College of Business Administration Website
Department Website

Why Study Finance? Why Study Law?
Finance and Law at CMU
Admission, Retention, and Termination Standards
Finance Major
Personal Finance Planning Major
Finance Minor
Legal Studies Minor
The Faculty
FIN Course Descriptions
BLR Course Descriptions

Why Study Finance? Why Study Law? 
The major problem underlying the study of Finance is the lack of enough money to meet all needs. Finance is the study of money management, the acquiring of funds (cash) and the directing of these funds to meet particular objectives. Finance, then, is the cornerstone of money decisions, whether in investing of client funds, business funds, or banking. Courses in law provide a foundation for law-related career objectives. Business Law and Regulation courses explore the basis for business regulation and the Legal Studies minor explores the principles of jurisprudence.
Top of Page

Finance and Law at CMU 
The Department of Finance and Law at CMU offers majors in Finance and Personal Financial Planning, and minors in Legal Studies and Finance. The General Finance major is the study of the principles of financial management and financial institutions. The General Finance major incorporates principles of investments and portfolio management, but focuses upon meeting the financial objectives of modem corporations. The Personal Financial Planning major is the study of financial principles relating to personal financial objectives and the techniques of achieving personal financial objectives. The Legal Studies minor contains courses providing instruction to improve the understanding of the operations of law, its function, capabilities, and limitations.
Top of Page

Admission, Retention, and Termination Standards

To sign a major in Finance or Personal Financial Planning:

• A student must first be admitted to Professional Business Studies.
• At least eighteen hours of Finance coursework must be taken at CMU. FIN 499, on the Finance major, must be taken at CMU.
• Only FIN 490 may be taken as Credit/No Credit and counted toward the major.

To sign a minor in Finance: See an advisor in the Department of Finance and Law and bring along a copy of your signed major.

• At least fifteen hours of finance coursework must be taken at CMU.
• Credit/No Credit coursework will not count.
• No more than a total of 27 hours of credit earned in business courses, including business transfer hours, may be counted towards graduation unless the student is majoring in the College of Business Administration.

To sign a minor in Legal Studies: See an advisor in the Department of Finance and Law and bring along a copy of your signed major.

• No more than a total of 27 hours of credit earned in business courses, including business transfer hours, may be counted towards graduation unless the student is majoring in the College of Business Administration.
  Top of Page

Majors 
Majors in this department are available only to students pursuing the Bachelor of Science in Business Administration degree. At least eighteen credit hours of finance coursework must be taken at CMU, and FIN 499, required in the Finance major, must be taken at CMU. The only course that may be taken credit/no credit is the Internship in Finance.
Top of Page

Finance Major 
B.S. in B.A. degree 

The Finance Major prepares students for careers in banking, corporate finance, and investments.

A. Additional Common Body of Knowledge in Business Administration (9 hours):
BLR 202 (3) Legal Environment of Business
MGT 340 (3) Production/Operations Management
MGT 495 (3) Global Management Strategy

B. Required Courses (21 hours):
FIN 315 (3) Principles of Investments
FIN 425 (3) Options and Futures
FIN 442 (3) Intermediate Financial Management
FIN 448 (3) Fundamental Financial Analysis
FIN 472 (3) Money and Capital Markets
FIN 499 (3) Advanced Financial Management
FIN 573 (3) International Finance

C. Electives (6 hours): Selected from the following courses with the approval of advisor.

1. Accounting Electives (3-6 hours)
ACC 301 (3) Intermediate Accounting I
ACC 302 (3) Intermediate Accounting II
ACC 311 (3) Federal Income Taxation I
ACC 321 (3) Managerial Cost Accounting

2. Finance Electives (0-3 hours)
FIN 230 (3) Real Estate Fundamentals
OR Any Finance course 300-level or above

Total: 36 semester hours
Top of Page

Personal Financial Planning Major
B.S. in B.A. degree

The Personal Financial Planning major prepares students for a career in personal financial planning and personal financial consulting.

A. Additional Common Body of Knowledge in Business Administration (9 hours):
BLR 202 (3) Legal Environment of Business
MGT 340 (3) Production/Operations Management
MGT 495 (3) Global Management Strategy

B. Required Courses (21 hours):
FIN 307 (3) Fundamentals of Personal Financial Planning
FIN 315 (3) Principles of Investments
FIN 317 (3) Insurance Planning
FIN 347 (3) Retirement Planning
FIN 445 (3) Personal Estate Planning
FIN 447 (3) Cases in Personal Financial Planning
ACC 311 (3) Federal Income Taxation

C. Electives (6 hours) Select 2 courses from the following:
FIN 230 (3) Real Estate Fundamentals
FIN 425 (3) Options and Futures
FIN 442 (3) Intermediate Financial Management
FIN 455 (3) Portfolio Management
FIN 472 (3) Money & Capital Markets
FIN 482 (3) Working Capital Management
FIN 490 (3) Internship in Finance
FIN 573 (3) International Finance
MKT 340 (3) Personal Selling

Total: 36 semester hours
Top of Page

Minors 

Finance Minor 
B.A., B.A.A., B.F.A., B.S. in B.A. degrees 

A. Required Courses (12 hours): 
ACC 201 (3) Principles of Accounting I 
ACC 202 (3) Principles of Accounting II 
ECO 201 (3) Principles of Macroeconomics 
FIN 332 (3) Managerial Finance

B. Electives (12 hours): 
An additional 12 hours of finance courses to be approved by a finance department advisor. At least 9 hours must be at the 300-level or above.

Total: 24 semester hours
Top of Page

Legal Studies Minor 
B.A., B.A.A., B.F.A., B.S., B.S. in B.A. degrees

The Legal Studies minor is designed for the student who will work in a business regulated by government or in a governmental unit which regulates business behavior. It will be of particular interest to students in business, history, economics, and political science. 

A. Required Courses: (6 hours) 
BLR 202 (3) Legal Environment of Business 
BLR 302 (3) Law of Agreements 

B. Other Required Courses 
1. Two courses from the following (6 hours) 
a. BLR 110 (3) Alternative Dispute Resolution in Business and Society       HST 228 (3) American Business: A History 
HUM 201 (3) The Classical World: Law and Society 
Or one from B.1.a. above and one from the following: 
b. PHL 118 (3) Moral Problems 
PHL 140 (3) Introduction to Logic 
PHL 318 (3) Business Ethics 
2. One course from the following (3 hours): 
BLR 222 (3) The Search for Racial Justice through Law 
BLR 325 (3) Women and Law 
BLR 365 (3) The Search for Native American Justice through Law
3. One course from the following (3 hours): 
BLR 410 (3) Regulatory Law 
ECO 410 (3) Government and Business 
PSC 320 (3) The American Legislative Process 
PSC 522 (3) Regulatory Processes and Administrative Law 
4. One course from the following (3 hours): 
BLR 328 (3) Employment Law
BLR 360 (3) Construction Law
BLR 491 (3) Independent Studies 
BLR 521 (3) Environmental Law and Policy 
BLR 597 (3) Special Topics 
Any other law-related course as approved by an advisor

Total: 21 semester hours
Top of Page

The faculty: Tom Anthony, Robert Bejesky, Bruce Benet, Ted Bolema, Elizabeth A. Campbell, Matt Coffey, Raymond A. K. Cox, Adam Epstein, James Felton, David Hutchison, Adishwar Jain, Brian Maes, Tanya Marcum, John Mitchell, Donald Pietz, Rose Prasad, William Shirley, R. Gene Stout, Daniel Vetter, Nancy White.
Top of Page