William Paterson University

What you'll study

The degree requires 120 total credits with 60 credits in the finance major: 39 credit hours of core business courses, 6 credit hours of core finance courses and 15 credit hours of finance electives. Coursework covers capital budgeting, financial forecasting and reporting, risk and return analysis, security valuation and data analysis. Students learn financial modeling and build numerical models for valuation and statistical validation using software such as Excel, R, Python or SQL. Pre-requisite courses listed include ECON 2010 Macroeconomic Principles (3 credits) and MATH 1170 Business Math (3 credits). The program also lists ACCT 2110 Financial Accounting as a core business course (3 credits).

Entry requirements

Applicants must submit an online application and a $50 application fee, provide official transcripts from all prior colleges (or a high school transcript if no college experience), and have a cumulative GPA of 2.0 or higher on a 4.0 scale. Students must be at least four years post high school, or two years post high school with at least 60 college credits. Note that accelerated WP Online programs require applicants to be at least two years post high school.

Career prospects

Graduates are prepared for positions in corporate finance, investment analysis, financial planning and roles within banking and financial institutions, as well as positions in industry or government that require financial data analysis and forecasting. The curriculum supports tasks such as capital budgeting, risk and return assessment, security valuation and the use of programmable tools to analyse and visualise market data.

Scholarships & funding angle (general)

Online programs use a pay-by-the-course tuition model with all fees included. The listed per-credit tuition is $381 (per-course equivalent $1,143). Students should consult William Paterson University's financial aid office for details on scholarships, grants, employer tuition assistance and transfer-credit policies that may reduce the cost of the degree.