Finance – Business Administration (Co-op option available)

Program Overview

Are you a pro at managing money with an added interest in stocks, bonds, investing and financial planning? Have you considered getting paid to help others manage their financial portfolios? The three-year Finance – Business Administration program provides advanced education and training in business, financial planning, investments, and life and health insurance. This structure will ensure you complete the program with the skills to gain a competitive edge in the job market. During the program you’ll have the opportunity to write the Canadian Investment Funds Course (CIFC)® exam to be eligible for mutual fund licensing, as well as the Canadian Securities Course (CSC)® exams to be eligible for a securities license*. The requirements for each designation/certification listed above are set by the granting body, not Durham College. In order to qualify for any of these designations/certifications, students need to follow and meet the required processes. You will also have two options to gain valuable skills in the workforce and will either complete a field placement or a co-operative education (co-op) experience.

*The requirements for each designation/certification listed above are set by the granting body, not Durham College. In order to qualify for any of these designations/certifications, students need to follow and meet the required processes

Co-operative Education

Field Placement

Financial Planning

Admission Requirements

Ontario Secondary School Diploma (OSSD) or Mature Student Status
Grade 12 English (C or U)
Grade 11 mathematics (C, M or U)

View All Requirements

Intakes and Availability

Date	Domestic Availability	International Availability
September 2020	Open	Open
January 2021	Open

Tuition

Year one domestic: $2,722 (CAD)
Year one international: $13,322 (CDN)

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Co-operative Education (co-op)

The best way to succeed in your field is to immerse yourself in it! Co-op is an excellent way to build your professional network, explore career paths and apply in-class teachings to real work situations. Co-op is a model of education that integrates academic learning with workplace learning in fields relevant to our students’ academic and personal goals. Similar to an academic course, work terms are a mandatory component to this form of experiential learning.

Semester 1 Courses

View All Courses

Career Options

WHAT YOU COULD BE:

Accounting clerk
Budget coordinator
Contact centre associate
Credit officer
Financial advisor
Financial analyst
Financial planner
Investment advisor or broker
Insurance representative
Mortgage specialist
Relationship manager
Security analyst

View all Career Options

Program Details

NOTE: Students enrolling in this program are required to purchase their own laptop. For specific hardware and software requirements for this program click here.

The three-year Finance – Business Administration advanced diploma program and the two-year Finance – Business diploma program have a common first two years of studies. However, the third year provides a unique opportunity for students to complete a four-week placement in their final semester of study, which will give them a practical finance experience and the opportunity to apply the theories and concepts learned throughout the program.

Through the program and field placement, students will gain the skills and knowledge required to work in the field of financial services. In addition to a foundation in business, learning will be focused on a diverse selection of studies including, personal financial management, tax and retirement planning, investments and estate planning. An emphasis placed on training in financial services in various areas including, financial project management, call centre operations, financial analysis, planning and control, and preparation of financial plans.

You will learn how to:

Keep a simple set of books for small businesses using accounting concepts and practices
Understand the needs of clients in order to create relevant financial goals that are specific, measurable, actionable, realistic and time-sensitive
Examine other countries, businesses and individuals to observe how they tackle the problem of scarce resources in order to satisfy needs and wants
Efficiently use industry-standard money management software to perform transactions, keep track of sales and expenses and create financial reports.
Efficiently use retirement planning software to forecast retirement scenarios for different situations or clients.

In the third year, you will learn to:

Plan, manage, execute and close a project, taking into consideration all project constraints
Create and monitor a project using computer software
Identify and utilize statistical methods, some of which include frequency distributions; graphic representation of data; probabilities; and linear correlation and regression making extensive use of the statistical capabilities of Microsoft Excel.

There are opportunities for graduates to pursue further education qualifications and related licenses.

Specifically, this program may prepare students to complete the following exams and certifications:

Canadian Securities Course exam.
Financial Planning Exam 1 – a required step toward obtaining a Certified Financial Planner (CFP) designation.
Canadian Investment Funds (IFSE) mutual funds licencing exam and
Students will also receive some preparation to write the Life Licence Qualification Program (LLQP) exam certificate required for selling life insurance products.

Note: The requirements for each designation/certification listed above are set by the granting body, not Durham College. In order to qualify for any of these designations/certifications, students need to follow and meet the required processes.

Successful graduates will be able to:

Co-ordinate the processing and maintaining of financial records in compliance with relevant policies, procedures and regulations for individuals and/or organizations.
Co-ordinate the preparation and presentation of financial information in compliance with relevant legislation and regulations for individuals and/or organizations.
Analyze financial reports and develop and evaluate a financial plan to meet individuals’ and/or organizations’ needs and objectives.
Develop, implement, evaluate and co-ordinate marketing strategies to promote financial products and services and to enhance customer service.
Analyze and evaluate within a Canadian context the impact of economic variables, legislation, ethics, technology and the environment on individuals’ and/or organizations’ operations.

Admission Requirements

Ontario Secondary School Diploma (OSSD) or Mature Student Status
Grade 12 English (C or U)
Grade 11 mathematics (C, M or U)

Courses

Semester 4

Semester 5

Semester 6

Courses and course descriptions are subject to change.

