Undergraduate Curriculum
Finance Concentration
Finance provides the technical and analytical skills needed to understand financial markets and how businesses make decisions about financing, investment, and risk. The concentration prepares students for careers in financial services, finance roles across industries, and positions in government and nonprofit organizations. The curriculum combines foundational coursework with a broad selection of electives aligned with the career paths described below. Students who are not concentrating in finance but would like an introduction to corporate finance and investment markets are encouraged to take Foundations of Finance (FINC-UB 2), followed by Investment Management (FINC-UB 5). We also offer specialized courses that explore the connections between finance and i) household decision-making (FINC-UB 3), (ii) economic history (FINC-UB 14) , and (iii) climate science (FINC-UB 77).
Students must complete Foundations of Finance (FINC-UB 2), followed by at least 12 credits of upper-level finance coursework consisting of:
- One course in the investments area, selected from:
- Investment Management (FINC-UB 5)
- Alternative Investments (FINC-UB 15)
- Portfolio Management (FINC-UB 44)
- Data-Driven Investing with Python (FINC-UB 54)
- Managing Investment Funds (FINC-GB 3320)
- Three additional approved finance electives.
Undergraduate Careers in Finance
The table below outlines undergraduate career paths in finance, ordered to reflect Stern’s placement priorities. The accompanying descriptions explain related opportunities in fintech, quantitative finance, alternative investments, and real estate, as well as differences in entry requirements.
| Career category | Main undergraduate entry paths |
| 1. Investment banking and capital raising | Mergers and acquisitions; industry coverage; equity and debt capital markets; leveraged finance; financial sponsors coverage; restructuring advisory; public finance. |
| 2. Markets, trading, and securities research | Institutional sales; trading and market making; equity and credit research; credit ratings analysis; derivatives and structuring; quantitative trading, research, and development; prime brokerage and securities financing. |
| 3. Investment and asset management | Equity and fixed-income investment research; portfolio analytics and implementation; multi-asset investing and asset allocation; manager research and investment consulting; investment analyst roles at pensions, endowments, and foundations; investment product, institutional sales, and client relationship roles. |
| 4. Alternative investments and real estate | Private equity and growth equity; venture capital; secondaries and fund investing; private credit; hedge funds; distressed and special situations investing; infrastructure and real assets; real estate acquisitions, asset management, and development finance; fund investor relations and capital formation. |
| 5. Wealth management and financial planning | Private banking analyst; wealth management analyst; financial planning associate; financial advisor development programs; investment and client-service roles supporting advisors and family offices. |
| 6. Corporate finance | Financial planning and analysis (FP&A); treasury; budgeting and business-unit finance; financial leadership development and rotational programs; investor relations; selected corporate development analyst roles. |
| 7. Commercial, corporate, and consumer banking | Credit analysis and underwriting; commercial and corporate banking analyst programs; relationship management; commercial real estate lending; consumer and mortgage lending; payments and cash-management solutions. |
| 8. Risk management, compliance, and financial supervision | Credit, market, liquidity, and operational risk; model risk and validation; compliance and financial crime analysis; internal controls and audit; bank examination and regulatory analyst roles. |
| 9. Insurance and risk transfer | Underwriting; insurance brokerage and client advisory; actuarial analysis—with appropriate quantitative preparation and exams; reinsurance; insurance investment and finance roles. |
| 10. Financial advisory, valuation, and consulting | Business valuation; transaction advisory and financial due diligence; turnaround and restructuring consulting; forensic financial analysis; financial services consulting. |
| 11. Financial operations and investment services | Trade support and settlement; investment operations; fund accounting and administration; custody and securities services; collateral management; performance measurement and reporting. |
Fintech and financial data analytics
Fintech and financial data analytics span several categories in the table. Fintech firms offer roles in payments and lending (Category 7), wealth management (Category 5), and investment services (Categories 2–4 and 11). Data analytics supports investment research, portfolio management, credit underwriting, risk management, and financial operations. Opportunities exist both at financial institutions and at technology and financial data providers. Students can pursue these interests across multiple career paths, with programming, statistics, and data analysis providing valuable complementary skills.
Alternative investments and entry routes
The table also distinguishes career areas without implying equal availability of positions immediately after graduation. Direct undergraduate opportunities exist in alternative investments (Category 4), but investment roles in private equity, venture capital, hedge funds, and distressed investing are generally more limited and selective than opportunities in many other categories. Many professionals enter these fields after gaining experience in investment banking, securities research, consulting, or related roles. Opportunities also vary by function: investment analysis, fund operations, client relations, and capital formation can offer different entry routes into the same firm. Students should distinguish investment roles from client-facing, product, and operational positions when evaluating opportunities. Corporate development (Category 6) and some family-office investment roles (Category 5) may also favor candidates with prior experience; transaction advisory and fund accounting roles can require additional accounting preparation.
