Program Overview

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Finance (Risk Management and Insurance) - Bachelor of Business Administration

The Finance program at New Mexico State University is designed to provide students with a comprehensive understanding of the principles and practices of finance. The program is structured to equip students with the knowledge and skills necessary to succeed in a variety of finance-related careers.

Program Description

Finance is the crossroads of economics, strategy, and accounting, and the study of how firms and individuals allocate resources over time and under uncertain conditions. The finance curriculum provides a core foundation in corporate finance, investments, and financial institutions. The theory and concepts are then applied to problem-solving in a variety of areas, including financial markets and institutions, corporate finance, international financial management, stock valuation and portfolio allocation, fixed-income markets, derivatives, risk management and insurance, and entrepreneurial finance.

Requirements

To complete the Bachelor of Business Administration in Finance, students must fulfill the following requirements:

• Completion of the courses listed below (including any prerequisites) with a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.0 in these courses.
• At least twelve of the credits for the major must be completed at NMSU.
• Students must complete all University degree requirements, which include:
  • General Education requirements
  • Viewing a Wider World requirements
  • Elective credits to total at least 120 credits with 48 credits in courses numbered 300 or above.
• Developmental coursework will not count towards the degree requirements and/or elective credits, but may be needed in order to take the necessary English and Mathematics coursework.

Course List

The following courses are required for the Finance (Risk Management and Insurance) concentration:

General Education

• Area I: Communications
  • English Composition Level - 1: Choose one from the following:
    • ENGL 1110G: Composition I
    • ENGL 1110H: Composition I
    • ENGL 1110M: Composition I
  • English Composition - Level 2:
    • ENGL 2210G: Professional & Technical Communication
  • Oral Communication: Choose one from the following:
    • AXED 2120G: Effective Leadership and Communication in Agriculture
    • COMM 1115G: Introduction to Communication
    • COMM 1130G: Public Speaking
    • HNRS 2175G: Introduction to Communication Honors
• Area II: Mathematics
  • MATH 1220G: College Algebra
• Area III/IV: Laboratory Sciences and Social/Behavioral Sciences
  • Area III: Laboratory Sciences
  • Grades of C- or better are required in ECON 2110G and ECON 2120G.
  • ECON 2110G: Macroeconomic Principles
  • ECON 2120G: Principles of Microeconomics
• Area V: Humanities
• Area VI: Creative and Fine Arts
• General Education Elective
• Viewing A Wider World

Departmental/College Requirements

• Foundation Requirements
  • MATH 1430G: Applications of Calculus I
  • Choose one from the following (grade of C- or better required):
    • MATH 1350G: Introduction to Statistics
    • A ST 311: Statistical Applications
• Business Core: Lower Division (minimum grades of C- required)
  • ACCT 2110: Principles of Accounting I
  • ACCT 2120: Principles of Accounting II
  • BCIS 1110: Introduction to Information Systems
  • BUSA 1110: Intro to Business
• Business Core: Upper Division
  • BCIS 338: Business Information Systems I
  • BLAW 316: Legal Environment of Business
  • BFIN 341: Financial Analysis and Markets
  • MGMT 309: Human Behavior in Organizations
  • MGMT 449: Strategic Management
  • MKTG 303: Principles of Marketing
  • Choose one of the following:
    • BCIS 485: Enterprise Resource Planning
    • MGMT 344: Production and Operations Management
    • MGMT 470: Project Management in Organizations
• Upper division Economics or Applied Statistics elective from the following prefixes: A ST (excluding A ST 311), ECON
• Upper Division Business Elective from the following prefixes: A ST, ACCT, B A, BCIS, BLAW, ECON, ENTR, BFIN, I B, MGMT, MKTG (excluding A ST 311)

Major Courses

• BFIN 355: Investments
• BFIN 360: Financial Information Technology
• BFIN 385: Analysis of Financial Markets and Institutions
• BFIN 406: Theory of Financial Decisions
• Twelve credits from:
  • Risk Management and Insurance Concentration (12 credits from the following)
    • BFIN 322: Principles of Insurance (Required)
    • BFIN 323: Life/Health/Employee Benefits
    • BFIN 324: Property and Liability Insurance
    • BFIN 326: Business Risk Management
    • BFIN 421: Personal Financial Planning for Professionals
    • BFIN 392: Insurance Internship and Cooperative Education I
    • BFIN 498: Independent Study
  • Or four courses from any BFIN prefix above BFIN 310 or from any concentration below, for students not wishing to declare a concentration

Electives

• Electives, to bring the total credits to 120

Total Credits

The total credits required for the Bachelor of Business Administration in Finance is 120.

Suggested Plan of Study

A suggested plan of study for students pursuing a Finance major is provided below:

Junior

• Fall:
  • BFIN 341: Financial Analysis and Markets
  • BFIN elective
• Spring:
  • BFIN 355: Investments
  • BFIN 360: Financial Information Technology
  • BFIN 385: Analysis of Financial Markets and Institutions

Senior

• Fall:
  • BFIN 406: Theory of Financial Decisions
  • BFIN elective
• Spring:
  • BFIN elective
  • BFIN elective