Program Overview
Kenneth W. Monfort College of Business
Contact: Michael Martin, Ph.D., Chair
Location: Kepner 1055
Telephone: 970-351-2275
Fax: 970-351-1097
Website: mcb.unco.edu/programs/business-administration/finance.aspx
Advising Information:
All business majors must consult with their assigned advisor each semester prior to registering.
To find your advisor, log into ursa.unco.edu; go to 'Student' tab and click 'View Student Information' link. If no advisor is listed, contact the MCB Advising Office for advisor information, 970-351-1233.
The program consists of three parts:
- Liberal Arts Curriculum (LAC) Credits
- Required Major Credits
- University-Wide Credits
Program Description:
The Risk and Insurance industry is a global industry that employs more than 2.3 million people in the United States alone. Recent data from this industry shows risk management programs have only met 10-15 percent of the industry’s needs. Further, the need for institutional and financial services graduates is strong and growing. As a result, there are a lot of job opportunities available in these sectors of finance. The Monfort College of Business Institutions and Risk Management concentration prepares you for a variety of professions including: chief financial officer, general management, underwriting and claims, budget analysis, brokerage, surplus lines, and risk management. With so many career paths, potential work environments is unlimited.
Upon completing this concentration, you will learn strategic risk management, data analytics, insurance coverage, and general problem-solving skills. With these skills, you will be well prepared for analyzing and mitigating risks within an organization. Graduates from this concentration may go on to become:
- Financial Examiners
- Commercial bankers
- Finance Managers
- Corporate Finance
- Financial Analyst
- Budget Analyst
- Insurance Investigators and Adjusters
- Insurance Underwriters
Institutions and Risk Management Student Learning Outcomes:
Students who complete the Institutions and Risk Management concentration will have the following learning outcomes:
1. Demonstrate an understanding of time value of money concepts.
2. Demonstrate an understanding of firm project, and security valuation, including short-term and long-term assets and liabilities.
3. Demonstrate an understanding of risk and return and its role in financial markets and the environment.
4. Demonstrate an understanding of financial statements and the effects of alternative financing options.
5. Demonstrate knowledge of the structure and functions of various financial institutions and be familiar with the tools and techniques they use to identify and mitigate risk.
Program Admission Requirements:
- Incoming New First Time and Transfer students are admitted to the College of Business major and minors provided they meet the admission requirements set forth by UNC.
- Current UNC students who have completed at least 15 credit hours with a cumulative GPA of 2.50 or above are guaranteed admission to any business major.
- Current UNC students who have completed at least 15 credit hours with a cumulative GPA of 2.00-2.49 qualify to apply for admission to a business major. Students may apply at the MCB Advising Center located in Kepner 1095.
Degree Requirement Notes:
Students are reminded that to graduate with a Business Administration degree, a student must attain a 2.0 or greater cumulative Business GPA and at least a "C-" grade in each individual Business Administration Core, concentration and business elective courses.
Business coursework may be transferred toward a Business degree according to the following limits:
- Students must complete at least 30 credits of their business degree in residence from MCB and these credits must be at the 300 and/or 400 level.
Program Requirements:
- All students in the program must complete a Professional Experience prior to graduation. A for-credit internship, if completed satisfactorily, will fulfill the work experience component of the Professional Experience. All students must complete the Professional Experience required workshops. For more information please visit the Professional Experience website.
- In addition to fulfilling the basic requirements for the Bachelor or Science degree in Business Administration students must attain at least a grade of "C-" or better in the Required Concentration Credits, Elective Concentration Credits, and Major Elective Credits in order to count towards graduation.
- Students interested in the field of Financial Planning and/or who want to sit for the CFP™ Certification Exam should take the following elective courses: BAFN 340, BAFN 479, BAAC 320 and BAAC 325.
- Students interested in the field of investments and/or who want to prepare for the CFA® exam should take the following courses as their Elective Concentration Credits: BAFN 479, BAFN 478, and BAAC 320.
