Program Description
Bachelor of Science in Quantitative Finance
The B.S. degree with a major in quantitative finance is designed to prepare students for careers in financial engineering, structured finance, financial modeling, securitization, actuarial science, financial analysis and portfolio management. The quantitative finance major is classified as a STEM program. The focus of this major is on problem solving in the quantitative areas of finance with an added emphasis on the application of complex securities to a variety of financial situations.
The quantitative finance program, which is a cross disciplinary major with many courses co-listed with the Department of Mathematics and Statistics , is a highly structured program requiring minor fields in both mathematics and economics, though many students choose to double major in mathematics and quantitative finance. If the double major is selected, students are required to take ECON 200 , ECON 201 and ECON 331 , but are not required to complete the economics minor. Students electing this program should consult with their major advisor as early as possible to identify the appropriate course sequencing. Students electing to double major in mathematics and quantitative finance should also consult with a mathematics advisor as soon as possible.
Students enrolled in James Madison University who wish to change their major to quantitative finance should go to the Student Center in MyMadison to submit a request. Students must be in good academic standing to change their major to quantitative finance and, if they have taken any FIN prefix courses at the time of the change request, must meet the prerequisites for the required courses in the quantitative finance major.
Transfer Credit
Each program in the CoB will accept no more than two courses of transfer credit toward the major except in extraordinary circumstances. The major is defined as the course work required by a major field of study in addition to the lower and upper-level BBA core courses. For a course to be considered for acceptance in the student’s major, it must have been completed in an AACSB International-accredited business program, or a similarly accredited program, at a four-year university.
In general, all finance course work must be completed at JMU. Transfer credit for finance courses is awarded only in certain circumstances. In no case will transfer credit be awarded for FIN 480 . Contact the department head for more information on transfer credit.
Concentrations
Though not required, Quantitative Finance majors may elect a concentration. The concentrations are financial analysis and risk management. Students electing these concentrations will be taking specific FIN electives.
Risk Management Concentration
Though not required, quantitative finance majors may elect the risk management concentration. Students electing this concentration will be taking specific electives and two additional electives. Students may add this concentration to their program when they progress to FIN 380 .
Quantitative finance majors who wish to declare the risk management concentration may do so after successfully completing FIN 250 or any semester following.
A focus in risk management is designed for qualitative finance majors pursuing a more in-depth review of the issues facing organizations and the tools needed to address those uncertainties. In the risk management concentration, students focus on the theory of risk management, risk identification, risk measurement and applications in the form of risk modeling techniques such as Value-at-Risk and Monte Carlo simulations.
