Finance
The world operates on resources: time, money, people, location. Earn a degree in Finance and direct resources to things that matter.
Take the keys to our endowment fund, and put it to work.
At Champlain College, you and your peers work with real clients on actual cases, using the same data used by financial professionals. In fact, a portion of the college’s endowment will be in your hands before you graduate, as all our Finance students manage a small portfolio of Champlain’s assets. Faculty will guide you as you weigh factors that affect stock choice, select stocks, consider which assets will perform the best, and evaluate performance on risk and return. Just like you’ll do in your career.
Taught by professors who have worked on Wall Street as investment bankers, research analysts, and portfolio managers, this ambitious major is meant for students who want to use the tools of the financial system to improve the world. At Champlain, we’ll teach you how to ethically and strategically allocate resources for the things that matter most.
What is Finance?
From investment banking and corporate finance to financial planning and analysis, the finance field offers many pathways and requires strong analytical and problem-solving skills. If you like to work with numbers, analyze market trends, make strategic financial decisions, assess risks, and can see yourself managing and optimizing financial resources for corporations, organizations, individuals, or other institutions, you might find a career in finance challenging in all the right ways. In this fast-paced environment, you’ll have high earning potential and opportunities for career advancement and world travel.
Finance professionals are in high demand in a huge range of industries. With a degree in Finance, you can look forward to an excellent starting salary with a career as a financial analyst, financial advisor, wealth manager, investment banker, research analyst, or financial manager in organizations of all types.
Why Study it at Champlain College?
Our Finance major is recognized by the CFA Institute as a Chartered Financial Analyst® (CFA) University Affiliated program, one of the most respected and recognized investment credentials in the world.
Using a hands-on, work-based approach to learning, our Finance program provides you with strong financial expertise and innovative management skills that top firms have come to recognize and expect from Champlain students. They’re often described as leaps and bounds ahead of their peers.
You’ll graduate with superior analytical, communication, problem-solving, critical-thinking, decision-making, and organizational skills. You’ll have access to industry experts and financial tools that will build your understanding of the field and make you highly competitive in this industry. Whether you find a passion for investment management on Wall Street, corporate finance on Main Street, or in the many opportunities of the global economy, Stiller School of Business’s Finance degree will prepare you to excel in this competitive field.
Different by Design
Get CFA Ready
Champlain’s Finance major is the only one in Vermont recognized as a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) University Affiliated program, meaning it prepares you well for the CFA exams, makes you eligible for certain scholarships ,and gives you access to numerous educational resources.
Be Ready on Day One
The program is built around hands-on work in the classroom, featuring simulations and case studies that put you in the role of CFO or CEO. Want to add an optional internship? Learn about opportunities to intern in Asia over the summer.
Professional Tools, Experienced Mentors
Get familiar with the tools and expertise you’ll need in your finance career. Students have access to FactSet, an industry-standard tool, and to an Executive in Residence who co-teaches alongside faculty. Learn the business with professionals and faculty experts.
Facts & Stats
100%
of Finance majors in the Class of 2023 were employed within six months of graduation. That’s success you can see.
$87,362
Annual median salary for financial analysts, according to Glassdoor.com.
20%
Job growth for financial examiners expected by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics between 2021–2031.
Sample Courses in the Finance Major
Check out some of the engaging and hands-on courses in our program. Our Upside-Down Curriculum puts you in classes in your major, right away.
You might also be interested in these…
Based on your interest in the Finance major, we thought you also might like to check out these other academic programs and opportunities.
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Majors
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Accounting
In Champlain’s Accounting program, learn the language of business and start uncovering the stories behind numbers.
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Applied Mathematics
Use math to tell stories, crack real-world issues, explore diverse applications, and gain problem-solving skills for future success in many industries.
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Degree Design Lab/Integrative Professional Studies
Design your own major through Champlain’s Degree Design Lab. You’ll combine courses and real-world learning experiences to personalize your own education.
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Law
Study law as an undergraduate at Champlain College and start your legal education right away, during your first semester. Go on to law school afterward or choose a different path; either way, you’ll be ready.
