Bellevue University Finance Program Gives Advantage in Competitive Market

Every student’s journey is unique, and the Bellevue University finance program addresses this need by offering flexibility while arming students with a professional advantage. Whether students are beginning, changing or advancing in their careers, they can choose specialized paths that support their career goals.

“Finance is one of the most demanded subjects in today's global market,” said Assistant Professor of Finance Dr. Bina Sharma. ”Finance has several branches, so if we give students multiple options, they can take courses to boost their qualifications.”

Students even have the opportunity to earn two graduate degrees in less time for less cost than earning them separately. “Dual degrees not only help students by getting them good-paying jobs, but by also making them more marketable and competitive,” Dr. Sharma said.

 A Framework for Success

Bellevue University offers two undergraduate degrees in finance. “The Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with Finance Emphasis provides a traditional business administration curriculum with an additional 9 credit hours of finance electives,” said Dr. Kevin Schieuer, Program Director for the Finance programs. “The Bachelor of Science in Finance Program replaces some of the business administration courses in marketing and management with financial management and accounting curriculum.” 

The College of Business program also offers two graduate finance programs. “The Master of Science in Strategic Finance program focuses on financial management and strategies curriculum with a broad range of concentration and elective options to complement one's career interests,” Dr. Schieuer said. “The Master of Business Administration with a Finance Concentration program provides a broader business curriculum in areas such as human capital, marketing, operations, and management.”

 All four degrees are available online or in class. “By providing multiple options for studying finance, students can assess the various options and choose a career path that maximizes their potential,” said Finance Professor Dr. Anthony Clarke.

Focusing on Finance in the Real World

Bellevue University is focused on applying finance from the textbook to the workplace, while keeping in line with how real-world application evolves over time. This sets the program apart from others.

“For example, an underlying perspective of our approach entails the ideas of ‘main street’ finance versus ‘Wall Street; finance, meaning we focus on financial decision- making across a broad range of industries,” Dr. Schieuer said.

The Master of Science in Strategic Finance helps connect financial management strategies and tools to student's careers, and addresses business decisions that are real and meaningful to them. “Students engage in team activities to enhance both their own content learning, and grow team skills through working to solve problems with peers,” Dr. Schieuer said.

Another option offered through the program, the dual degree option, allows students to earn a second graduate degree with an additional 18 credit hours. “The dual degree option prepares students for a broad range of career growth opportunities in business and financial management,” Dr. Schieuer said.

All jobs need multiple types of knowledge, Dr. Sharma said. “For example, for a person interested in finance, a background knowledge in data science gives an advantage on developing tools and dashboards to improve an investment process.”

Helping Students Take on the Future
Feedback and input are essential to ensuring students gain the edge they will need. “The content is evaluated daily by students through course interaction. Additionally, we have an active College of Business advisory group that provides feedback from employers,” Dr. Clarke said.

Program instructors also stay up-to-speed on evolving technologies to help their students. “Along with teaching the financial calculators, now we need to teach more advanced software used in the finance area,” Dr. Sharma said. “Graduate students in my investments class get a chance to trade stocks in real-time using Stock Trak. We buy this simulation for our students.”

At Bellevue University, student success is the driving force behind the strategic finance programs, and its leaders are committed to seeking out every resource to provide as much value as possible.