Finance programmes teach how money is valued, raised, allocated and risked — the time value of money, how securities and companies are priced, how firms decide what to invest in, how portfolios are built, and how risk is measured and hedged. It is the most quantitative of the business degrees and the usual route into analyst, advisory and risk work.
The degrees this program covers
One of the largest business footprints in the state: 2,968 credentials in finance and financial management in the 2023 federal award year, concentrated at 12 Florida public institutions — this is a university degree, not a state-college one, and that is the main practical difference from accounting. ⚠ Two smaller specialisms sit alongside it: banking and financial support services, and financial planning, the latter being the academic route toward advising individuals rather than analysing companies. ⚠⚠ There is no equivalent of the CPA's 150-hour rule here. What governs entry instead is EXAMINATIONS AND REGISTRATION obtained after you are hired — and the federal handbook makes the useful point that most of those licences require employer sponsorship, so companies do not expect applicants to arrive holding them. ⚠⚠⚠ The credential that does distinguish candidates before hiring is the CFA, and it is a multi-year commitment taken alongside work rather than during a degree.
Careers this program leads to
Each one sets out the courses along the way, the licence or certification at the end,
and the sources behind it.
Neighbouring fields that share much of the same coursework, and often the same employers.
⚠ Read these before you commit to a major — which doors a neighbouring degree
keeps open is the part no catalog tells you, and it is far cheaper to change now than later.
14 institutions awarded a credential in this field in 2023,
at these levels: Associate, Bachelor's, Certificate (<12 weeks), Certificate (1-2 years), Certificate (12 weeks-1 year), Master's, Postbaccalaureate certificate.
A school appears here if it awards anything in the field, however limited
its offering — a technical college teaching only practical nursing has a nursing
program. Listed alphabetically, not ranked.
Source: federal IPEDS completions data for 2023, first majors only —
the most recent year published. ⚠ It records what was awarded, which is
strong evidence of what is offered, but a program launched since 2023
will not appear here. Check the institution’s own catalog before applying.
Updated 21 September 2026.
⚠ Program pages describe a field of study, not one school’s degree — always
read the catalog of the institution you are applying to.