Undergraduate Finance Minor
Finance Minor Program
The finance minor is a customized 18-unit program available to non-business (BSBA) majors. The curriculum is designed with two prerequisite courses to be taken during the academic year, with four core courses to be taken during the summer.
The goal of the finance minor program is to promote financial literacy. In an increasingly complex financial environment, university graduates in all disciplines will require financial management knowledge and understanding in both their professional careers and their personal lives. Specifically, young professionals must know financial terminology, how to manage budgets, how to carefully invest money and resources and how to analyze financial decisions.
This finance minor provides students with an understanding of basic financial theory, applied financial analysis and financial markets. Elective courses include Principles of Financial Management, Personal Investing, Small Business Finance and Real Estate Principles. Students learn basic concepts through lectures and case studies.
Complete the entire program in ONE summer!Summer 2024 Dates:May 13th, 2024 – August 7th, 2024 |
Program Benefits
A minor that employers value and will help you the rest of your financial life: Today’s employers are looking for students who can immediately add value. Understanding finance allows you to differentiate yourself from other students. Moreover, the program will allow you to take charge of your own financial future.
Guaranteed Registration: You can be registered in the finance required and elective courses so that completion of the minor is not dependent on gaining admission to the needed classes that might be closed.
Fast Completion: After taking the required courses, the finance minor electives will be completed in one summer of full-time attendance.
Commitments: The Finance Department will make it possible for admitted students to complete the Finance minor in one summer. As a finance minor student, you must commit to registering for the entire block of courses in one summer.
Current Eller BSBA student? Check out the Finance Certificate! |
Majors of Past Minor Students
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Agribusiness Management |
Applied Humanities |
Applied Mathematics |
Communications |
Computer Science |
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Creative Writing |
Criminal Justice Studies |
East Asian Studies |
Economics |
Environmental Sciences |
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Health Sciences |
Information & Data Sciences |
Law |
Psychology |
Retailing & Consumer Sciences |
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Statistics and Data Sciences |
Urban & Regional Development |
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Requirements and Policies
- Cumulative 2.5 grade point average (GPA) to apply and 2.0 minimum GPA within minor courses.
- Students must have completed college algebra or higher math to be eligible for admission.
- Six three-unit courses (18 units total).
- Minimum nine units upper division coursework.
- At least nine units must be completed in residence at the University of Arizona.
- Can be taken along with business administration minor, management minor, marketing minor, or sports management minor.
- Eller does not permit double use of courses in their majors or minors with majors or minors outside of the College. Unique units are required for the student’s major and minor.
Pre-Requisite Courses
Students will complete the following two course requirements prior to Finance coursework:
- ECON 200 – Basic Economic Issues
- ACCT 250 – Survey of Accounting or ACCT 200 – Intro to Financial Accounting
When Can I Take Pre-Reqs?
Pre-requisite courses can be taken during the Fall and Spring semesters. Students can enroll in these two courses through UAccess.
Finance Minor Core Courses
The Finance Minor is only offered during the summer semester and all courses are online iCourses. |
Students will complete the following course during the Summer Pre-Session:
- FIN 301 – Principles of Finance Management
Students will complete three of the following four courses offered during Summer I and Summer II sessions.
Summer Session I
- FIN 302 – Personal Investing
- FIN 305 – Financial Management: Applied Methods and Tools*
Summer Session II
- FIN 303 – Small Business Finance
- FIN 304 – Real Estate Principles
TOTAL: 18 units
*Note: The Finance Department strongly recommends all Finance Minor students take FIN 305.
Minor Course Descriptions
This course will explore financial terminology and the structure of the financial system, and introduce basic methods to evaluate financial problems involved in the organization and conduct of business enterprise. This is a survey course focusing on the role of the financial manager in modern corporations. Our principal areas of study will include time value of money, risk, and stock and bond market mechanics and valuation techniques. The primary tool for evaluation corporate and investment financial problems, Microsoft Excel, will be introduced in this course and expanded on in FIN 305 Financial Management: Applied Methods and Tools.
Units: 3
Offered: Summer Pre-Session
Personal Investing is a course focusing on the investment decision from the perspective of the individual, rather than the institutional investor. Coverage begins with discussion of establishing investment objectives and review of market efficiency. Additional course topics include risk and the principles of portfolio diversification, asset allocation, fixed income assets, equity assets, mutual funds, portfolio strategies and performance evaluation. Sources of investing information are also discussed.
Units: 3
Offered: Summer Session I
Small Business Finance is a course on the financial management of small businesses - sole proprietorships, partnerships, and small private corporations. The purposes of the course is to prepare the student to effectively plan, research, acquire, and utilize financing for a small business. Among the topics covered are economic concepts in finance; small business management functions; business organizations; elements of a business plan; financial statement analysis and forecasting; break-even analysis; working capital management; and risk management.
