finance charts

Undergraduate Minor inFinance

Program summary

Build a basic understanding of how firms acquire, allocate, and control their financial resources. This undergraduate minor can give students a valuable advantage in the competitive job market in a range of industries.

Credits and costs

18 Credits$626/$671 per credit

Enhance Your Penn State Degree

Add a minor to get even more value out of your education.

Gain Specialized Knowledge

Earning a minor enables you to complement your major, pursue a personal interest, or explore a different field of study.

Employers consistently look for individuals with sharp business skills. Graduates with a background in finance can have a competitive advantage when faced with complex business decisions. To help you gain knowledge in the growing field of finance, Penn State World Campus has partnered with the Sam and Irene Black School of Business at Penn State Behrend to offer an Undergraduate Minor in Finance.

The 18-credit finance minor introduces you to a broad range of concepts in such areas as:

  • corporate finance and financial markets
  • portfolio analysis
  • investment strategies
  • risk and insurance
  • personal financial planning

The courses focus on providing you with a basic understanding of how firms acquire, allocate, and control their financial resources. Through analysis of financial statements, you can learn to assess the past and present performance of a firm. Whether you apply your knowledge to a career in finance or simply want to better manage your personal financial future, this minor can strengthen your ability to make sound financial decisions.

The knowledge and skills that you gain with this minor can help prepare you to work in a variety of fields, including:

  • business
  • entrepreneurship
  • financial planning
  • investment brokerage
  • insurance
  • banking
  • accounting

This minor is open to all interested undergraduate World Campus students who meet the prerequisites. Students in business or economics may find this minor particularly useful.

Courses

The 18-credit Minor in Finance is composed of two required finance courses, plus four supporting courses selected from a list of available courses in accounting and finance in consultation with an adviser.

A grade of "C" or better is required in all courses that you take to fulfill requirements for the minor.

Prescribed Courses (6 credits)

  • 3
    credits

    Nature of finance function; risk and return concepts; working capital; dividend policies; mergers; security markets; acquisition and management of corporate capital; analysis of operations; forecasting capital requirements; raising capital; and planning profits. Available to baccalaureate students only.

    • Prerequisite

      (ENGL 15 or ENGL 30) and ACCTG 211 and (ECON 102 or ECON 104) and (SCM 200 or STAT 200)

    • C or better

      A student enrolled in this course must receive a grade of C or better.

  • 3
    credits

    Investment and risk, types of security investments, sources of investment information, the broker, the stock market, portfolio management.

    • Prerequisite

      FIN 301

    • C or better

      A student enrolled in this course must receive a grade of C or better.

Supporting Courses and Related Areas (select 12 credits)

At least 6 credits must be at the 400 level.

  • Select 9–12 credits from 300- or 400-level FIN courses in consultation with your adviser.
  • 3
    credits

    The exploration of conventional and advanced methods of analyzing financial statements, including the assessment of earnings quality.

    • Prerequisite

      FIN 301

    • C or better

      A student enrolled in this course must receive a grade of C or better.

Course Availability

If you're ready to see when your courses will be offered, visit our public LionPATH course search (opens in new window) to start planning ahead.

Costs and Financial Aid

Undergraduate Tuition

Undergraduate tuition is calculated based on the number of credits for which you register and the number of total credits you have accrued at or transferred to Penn State.

Tuition is due shortly after each semester begins and rates are assessed every semester of enrollment.

2023–24 Academic Year Rates

Tuition rates for the fall 2023, spring 2024, and summer 2024 semesters.

How many credits do you plan to take per semester?If you have 59 or fewer creditsIf you have 60 or more credits
11 or fewer$626 per credit$671 per credit
12–19$7,602 per semester$8,206 per semester

Undergraduate students taking more than 19 credits will be charged the flat tuition rate plus the regular per credit hour rate for each credit above 19. 

2024–25 Academic Year Rates

Tuition rates for the fall 2024, spring 2025, and summer 2025 semesters.

How many credits do you plan to take per semester?If you have 59 or fewer creditsIf you have 60 or more credits
11 or fewer$632 per credit$678 per credit
12–19$7,678 per semester$8,288 per semester

Undergraduate students taking more than 19 credits will be charged the flat tuition rate plus the regular per credit hour rate for each credit above 19. 

Financial Aid and Military Benefits

Some students may qualify for financial aid. Take the time to research financial aid, scholarships, and payment options as you prepare to apply. Military service members, veterans, and their spouses or dependents should explore these potential military education benefits and financial aid opportunities, as well.

How to Apply

Admissions Help

Please work with your adviser if you have questions about adding a minor. You can find your adviser's contact information in your student portal or by calling advising at 814-863-3283.

Admission Requirements 

To be eligible for admittance into the finance minor, you must:

  • be a current Penn State undergraduate student in your fifth semester and be in a bachelor's degree major
  • maintain a grade of C or better in all courses for the minor
  • confirm that you do not have a matching minor code and major code 

Adding a Minor

If you have achieved fifth-semester standing (60 credits completed), you can apply for admission to the minor. To begin, please follow these steps:

  1. Talk with your academic adviser about incorporating the minor into your major and to develop a semester-by-semester plan for meeting requirements.
  2. You can apply for the minor by adding it in LionPATH. You should do this as early as possible, but you can apply up to the late drop deadline of your graduating semester.
  3. You will receive a confirmation email once you declare the minor in LionPATH.

