Curriculum

Electives

Choose any four elective courses to customize the curriculum.

ACC 411: Applied Financial Statement Analysis with Data Analytics

The objective of this course is to develop and sharpen your analytical ability to use financial information to perform various types of applied economic and financial analysis. Managers formulate a firm’s business strategy and make operating, investing, and financing policy decisions to implement that strategy. The outcomes of those decisions are reflected in the firm’s financial statements, which, along with other financial information, are used by equity and debt analysts, investors, lenders, creditors, bondholders, loan officers, debt-rating agencies, and numerous other external parties to evaluate the firm’s current economic performance and forecast its future economic performance.

BPP 426: Macroeconomic Policy: Choices and Outcomes

Macroeconomics is the study of how economies grow and fluctuate over time, and how they interact with one another. In this course, we discuss economic measurement, economic growth, and the business cycle. We also explore the implications of modern theories of growth and fluctuation for the conduct of monetary policy and fiscal policy.

 

There is a strong emphasis on the international linkage among economies and the implications of macroeconomics for the business environment.

CIS 433: AI & Deep Learning

This course introduces the field of AI to business students with a particular emphasis on deep learning, which is driving the current AI revolution. The course consists of three modules:

1. Foundations of AI and Deep Learning – Establishes the foundation of AI and deep learning.

2. Neural Network Architectures – Introduces major neural network architectures widely used in practice.

3. Generative AI – Touches on generative AI, which is particularly promising in recent years.

The course emphasizes experiential learning and contains many hands-on projects using TensorFlow broadly and Keras in particular.

FIN 418: Quantitative Investing

The objective of this course is to equip you with the frameworks, tools, and methodologies necessary to build and/or be an educated user of quantitative models for financial decision making. The course is suitable for students seeking a career in finance, but also for students with broader interests who wish to strengthen their general modeling skills. It does not require any quantitative background other than what is covered in the MBA core courses.

 

Master modeling frameworks such as regression analysis, Monte-Carlo simulation, optimization, and binomial trees. Learn how to apply these frameworks in financial contexts such as portfolio management, term-structure estimation, capital budgeting, risk measurement, risk analysis in discounted cash flow models, and pricing of European, American, exotic, and real options. The modeling tools will be illustrated by applying them to a variety of real-world cases.

FIN 421: Asset Management

The course will provide students with a fundamental understanding of the principles and analytics of asset management as applied to both institutional and private clients. It should be of great interest to anyone aspiring to a career in asset, portfolio, private wealth, endowment, foundation, sovereign wealth, or pension fund management. A fundamental understanding of the issues in asset management, whether institutional or private, will also be helpful in other areas of finance such as investment banking, insurance, accounting, and personal finance, as well as operations and marketing in these types of firms. In addition, students will learn how to better manage their future personal wealth.

 

This class will focus on the more practical aspects of asset management to prepare students for the actual demands of a job in the industry. The course will also describe the challenges in managing such portfolios from the perspective of an institutional or individual investor and a fund manager (public equity, fixed income, hedge, or liquid).

FIN 430: Advanced Capital Budgeting & Strategic Financial Management

“Prepare for the dark while it is light.” In an era marked by significant economic uncertainty and rapid technological advancements, the ability to identify, measure, and mitigate financial risks has become indispensable for finance professionals.

 

This course delves into the multifaceted landscape of financial risk management, covering a broad range of topics including market risk, credit risk, liquidity risk, and operational risk. Through a combination of theoretical frameworks, case studies, and practical applications, students will develop a deep understanding of the various types of risks faced by corporations and financial institutions, as well as the tools and methodologies employed to manage them effectively.

FIN 438: Mergers & Acquisitions

This course is a comprehensive graduate course in corporate finance that is taught using in-class lectures, class notes, and cases, each of which requires a team report and negotiated deals involving cooperation and competition with other teams. The subjects covered include corporate valuation as applied to friendly mergers and hostile takeovers. We will also cover relevant issues in securities regulation, insider trading law, and corporate governance law.

FIN 439: Corporate Restructuring

This course will enable students to acquire a good understanding of the fundamental causes of restructuring events, the legal framework in which restructuring occurs, and the likely consequences and risks involved in pursuing various restructuring strategies. After taking the course, students will be capable of deriving the value of securities issued by firms undergoing restructuring events (with a particular focus on distressed firms). They will learn about famous restructuring cases and controversies and will be exposed to the views of guest speakers who pursued careers in M&A and restructuring.

FIN 443: Private Equity

The Private Equity and Venture Capital (PE/VC) industry is more in the popular press than ever before; funds are larger and more diverse than in any past generation, deals are bigger, scope is worldwide, and wealth generation seems to be at levels heretofore unseen. Many argue that PE/VC drives major segments of national economies more than ever before and that it is essential that the industry is better understood and weighed more heavily in the thinking and plans of policymakers in government and commerce. This course provides exposure to what PE/VC is and how it works. We cover, among other things, the makeup of funds, the composition and operation of PE/VC firms, deal sourcing, due diligence and investment processes, and the roles of partnerships, GPs, LPs, ‘activists,’ and boards. At a higher level, we cover industry performance and competition, fund creation, some international aspects of the business, and differing approaches to financing in different alternative asset categories.

FIN 446 Financial Technology

This course provides an introduction to the evolving use of technology in financial markets and applications. One area of focus is “blockchain” technology in financial transactions, markets, permanent historical records, and cryptocurrencies. The other major area of focus is innovations such as peer-to-peer transactions and the use of artificial intelligence in evaluating and funding investments. Throughout we will consider the prospects for the success of the new technologies, asking questions such as: How revolutionary are the various parts of Fintech? What are the hidden pitfalls of the technology/business models to individuals, companies, and/or society? How will major financial institutions and governments react? What changes are required in legal rules (including internationally) to accommodate Fintech? The course will require working with large data sets (the blockchain) and specific cryptocurrency implementations. While computer programming skills are not required as a pre-requisite, success in the course will require that students learn the basics of the computer science concepts of public-key cryptography, data verification, and simple programming structures (loops, branching).

FIN 448 Debt Markets & Fixed income Strategies

The objective of this course is to undertake a rigorous study of fixed-income securities and markets. A variety of fixed-income securities will be discussed, including coupon bonds, callable and putable bonds, sinking fund provisions, and floating rate notes. Interest rate derivatives such as forwards and futures on fixed-income securities, bond options, options on bond futures, caps, floors, and collars will also be discussed.

 

In addition, we will study some tools that are useful in bond portfolio management, including horizon analysis, duration, optimization techniques for constructing bond portfolios, and models for pricing fixed-income securities. While the perspective of this course is from the viewpoint of a bond investor, a person in corporate finance needs to understand similar material. Evaluating an investment in a fixed-income security is the mirror image of the problem faced by a corporation in deciding whether or not to issue a bond.

FIN 478: Introduction to AI & Finance

FIN 478 covers the application of generative AI technologies across diverse business contexts. The course will help you understand how to integrate generative AI into today’s business workflows, providing frameworks to decide when and how to use it effectively. You’ll gain hands-on experience designing generative AI tools to create business value and programming basic LLM-driven applications in Python.

 

Finally, the course will ask you to become conversant with the big questions about generative AI, debating the moral, philosophical, and ethical challenges inherent in these systems and technologies.