Units: 3
Offered: Summer Session II
Real Estate Principles covers real estate essentials including property rights, legal concepts, regulation of real estate, real estate evaluation and financing.
Units: 3
Offered: Summer Session II
This course expands on and applies key methods and tools introduced in FIN 301 Principles of Financial Management, with an additional emphasis on analysis and applications in Microsoft Excel. This course challenges you to apply your expanded learning to the subject company for more detailed analysis. More advanced methods will be introduced for solving time value of money problems, analyzing financial statements, and valuing stocks and bonds. Additionally, we cover the following key topics in corporate finance: capital budgeting, short-term financial planning, working capital management, and international finance.
Units: 3
Offered: Summer Session I
Minor Course Substitutions
The University of Arizona has rules against counting a single course for more than one major or minor on a student’s transcript. If you are using ACCT 200/250 or ECON 200 for another major or minor program, you will need to find a substitute course for either the finance minor or for your other major/minor. If you would rather find a substitute for these courses in your other major or minor, check with the advisors for those programs. Otherwise, read on.
If you are using ACCT 200, ACCT 250 and/or ECON 200 for other majors/minors, you may replace that requirement with an additional finance minor elective (FIN 301, FIN 302, FIN 303 or FIN 304) or request approval of a non-finance course to meet the finance minor requirements. Appropriate courses in computer science, economics, engineering retail and consumer sciences and math may be considered. The Eller Finance Advisor will help you find a suitable alternative. It is recommended that you seek an existing approved substitute course which can be completed before or after the summer program but no later than fall semester after completing your finance coursework.
VIEW OFFICIAL ACADEMIC PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS ON UACCESS
Tuition
The cost of the finance minor depends on the number of courses you need to take for the minor and will be affected by your major degree or other minors you are completing. Generally, the summer cost of the program is based on Arizona Resident tuition for all students, whether you are an Arizona Resident or an out-of-state resident. Students generally take 12 to 15 units during the summer to complete the minor requirements. Tuition cost is available at the UA Bursar's Office website here (input Summer semester, Main Campus, Undergraduate, Not Listed and Resident, then Show Tuition).
Application Process
Students must be accepted to the finance minor through an application process. Applications are reviewed periodically by our Admission Committee and students can expect an admission decision within a couple weeks of applying. There is no application fee.
For questions regarding your application, please email Kate Freyermuth (katefreyermuth@arizona.edu)
- Early Application deadline: December 1, 2023
- Final deadline: April 30, 2024 *EXTENDED*
Summer 2024 Finance Minor Application
Advising
Virtual drop-in advising meetings are held on the third Monday of every month via Zoom.
Upcoming meetings:
March 18th from 2 pm – 3 pm
April 15th from 2 pm – 3 pm
May 20th from 2 pm – 3 pm
Frequently Asked Questions
Early Application Deadline: December 1, 2023
Final Deadline: April 1, 2024
The Summer 2024 Finance Minor program will run from May 13th – August 7th.
Summer Pre-Session: May 13th – June 1st
Summer Session I: June 3rd – July 3rd
Summer Session II: July 8th – August 7th
While students from a variety of different majors have completed the program, the most common majors of past students were Economics, Computer Science, Psychology, Agribusiness Management, Applied Humanities, and Law.
The Finance Minor is only open to non-BSBA majors. Eller students interested in complementing their major with Finance coursework may be interested in the Certificate in Finance.
We require a minimum cumulative 2.5 GPA to apply and a 2.0 GPA within minor coursework, including the accounting and economics pre-requisite courses.
All students must complete two pre-requisite courses, ECON 200 and ACCT 250 or ACCT 200.
Pre-requisite courses need to be completed prior to the start of the Summer Pre-Session.
Students must have completed college algebra (MATH 112) or higher math to be eligible for admission. Students who have not completed MATH 112 may need to take MATH 100 first or can re-take their math placement test (PPL). Please note that math placement test scores expire, so a math placement test may need to be re-taken in order to enroll in the necessary math courses.
Math placement resources:
All Finance minor courses are asynchronous online over the summer session allowing students to complete the program alongside internships, jobs, or other programs.
The Finance Minor does not currently have a study abroad option, but the asynchronous online modality of the summer courses would allow students to complete the program alongside a separate study abroad program.
At this time, we only offer the core Finance Minor courses (FIN 301 – FIN 305) during the summer semester.
Cost of the program varies depending on a few factors including the number of units taken but the average program costs for Summer 2023 ranged from $5,500-$7,000. Summer 2024 tuition cost can be estimated with the University Tuition Calculator (Select Summer semester, Main Campus, Undergraduate, and Not Listed, then Results).
For more information about summer financial aid, please refer to the Office of Scholarships and Financial Aid’s Summer Financial Aid page.
For More Information
For more information about the Finance Minor, please contact Kate Freyermuth, Finance Program Coordinator.