Undergraduate finance major electives paths
What finance elective subjects should you choose in an undergraduate finance major? This depends not only on your own interests, but you should also consider which subjects best align with your future career path. You can of course mix and match any combination of electives. However, to assist you in selecting elective subjects we have developed a list of popular finance areas, the types of jobs and careers in those areas and paired these with the electives that best align with that career.
Careers in corporate finance focus on managing the financial side of corporations and other types of organisations. These careers involve analysing firm performance and making many kinds of financial decisions. Corporate finance also includes building financial models and forecasts to guide investment decisions, analysing financial risks, investing firm resources across different asset categories from shares in the stock market to hard assets, and making decisions on corporate structure and how a company is financed. Some of the roles can be classified as financial analysts, risk analysts, financial and risk managers, all the way up to the Chief Financial Officer of a company.
Electives that are particularly helpful for careers in this area include:
25602 Ethics in Finance 6cp
25627 Responsible Finance 6cp
25575 Investment Banking 6cp
25626 Startup Finance 6cp
25500 Strategic Investment Management 6cp
There are several careers in investment management, both in banks and in non-banks including superannuation funds, mutual funds, hedge funds and private equity funds. Roles in this area focus on forecasting the future performance of financial assets (such as ASX listed shares) and making investment decisions on behalf of clients.
Electives that are particularly helpful for careers in this area include:
25579 Applied Portfolio Management 6cp
25602 Ethics in Finance 6cp
25627 Responsible Finance 6cp
25500 Strategic Investment Management 6cp
25625 UTS Student Managed Fund 6cp
There are several career paths in banking. There are commercial and investment banks. In investment banks there is trading of assets, sales, risk management, capital raising and mergers and acquisitions. In commercial banks there are financial analysts, loan origination, retail banking, institutional banking.
Electives that are particularly helpful for careers in this area include:
25575 Investment Banking 6cp
25574 Commercial Bank Management 6cp
25620 Derivative Securities 6cp
25627 Responsible Finance 6cp
25500 Strategic Investment Management 6cp
What about if you want to run your own business? Or maybe even working for a startup? Our startup finance elective simulates running your own startup as you look for funding. You can combine that elective with investment banking and with ethics to improve your finance toolkit.
25626 Startup Finance 6cp
25575 Investment Banking 6cp
25602 Ethics in Finance 6cp
Finally, should you get an internship to complement any of the areas you have decided to specialise in? The more practical experience you gain while you are studying the better and internships that give you course credit is one way to achieve this. You can get internships outside of UTS that are paid or unpaid. But is the internship relevant to your career? Sometimes you can volunteer and see the inside of a company and industry, and this can help you decide on a specific career. Our internship office can help you set up an internship for credit.
25999 Business Internship 6cp
26600 Business Internship 6cp
Are you considering an honours year that can be added on to your Bachelor of Business degree? We have an industry-focused honours year that gives you an additional degree along with practical research skills that will make you stand out from other graduates. Learn more at https://www.uts.edu.au/about/uts-business-school/finance-department/what-we-do/finance-honours-program