Quantitative finance and artificial intelligence
Quantitative finance provides another pathway across several categories in the table, applying mathematics, statistics, programming, and financial theory to investment and business decisions. Students typically benefit from a strong foundation in calculus, linear algebra, probability, econometrics, and programming—particularly Python, with SQL and, for some roles, C++ also valuable. These coding and analytical skills also support applications of machine learning and generative AI, including extracting information from company filings and earnings calls, analyzing alternative data, developing investment signals, improving credit and fraud models, and automating research workflows. AI-assisted coding can help students build these applications, but financial judgment, statistical rigor, and the ability to validate models and outputs remain essential. Preparation should include careful treatment of data quality, backtesting, overfitting, and confidential information.
Career opportunities include quantitative trading, derivatives pricing, research, and development at banks and proprietary trading firms (Category 2); systematic investing, portfolio construction, and investment analytics at asset managers (Category 3) and hedge funds (Category 4); credit modeling and lending analytics (Category 7); and risk modeling, model validation, and stress testing (Category 8). Related opportunities include actuarial and insurance analytics (Category 9) and forecasting and financial analytics within companies (Category 6). Undergraduates with strong technical preparation can enter trading, analytics, and some quantitative research roles directly, while more specialized research and modeling positions often favor candidates with master’s or doctoral training in quantitative disciplines.
Real estate careers
A separate real estate program, like the one offered here at NYU Stern, prepares students for careers spanning several categories in the table, reflecting the industry’s combination of investing, financing, development, and property operations. Relevant opportunities include acquisitions, investment analysis, development finance, and asset management at real estate investment firms and developers (Category 4); commercial real estate lending and credit underwriting at banks and other lenders (Category 7); real estate investment banking and capital raising (Category 1); and REIT research and real estate securities investing (Categories 2–3).
Real estate also has a close connection to alternative investments: many large alternative investment managers operate dedicated real estate equity and debt businesses, offering exposure to property acquisitions, real estate lending, distressed opportunities, and portfolio management. A real estate program can therefore provide a pathway into both specialist property firms and broader alternative investment platforms, with skills that also transfer to private credit and other real asset strategies. Additional paths include corporate finance and treasury at real estate companies (Category 6), property valuation and transaction advisory (Category 10), and real estate fund operations and reporting (Category 11). Brokerage, leasing, and property management extend beyond the table’s finance focus but offer further career opportunities. A dedicated program can connect these paths through a shared foundation in property valuation, market analysis, financing, and investment underwriting.
Connecting Finance Courses to Career Paths
Stern’s finance curriculum allows students to combine broad financial knowledge with preparation for particular careers. Foundations of Finance (FINC-UB 2) provides the common starting point. Students can then select courses that develop the investment, valuation, financing, institutional, and analytical skills most relevant to their interests. The groupings below are guides to course selection: students need not take every course listed, and many courses support more than one career path. The signature courses for each category are underlined and in bold, and important key ancillary courses are underlined.
