses and a required experiential learning component. All proposed required courses are currently being taught on campus.
Quantitative Methods (2)
- MATH 170: Single-Variable Calculus
- Statistics (MATH 121 or DATA 180 or MATH 225)
Economics (4)
- ECON 111: Introduction to Microeconomics
- ECON 112: Introduction to Macroeconomics
- ECON 247: Money & Banking
- ECON 298: Econometrics
Accounting & Finance (4)
- INBM 110: Fundamentals of Accounting
- INBM 250: Finance
- INBM 311: Managerial Accounting
- INBM 350: Investments
At least ONE upper-level finance elective (1)
- any other upper-level finance course with INBM 250 as a prerequisite[1]
At least ONE interdisciplinary elective (1)
- one course, not in ECON or INBM, investigating alternative views on finance in the humanities or social sciences, as approved by the finance program coordinator
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.
Notes:
The proposed finance major has significant course requirement overlap with several other existing majors on campus, the following are the maximum possible course requirement overlap for finance and selected related majors:
- INBM (7 courses)
- QECN (7 courses)
- ECON (6 courses)
- DATA (6 courses, assuming new finance 3-course sequence (INBM 110, 250, 350)) or (6 courses, assuming INBM 3-course sequence) or (5 courses, assuming ECON 3-course sequence)
This overlap is consistent with other existing maximum major requirement overlap (such as QECN/DATA (7 courses) and ANTH/ARCH (7 courses)) and less than some others (such as BCMB/CHEM (11 courses). That said, due to this overlap, the finance working group spent significant time considering potential double-major restrictions, including disallowing double-majors in INBM/FINC, ECON/FINC, and QECN/FINC or limiting the number of courses that count toward any two of these related majors. Ultimately, the working group chose to maintain maximum flexibility for students and does not recommend any double-major restrictions. We do understand, however, that other adjacent majors may choose to establish some restrictions on double-majoring.
Learning Outcomes for the Major/Minor/Certificate:
Upon graduation from Dickinson, Finance majors will be able to:
- Describe the core concepts and chains of reasoning underlying a variety of economic and financial models.
- Apply key economic and financial concepts, including the time value of money, risk assessment, asset valuation, and portfolio management to connect insights from multiple disciplines in the liberal arts.
- Effectively communicate financial analyses, both written and oral, to diverse audiences.
- Collaborate effectively in teams, demonstrate professional responsibility, and exercise ethical judgement in financial analyses and insights.
Assessment Plan for the Major/Minor/Certificate:
The working group has met with Sarah Niebler, Associate Provost for Assessment and Strategic Initiatives, to discuss an assessment plan. To that end, we’ve developed a curriculum map (attached), based on the learning outcomes above and will use this as a guide for assessment, following the newly developed three-year cycle. Since all the proposed finance courses are existing courses in other programs, the finance learning outcomes could be paired with assessment in these other programs.
How does the major/minor/certificate contribute to the all-college WiD requirement at the intermediate and senior levels?
The proposed finance major does not have a required WiD course. Given the likely prevalence of double-majoring among finance majors we expect that most students will take their WiD course in other adjacent departments or majors such as economics (which routinely offers WiD electives) or data analytics (which embeds the WiD requirement in their curriculum).
Suggested four-year course plan:
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
[1] Currently this would include INBM 351: Corporate and Entrepreneurial Finance and Empirical Finance (currently being taught as a selected topics course, ECON 314).
Courses appropriate for prospective majors
Suggested four-year course plan:
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
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.