Finance Major

View Finance major course requirements

The field of finance lies at the center of corporate and personal cash flow planning. Finance offers numerous opportunities for majors to develop a career in fields such as commercial and investment banking, internal planning and risk management, wealth advisory services, valuation, insurance, or real estate.  

Geneseo’s finance majors receive a solid introduction to the fields of managerial and corporate finance, investments, valuation, and financial modeling. Four required electives round out the core foundation and allow students to design a course of study that best prepares them for a variety of career tracks. Elective topics include derivatives, fixed income securities, financial statement analysis, applied portfolio management, and programming in R and Python. Through the core and an extensive menu of approved electives, students acquire a combination of theoretical insights and practical modeling abilities that prepare them for entry-level positions in banking, investment services, personal financial planning, and corporate financial management. The Finance program relies on the guidance of professors and SUNY Geneseo graduates working in Finance to ensure that course content is timely, relevant, and effective.

Program Highlights

  • Geneseo’s Student Managed Investment Fund has more tan $1,000,000 under management, a size that puts it in the top 10% of such funds in the world.
  • The endowed Trading Room resources include three Bloomberg terminals, which help students obtain Bloomberg certifications.
  • CFA Level 1 exam scholarships and discounts are possible because of Geneseo's Affiliated University status from the CFA Institute.  
  • Students perform competitively in the WNY CFA Research Challenge (CFARC) and often rank top in this competition.
  • The department offers annual activities such as an on-campus finance conference with networking opportunities and a field trip to NYC every Fall, featuring networking and visits to banks, hedge funds, and other finance firms.
  • Geneseo’s rich network of successful alumni works in every major sector of finance and is passionate about helping current students.