Financial Information and Analysis

The Financial Information and Analysis (FIA) program consists of 33 credits of Clarkson Common Experience, 42 credits of foundation coursework in business, 27 credits of specialized business courses, and 18 credits of electives.

Clarkson Common Experience

The following courses are required for all students, irrespective of their program of study. These courses are offered during the fall semester, with FY100 First-Year Seminar being required of only first-year students. Both FY100 and UNIV190 are typically taken during the fall semester of the first year at Clarkson.
FY100 First-Year Seminar (1 credit)
UNIV190 The Clarkson Seminar (3 credits)

All courses are 3 credits unless noted.

Click here for a sample curriculum schedule

Financial Information & Analysis Core Requirements

Students are required to complete the following courses:

AC305 Cost Accounting
AC311 Intermediate Financial Accounting I
AC312 Intermediate Financial Accounting II
FN462 Investments
FN464 Financial Management II
FN470 Strategic Financial Management

Financial Information & Analysis Core Electives

Students must complete 3 of the following courses:

AC407 Taxation of Business Entities
AC421 Accounting Information Systems
AC431 Advanced Accounting: Investment & Ownership Interests
AC436 Auditing
FN/EC468 Financial Markets & Institutions
FN455 Venture Capital & Private Equity
FN467 International Finance
FN474 Models for Financial Analysis
FN475 Portfolio Management
FN575 Professional Fund Management I and/or 
FN576 Professional Fund Management II (must total at least 3 credits)
IS301 Applied Data Analytics
LW471 Law & Society II

Knowledge Area/University Course Electives
Students majoring in FI&A will have approximately 18 credit hours available to use toward Knowledge Area and/or University Course electives.

Free Electives
Students majoring in Financial Information & Analysis will have approximately 6 credit hours available to use toward courses of their choice.

Professional Experience
All students participate in a project-based professional experience such as a co-op, an internship, directed research or a community project clearly related to the student's professional goals.

Global Experience
A global experience is required for graduation for all Clarkson Business students. Employers want our graduates to understand different cultures and diversity and to have had first-hand exposure. Students will have a variety of opportunities, such as a semester exchange and/or faculty-led global business trips, to satisfy this requirement.

Why is accounting so important? In today’s economy, accounting is everywhere. Accounting information directly leads to fluctuations in the stock market. To reduce accounting cost is one of the main reasons for corporate outsourcing. The government relies heavily on accounting information in collecting taxes. Scandals such as Madoff and the Enron are a result of accounting errors and manipulations. No matter the location, size or industry of a business, accounting is a common language worldwide. It processes financial information and reports the results such as revenue and profit. It documents costs, which is essential in business decisions such as pricing and expansion. Apart from collecting and analyzing information, accountants interpret and communicate complex business information with investors, creditors and government agencies and also are the guardians of the integrity of firms’ financial statements.

Due to the consistent and strong demand for accounting professionals, accounting graduates have always enjoyed much popularity among the employers. According to the 2016 National Association of Colleges and Employers survey, the overall average salary for college graduates in 2016 was $50,359, while those graduating with an accounting degree averaged $53,539, and those with a finance degree, $55,974. The Clarkson program prepares you to sit for the exams that qualify you to work in more advanced settings. Those who have the certification of Certified Public Accountants have a median salary of $73,800, with top salaries around $124,000.

Accounting Program

This concentration is designed for students majoring in financial information and analysis who are interested in pursuing a career in accounting and are preparing for their CPA. Students in the accounting concentration learn about the role of accounting as the basic language of business, the importance of accounting information systems in organizational decision-making and the use of this information by financial decision makers in managing assets and investments.

After completion of the accounting concentration, you will be prepared to either enter industry, sit for your CPA exam or start your own accounting practice. Our curriculum gives you the ability to go anywhere and do anything with your degree.

Accounting Careers

Some of the job titles our students with a concentration in accounting pursue:

• Certified Public Accountant (completion of 150 hrs and CPA exam).
• Comptroller.
• Accounting Analyst.
• Replenishment Consultant.
• IRS Investigator/Agent.

The development of an understanding in economics is not only necessary for all managers but also for all those seeking to understand how and why economic forces affect and shape the society and the world we live in. The success of any business ultimately depends on the decisions its managers make concerning the allocation of resources under differing market and economic conditions. Successful decision-making requires a good understanding of markets and the central role that economic incentives play within and outside the firm.