| Career category | Relevant courses | How the courses support the career path |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Investment banking and capital raising | Corporate Finance (FINC-UB 7); Cases in Financial Management (FINC-UB 8); Equity Valuation (FINC-UB 41); AI in Finance (FINC-UB 55); Mergers, Acquisitions and Restructuring (FINC-UB 50); Debt Instruments and Markets (FINC-UB 26); The Financial Service Industry (FINC-UB 45). Specialized options include Restructuring and Distressed Investing (FINC-UB 17), Advanced Restructuring and Distressed Investing (FINC-UB 18), Private Equity Finance (FINC-UB 32), and Financial Analysis in Telecom, Media & Technology (FINC-UB 68). | Corporate finance, valuation, and case analysis provide preparation for assessing companies, financing choices, and transactions. Students can tailor their coursework toward M&A, debt capital markets, leveraged finance, financial sponsors, restructuring, or industry coverage. The TMT course offers a sector-specific complement, while private equity coursework is particularly relevant to advising sponsors and financing acquisitions. |
| 2. Markets, trading, and securities research | Investment Management (FINC-UB 5); Principles of Securities Trading (FINC-UB 49); Derivatives / Futures and Options (FINC-UB 43); AI in Finance (FINC-UB 55); Debt Instruments and Markets (FINC-UB 26); Equity Valuation (FINC-UB 41); Research on Wall Street (FINC-UB 48); International Finance (FINC-UB 30); Data-Driven Investing with Python (FINC-UB 54). | Students can combine knowledge of securities and markets with preparation for a specific desk or research function. Equity valuation and research courses are natural choices for equity research; debt and restructuring courses complement credit research. Trading, derivatives, international finance, and programming are useful choices for trading, structuring, market-making, and quantitative roles. |
| 3. Investment and asset management | Investment Management (FINC-UB 5); Portfolio Management (FINC-UB 44); Equity Valuation (FINC-UB 41); Debt Instruments and Markets (FINC-UB 26); Research on Wall Street (FINC-UB 48); Data-Driven Investing with Python & AI (FINC-UB 54); International Finance (FINC-UB 30); Managing Investment Funds (FINC-GB 3320). Alternative Investments (FINC-UB 15) is also relevant to manager selection and institutional portfolios. | These courses provide a pathway from understanding investments to evaluating securities, constructing portfolios, and communicating investment recommendations. Students interested in pensions, endowments, foundations, or investment consulting can emphasize portfolio management and alternative investments. The same investment knowledge supports product development, institutional sales, and client relationships, complemented by communication and marketing coursework. |
| 4. Alternative investments and real estate | Private equity and venture capital: Private Equity Finance (FINC-UB 32), Entrepreneurial Finance (FINC-UB 61), Corporate Finance (FINC-UB 7), and Equity Valuation (FINC-UB 41). Hedge funds and public-market strategies: Alternative Investments (FINC-UB 15), Discretionary Long/Short Equity Investing (FINC-UB 51), Activist Investing (FINC-UB 46), Portfolio Management (FINC-UB 44), AI in Finance (FINC-UB 55) , Data-Driven Investing with Python & AI (FINC-UB 54), Managing Investment Funds (FINC-GB 3320), and Equity Valuation (FINC-UB 41). Private credit and distressed investing: Debt Instruments and Markets (FINC-UB 26), Restructuring and Distressed Investing (FINC-UB 17), and Advanced Restructuring and Distressed Investing (FINC-UB 18). Real estate: Real Estate Investment Strategies (FINC-UB 35), Real Estate Capital Markets (FINC-UB 38), Real Estate Primary Markets (FINC-UB 39), Global Real Estate (FINC-UB 37), and Real Estate Data Science (FINC-UB 36). | Course selection should reflect the investment strategy and role students wish to pursue. Corporate and entrepreneurial finance are useful for evaluating private businesses; investment research and portfolio courses suit hedge fund and allocator roles; debt and restructuring courses provide preparation for credit and distressed situations. Real estate coursework supports property investing, financing, and development, including positions within larger alternative investment firms. These combinations also provide relevant preparation for fund investing, due diligence, investor relations, and capital formation. |
| 5. Wealth management and financial planning | Private Wealth Management and Family Offices (FINC-UB **); Investment Management (FINC-UB 5); Portfolio Management (FINC-UB 44); Alternative Investments (FINC-UB 15); Financial Economics of Risk and Insurance (FINC-UB 83); Foundations of Fintech (MULT-UB 80). | A useful combination connects client objectives with portfolio choices, investment products, and risk protection. Private wealth and family-office coursework provides the most direct connection, while investment and alternative investment courses are relevant to advising wealthy clients and evaluating managers. Students pursuing comprehensive financial planning should also develop knowledge of taxation, estate planning, and retirement planning, along with client communication skills. |
| 6. Corporate finance | Corporate Finance (FINC-UB 7); Cases in Financial Management (FINC-UB 8); Equity Valuation (FINC-UB 41); International Finance (FINC-UB 30); Mergers, Acquisitions and Restructuring (FINC-UB 50); AI in Finance (FINC-UB 55); Entrepreneurial Finance (FINC-UB 61). Corporate Finance and Valuation in the Music Business (FINC-UB 67) and Financial Analysis in Telecom, Media & Technology (FINC-UB 68) offer industry applications. | These courses are relevant to evaluating investments, choosing financing, allocating capital, and assessing business performance. International finance and derivatives are useful complements for treasury; valuation and M&A for corporate development; and entrepreneurial finance for startup finance. Accounting, budgeting, and financial modeling provide additional preparation for FP&A and finance rotational programs. |
