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The Department of Finance offers undergraduate and graduate programs that prepare students for a wide range of careers in finance.

In addition to standard finance offerings, we offer a specialized concentration in financial planning and different academic tracks that allow students to specialize in corporate finance and risk management, investments, and financial advising.

Our faculty are experts on a broad range of topics in finance, regularly publish their research in premier academic journals, and actively engage with Chicago finance professionals to provide innovative educational programs that enhance the skills and careers of students.

Degree Programs Heading link

The Finance Department offers undergraduate and graduate degree programs.

BS in Finance Degree Requirements

MS in Finance Apply Now

Seminar Series Heading link

UIC Business Visits Chicago Board Options Exchange (Cboe) Heading link

UIC Business students, staff and faculty on the bell-ringing platform to ring the closing bell

Emeritus Finance Professor Gib Bassett led a group of UIC Business students, faculty, and staff to tour the new Chicago Board Options Exchange (Cboe) trading floor. The new trading floor opened in June 2022 with a hybrid trading system that combines open outcry and electronic trading.

Breaking up into small groups, Cboe tour guides described the floor operations and the roles played by the market makers and brokers on the floor. The tour ended with the group assembling on the bell-ringing platform overlooking the trading floor to ring the closing bell at 3:15 pm. UIC Business students included students from Professor Bassett’s FIN 594/494 class, The Chicago Exchanges; CMBA students; Business Scholars; and CME Scholars. Additional faculty included Finance faculty, Andriy Bodnaruk, Dermot Murphy, and Lingjie Ma, as well as Emeritus Professor of Economics, Mo-Yin Tam.

The Cboe offers trading across multiple asset classes and geographies, including options, futures, U.S. and European equities, exchange-traded products (ETPs), and global foreign exchange (FX). It houses 10 trading pits including the S&P 500 Index (SPX) options, Cboe Volatility Index (VIX) options, Russell 2000 Index (RUT) options, and SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY) options pits. The Cboe is the largest options exchange in the U.S.

Student Organization Spotlight: Finance & Investment Group Heading link

The Finance & Investment Group, or FIG, is a student-run organization that is dedicated to developing knowledge and networks for the future. We host speaker events where we invite business professionals from different finance fields, such as personal, public, private and corporate finance to speak about their experiences. Our speakers work in a wide variety of industries such as: investment banking, asset management, venture capital, private equity, and real estate. We also offer workshops and networking events for our members to deepen their knowledge on an interactive, personal level.

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FIN 594 Visits CQA Heading link

John Wightkin and 18 students from the Advanced Asset Management class at the CQA fall conference in Chicago

John Wightkin and 18 students from the Advanced Asset Management class had the opportunity to attend the CQA fall conference in Chicago. CQA is an international group of quantitative investment professionals and professors. Students were able to listen to several prominent speakers including Daryl Morey, the General Manager of the Philadelphia 76ers basketball team. He, along with two other experts, discussed the parallels between analytics driven decision making in sports and quantitative investing. They also had the chance to meet some legendary money managers and learn more about the quantitative investment industry. This opportunity gives UIC Business students invaluable exposure to this investment community and is one of many opportunities that has been made available to the students through their participation in the Advanced Asset Management class.

Ferhat Akbas, Professor of Finance Heading link

Ferhat Akbas, Associate Professor of Finance

Had a paper titled, “Initial Margin Requirements and Market Efficiency,” (with Paul Koch and Lezgin Ay) accepted for publication in the Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis

First Annual Finance Reception Heading link

Group of students infront of the city skyline at night

The UIC Business First Annual Finance Reception brought together alumni, faculty, students, and business professionals to celebrate the close of an academic year and for networking. The evening’s highlight was a fireside chat by Terrence J. Mullen, CFA, a UIC B.S. Finance and Economics graduate, retired Managing Director at Allstate Investments. The event was hosted by the Department of Finance with the Portfolio Management Team and Finance and Investment Group at UIC.