Finance MBA Curriculum & Course Descriptions
The information presented on this page applies to students in the Traditional Full-Time MBA program as well as students in the the Flex MBA program (who started in Spring 2009 or later). It is meant to serve as an overview and not as a replacement for meeting with an advisor.
(Click here to jump straight to the Course Descriptions below.)
Curriculum
This concentration requires students take at least 18 credits beyond the MBA core, foundation, and integrative courses including the co-requisite Aggregate Economic Analysis (22:223:520).
Managerial Economic Analysis (22:223:521) and Financial Management (22:390:522) are part of the MBA core and are required for all MBA students.
Required Courses
(At least 6 credits)
A co-requisite for any Finance elective is Aggregate Economic Analysis (22:223:520).
| Course # | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| 22:390:605 | Advanced Financial Management | 3 |
| 22:390:604 | Financial Institutions and Markets | 3 |
| 22:390:603 | Investment Analysis and Management | 3 |
Electives
(9 credits or 6 credits if all three required courses are taken)
The prerequisite for each of the electives is Financial Management (22:390:522). A co-requisite for any Finance elective is Aggregate Economic Analysis (22:223:520).
| Course # | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| 22:390:611 | Analysis of Fixed Income Securities | 3 |
| 22:390:601 | Corporate Risk and Insurance Management | 3 |
| 22:390:613 | Financial Statement Analysis* | 3 |
| 22:390:606 | International Financial Markets | 3 |
| 22:223:647 | Managerial Incentives | 3 |
| 22:390:609 | Options | 3 |
| 22:390:608 | Portfolio Management | 3 |
| 22:390:612 | Small Business Finance | 3 |
| 22:010:648 | Special Topics: Decoding of Corporate Financial Communications* | 3 |
| 22:390:641 -659 | Special Topics Courses | 3 |
| 26:390:571 | Survey of Financial Theory** | 3 |
| 26:390:572 | Survey of Financial Theory II** | 3 |
*Note: Students may only count one, not both, of these courses toward a concentration in Finance.
**Note: These doctoral level courses can be taken with the permission of the PhD Director.
Syllabi from previous semesters are provided as further reference material. (Course numbers and/or names may have changed since then.)
22:390:605 - (3 cr)
Advanced Financial Management
Examines the problems faced by the corporate financial manager on the theoretical, analytical, and applied levels. The impact of the financing decision upon the value of the firm is analyzed. Theoretical and analytical aspects of the capital budgeting decision are examined in detail with emphasis on methods of incorporating risk into the capital budgeting decision. An analytical framework is presented to evaluate leasing, bond refunding, and mergers and acquisitions. Theories of corporate governance are discussed.
Prerequisite: Financial Management (22:390:522; MBA Core)
22:223:520 - (3 cr)
Aggregate Economic Analysis
Introduces theory and empirical estimation of aggregate economic relationships, including the general price level, income, output, employment, and wages. Covers national income accounting and other economic data sources, consumption, investment, the banking system, and the supply of and demand for money, interest rates, prices, wages and employment, business fluctuations, and international economics.
22:390:611 - (3 cr)
Analysis of Fixed Income Securities
Designed to explore the investment characteristics, pricing, and risk/reward potential of fixed income securities. The securities covered include bonds—with and without embedded options, mortgages, and mortgage-backed securities together with their derivatives, such as collateralized mortgage obligations, income only and principal-only strips, interest rate swaps, and interest rate futures and option contracts. In addition, this course will explore the strategies for investing in portfolios of fixed income securities.
Prerequisite: Financial Management (22:390:522; MBA Core)
22:390:601 - (3 cr)
Corporate Risk and Insurance Management
Provides a survey of the current practices of businesses in protecting themselves from chance events that threaten their assets or their operations. Options ranging from risk preparation to transfer of risk to others, such as suppliers, are considered.
