With a major in Finance, you will learn about financial planning, investment banking, international finance, and financial management, as well as behavioral finance and social responsible investment at the forefront of finance. You will get hands-on experience using the industry tools like WRDS (Wharton Research Data Services) and Bloomberg to analyze a company’s financial strategy as well as a stock’s fundamental value. You will also have the opportunity to attend GAME (Global Asset Management Education) Forum, where you will interact with industry leaders and learn best practices in investment management. No matter which area of finance you are interested in, we provide you with a comprehensive toolkit based on solid theoretical and analytical training.
Finance Industry
According to the most recent research, just one in three adults worldwide are financially literate, which refers to the basic knowledge of interest rates, interest compounding, inflation, and risk diversification. In a world of escalating financial complexity, however, financial knowledge is in great demand by individuals and companies domestically and internationally. For the next 10 years, the growth in the demand for professionals with a finance degree such as personal financial advisors, financial analysts, and financial managers is on the rise, with the highest estimate to be about 15% compared to the 4% growth for the average of all professions.
Experiential Learning
Experiential learning provides immersive experiences that develop students’ professional skills and networks to serve as a bridge to their careers. Pacific Finance students gain experiential learning through managing a $3.7 million Student Investment Fund, in addition to required internships and a Finance study abroad program. In the Eberhardt SIF, students do research and evaluation, write reports, and make choices regarding where and how to invest the fund's money. This is not a virtual investment or portfolio; this is real money and real investments. Students also have the opportunity to volunteer for events, visit companies and network with alumni throughout their time in the Finance major.
Careers
With the help of the Eberhardt Career Management Center, Finance major students get connected to a closely maintained alumni network of financial professionals. This quality networking combined with various campus job events have helped finance major students launch positions in well-known local and national corporations and financial institutions, including including Morgan Stanley, Bloomberg, Clorox, Deloitte Consulting, Northwestern Mutual, Five Star Bank, and others.
As soon as Bernice Yu graduates from Pacific, she will start her new job as a first-year analyst for Goldman Sachs Group. She believes that Pacific gave her a solid foundation and says her involvement with the Student Investment Fund was a valuable, immersive experience. That experience, paired with faculty support, helped her to secure an internship which in turn led to her first professional job.
"In my four years at UOP I earned both a BS in Applied Economics and BS in Finance. During this time, I had the privilege of serving as an executive for our Student Investment Fund. Managing a near $4 million dollar investment fund provided me with both the technical skills and confidence needed to start my career as a Financial Analyst at a Fortune 500 company (Clorox)."
Students in the Finance major benefit from close working relationships with dedicated and passionate professors. Our distinguished faculty members are firmly engaged in the finance industry and provide students with exceptional opportunities for experiential learning.