The Clarkson economics minor is designed to give you the basic tools and analytical background in economic analysis. The minor in economics can complement almost any major, whether it be in arts and sciences, business or engineering.

All courses are 3 credits unless noted.

Economics Minor Core

The minor in economics consists of 18 credit hours of economic courses as follows:

• EC150 Principles of Microeconomics
• or Economic Principles and Engineering or EC350 Economics*
• EC151 Principles of Macroeconomics
• or Economic Principles and Engineering or EC350 Economics*
• EC311** Intro to Econometrics

Economics Electives

Students must complete three or four electives (9 credit hours) of 300- or 400-level EC-designated courses if a student has taken EC150 and EC151. Four electives (12 credit hours) of 300- or 400-level EC-designated courses if a student has taken EC350.

*A student may not take EC150 or EC151 if a student has taken EC350. Entry to EC350 is limited to students who have declared a major in engineering and management or a major in the School of Engineering.

** Students who have completed Stat383 Probability and Statistics are exempt from EC311 but will have to complete another upper-level economics course to replace EC311.

Quality-based project management is a field that entails managing people, resources and budgets to ensure that projects are completed on-time, on-budget and within performance.

This minor is available to all undergraduate students and is intended for students who want to prepare themselves for potential careers in project-centered work. This is the most popular minor in the School of Business and draws students from the School of Engineering, the School of Arts & Sciences and the School of Business. Students with this minor can pursue jobs in construction management, contract administration and cost engineering, to name a few.

All courses are 3 credits unless noted.

Your Future

A unique benefit of this minor is that students can pursue certification through the Project Management Institute (PMI) ™ after completing the requirements of minor. PMI’s Certified Associate of Project Management (CAPM) ® is considered the pathway to the Project Management Professional (PMP) ® certification that is rapidly emerging as one of the fastest growing professional certifications in many industries and career areas.

Additionally, certain students may opt to sit for the American Society for Quality’s “Certified Quality Improvement Associate” exam since the Quality Management course covers the body of knowledge for that particular certification. Students who pursue the minor are under no obligation to sit for the CAPM ® or CQIA ®, which require an application and separate fee, completed and paid for by the student.

Quality-Based Project Management Minor

Clarkson University offers a Minor in Quality-Based Project Management, a field that entails managing people, resources, and budgets to ensure projects are completed on-time, on-budget, and within performance.  
The minor is:

• Open to all students in all majors and is useful for engineers, science and business majors.  
• An opportunity for students to pursue certification through the Project Management Institute (PMI), a great resume item and source of value recognized by employers.
• An opportunity for certain students to sit for the American Society for Quality’s 
  “Certified Quality Improvement Associate” exam.

To earn a minor in quality-based project management, students must maintain a 2.0 average in the five 3-credit courses, distributed in the following fashion:

Quality-Based Project Management Minor Core I

Students must take the following courses:

• OM/EM380 Project Management 
• OM/EM451 Quality Management and Lean Enterprise 

Students must take one of the following courses:

• OM/EM484 Advanced Project Management 
• EM482 Systems Engineering and Management

Quality-Based Project Management Minor Core II

Students must complete one of the following options:

Option 1

• OS/EM286 Organizational Behavior 
• OS352 Strategic Human Resource Management 

Option 2

• OS/EM286 Organizational Behavior 
• OS466 Negotiations and Relationship Management 

Option 3

• OM/EM331 Operations and Supply Chain Management
• OM/EM476 Management of Technology
• or EM482 Systems Engineering and Management
• or EM/OM484 Advanced Project Management , whichever is not selected in Core I

The minor in Statistics is open to all students except those majoring in Mathematics, Applied Mathematics and Statistics, or Data Science. To complete the minor the student must achieve at least a 2.0 grade-point average in courses totaling at least 21 credits.

At least one-fourth of the credit hours required must be completed at Clarkson, unless an exception is approved by the Dean of the School of Arts and Sciences.

All courses are 3 credits unless noted.

Statistics Minor Core I

Students must complete one course from the following areas:

Calculus

• MA181 Basic Calculus
• or MA131 Calculus I
• or Equivalent

Linear Algebra

• MA239 Elementary Linear Algebra
• or MA339 Applied Linear Algebra
• or Equivalent

Statistics Minor Core II

Students must complete the following course areas:

Introductory Statistics

• STAT282 Probability and Statistics
• or STAT383 Probability and Statistics
• or Equivalent

Statistics or Projects

Students must take at least 12 additional credits from statistics courses or projects including at least two statistics courses or projects from departments other than Mathematics.