Prerequisite: Financial Management (22:390:522; MBA Core)
22:390:604 - (3 cr)
Financial Institutions and Markets
Presents a detailed overview of the theory and institutional features of the U.S. financial system. Provides a comprehensive review of U.S. financial markets. Covers a survey of flow-of-funds data and U.S. financial markets and institutions, capital market theory, financial factors and economic activity, theory of the level and structure of interest rates.
Prerequisite: Financial Management (22:390:522; MBA Core)
22:390:613 - (3 cr)
Financial Statement Analysis
Presents techniques for analyzing a firm’s current and projected financial statements for the purposes of credit analysis, security analysis, and internal financial analysis. Techniques covered include ratio analysis, cash flow forecasting, time series analysis, discriminant analysis, and “event studies.” Topics covered include financial distress prediction, evaluation of short-term and longterm loan requests, financial evaluation of new products and startup firms, the impact of accounting information on security returns, determinants of bond ratings and yields, and the reliability of historical and forecasted accounting data. A working knowledge of spreadsheet analysis is expected. Special emphasis is placed on acquiring data from printed and computer databases and an introduction to specialized online databases and the Internet.
Prerequisite: Accounting for Managers (22:010:577; MBA Core) and Financial Management (22:390:522; MBA Core)
22:390:606 - (3 cr)
International Financial Markets
Offers an understanding of the international financial structure and studies its impact on business and individuals in various nations. The course is divided into three parts: the study of the adjustment mechanism used by nations to solve balance of payments difficulties; the examination of international liquidity and the new techniques being developed to replace gold; and a brief look at the implications of these developments in guiding the international operations of banks, other financial institutions, and business firms.
Prerequisite: Financial Management (22:390:522; MBA Core)
22:390:603 - (3 cr)
Investment Analysis and Management
Provides overview of the fields of security analysis and portfolio management. Introduces the analysis of individual investments with special reference to common stock. Covers nature of financial markets, security pricing models, critiques of techniques of security analysis. Introduces problems of portfolio selection. Designed for the finance major who is interested in the security/investment area as a possible career.
Prerequisite: Financial Management (22:390:522; MBA Core)
22:223:647 - (3 cr)
Managerial Incentives
Designed to apply the economic tools of analysis to the problems of incentives, delegation, and information to the profit-maximizing problem of the firm. Management fads come and go but each of these, and others, can be analyzed by how they overcome the coordination and decision making problems of different firms in different environments. Incentives and empowerment must be applied together so that those who are making.
Prerequisite: Financial Management (22:390:522; MBA Core)
Introduces the rapidly developing markets in futures and options. Subjects include the nature of such markets, the pricing of instruments in the markets, and the use of such instruments by both speculators and hedgers.
Prerequisite: Financial Management (22:390:522; MBA Core)
22:390:608 - (3 cr)
Portfolio Management
Comprehensive coverage of the theory and practice of money management as well as in-depth analysis of the theory and practice involved when securities are combined into portfolios. Like Investment Analysis and Management, the course is designed for finance majors interested in a career in money management.
Prerequisite: Financial Management (22:390:522; MBA Core) and Investment Analysis and Management (22:390:603)
22:390:612 - (3 cr)
Small Business Finance
Financing problems that face a new and/or small business can be broken into financial planning, valuing, and raising capital. These topics form the main portion of this course. The course is designed for those planning to start a business or take over an existing business. It will also be beneficial for those planning careers that must interact with a small or new business.
Prerequisite: Financial Management (22:390:522; MBA Core)
22:010:648 - (3 cr)
Special Topics: Decoding of Corporate Financial Communications
Interpretation and in-depth analysis of reported financial data. The role of taxes and tax disclosures will be included in the class discussions. Some aspects of valuation will be discussed. Issues include reported numbers making sense; reporting choices made by the preparer/firm when other choices under GAAP are available; strategy of firms in their choice of financial information disclosures; comparison of financial information within and across industries; projection of key information variables like earnings or cash flows into the future; financial reporting information used to gauge the riskiness of firms; prediction of the probability of bankruptcy using financial data.
Prerequisite: Financial Management (22:390:522; MBA Core)
Traditional Full-Time MBA students:
Flex MBA students:
