Courses
Finance
5001. Financial Analysis and Strategy (3 s.h.)
This course develops the conceptual framework that is used in analyzing the financial management problems of business enterprises. Students will cover concepts such as the time value of money, the cost of capital, the relationship between risk and return, the valuation of assets such as stocks and bonds, and various corporate finance issues including capital budgeting, capital structure, corporate financing, and dividend policy.
5101. Fixed Income Analysis (3
s.h.)
Prerequisite: Fin. 500 or 5001 or permission of instructor
This course provides a theoretical and practical analysis of the spot markets for money, bonds and other fixed income instruments. Topics include: money market instruments, duration and convexity of bonds, yields, default risk, the term structure of interest rates, interest rate volatility, financial risk management of bond portfolios, and securitization. Students will be assigned a project that involves financial decision-making and real data analysis.
5102. Management of
Financial Institutions (3 s.h.)
Prerequisite: Fin. 500 or 5001 or permission of instructor
The objectives of the course are to examine the financial services industry and to apply the fundamental concepts of financial risk management in understanding the decision-making process of this industry. First, the general environment, structure, and recent trends in banking will be examined to provide a suitable background. Second, the nature and the industry structure of non-bank financial services firms, such as mutual funds and investment banking firms, will be studied. Third, the sources of risk, measurement of risk, and risk management techniques and issues will be studied. Risk categories considered include interest rate risk, credit risk, off-balance-sheet risk, operational risk, and liquidity risk.
5104. Advanced Corporate Finance (3 s.h.)
Prerequisite: Fin. 500 or 5001 or permission of instructor
This course builds on the core MBA finance course to develop the critical skills and the analytical tools necessary to apply financial theory to real world situations. The theme of this course is corporate valuation and how corporate decision-making impacts firm value. Four broad topics are covered in this course: first, cost-of-capital estimation and cash flow estimation; second, capital structure and dividend policies from the perspective of their impact on firm value; third, the use of real-option techniques in valuing corporate assets; fourth, mergers and acquisitions, including bidding, takeover defenses, and golden parachutes.
5108. Derivatives (3 s.h.)
Prerequisite: Fin. 500 or Fin 5001 and Fin 521 or permission of instructor
This course provides students with a basic knowledge of the futures, options and other derivative markets, their market structure, theoretical foundation and in the derivative strategies of both speculators and hedgers.
5109. Investments (3
s.h.)
Prerequisite: Fin. 500 or Fin 5001 or permission of instructor
This course provides an understanding of the theory of investments, and introduces the tools and techniques used in investment management. Topics include: portfolio theory, equilibrium models of security prices (including the capital asset pricing model and arbitrage pricing theory), empirical behavior of security prices, market efficiency, performance evaluation, and fixed-income markets.
5111. Mergers and Acquisitions (3 s.h.)
Mergers and acquisitions is a rigorous examination of the integration of various business disciplines, especially finance, in the value creation process. The primary focus is on the strategic and financial management decisions of the buyer and seller in an M&A transaction. Classes include lectures, facilitated discussions, student presentations of current events, and case studies. A comprehensive term-long case study will be analyzed by groups and lead to a mock board presentation during the last class session. Although these are not strict pre-requisites, students entering the class will benefit from prior courses in corporate finance and accounting (a broad understanding of basic and intermediate accounting principles is assumed). In addition, familiarity with concepts including capital budgeting, capital structure, portfolio theory, and securities/investments will be useful. Otherwise students should request approval of instructor.
5156. Financing New Growth Companies (3 s.h.)
Prerequisite: Fin. 500 or Fin 5001 or permission of instructor
This course provides a broad coverage of how rapidly growing
new economy firms can obtain their necessary financing. The
course is divided into four segments. In the first segment,
the structure of the private equity market is examined with
a focus on participants, instruments, control, and valuation.
In the second segment, the participants in this market are
examined primarily through guest speakers that include venture
capitalists, venture bankers, and investment bankers. The third
segment involves student analysis of approximately 4 cases
that will be presented in class. The final segment involves
a student team project where they will evaluate a "live" proposal
submitted by a new economy firm for private equity funding
and make a final recommendation.
5182. Independent Study (1-6
s.h.)
Prerequisite: Approval of the department.
Special study in a particular aspect of finance under the direct
supervision of an appropriate graduate faculty member. No more
than six semester hours of independent study may be counted
toward degree requirements.
5190. Special Topics - Finance (3 s.h.)
5501. International
Financial Markets (3 s.h.)
Prerequisite: Fin. 500 or Fin 5001 permission of instructor
Theory, operation, and structure of international financial
markets and institutions. International monetary systems, foreign
exchange theory, international banking and money markets, and
international monetary policy.
5502. International Financial Management (3 s.h.)
Prerequisite: Fin. 500 or Fin 5001 or permission of instructor
This course examines how the access and exposure to different currency, country and market environments can affect the financial and investment decisions of the firm. The course extends closed-economy financial management to the international market environment. Major topics include: (a) the relation between foreign exchange and other financial variables; (b) measurement and management of the exchange risk exposure of the firm; (c) international investment decisions by firms and investors; and (d) financing the global operations of firms.
9001. Financial Theory I
This course is a rigorous introduction into the fundamental concepts and techniques used in modern financial economic research. Topics include individual investment decisions under uncertainty, stochastic dominance, mean-variance portfolio analysis, various equilibrium and arbitrage pricing models and option pricing. Upon completion of this course, students are expected to acquire a clear understanding of the major theoretical results concerning individuals' consumption and portfolio decisions under uncertainty and their implications for the valuations of securities.
9002. Financial Theory II
This course covers a wide variety of topics in corporate finance, including agency theory, capital structure, signaling, executive compensation, ownership structure, boards of directors, corporate control, diversification, venture capital, financial distress, and dividend policy. The analysis is both theoretical and empirical and is based on papers from the leading journals in finance, economics and accounting. The principal aim of the course is to prepare students to conduct empirical research in corporate finance.
9003. Banking and Financial Institutions
This course covers a variety of topics on financial institutions and, in particular, the banking enterprise. The emphasis will be on empirical papers. The aim is to prepare students to read the literature critically and to strengthen their independent research skills. Subjects include uniqueness of banks, exposure to interest and exchange rate risks, product diversification, contagion, market and regulatory discipline, and others.
9004. Seminar -International Finance
This course introduces students to the basic literature in international finance and to selected advanced topics in this area. The aim is to prepare students to read the literature critically, to strengthen their independent research skills, and to help them be ready to select a research topic in global finance.
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Updated 5.2008