| 7. Commercial, corporate, and consumer banking | Corporate Finance (FINC-UB 7); Debt Instruments and Markets (FINC-UB 26); Risk Management in Financial Institutions (FINC-UB 22); AI in Finance (FINC-UB 55); The Financial Service Industry (FINC-UB 45); The Financial System (MULT-UB 27); Foundations of Fintech (MULT-UB 80). Relevant specializations include Restructuring and Distressed Investing (FINC-UB 17), International Finance (FINC-UB 30), and Real Estate Primary Markets (FINC-UB 39). | Corporate finance, debt, and risk coursework provide preparation for assessing borrowers and financing needs. Students can add restructuring for troubled credits, real estate for property lending, or international finance for multinational clients. Institutional and fintech coursework complements interests in banking products, payments, and cash-management solutions. Financial statement analysis is particularly valuable for credit underwriting. |
| 8. Risk management, compliance, and financial supervision | Risk Management in Financial Institutions (FINC-UB 22); The Financial System (MULT-UB 27); The Financial Service Industry (FINC-UB 45); Derivatives / Futures and Options (FINC-UB 43); Debt Instruments and Markets (FINC-UB 26); International Finance (FINC-UB 30); Financial Economics of Risk and Insurance (FINC-UB 83). Data-Driven Investing with Python (FINC-UB 54) provides complementary analytical preparation. | Students can combine institutional knowledge with an understanding of the instruments and exposures they will help oversee. Risk and quantitative coursework are useful for analytical roles; financial system coursework complements interests in supervision and policy. Compliance, financial crime, and internal audit careers also benefit from additional study of regulation, business law, accounting, and controls. |
| 9. Insurance and risk transfer | Financial Economics of Risk and Insurance (FINC-UB 83); Risk Management in Financial Institutions (FINC-UB 22); Debt Instruments and Markets (FINC-UB 26); Portfolio Management (FINC-UB 44); Investment Management (FINC-UB 5); Derivatives / Futures and Options (FINC-UB 43). | Insurance and risk coursework are the most direct choices for underwriting, reinsurance, risk consulting, and insurance-related financial analysis. Investment, debt, and portfolio courses complement interests in insurers’ investment businesses and asset-liability management. Students seeking actuarial positions should combine finance with probability, statistics, actuarial coursework, and the relevant professional examinations. |
| 10. Financial advisory, valuation, and consulting | Equity Valuation (FINC-UB 41); Corporate Finance (FINC-UB 7); Cases in Financial Management (FINC-UB 8); Mergers, Acquisitions and Restructuring (FINC-UB 50); Restructuring and Distressed Investing (FINC-UB 17); Advanced Restructuring and Distressed Investing (FINC-UB 18). The Financial Service Industry (FINC-UB 45), Foundations of Fintech (MULT-UB 80), and sector-specific courses provide useful complements. | Valuation, corporate finance, and case analysis provide preparation for evaluating businesses and explaining recommendations to clients. Restructuring courses suit turnaround and distressed advisory interests. Students can add financial industry, fintech, or sector coursework to support consulting specializations. Transaction due diligence and forensic financial analysis also require substantial accounting preparation. |
| 11. Financial operations and investment services | Investment Management (FINC-UB 5); Principles of Securities Trading (FINC-UB 49); Debt Instruments and Markets (FINC-UB 26); Derivatives / Futures and Options (FINC-UB 43); The Financial Service Industry (FINC-UB 45); Portfolio Management (FINC-UB 44); AI in Finance (FINC-UB 55); Foundations of Fintech (MULT-UB 80). Managing Investment Funds (FINC-GB 3320) and Data-Driven Investing with Python (FINC-UB 54) are useful applied complements. | Knowledge of investment products, trading, portfolios, and financial institutions helps students understand the activities supported by operations teams. Portfolio coursework is relevant to performance reporting; trading and instrument knowledge to trade support, collateral, and investment servicing; and fintech and programming to process improvement. Fund accounting and administration also benefit from accounting and operational controls coursework. |
Coursework should be combined with practical preparation. Financial statement analysis and modeling are valuable across banking, investing, corporate finance, and advisory. Probability, statistics, and programming are particularly important for quantitative and analytical roles, while writing, presentation, and relationship skills matter across both investment and client-facing positions. Internships, investment pitches, case projects, and experiential courses help students apply their knowledge and demonstrate their readiness to employers.
Fintech and artificial intelligence can be incorporated into several of these pathways. Foundations of Fintech (MULT-UB 80) provides a useful complement for students interested in technology-enabled financial services. Data-Driven Investing with Python & AI (FINC-UB 54) connects programming with investment analysis, while Real Estate Data Science (FINC-UB 36) offers an industry-specific application. AI in Finance (FINC-UB 55) is an additional course to consider for students interested in applying AI tools across financial analysis, investment management, and financial services.