Program Sequence
The online M.S. in Finance is a 32-credit hour program, designed to be completed in 16 months. The program is delivered in a lock-step online format, meaning students work through a pre-determined sequence of courses to complete their degree. Courses are taught by internationally recognized finance faculty and delivered entirely online. All modules are completed in 8 weeks.
| M.S. Finance - Course Sequence | Course Description | Credit |
|---|---|---|
| Module 1 | ||
| Financial Management | This course provides a working knowledge of fundamental concepts in financial management and teaches students the ability to apply these concepts to real-world problems. In particular, students should learn the following subjects: time value of money, interest rates, risk and return, stock and bond valuation, cash flow analysis, and capital budgeting. | 2 |
| Financial Accounting | Students will learn to construct and analyze financial statements of for-profit corporate enterprises. The basic accounting model including financial statement recording and preparation will be covered. A major emphasis will be placed on using financial statements for decision-making by investors, creditors, and other users. Basic ratio analysis and valuation concepts will be introduced. | 2 |
| Module 2 | ||
| Investments | This course provides the fundamentals of investment analysis. This course will place an emphasis on topics such as risk and return, asset pricing models, portfolio theory, hedge funds, behavioral finance, bond valuation, introduction to futures markets and options, and basics on financial instruments and trading of securities. | 2 |
| Quantitative Analysis | An elementary review of important mathematical concepts used in business decision-making with emphasis on problem-solving. The electronic spreadsheet is used as the principal device for building models, and the course covers the concepts of effective spreadsheet design and use. Through the development and use of specific spreadsheet computer skills, the student will become well versed in verbalizing, visualizing, forming equations, and calculating answers to key types of business problems. | 2 |
| Module 3 | ||
| Financial Modeling | The application of quantitative concepts in financial modeling using Excel. Students will become proficient in Excel and will be able to use it in building financial models. In addition, students will have a working knowledge of quantitative concepts such as corporate valuation, portfolio theory, and Monte Carlo methods. | 2 |
| Derivative Securities and Market | Derivative securities, such as futures, forwards, options, and swaps are studied and analyzed along with their uses in investments, banking, portfolio management, and risk management by non-financial businesses. We will study how futures, swap, and option contracts are constructed, how they are valued, and how they are used for speculation, hedging, and risk management. Particular attention is paid to energy derivatives and especially natural gas derivatives. | 2 |
| Module 4 | ||
| Managerial Economics | Topics covered include microeconomic concepts and analysis as used in managerial decision making with an emphasis on marginal analysis, comparative advantage, resource allocation, opportunity cost, demand and supply, elasticity, economic efficiency, price discrimination, welfare analysis, production and cost functions, productivity, market structures, externalities, and public goods, game theory, information asymmetry, market signaling, and government regulation of anticompetitive behavior. | 2 |
| Advanced Corporate Finance | This course is intended for students aspiring to careers in financial management in corporations, banks, and other financial institutions. It is designed to strengthen the corporate finance framework developed in FIN 5312 (Corporate Finance) and extend it into the realm of real-world applications. The course will cover a broad range of topics that are relevant to the corporate financial management function, including advanced capital project evaluation, financing, dividends and other corporate financial decisions, corporate risk management, mergers, acquisitions, and corporate restructuring. While the course will be rigorous and solidly grounded in the conceptual aspects of corporate finance, including current research. The course will provide a thoroughly applied perspective on the topics covered. | 2 |
| Module 5 | ||
| Business Ethics/Legal | This course includes a review of the American legal process and ethical frameworks for gauging business decisions. | 2 |
| M & A Corporate Restructuring | The course deals with acquiring or disposing of corporate assets (taking into consideration legal issues, accounting, and tax and how they affect the outcome of M&A transactions). Topics include valuation of assets being sold/purchased by corporations, economic motivations for mergers and acquisitions, structuring of the transactions, deal tactics/strategies, leveraged buyouts, and corporate restructuring. | 2 |
| Module 6 | ||
| Fixed Income Securities and Markets | This course aims to develop an intellectual and practical understanding of the principles governing the valuation of fixed income securities and their derivatives, the main problems and issues relevant to the management of interest rate risk, and the organization and structure of debt markets, all from the perspective of fixed income fund management. | 2 |
| Venture Capital and Private Equity | This course will explain the structure, funding methods, investment patterns, and financial performance of the private equity industry (venture capital and buyout funds) in the United States and examine how private equity practices developed here have spread worldwide. The course will be taught online--recorded lectures posted for students to download and view asynchronously--with weekly synchronous, live discussion sessions. | 2 |
| Module 7 | ||
| Real Estate Finance | The goal of this course is to provide a working knowledge of real estate investment and instruments used in its finance. Topics include: legal structures, loan types, commercial real estate markets, real estate valuation, securitization, REIT’s, and developments in capital markets affecting real estate. | 2 |
| Financial Intermediation and Banking | This course will focus on the core economic reasoning behind commercial and investment banking and the modern management and valuation of financial intermediaries. Specific topics will include loan evaluation techniques, asset and liability management, risk management and Value-at-Risk, and managing within the confines of regulation. Exposure to modern econometric calculation systems such as Eviews and Stata as well as the application of the computation engine MATLAB or similar. | 2 |
| Module 8 | ||
| International Financial Management | This course will provide an integrated perspective on the topics of foreign currency and exchange rates, international financial linkages, international financial markets, investment, financing, and risk management in a global context. The first half of the course develops the analytical framework required for understanding the interactions between exchange rates, and cross-border trade and capital flows, inflation, interest rates, economic growth, and government policy. This framework will be used to study exchange rate systems and policies, and their implications, especially in the context of recent exchange rate developments. Related topics such as exchange rate determination and forecasting will also be discussed. The second half of the course examines international financial markets, and the opportunities they present for achieving risk management, financing, and investment objectives. The principal focus will be on financial instruments used for these purposes in international financial markets. | 2 |
| Risk Management | The Risk Management course focuses on defining, measuring, and managing risk in financial institutions as well as non-financial corporations. The course introduces market (such as price and interest rate) risk, credit (such as default) risk, liquidity risk, and operational risk. The course covers several major techniques of risk management such as hedging with derivatives, calculating Value-at-Risk, stress testing, scenario analysis, and risk allocation. The course also covers the regulation of risk management activities in financial institutions and discusses some of the reasons for the financial crisis of 2007-2008 as well as some corporate failures in risk management. | 2 |
| Total Credits | 32 |