Business & Finance Cluster

Here are some of the more common majors for this pathway. Even if you do not see your major listed, you could still find a rewarding career in business and finance. For more information, you can make an appointment to talk with a career coach at the Berry Career Institute for further guidance.

• Economics & Business
• Business (Tracks: Finance, Business Analytics, Actuarial Science)
• General Management
• Personnel Management
• Mathematics
• Data Science
• German Studies
• Russian Studies
• Spanish

The following are just a few courses that you might consider while exploring the business and finance cluster. Please note that course numbers and titles are subject to change. Consult the Course Catalog for current course information.

• ECB 101 - Macroeconomics (1)
• ECB 102 - Microeconomics (1)
• ECB 111 - Introduction to Business (1)
• ECB 121 - Data Visualization (1)
• ECB 151 - Financial Accounting (1)
• CSC 131 - The Beauty and Joy of Computing (1)
• CSC 140 - Foundations of Computer Science (1)
• MAT 121 - Calculus of a Single Variable (1)
• HIS 154 - Making of Modern America (1)

General information about off-campus study, travel abroad, passport applications, and affiliated and non-affiliated study abroad programs are available from the Office of International and Off-Campus Studies. Students may participate in multiple off-campus study opportunities during their career at Cornell. In order to be eligible to participate in any off-campus study at Cornell, students must:

• have a cumulative GPA of at least 2.0 (unless a higher grade point average is specified)
• be in good disciplinary standing with the college
• be in good financial standing with the college

• Accounting & Financial Women's Alliance
• American Academy of Financial Management
• American Institute of Certified Public Accountants
• American Risk and Insurance Association
• Association for Financial Professionals
• Bank Administration Institute
• Financial Industry Regulatory Authority
• Financial Management Association International
• Financial Planning Association
• Institute for Management Accountants
• International Academy of Business and Financial Management
• Investment Management Consultants Association
• National Association of Black Accountants
• National Association of Forensic Accountants
• Public Risk Management Association
• Risk and Insurance Management Society

• LEADS Program
• Omicron Delta Epsilon
• Cornell Financial Group

Internship resources:

• Internship search tools
• Bank of America Merrill Lynch Internships
• Deloitte Consulting Internships
• Ernst & Young Internships
• Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago Summer Intern Program
• Goldman Sachs Investment Banking Internship
• JP Morgan Investment Banking Internships
• Northwestern Mutual Internship Program
  

The Robert Bunting Experiential Learning Endowed Fund supports internships and conference participation in the areas of for-profit entrepreneurship, free enterprise, and free market economics. Possible opportunities in these areas would be at the Mises Institute and with The Heartland Institute.

Job search resources:

• Job Search Tools

US Dept. of Labor resources:

• Occupational Outlook Handbook for Business and Finance majors
• O*NET Online
  

 Research opportunities:  

• Cornell Summer Research Institute

• Research Experiences for Undergraduates  

Ingenuity in Action Experiences and Funding:

• Off-campus studies scholarships
• BCI Experiential Learning
• 50 Scholarship options
• Experiential Fellowships for Seniors and Alumni
• Academic Fellowships for Seniors and Alumni

Use the “See Alumni” button on the Cornell College page on LinkedIn to view alumni by major, geographic location, industry, etc.

Alumni Careers

• Account Services Coordinator, Creative Strategies Group, Denver, CO
• Bank Examiner, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, U.S. Treasury, Overland Park, KS
• Provider Data Services Analyst, Aetna, Chattanooga, TN
• Contract Underwriter, Merchants Bonding Company, Des Moines, IA
• Accounting Assistant, Terrill Glass and Mirror Company, Ben Wheeler, TX
• Financial Representative, Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance, Cedar Rapids, IA
• Management Trainee, Geico Insurance, Coralville, IA
• Documents Specialist, GreatAmerica Financial Services Corporation, Cedar Rapids, IA
• Recruiter, The Jacobson Group, Chicago, IL
• Implementation Consultant, Epic Systems, Madison, WI
• Baseball Data Collections Analyst, Stats, LLC, Northbrook, IL
• Fund Accounting Specialist, JPMorgan Chase, Elgin, IL
• Financial Institution Specialist, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, Madison, WI
• Investment Brokerage Professional, Vanguard, Phoenix, AZ
• Health Care Process Design Specialist, Target Corp., Minneapolis, MN
• Associate Relationship Manager, Principal Financial Group, Des Moines, IA

Should I earn a postgraduate degree?

This depends on your career goals and what you'd like to do:

• Master’s programs are designed to expand and deepen the knowledge and skills acquired as an undergraduate. One-year master’s programs are common and encouraged for deep expertise in more technical business professions such as data analytics. The Master of Business Administration (M.B.A.) degree is typically encouraged for those striving toward upper level management business professions.

• Doctoral (D.B.A.) or Ph.D. programs are generally designed for people primarily interested in research in the business and finance field or careers in academia.