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Economics / Finance Major

Study economics and finance at SBU

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SBU’s Economics and Finance major combines the disciplines of both economics and finance to prepare you for a career in areas such as banking, financial services, investing, management, and government.

With this financial economics degree you will understand both economic and financial analysis skills and techniques. You will have the tools to provide great value to any company by understanding business principles and issues in an ever-changing economy. Economics courses are taught with a focus on the importance of free markets.

Opportunities for growth are countless in the economics/finance sector, and SBU will help you reach your goals!

The Economics/Finance degree is offered through SBU's Robert W. Plaster College of Business. 

Resources

Degree Plan

100%
Job
placement
rate

(100% of SBU economics/finance majors graduating in 2020-21 had employment in their field within three months of graduation.)

SBU College of Business Job Placement and Salary Data (PDF)

Group of student leaders

The SBU Advantage

  • Receive a well-rounded education and career preparation through SBU's unique comprehensive degree with both economics and finance. This combined degree opens up many opportunities both in the workplace and in furthering your education in graduate school.
  • Learn economics from a free market-oriented perspective taught by SBU faculty. You will understand the importance of free markets, the benefits of free enterprise to society, and the problems with government intervention in the economy.
  • Thrive within a close-knit community where class sizes are small enough for dedicated faculty to provide personalized attention that builds lifelong friendships.
  • More than 75% of students in the business administration division complete at least one internship before graduation.

Faith Integration

Faculty are committed to intentionally integrating Christian faith in the classroom with the goal of producing future business leaders who are also servant leaders. For example, as an Economics and Finance major, you will take a course in International Economics and Finance that uses the Poverty Cure video series to facilitate a Biblical discussion about global poverty.

Psalm 15 — SBU's College of Professional Programs and the Robert W. Plaster College of Business have a Psalm 15 initiative, which provides intentional integration of faith and academic discipline. Using Psalm 15 as a basis, the Colleges have identified eight character traits that should be the hallmark of the students and graduates. These character traits are emphasized in coursework and in a special lecture series. The highlighted character traits are: Integrity, Service, Respect, Charity, Faithfulness, Truthfulness, Humility and Perseverance.

Ethics and Professional Development — As part of an intentionally Christian education, students in the Robert W. Plaster College of Business take a senior-level course in Ethics and Professional Development. The course teaches Christian personal and professional ethics and equips students with life skills such as career development, etiquette, and servant leadership, with the goal of producing ethical business leaders who will be servant leaders in the workplace.

Careers

Examples of organizations that have employed our graduates:

  • Bank of America
  • Edward Jones
  • Federal Reserve
  • Jack Henry & Associates
  • Johnson & Johnson
  • State Farm
  • United Missouri Bank

Internships

Examples of organizations that have provided internships for our Economics and Finance majors:

  • Accenture
  • Dannon
  • Sam's Club
  • Walmart Headquarters

Graduate Schools

Examples of graduate schools attended by our graduates:

Alex Huff
"Like most of my classmates, I had a job offer before I graduated. I know I was well-equipped as I often find myself drawing on the principles and concepts that I learned in my major. The faculty at SBU are second to none, not only in scholarly excellence, but also in genuine care for each student."
Alex Huff '14
Financial advisor with Edward Jones

Clubs and Organizations

JumpStart

Want to start a business as a student? At SBU, you have the opportunity to receive guidance and funding as you build a business while pursuing your degree. One of our students, Lillian, started a hair accessory business on Etsy and earned over $12,000 in profits her first year! You even have the chance to earn funds for your business through the Jumpstart entrepreneurship competition.

Sentrepact

Sentrepact is an opportunity for you to mentor high school students as they partner with local businesses in their community. You will be putting your learned skills from the classroom into practice through partnering with high school students and providing advice on how to improve their business partnerships.

Delta Mu Delta

Delta Mu Delta is an international honor society established to recognize superior scholastic achievement of business administration students. The purpose of Delta Mu Delta is to promote higher scholarship in education for business, and to recognize and reward scholastic attainment in business subjects. Delta Mu Delta is an invitation-only society for juniors and seniors in the top 20% of their class with a minimum GPA of 3.25.

Financial Management Association (FMA)

Financial Management Association (FMA) offers amazing opportunities for business students. In the SBU FMA chapter, students have the opportunity to meet and network with local finance professionals, engage in investment competitions, participate in community service, and network with SBU peers. As a member of FMA, a national organization, students gain access to FMA's extensive online library, online forecasting competition, job posting board, and international networking and award opportunities.

Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA)

Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) is the largest career student business organization in the world. FBLA has more than 10,000 members and more than 500 chapters. 

SBU's FBLA chapter consistently excels at the yearly state and national competitions, earning 58 top-ten national finishes so far!

 

 

Full-Time Faculty

Troy Bethards

Dr. Troy Bethards, College Dean
Ryder King

Ryder King, Instructor
Nathan Wright

Dr. Nathan Wright, Division Head
Levi Bridge

Dr. Levi Bridge, MBA Coordinator
David Liu

Dr. David Liu, Associate Professor
Angela Brown-Peterson

Dr. Angela Brown-Peterson, Associate Professor
Bill Marr

Bill Marr, Instructor

Scholarships

The College of Professional Programs and the Robert W. Plaster College of Business offer many privately funded scholarship opportunities for their students. During a recent academic year, more than $89,000 was awarded in private scholarships to students from these college-level scholarships. Some scholarships available include:

  • Aric Beckham Memorial Scholarship
  • Bill & Geneva Williams Memorial Scholarship
  • Business College Scholarship
  • Clifford & Marie Gouge Memorial Scholarship
  • Credille Family Scholarship
  • Dexter Yager Business Scholarship
  • Don & Joan Woods Endowed Scholarship
  • Dr. B.E. Clark Distinguished Accounting Student Scholarship
  • Gary & Jane Black Excellence Scholarship
  • Gladys Henderson Memorial Scholarship
  • Melvin & Minnie Hall Memorial Scholarship
  • Nebraska Book Company Scholarship
  • Ralph Stufflebam Memorial Scholarship
  • Ruby Letsch-Roderique Business Scholarship

Taylor Center

The Robert W. Plaster College of Business is housed in the Gene Taylor National Free Enterprise Center. The Taylor Center was expanded and renovated to provide the following benefits for our students:

  • Increased number of dedicated study areas and presentation rooms that can be reserved in advance
  • Keycard access for certain majors increases building security while allowing you to access space and equipment after hours to effectively study and work on group projects
  • Student lounge and open spaces to study, relax and hang out

Economics and Finance FOUR YEAR PLAN

Discover Core Curriculum