Minor in Finance
Learn From the Leader in Modern Finance
Level up your skillset with a Minor in Finance from the Bendheim Center for Finance.
Princeton undergraduates may now earn a Minor in Finance that recognizes their proficiency in the discipline of finance. The Minor in Finance is open to all majors, with the only limitations being that students may only enroll in a maximum of two minors and may not pursue both a Minor in Finance and a Minor in Quantitative Economics. The application period for sophomore students opens in the spring of each year.
Class of 2024 students will still earn a Certificate in Finance. Students in the Class of 2025 have the option of registering for either the previously available Certificate in Finance or the newly available Minor in Finance. The two programs have slightly different requirements, notably:
- Certificate students must complete independent work with significant finance content. Details here.
- Minor students are restricted in the number of courses that can double count towards fulfilling the requirements of their major. Details here.
Students in the Class of 2025 should inform Ms. Heaney-Scott (mheaney@princeton.edu) of their selection at their earliest convenience.
For students in the Class of 2024, the Certificate in Finance is the only available option. For students in the Class of 2026 and beyond, the Minor in Finance is the only available option.
Benefits of the Minor
Modern finance is remarkably diverse, drawing from many disciplines beyond economics, including mathematics, statistics, operations research, engineering, computer science, psychology, and politics. In addition to the obvious practical relevance of finance, the field contains both challenging intellectual problems and a distinctive conceptual framework.
Students learn to:
- Understand and interpret the prices of financial and real assets, including equities, bonds, currencies, and derivative securities
- Construct and manage portfolios, including environmentally and socially responsible investing
- Evaluate financial and other risks
- Analyze the role that banks and other financial intermediaries play in the economy
- Assess corporate governance, how companies finance themselves and interpret financial statements
- Understand FinTech innovations, including digital money
In earning the minor from BCF—an interdisciplinary center run by faculty from the Economics Department, the Department of Operations Research and Financial Engineering, and more—students explore the field’s most challenging questions.
Celebrating Success
We recognize outstanding student achievement with our Minor in Finance Annual Prizes. Each year, two prizes are awarded to our top students on Class Day.
Apply for the Minor in Finance
Why consider a Minor in Finance? Knowledge of modern finance is essential to the proper understanding of many other topics in economics and public policy, including:
- Exchange rates and international capital flows
- Monetary and fiscal policy
- Financial reform in developing and transition economies
- The regulation and taxation of finance
- Antitrust policy
With a Minor in Finance, students enhance their resumes and strengthen their applications for graduate school and many competitive job markets. Applications are due by June 1 of sophomore year.