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Minors
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Business Analytics Minor
Look at the data: Champlain’s Business Analytics minor is a program dedicated to delivering students the experience needed to professionally handle statistics.
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Forensic Accounting Minor
Learn to collect and assess digital evidence through the analysis of financial transactions to prevent fraud and deception in the business world.
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Mathematics Minor
Acquire a solid foundation in mathematics theory, techniques, and applications that will inform work in your chosen career, and boost your résumé to help you get there.
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Actuarial Studies Minor
Learn to assess, analyze, and manage risk and liability—a perfect career-building minor for math lovers and problem solvers looking to support a business.
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Areas of Study
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Business & Data Analytics
Drive change at the intersection of information and impact.
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Individualized Studies & Undeclared
Learn what you love, and love what you learn.
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Take Your Degree to the Next Level
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Double Major in Finance & AccountingCan’t choose between majoring in Finance or Accounting? Lucky for you, you don’t have to. Our five-year double major in Finance & Accounting prepares you exceptionally well in both disciplines. You’ll earn the 150 credit hours needed for Certified Public Accountant (CPA) licensure, and you’ll be well prepared to ace the CPA exams.
Double Major in Finance & Accounting -
Seamless Transition to Grad SchoolAre you thinking about going to graduate school? Through Champlain College Online, you can seamlessly go from undergraduate to graduate student, enhancing your skills and career opportunities.
Pathways to Advanced Degrees
Manage a Real Portfolio
True to our learn-by-doing approach to education, we hand over a live investment management portfolio to students as part of their Finance capstone. Seriously. A portion of the college’s endowment is dedicated to this hands-on learning, which sees regular growth year after year.
Intern in Asia
Since 2013, the Robert P. Stiller School of Business has received a prestigious annual grant from the Freeman Foundation, allowing students to travel to countries in Asia to participate in summer internships. Primary destinations include Kyoto, Japan, and Shanghai, China.
Our students have a unique chance to gain international work experience—while learning about another culture and practicing another language—with little out-of-pocket expense.
Vermont’s Only CFA University Affiliate Program
Champlain’s Finance major is the only one in Vermont recognized as a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) University Affiliated program. The CFA designation is the most respected and recognized investment credential in the world, and is often called the gold standard for the investment management industry. As a CFA Affiliated University, our Finance program prepares you well for the CFA exams. This affiliation allows you to be eligible for certain scholarships and provides access to numerous educational resources.
Class CEO
You’ll learn through interactive classes in which you will assume roles like a VP of finance or financial analyst and play out real case studies in the financial world. Why? Because we know that the industry is about more than just numbers and modeling. It’s about knowing what to do, when to do it, and why you should or shouldn’t do it. That confidence and ability to think and act critically is what sets our graduates apart.
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Career Success
Our Finance graduates are career-ready. 100% of Finance majors in the Class of 2023 were employed within six months of graduation.
Your Career Outlook
By the time you graduate, you will…
- observe and interpret financial markets to uncover potential opportunities;
- apply best practices in financial management to make plans, organize projects, monitor outcomes, and provide financial leadership;
- apply best practices to create, evaluate, and rebalance financial portfolios to achieve investment outcomes;
- develop and apply financial models and use datasets to make financial decisions;
- organizational communication, business operations, and customer relations;
- use analytic and quantitative techniques to understand data, make sound inferences, and make well-supported decisions
Champlain graduates go on to careers such as…
- Financial Analyst
- Portfolio Manager
- Securities Trading
- Actuary
- Financial Planner
- Quantitative Analyst
- Investment Banking
More Inside Finance
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Overview
The world operates on resources: time, money, people, location. Earn a degree in Finance and direct resources to things that matter.
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Curriculum
Your career in finance begins now with Champlain’s Upside-Down Curriculum. Discover the difference that doing on day one has on your success.
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Faculty
Meet our expert finance faculty at Champlain College–passionate educators dedicated to guiding and supporting your success in the field.