Technical Requirements

Review the technical requirements for this program.

Contact Us

To learn more about the Undergraduate Minor in Finance, offered in partnership with the Penn State Erie Sam and Irene Black School of Business, please contact:

World Campus Advisers
Phone: 814-863-3283
Email: [email protected]

Dr. Greg Filbeck CFA, FRM, PRM, CAIA
Samuel P. Black III Professor of Finance and Risk Management
Professor of Finance
Sam and Irene Black School of Business
Penn State Erie, The Behrend College
286 Burke Center
Erie PA 16563
Phone: 814-898-6549
Email: [email protected]

Faculty

  • Jeff Coy

    • Degree
      Ph.D., Finance, Florida Atlantic University
    • Degree
      MBA, University of North Florida
    • Degree
      B.S., University of North Florida

    Dr. Jeff Coy is an assistant professor of finance in the Sam and Irene Black School of Business at Penn State Behrend. He brings more than 10 years of teaching experience in the areas of corporate finance, international finance, investments, and portfolio analysis. Dr. Coy's published research is focused on the areas of cross-border mergers and acquisitions, corporate exchange rate sensitivity, and leveraged buyouts. His current research focuses on corporate diversification, short interest in acquisition targets, and the risk and leverage dynamics of the firm around the exercise of real options.

  • Hongrui (Harry) Feng

    • Degree
      Ph.D., Finance, Oklahoma State University
    • Degree
      M.S., Quantitative and Computational Finance, Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech)
    • Degree
      B.S., Finance, Zhejiang University

    Dr. Harry Feng, an assistant professor of finance, worked in financial service companies for several years. He teaches financial management, financial modeling, corporate finance, and energy finance courses. His research interests are agency problems and empirical asset pricing.

  • Greg Filbeck, CFA, FRM, CAIA, CIPM, PRM

    • Degree
      DBA, Finance, University of Kentucky
    • Degree
      M.S., Applied Statistics, Penn State
    • Degree
      B.S., Engineering Physics, Murray State University

    Dr. Greg Filbeck holds the Samuel P. Black III Professor of Finance and Risk Management at Penn State Behrend and serves as director of the Black School of Business. Dr. Filbeck has authored or edited nine books and published more than 90 refereed academic journal articles. He has taught courses in corporate finance, investments, portfolio management, and derivatives.

  • Tim Krause

    • Degree
      Ph. D., Financial Economics, University of Texas at San Antonio
    • Degree
      MBA, Finance, Georgetown University
    • Degree
      A.B., Government, Georgetown University

    Prior to his career in academia, Dr. Tim Krause spent twenty years in the financial services industry as an investment professional and held senior management positions. He is the director of the Intrieri Family Student Managed Fund at the Black School of Business, a student-run investment fund. He teaches Portfolio Management and Analysis, Advanced Energy Finance, Derivative Securities, and Fixed Income Securities. Dr. Krause's research and teaching interests include investments, derivatives, risk management, and financial institutions and markets.

  • Bob Patterson

    • Degree
      MBA, Penn State
    • Degree
      B.S., Accounting, Penn State

    Bob Patterson is a lecturer in accounting and has also taught courses in statistics, finance, and operations. He is a CPA who maintains an active practice in individual income taxes. He also serves as an adviser for the Mu Pi chapter of the international fraternity Delta Sigma Pi and has received the Silver Helmet Award for 25 years of service to the chapter. He is currently the longest-serving Delta Sigma Pi chapter adviser in the country.

  • Eric Robbins

    • Degree
      MBA, Gannon University
    • Degree
      B.S., Accounting, Asbury University

    Eric Robbins has spent his entire career working with the stock market and managing the invested assets and the retirement income needs of retirees. In 2010, he began teaching corporate finance at Penn State Behrend while still working full-time in wealth management, accepting a full-time teaching position in 2013. He is also a Certified Financial Planner and a CFA charterholder, and he continues to consult periodically with clients about their financial needs.

  • Xin (Jessica) Zhao

    • Degree
      Ph.D., Finance, State University of New York at Buffalo
    • Degree
      M.A., International Trade, Shanghai University of Finance and Economics
    • Degree
      B.A., English, Tianjin University for Science and Technology

    Dr. Xin (Jessica) Zhao received her Ph.D. in finance at the State University of New York at Buffalo. Dr. Zhao teaches international finance and corporate finance for both undergraduate and graduate students as a professor at Penn State Behrend. Dr. Zhao's research interests include market microstructure, event studies, financial markets, and asset pricing. Her research in these areas has been published in both academic and practitioner journals. Dr. Zhao has working experience in Da Hua CPA and China Petrochemical Corporation prior to joining Penn State Behrend.