Dear Finance students,

As Department Chair for Finance, I wanted to let you know courses that may align with your career goals, ways to get involved in the department, and a list of all electives that will be offered in the Fall and Spring.

Planning your courses

We recommend all students strive to take FIN 3430 in the spring of their Sophomore year or as soon after as possible, so please plan to complete the pre-requisites (BUS 2110, ACC 2010 are pre-requisites and ECO 2300 is a co-requisite or pre-requisite) before that time. We also recommend completing both FIN 4120 and FIN 4130 during your Junior year. These courses are the Finance core and will prepare you for an internship between your Junior and Senior years. When possible take FIN 4120 and FIN 4130 before other Finance electives since they provide a foundation beyond FIN 3430.

There are many career paths available in Finance. As you consider some of these general career paths, here are courses that will help with your preparation:

  • Real Estate – If you have an interest in Real Estate, we recommend getting involved with the Real Estate Club (contact mkaprielyan@elon.edu), obtaining the ARGUS Enterprise Certification, and advancing your Excel skills. Coursework that would assist you include FIN 4150 which will be offered in Spring and Real Estate Modeling that will be offered every other year (2026/2027 academic year), which focuses on building Excel and ARGUS Enterprise modeling skills.
  • Wealth Management/Financial Planning – Please consider earning the Envestnet certificate which is free to students from Elon University (contact charris24@elon.edu). Coursework that would assist you includes FIN 4190 (Financial Planning), FIN 4160 (Insurance) and FIN 4670 (Advanced Wealth Management – focused on case studies and client psychology). Also, if you would like to pursue a career in this field you are strongly encouraged to consider a minor in Professional Sales.Elon is now an educational partner with the CFP(R) Board. The CFP(R) certification is a key designation in the field of financial planning and involves a series of courses, completion of a board test, and 3 years of experience in the field. You can learn more about the certification at the CFP Board website. For more information about the coursework at Elon, visit this information site. To talk about this program, reach out to Vaishali Shah (vshah@elon.edu)
  • CFA/Investment field – Please consider applying to be on the LSB CFA Institute Research Challenge team (contact ngupta@elon.edu). Coursework that would assist you in this are FIN 4230 (Financial Modeling in Excel), FIN 4310 (Fixed Income) and FIN 4330 (Derivatives).

FinTech Major

The Finance Department has a FinTech major designed for students drawn to finance but with a specific interest in quantitative methods, data analysis, and basic programming. It offers flexibility to study computer science, data science, and math as you learn how financial service firms such as Venmo, Stripe, Robinhood, and others use emerging technologies to improve functionality and develop new ways to service customers. Interested students might consider joining the Elon Blockchain Club (contact tmorillon@elon.edu). Students interested in the FinTech major may also be interested in the new Cybersecurity Minor offered through the Management department

Learn more about the new major.

Likewise, consider a minor in math, computer science, data science, or statistics. Elon offers many courses that cover the technical skills needed for certain finance jobs, such as database management, statistical computing, and advanced quantitative methods. For example, MTH 2310 (Linear Algebra), MTH 2500 (Mathematical Methods for Data Analytics), MTH 3410 (Probability Theory and Statistics), CSC 1300 (Computer Science I), CSC 2300 (Computer Science II), or CSC 3211 (Database Systems). Note that some of these courses require MTH 1510 (Calculus I) as a pre-requisite.

Student Managed Portfolio Course

FIN 4755/4756 – Elon’s Student Managed Portfolio is comprehensive, hands-on experience in modern portfolio management. Students use their financial, accounting, and economic foundations to value firms and identify investment opportunities. They do this while running a real, long-only equity portfolio. Students assume various roles, such as equity analysts, portfolio managers, risk and compliance, and client relations. Bloomberg and Factset are used extensively. This course is 2-credit hours and must be taken both Fall and Spring semesters, for a total of 4-credit hours that count as a FIN elective. FIN 4120 (Investments) is a pre-requisite and students must apply to be accepted into the course.  Please send your resume and a one-page cover letter to aaiken2@elon.edu. The applications are due by April 15th.

