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You are in the official 1995-96 General Catalog for California State University, Fresno.

Business - Finance and Business Law

The Department of Finance and Business Law offers five options (areas of emphasis) within the Bachelor of Science in the Business Administration degree program.

The Agribusiness Option offers students an opportunity to blend courses in business with courses in agriculture in order to gain a knowledge of agribusiness. Students who specialize in agribusiness find career opportunities in banking, finance, real estate, marketing, selling, wholesaling, transportation, manufacturing, processing, insurance, and many other industries of the San Joaquin Valley and other predominantly agricultural regions of the world.

The Finance Option stresses the financial structure of businesses through a common set of courses and specialized courses directed at various applications. It consists of two tracks General Finance and Financial Services.

The General Finance track is designed to provide students with the basic skills required to plan, supervise, and control the financial activities of business organizations. These include understanding the trade-off between risk and return, the time value of money, and the magnifying effect of leverage. Students specializing in the General Finance track gain the skills related to evaluating the financial needs of a business, obtaining the funds required by the firm, and using these funds in such a way that the company's goals are met.

The Financial Services track offers students the opportunity to broaden their knowledge and under standing of financial services so as to improve their ability to make effective decisions in financial planning and to facilitate career development in this area.

Since financial planning typically involves responsibility for coordinating work in more than one financial area, the Financial Planning emphasis enables students to take the broad range of courses necessary to be knowledgeable in this rapidly expanding field. The Risk Management and Insurance emphasis prepares students for careers not only within the insurance industry but also in business and government. More than half of all insurance employees hold professional, managerial, or technical jobs. Businesses and governments seek insurance-trained employees to manage employee benefit plans, oversee risk management programs, and serve as actuaries. Government also offers positions in insurance regulation and administration of social insurance programs, including health insurance.

The International Business Option introduces students to the fastest growing part of business today. The information and communications revolution and declining travel costs have made all businesses aware of global markets. The option stresses the role of global communications and the growth of entrepreneurial opportunities in worldwide markets, with special attention to California and the markets of the Pacific Rim.

The Legal Environment of Business Option provides an excellent background for business people who will spend a considerable amount of their time resolving business-related, legal and regulatory problems. Those obtaining a legal environment option will be able to adjust and adapt to a variety of career paths. These include working in law office management and in a number of business departments, including public affairs, government relations, trust, and finance. Depending upon the elective coursework chosen, this option may prepare students for careers in underwriting, pension or benefits planning, arbitration or other forms of alternative dispute resolution, and other business areas requiring a familiarity with legal principles and processes. Many nonlawyers find a broad knowledge of law extremely helpful in their business careers. As a result, this option can be recommended for all business majors.

The Real Estate and Urban Land Economics Option provides the background for a wide range of career opportunities in addition to residential and commercial real estate sales. These areas include development, lending, banking, appraising, escrow, property management, and construction. Usually students who enroll in the real estate option will complete all courses necessary to take the California Brokers License Examination. Faculty and Facilities

The faculty is comprised of more than 20 full-time and part-time individuals who have outstanding reputations in both business and education. All full-time members of the department have earned an appropriate doctorate degree and many of them have gained national reputations for their scholarship. The faculty is extremely active in research and textbook writing as well as active in working with the business community.

A wide range of approaches are used in teaching the many different courses offered by the department. These include computer simulations, team projects, community projects, laboratory research, group discussions, collaborative work groups, case studies, internships, and foreign studies programs. The broad background of the faculty and their strong commitment to business education assures students of a challenging and rewarding course of study.

Finance and Business Law- Degrees

Finance and Business Law - Courses

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