Business and Finance

To advance in today’s global business environment, one must develop an exceptionally broad array of intellectual skills. The modern business environment demands the ability to analyze problems rigorously, to develop innovative and creative solutions, and to work effectively within the context of an organization. That in turn demands an understanding of the customers, the cultural and scientific contexts in which businesses operate, alongside an understanding of the techniques by which firms succeed in a competitive economy. Check out the Business major info session recording to learn more about the major!

A successful business combines labor and capital to produce a good or service at a price and quality that customers want to purchase. In a complex business, different individuals often take responsibility for different aspects of that endeavor, such as operations management, marketing and sales, information systems management, and financial management. An effective business education should provide students with an overview of all these fields, together with an opportunity to explore some areas in greater depth. 

What knowledge and skills will students acquire by majoring in Business and Finance?

Within the major, students obtain:

• a deeper understanding of the modern global business environment and its economic structure;
• disciplinary skills in economics and statistics;
• a focused introduction to accounting, finance, marketing, operations, and organizational management.

The Business & Finance major helps students develop knowledge and skills in corporate finance, investments management, securities trading, financial markets, and more.

The following courses are the foundational courses for the Business and Finance major. Typically, students who are interested in pursuing a Business and Finance major are recommended to take Microeconomics and Statistics for Business and Economics in the second semester of the first year. 

Business courses are offered at various global locations. Before studying away, students are highly recommended to take the Principles of Microeconomics, Economics of Global Business, Statistics for Business and Economics, Principles of Accounting, Foundations of Finance, and Calculus. Students ideally complete Corporate Finance before studying in New York.

Students who plan to study in New York, should consider the following:

• Students should anticipate registering for courses at the Stern School of Business and College of Arts and Science (CAS), among other schools.

• Upper-level Stern courses open to non-Stern students after the first five days of registration.

• Stern graduate courses are not available to undergraduate students.

• Students are not permitted to audit Stern courses.

Center for Business Education and Research

For co-curricular activities and research-related resources in business, please refer to the website of NYU Shanghai Center for Business Education and Research (CBER). The center aims to promote innovative research on China-related business and facilitate collaborations among industry professionals, business faculty, and students.

Business and Economics Honors Program

Business and Finance, Business and Marketing, Economics, and Data Science major students will be invited to apply for the Business and Economics Honors Program based on their academic performance and research interests. The Honors Program offers students an opportunity to work closely with distinguished faculty members in Shanghai and New York as students embark on a meaningful and rewarding year-long research project.

For students who plan to double major in Business and Finance and Economics, they may use the Business and Economics Honors Program to count either the China Business Study requirement (if the topic is China-related) or the Economics capstone, but not both. For students who plan to double major in Business and Finance and Data Science, they may use the Business and Economics Honors Program to count either the China Business Study requirement (if the topic is China-related) or the Data Science capstone, but not both. 

Students are permitted to work on an individual basis under the supervision of a full-time faculty member in the Business discipline if they have maintained an overall GPA of 3.0 and have a study proposal that is approved by a Business faculty member. The results of the study are embodied in a report of a type required by the instructor.

In order to comply with accreditation requirements, NYU Shanghai requires all students to complete either a capstone requirement in the form of a senior thesis and/or a required capstone course in the primary major. 

Students in the Business and Finance major must complete the requirement by submitting a senior thesis paper based on a graded paper/project/presentation work for a required or elective course taken in the junior or senior year for the primary major, or a paper supervised by an NYU Shanghai faculty member in the primary major, and approved as meeting the thesis requirement by the faculty in the major. The senior thesis is only required for students if Business and Finance is their primary major. BUSF-SHU 499 Senior Thesis Seminar (2 credits) is offered in the Spring with a Pass/Fail grading and is optional for senior students. 

1. What is the requirement of the senior thesis?

The requirements for the thesis paper will vary by major, with a minimum length of 4,000 words (~15 written pages) in double-spaced, 12-point font. This minimum length requirement is exclusive of appendices, figures, abstracts, and references. The thesis must address a problem or question in the domain of the major, be written as part of a three or four-credit course required by an elective in the major, and demonstrate the student's research, analytical, and writing skills trained through the undergraduate program. It is strongly recommended that the paper is written individually as issues with word and page requirements and ownership (and thereby plagiarism) arise with group papers.

Library Resources：

• NYU Shanghai Library
• NYU Libraries Research Guides
• Writing and Stylistic Guides
• NYU Virtual Business Library

Quick Links：

• Academic Resource Center
• Research and Conference
• Dean’s Undergraduate Research Fund
• Global Awards and Fellowships