A ~Not So~ Minor Decision
While everyone in the College of Arts and Science needs to declare at least one major no later than the week before spring break of sophomore year, there is a lot of flexibility when it comes to declaring minors. While I did declare my major in Economics last semester, I wasn’t sure if wanted to double major with something else, or minor in only Financial Economics.
Now that I have taken more classes in the Managerial Studies department, I have decided to double minor in Corporate Strategy and Financial Economics. I am heavily leaning towards management consulting after graduation, and Corporate Strategy is the perfect minor to prepare for such a career. Even though I don’t want to go into finance, I still believe that an academic background in finance would help me later on and equip me with quantitative skills that would be relatively hard to pick up all by yourself.
There are many overlapping courses in Economics, Financial Economics, and Corporate Strategy, but after researching the requirements of each of them, these are the courses I need to take for my double minor-
Financial Economics Minor
- FNEC 1600. Financial Accounting. Financial reporting and its relevance to the managerial environment. Financial statements from the perspectives of the preparer and the user.
- FNEC 2600. Managerial Accounting. Selected topics in managerial accounting.
- FNEC 2700. Corporate Finance. Investment and financial decisions faced by firms. Theoretical basis of corporate decision- making. Various accounting documents and the alternative objectives of firms, their management, and their owners. Attributes of firms that affect market value. How investment decisions and methods used by firms to finance these investments affect firm value.
- FNEC 3700. Investment Analysis. Investment principles and practices. Security analysis and valuation. Portfolio theory. Current issues in the financial sector. Stock market simulation.
- FNEC 3705. Financial Management. Analysis of cases representing capital budgeting, forecasting cash flow, risk assessment, capital structure, mergers and acquisitions.
Corporate Strategy Minor
- MGRL 1100. Fundamentals of Management. Entrepreneurship, strategy, marketing, operations, and finance. For-profit, non-profit, and social enterprise organizations.
- MGRL 3250. Corporate Strategy. Examination of the issues and challenges facing corporate management. Responsibilities and interrelationships of functional areas including marketing, finance, operations, and R&D. Industry, competitor, and customer analysis. Design and implementation of corporate strategy. Informational and control systems. Interpersonal skills for effective teamwork.
- MGRL 2300. Entrepreneurship: The Business Planning Process. Functional areas within companies, business plans at various stages of company development and critique of business plans for investment suitability.
- MGRL 1200. Principles of Marketing. Creating customer value and building profitable customer relationships. Under- standing customer needs, defining target markets, and crafting value propositions. Case studies.
So I headed over to the Managerial Studies Department in Calhoun, discussed the minors with the Program Administrator, Ms. Olin, and got an advisor assigned to me. Professor Brent Trentham, who is also teaching me Managerial Accounting this semester, will be my advisor for both the minors.
The next step in the process was taking my minor(s) declaration form to 311, Kirkland.
Before
After
Although I still have many more courses left to complete these minors, I’ll knock down many required classes next semester. Oh by the way, Fall 2016 courses are up on YES, and I’m so excited to register for classes in mid-April. Click on this link if you want to see which courses Vanderbilt is offering next fall!