Ways to get involved

  • The Financial Management Association chapter at Elon is an organization that holds frequent events about the field of Finance in general and is a good option for majors looking to get involved (contact aaiken2@elon.edu).
  • The Women in Finance organization brings alumni and prominent women in finance to speak to members, provides networking opportunities, and encourages mentoring between under and upperclassmen students (contact kupton3@elon.edu).
  • Elon’s Center for Financial Literacy has partnered with Junior Achievement to provide a meaningful financial education to local elementary students. You do not have to be an expert, this is open to all students/faculty/staff at Elon, and lesson plans are already provided as well as the materials you would use in the class (contact charris24@elon.edu).
  • The Elon Blockchain Club is a group of passionate students and professors primarily focused on education and research. The club offers a collaborative space for students and professionals to share their diverse interests and aspirations as we seek to foster the next group of Elon leaders (contact tmorillon@elon.edu or join the GroupMe).
  • The Elon Real Estate Club is open to all undergraduate students. The club meets several times a month to learn about real estate as an investment, development, REIT’s, sustainability, construction, and industry trends. In a hands-on environment, students have the opportunity to network with successful real estate professionals from around the country and learn critical skills such as ARGUS Enterprise Software (contact mkaprielyan@elon.edu).
  • The Venture Capital elective will be offered in the Fall of 2025. This course is a great preparation for a Venture Capital competition that will be formed from a team of LSB students and will compete in Spring 2026 (contact dpeabody@elon.edu).
  • The Trading and Markets elective will be offered in the Fall of 2025. This course is a great preparation for students interested in how trading works, and how technology plays a critical role in the markets. This course will prepare LSB students to  travel to Toronto in Spring 2026 to compete in an international trading competition (contact aaiken2@elon.edu ).
  • We are bringing together a group of students who are interested in a career in Financial Planning/Wealth Management to support their preparation for this field by coordinating study efforts for licensing exams, increasing networking with alums and those in the field, and increasing exposure to relevant topics in the field. If you would like to be informed of these events you can do by signing up for the CFP® track through the link on Elon’s CFP site. If you don’t want to pursue the track, but you want to stay informed of events, reach out to vshah@elon.edu.

Other resources

  • To improve your resume and better prepare you for internships and your future career, we encourage you to investigate the resources available in the Reed Finance Center. These include how to become Bloomberg Certified, Wall Street Prep (for those interested in more quantitative roles), technical question workshops, and mock interviews for Finance jobs. For more information, contact fdong@elon.edu.
  • Please request to join Elon Finance Group and follow Porter Center on LinkedIn for Finance department and internships/job opportunities.

2025-2026 Academic Year Electives

Fall 2025 Spring 2026
FIN 4160 – Principles of Insurance (1 section) FIN 4150 – Real Estate Finance (1 section)
FIN 4190 – Financial Planning (2 sections) FIN 4190 – Financial Planning (2 sections)
FIN 4230 – Financial Modeling with Excel (2 sections) FIN 4250 – Global Finance (1 section)
FIN 4250 – Global Finance (1 section) FIN 4230 – Financial Modeling with Excel (2 sections)
*FIN 4755 – Student Managed Portfolio I FIN 4670 – Advanced Wealth Management (1 section)
FIN 4790 – Venture Capital Financing (1 section) FIN 4801 – Student Managed Portfolio II
FIN 4794 – Trading and Markets (1 section) FIN 4310 – Fixed Income Analysis (1 section)
FIN 4330 – Derivatives
FIN 4801 – Student Managed Portfolio II
FIN 4973 – Blockchain and Emerging Financial Technologies (1 section)
FIN 4975 – Data Analysis in Finance (1 section)

    (*)Represents a course that will count as 2 Finance elective credit hours

    Hopefully, this will help plan for the future and in understanding available opportunities. Please contact your advisor if you have more specific questions.