Finance Honors Program

The honors program in finance is reserved for students of high promise and exceptional ability. Students admitted to this program are characterized by outstanding academic performance, exceptional leadership capability, high aptitude for superior academic work and exceptional ability for making meaningful contributions during a professional career.

Honors students in finance proceed through the program together in a cohort system with peers who have similar exceptional abilities. Courses reserved for honors students are advanced in nature, student-oriented, and small. Students in the program are afforded the opportunity to interact with leaders from finance and business communities in small settings.

Admission to the honors program in finance is dependent on a student's academic performance through the winter quarter of the junior year. The honors program requires that students have (1) an overall GPA of 3.300 or better; (2) earned a B+ or better in FIN 310; and (3) have officially declared finance as a major. Students with an overall GPA of 3.300 and a minimum grade of B+ in FIN 310 may apply for admission into the program. The admissions committee will consider the student’s GPA, grade in FIN 310 as well as other evidence of superior academic performance for admission into the program. Once admitted, students will begin the curriculum in the spring quarter of the current academic year, and will complete the curriculum in the winter quarter of the following year. A cumulative GPA of 3.000 is required to remain in the program. A student will be dropped from the program if a grade of D or F is earned in any DePaul course after admission to the program.

The finance honors curriculum consists of: FIN 311-H Honors Corporate Finance; FIN 330-H Honors Investments: Theory and Practice; FIN 333-H Honors Financial Statements Analysis; FIN 362-H Honors Risk Management; FIN 366-H Honors Financial Modeling; FIN 380-H Honors Cases in Financial Decision Making; ACC 307-H Finance Honors Financial Accounting I; ACC 309-H Finance Honors Financial Accounting II. The remaining requirements for the Finance Honors Program include FIN 202 and FIN 320. Honors students are also required to participate in a two credit hour Honors Seminar course, Finance 396, during the spring quarter of their junior year, autumn quarter of their senior year, and winter quarter of their senior year. Accounting majors who have taken the financial accounting courses, ACC 304 and ACC 305, are exempt from taking the financial accounting courses taught within the finance cohort, ACC 307-H and ACC 309-H.

The structure is similar to the non-honors curriculum since it includes Finance 310 and Finance 320 in addition to the courses mentioned above. This structure differs from the non-honors curriculum since it allows you to take only two open electives in your curriculum, and it requires you to take an extra two credit hour class, Finance 396.

Candidates for the honors program may take FIN 310 and FIN 320 during their junior year. FIN 311 and FIN 330 are included in the honors curriculum and should not be taken before entering the honors program. Students are urged to complete FIN 310 during the autumn term of their junior year, and to complete FIN 320 and FIN 202 during the winter quarter of their junior year. Students who take FIN 310 during the winter quarter may be accepted into the honors program contingent upon earning a minimum grade of B+ in FIN 310. Students who are accepted on a contingent basis, but who fail to meet the FIN 310 B+ standard, will not be permitted to participate in the honors program. Honors students who have not completed FIN 320 and FIN 202 before the spring quarter may be granted permission to take FIN 320 during the spring quarter and FIN 202 during the summer. Both courses must be completed before the following autumn quarter. Students who do not complete both courses before the autumn quarter will not be permitted to continue in the honors program.

Below is a suggested curriculum which provides a course structure designed to prepare those interested in applying to the Finance Honors Program in the winter quarter of their junior year.

Suggested Finance Honors Curriculum Course Sequence

	Autumn	Winter	Spring

Freshman	MAT 135	MAT 136	MAT 137
	WRD 103	WRD 104	Learning Domain
	Learning Domain	Learning Domain	Learning Domain
	Discover/Explore Chicago	Focal Point Seminar	Learning Domain

Sophomore	ACC 101	ACC 102	BLW 201
	ECO 105	ECO 106	Communication
	Sophomore Seminar	Learning Domain	Learning Domain
	Learning Domain	Learning Domain	Learning Domain

Junior	FIN 310	FIN 320	FIN 311-H
	MGT 300	MGT 301	FIN 330-H
	Learning Domain	Learning Domain	ACC 307-H (Open Elective 1)
	FIN 202 (2 hours)	Junior Year Experiential Learning	FIN 396-H (Continuing Honors Seminar 2 hours over 3 quarters)
	WRD 202 (2 hours)		MKT 301

Senior	FIN 333-H	FIN 380-H	MIS 140
	FIN 362-H	ICS 392	ICS 394 or 395
	FIN 366-H	MKT 310	Learning Domain
	ACC 309-H (Open Elective 2)	Open Elective 3	Open Elective 4
	FIN 396-H (Continuing Honors Seminar 2 hours over 3 quarters)	FIN 396-H (Continuing Honors Seminar 2 hours over 3 quarters)

The cohort instruction begins in the spring and ends the following winter. The finance courses and accounting courses will be taught in the afternoon once per week, or on Friday mornings, in three hour sessions. The seminar course is a two credit hour course that will meet over the spring, autumn, and winter terms every other Wednesday afternoon. All honors students will take all classes at the scheduled times. There are no exceptions.

The classes reserved exclusively for honors students are the following:

Spring Quarter (Junior Year)

ACC 307 Financial Reporting I
FIN 311 Corporate Finance
FIN 330 Investments: Theory and Practice
FIN 396 Honors Seminar

Autumn Quarter (Senior Year)

ACC 309 Financial Reporting II
FIN 333 Financial Statements Analysis
FIN 362 Risk Management
FIN 366 Financial Modeling
FIN 396 Honors Seminar (continued)

Winter Quarter (Senior Year)

FIN 380 Cases in Financial Decision Making
FIN 396 Honors Seminar (continued)

During the program, honors students are required to stay enrolled in the two hour Honors Seminar, FIN 396.

Expectations

The program consists of a set of courses taught in lock step during the junior and senior years. The honors student cohort will be exposed to rigorous and challenging courses in corporate finance, risk management, financial statement analysis, and financial accounting. Analytical writing and teamwork skills will be emphasized throughout the program.

Benefits

Among the advantages of the honors program are better exposure to corporate recruiters, greater interaction with financial executives, priority enrollment, and greater assistance developing resumes and interviewing skills.

Qualifications

Students who qualify for the honors program have: