Major Overview
- Description
The Finance major builds on the foundations of finance from the perspective of a functioning organisation. The major includes corporate finance issues such as the appropriate mix of equity and debt to finance projects, identifying the optimal dividend policy, and the resourceful selection of business projects. You can also learn aspects of investment finance including risk and return trade-offs, workings of the capital markets, investment products and investment portfolios, and appropriate risk management techniques. The Finance major can be combined with a major in Economics if you are interested in pursuing a career as a financial economist.
- Outcomes
Students are able to (1) understand and explain the basis for optimal portfolio construction; (2) apply modern investment theory to the evaluation of projects; (3) appreciate the value and limitations of financial instruments such as options and futures; (4) identify and use appropriate risk management techniques; and (5) engage in critical debate on contentious issues in finance such as the validity of the efficient markets hypothesis and the role of corporate governance.
- Broadening guidelines
All students studying towards a Bachelor's Degree at UWA are required to Broaden their studies by completing a minimum of four units (24 points) of study outside their degree specific major. Broadening is your opportunity to explore other areas of interest, investigate new disciplines and knowledge paradigms and to shape your degree to suit your own aspirations and interests. Many of you will be able to undertake more than this minimum amount of broadening study and we encourage you to do so if this suits your aspirations. Over the next few months you will find here some broadening suggestions related to your degree-specific major. While we know that many students value guidance of this sort, these are only suggestions and students should not lose sight of the opportunity to explore that is afforded by your Broadening Choices. Advice can also be sought from your Allocated Student Advising Office.
- Courses
Finance can be taken as a degree-specific major in the following degree courses:
No study plans found for this major. See study plans for more information.
Units
Key to availability of units:
- S1
- Semester 1
- S2
- Semester 2
- N/A
- not available in 2023 – may be available in 2024 or 2025
Bachelor of Commerce students completing a second major in Engineering Science are not required to complete STAT1520 (as MATH1011 and MATH1012 meet this requirement). In addition, students should substitute CITS2401 Computer Analysis and Visualisation as the Level 2 option to meet the requirements of the commerce major.
Level 1
Degree-specific major units
Take all units (12 points):
Level 2
Degree-specific major units
Take the following unit:
| Availability | Unit code | Unit name | unit requirements |
|---|---|---|---|
| S1, S2 | FINA2222 | Corporate Financial Policy |
Degree-specific major units
Take unit(s) to the value of 12 points:
Level 3
Degree-specific major units
Take the following unit:
| Availability | Unit code | Unit name | unit requirements |
|---|---|---|---|
| S1 | FINA3324 | Investment Analysis |
|
Degree-specific major units
Take unit(s) to the value of 12 points:
| Availability | Unit code | Unit name | unit requirements |
|---|---|---|---|
| S1 | ECON3236 | International Finance |
|
| S1 | FINA3304 | Banking: Theory and Practice | |
| N/A | FINA3306 | Derivative Strategies and Pricing | |
| S2 | FINA3307 | Trading in Securities Markets |
|
| S2 | FINA3326 | Applied Financial Management |
|