Undergraduate Finance Certificate
Finance Certificate Program
The finance certificate is a customized 9-unit program available to Main Campus non-Finance Eller BSBA majors. The curriculum is designed with three core courses to be taken during the summer.
Eller BSBA major students: Earn a certificate in a discipline that employers value and will prepare you for your financial future. Learn how the stock market works, how real estate markets work, how companies make rational decisions and how to financially manage a small company. What better complement to a business major than a certificate in finance?
The finance certificate helps students create value in any type of business, non-profit or government organization. The program will broaden a student’s learning experiences and professional opportunities by providing training in financial topics and analysis.
The finance certificate elective courses include Personal Investing, Small Business Finance, Real Estate Principles, and Financial Management: Applied Methods and Tools. Students learn basic concepts through lectures and case studies.
Complete the entire program in ONE summer!Summer 2025 Dates:June 9th, 2025 – August 13th, 2025 |
Program Benefits
The Finance Certificate Program can be a valuable addition to your major course of study. Instructors with academic and experiential credentials will provide the instruction. The finance skills offered in the program may be utilized in a variety of careers related to all non-finance degrees.
Guaranteed Registration: You can be registered in the finance elective courses so that completion of the certificate is not dependent on gaining admission to the needed classes that might be closed.
Fast Completion: After taking the required major cohort courses, the finance certificate 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 certificate in one summer. As a finance certificate student, you must commit to registering for the three elective courses in one summer.
Not an Eller BSBA major? Check out the Finance Minor! |
Program Prerequisites
Main Campus
Applicants must be currently enrolled as a Main Campus student to be eligible for the Finance Certificate. The program is not currently available to Arizona Online students.
Professional Admission
Students must have been admitted to the Eller Upper Division BSBA Professional Program through the Professional Admissions process and are completing a major other than Finance.
Prerequisite Course
Students will complete one of the following courses based on their Major prior to the start of Summer Session 1:
FIN 311 – Introduction to Finance or FIN 360 – Quantitative Financial Management
When Can I Take Prereqs?
Prerequisite courses can be taken during the Fall and Spring semesters. Students can enroll in these two courses through UAccess.
VIEW OFFICIAL ACADEMIC PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS ON UACCESS
Finance Certificate Core Courses
Finance Certificate Core Courses are only offered during the summer semester and all courses are online iCourses. |
Students will complete three of the following four core courses offered during Summer Session 1 and Summer Session 2.
- FIN 302 – Personal Investing
- FIN 303 – Small Business Finance
- FIN 304 – Real Estate Principles
- FIN 305 – Financial Management: Applied Methods and Tools*
*Note: The Finance Department strongly recommends all Finance Minor students take FIN 305.
Certificate Course Descriptions
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
Tuition
The summer cost of the finance certificate is based on Arizona resident tuition for all students, whether you are an Arizona resident or an out-of-state resident. Students generally take 9 to 12 units during the summer to complete the certificate requirements. Tuition cost is available at the UA Bursar's Office website here.
Admission
Admission to the program is competitive. An application is required to be considered for the certificate. (See application below.)
Several criteria will be considered in the application process: grade point average, class standing, performance in quantitative courses, etc. There are seats available for the Summer 2025 cohort and you are encouraged to apply.
Application Process
Students must be accepted to the finance certificate 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.
- Early Application deadline: December 1, 2024
- Final deadline: April 1, 2025
Summer 2025 Finance Certificate Application
Advising
For advising questions about the Finance Certificate, please contact Brand Diguardi, Academic Advisor, Undergraduate Programs.
For More Information
For questions regarding your application, or to request more information about the Finance Certificate, please contact Kate Freyermuth, Program Coordinator, Finance.
Frequently Asked Questions
Early Application deadline: December 1, 2024
Final deadline: April 1, 2025
The Summer 2025 Finance Certificate program will run from June 9th – August 13th.
Summer Session I: June 9th – July 10th
Summer Session II: July 14th – August 13th
The Finance Certificate is only open to Eller BSBA majors. Non-BSBA students interested in complementing their major with Finance coursework should check out the Finance Minor.
Prior to being accepted into the Finance Certificate program, all students must have been admitted to an Eller BSBA major other than Finance through the Professional Admissions process. Additionally, students must complete one Finance prerequisite course prior to the start of the summer session. Students will take either FIN 311 or FIN 360 depending on their major.
Yes, all students must complete either FIN 311 or FIN 360 to be eligible for admission.
The prerequisite course needs to be completed prior to the start of the summer semester.
All Finance certificate courses are asynchronous online over the summer session allowing students to complete the program alongside internships, jobs, or other programs.
The Finance Certificate 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 Certificate courses (FIN 302 – 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 2024 was approximately $5,500. Summer 2025 tuition cost can be estimated with the University Tuition Calculator (Select Summer semester, Main Campus, Undergraduate, and Eller College: Undergraduate, then Results).
For more information about summer financial aid, please refer to the Office of Scholarships and Financial Aid’s Summer Financial Aid page.