Costs

YEAR ONE FEES	Domestic	International
Tuition	$2,722	$13,322
Compulsory Ancillary	$1,337	$1,812
Program Incidental	$15	$15
Total Fees:	$4,074	$15,149

Please note: fees are based on the 2019-2020 academic year and do not include textbooks. For more information please see Other fees to consider.

Career Options

WHAT YOU COULD BE:

Accounting clerk
Budget coordinator
Contact centre associate
Credit officer
Financial advisor
Financial analyst
Financial planner
Investment advisor or broker
Insurance representative
Mortgage specialist
Relationship manager
Security analyst

WHERE YOU COULD WORK

Asset management companies
Banks
Credit card companies
Credit unions
Finance companies
Insurance companies
Mortgage brokers
Other independent advisors

Field Placement

Students completing a field placement will complement their learning with a 160-hour work experience in their final semester. This will provide the opportunity to integrate theory with practice under the supervision of an industry professional.

Program Transfer, Degree Completion and Additional Credentials

Qualified graduates may be eligible to apply their academic credits towards further study through Durham College’s partnerships with many Canadian and international colleges and universities. Please visit our pathways page to learn more about how you can transfer your credits towards a degree.

Laptop Requirements

MINIMUM RECOMMENDED HARDWARE

Laptop: Personal computer (PC) not a Mac
Operating System: Windows 7, 8, 8.1 or 10 (if available)
Processor: Intel Core i5 or better (Not AMD)
Memory: 4 GB of RAM (8 GB preferred)
Hard Drive: 250 GB or larger (Solid State Drive (SSD) preferred)
Warranty: 3 years parts and labour (On-site preferred)
Other features: 2 USB ports

SOFTWARE REQUIREMENTS

Windows 7 Professional 64-bit
Microsoft Office 2016
Internet Explorer
Mozilla Firefox
Acrobat Reader
Real Player
Windows Media Player
Adobe Flash Player and Browser Plug-in
K-Lite Codec Pack
Sage AccPac 5.5(Year 2)

OPTIONAL

AVG
Avira

Co-operative education (co-op)

Students in the Business Administration – Finance Advanced Diploma program will be invited to apply to the co-op option during their first year of study. Entrance to the co-op option is limited and the processes for securing a work term are competitive. Students who qualify for co-op will be eligible to complete a four-month, paid work term between the second and third years of their program.

Supports are available through the Co-op office to assist students with securing their work terms. In addition, the Co-op office is in contact with co-op students and their employers during the work terms to help with any questions. Upon completing the work term, co-op students return to campus to complete their final two academic semesters of the program before graduating.

Program sequence

September intake:

	Fall (September to December)	Winter (January to April)	Summer (May to August)
Year 1	Academic semester 1	Academic semester 2	Summer break
Year 2	Academic semester 3	Academic semester 4	Co-op work term 1
Year 3	Academic semester 5	Academic semester 6

January intake:

	Fall (September to December)	Winter (January to April)	Summer (May to August)
Year 1		Academic semester 1	Academic semester 2
Year 2	Academic semester 3	Academic semester 4	Co-op work term 1
Year 3	Academic semester 5	Academic semester 6

Courses

CO-OP Option

SEMESTER 4

CO-OP WORK TERM

Co-op Work Term 1 (BFCC 1000)
The co-op work term will provide students with work experience in finance industries. The co-op work term expands students’ learning environment to real work settings where they will be challenged to apply their academic knowledge and then return to campus with a deepened understanding of industry demands and required skills.

SEMESTER 5

SEMESTER 6

Courses and course descriptions are subject to change.

Co-op administrative fee

Once transferred to the co-op option of a program, students will have a co-op administrative fee of $475 assessed to their accounts. The administrative fee goes to support the broad array of support services provided to co-op students. These services are dedicated to support student success.

Learn more

Find more information about the benefits of becoming a co-op student.

Find more information about the benefits of becoming a co-op employer.

Program Overview

Admission Requirements

Intakes and Availability

Tuition

Co-operative Education (co-op)

Semester 1 Courses

Career Options

WHAT YOU COULD BE:

Program Details

Admission Requirements

Courses

Semester 1

Semester 2

Semester 3

Semester 4

Semester 5

Semester 6

Costs

Career Options

WHAT YOU COULD BE:

WHERE YOU COULD WORK

Field Placement

Program Transfer, Degree Completion and Additional Credentials

Laptop Requirements

MINIMUM RECOMMENDED HARDWARE

SOFTWARE REQUIREMENTS

OPTIONAL

Co-operative education (co-op)

Program sequence

January intake:

Courses

CO-OP Option

SEMESTER 1

SEMESTER 2

SEMESTER 3

SEMESTER 4

CO-OP WORK TERM

SEMESTER 5

SEMESTER 6

Co-op administrative fee

Learn more

Helpful Resources

College guide September 2020 [PDF]

College guide September 2020 [Interactive]

Graduate Employment Report [PDF]