- Students interested in the field of corporate financial management and/or who want to prepare for the CFM exam should take the following courses as their Elective Concentration Credits: BAAC 320, BAAC 323 and BAFN 479.
- Students interested in the field of banking should take the following courses as their Elective Concentration Credits: BAFN 473, BAFN 479 and one other course from the list of Elective Concentration Credits.
- BAFN 495 Special Topics or any Executive Professor class may be substituted for a finance elective with the approval of the Chair of the Department of Finance.
Coursework completed by a student within the preceding 10 years may apply as credit toward a bachelor's degree. Coursework taken before the 10-year limit may be reviewed by the school director and college dean to determine its appropriateness to the major requirements.
Degree Requirements — 120 Credits
1. Liberal Arts Curriculum — 31 credits
To complete the degree in 120 credits as outlined, the program recommends the below LAC courses that also count toward the required major credits. Any additional LAC coursework completed outside of the recommended list below may extend the length of the program of study.
Written Communication — 6 credits
The program recommends that you choose one of the following courses for Intermediate Communication:
BA 205 OR ENG 123
Either course will fulfill both a major requirement and the Liberal Arts Curriculum requirement.
See Written Communication courses
Mathematics — 3 credits
The program recommends that you take the following courses:
MATH 124 or STAT 150
Both courses are required for the major. Either one of them will fulfill the 3 credit hour math requirement in the Liberal Arts Curriculum.
See Mathematics courses
Arts & Humanities, History, Social & Behavioral Sciences, U.S. Multicultural Studies [MS], and International Studies [IS] — 15 credits
To complete the LAC in the minimum number of credits, be sure to choose at least one course with an IS designation and one course with an MS designation.
The program recommends the following courses in the Social & Behavioral Sciences category.
ECON 203 AND ECON 205
PSY 120 OR PSY 265 OR SOC 100
Both economics courses and one of the other three courses are required for the major. Any one of them can be used to fulfill the Liberal Arts Curriculum requirement of 3 credits in Social and Behavioral Sciences. A second one can be used to fulfill the requirement of an additional course (3 credits) in Arts & Humanities, History or Social and Behavioral Sciences.
See Arts & Humanities, History, and Social & Behavioral Sciences courses
Natural & Physical Sciences — 7 credits
Select any courses to fulfill this requirement from the currently approved LAC course list.
See Natural & Physical Sciences courses
See Liberal Arts Curriculum
2. Required Major — 88 credits
(Required Supporting Credits — 28 credits)
The following courses are required as part of the Business major, some of which will also count towards the Liberal Arts Curriculum.
(Business Core Credits — 30 credits)
Take all of the following courses:
BAMG 456 is the capstone course for Business majors and is designed to be taken in the student’s last semester.
(Institutions and Risk Management Concentration Credits — 21 credits)
Take all of the following courses:
(Elective Institutions and Risk Management Concentration Credits — 3 credits)
Pick one course from the following list of electives for this concentration.
(Elective Major Credits — 6 credits)
Take six (6) semester credit hours from BACS 200 or BACS 287 or any other 300/400 level business course not already counted in Business Core, Concentration or Concentration electives.
(BAAC 301 and BAFN 302 may not be used.)
| | Any 300 or 400-level business electives (BA prefix) except for BAAC 301 and BAFN 302 | |
| BACS 200 | Web Design and Development for Small Business | 3 |
| | or | |
| BACS 287 | Fundamentals of Programming | 3 |
3. University-Wide Credits — 1-13 credits*
*Note: Students must apply at least some of the recommended courses to both the liberal arts curriculum requirements and the major requirements to complete this degree program in 120 credit hours. Students who apply all of the recommended courses to the LAC will have up to 13 credits of university wide electives to apply to this degree depending on the number of credits applied to both the LAC and the major. See your advisor for details.