Finance Undergraduate Courses

The course provides an in-depth and quantitative examination of the principles of financial decision-making. Students learn the concept of value maximization, mathematics of finance, valuation of financial securities, capital investment evaluation, the estimation of required rates of return, and the theory of capital structure. This course is required for all business majors and a grade of “C” or higher is a prerequisite for continuing in the finance major.

This one-semester course is designed for finance majors and others who wish to develop an advanced knowledge of financial reporting in the corporate environment. The course covers financial statement preparation and analyses with a focus on understanding financial accounting information from a user perspective.

NOTE: FINANCE MAJORS WISHING TO SIT FOR THE CPA EXAM, PURSUE A MASTER’S DEGREE IN ACCOUNTANCY, OR TAKE ADDITIONAL UPPER LEVEL ACCOUNTING COURSES MUST ENROLL IN ACCT 30110 AND ACCT 30120 INSTEAD. Course cannot be taken Pass/Fail.

This course provides a sound conceptual framework within which a wide variety of corporate financial policy decisions can be evaluated. The course builds upon and extends the topics in FIN 20150. Topics covered include corporate governance, financial statement analysis, security valuation, capital structure theory, dividend policy, security issuance, and advanced capital budgeting.

This section is an honors section and satisfies requirements in the Business Honors program. The course gives a broad overview of the theory of corporate finance with the objective to develop students’ ability to apply financial principles to decision making in a corporate environment. The course introduces several of the firm’s financial policy decisions such as optimal capital structure, payout policy, and capital raising and further develops valuation skills to help determine the firm’s best investment opportunities in the presence of more realistic market imperfections. The course starts from where FIN 20510 (Fundamentals of Finance) left off without much review. The accelerated nature of the course allows one to introduce further advanced topics such as security design, mergers and acquisitions, and possibly others, time permitting. The course identifies and examines the issues faced by corporations in greater depth by presenting empirical research results and real case discussions. If you felt comfortable with the material covered in FIN 20510 Fundamentals of Finance, are curious about how corporations make decisions, and are ready to move at a faster pace, this may be the course for you. It will help you develop the necessary skills to pursue more advanced finance courses and become a successful finance professional and leader, but also should make you think and realize the complexity and non trivial nature of the corporate financial world. I find the subject useful, fascinating, and thought provoking; I hope you will too.

This is an advanced course covering investment theory, financial markets and financial instruments. The topics of security analysis, options and futures are also introduced.

This course provides a deeper look into the behavior of firms and consumers within a variety of market structures. Students will apply the tools of economics to analyze consumer behavior, firm pricing and output decisions, sophisticated pricing techniques, strategic competition, risk, asymmetric information, auctions, and other topics. Projects will involve the application of topics to real world data to evaluate business and financial problems.

This course is intended to provide Finance majors with a working knowledge of the open source programming language Python. The course will teach the essential aspects of coding in Python and then apply the tool to financial applications involving analytics, large datasets, and unstructured data. The objective of the course is to provide students with a better understanding of how computers can be used to solve business problems. Students will be required to bring their own computer to class.

This honors course provides advanced applications of financial concepts in the open source programming language Python. The course will teach the essential aspects of coding in Python and then apply the tool to financial applications involving analytics, large datasets, and unstructured data. The objective of the course is to provide students with a better understanding of how computers can be used to solve business problems. Students will be required to bring their own computer to class. Minimum grades of B in FIN 20150 and FIN 30600 are required to enroll in this honors course; students not meeting these requirements will be removed from the course.

This course examines the theory and practice of financial firms and the markets in which they operate. It analyzes the role of various financial intermediaries in the transfer of funds between economic units. Management issues and problem-solving techniques are emphasized through the use of case studies.

The objective of this course is to understand various aspects of the corporate acquisition market, including sources of acquisition synergies, valuation and pricing of acquisition targets, takeover defenses, the roles of management incentives and compensation, financing methods, the roles of insider and institutional shareholders, and regulations and taxes.

This course emphasizes the set of decisions and problems that financial and operating managers face in determining short-term financial policy, setting terms when structuring contracts and deals, and managing business processes of the company. Major topics include identifying working capital elements and their relationships to company operations, financial analysis, cash forecasting, banking relations, cash-flow systems, and short-term investment and borrowing strategies.

This course studies corporate governance, focusing mostly on publicly traded firms. We will consider three viewpoints: (i) investors, (ii) all stakeholders (i.e., investors, employees, suppliers, management, taxpayers, the community, etc.), and (iii) the purpose of business in Catholic Social Teaching (i.e., the ‘common good’ , which includes the good of all stakeholders). In the ‘investor’ viewpoint, the main issue studied is the separation of ownership and control, and how corporate governance mechanisms can help investors to get a return on their investments. In the stakeholder viewpoint, we will consider how these mechanisms affect different stakeholders. The main mechanisms considered are legal duties, shareholder rights, M&A, boards, executive compensation, activism, creditor rights and bankruptcy, and restructuring. We will review the main Catholic Social Teachings documents (e.g Rerum Novarum, Quadragesimo Anno, Laborem Exercens, Centesimus Annus and Caritas in Veritate).

This course is an overview of the issues that corporations and financial institutions face when operating in international markets. It addresses the international financial environment and examines several factors that influence the determination of exchange rates. It defines the foreign exchange risk exposure that corporations may face and examines possible risk management solutions, with a focus on the use of derivative markets such as options, swaps and futures. Finally, it examines investment related issues within an international setting. Case studies may be used to emphasize issues and problem-solving techniques.

The objective of this course is to develop a detailed understanding of the tools used by market professionals and corporate managers to analyze the value of companies and stocks. The central theme of the course will be the pricing of equity securities using discounted cash flow and relative valuation techniques. After completing this course, students should be able to identify and interpret the key value drivers for a firm or industry, develop quantitative models for firm and equity valuation based on DCF and multiples, and present firm and equity valuation analyses in a professional manner.

This course studies the relationships between asset prices and macroeconomic conditions and how to utilize those relationships to construct a macro-based investment portfolio. That is, to exploit the fact that asset prices are ultimately driven by macroeconomic fundamentals. Through the use of macroeconomic indicators, students will learn how to take the macroeconomic cycle into consideration (by reallocating asset classes accordingly) to produce higher returns and lower portfolio variability than classical approaches to asset allocation.

This course examines the general nature of organized trading by examining how bid and offer prices are determined, how market rules evolve, and what markets should be built. While markets for products and services are discussed, the focus is on the trading of financial securities. Existing centralized equity exchanges face competition from new alternative trading systems made possible by today’s information technology. This course will also examine the impact and implications of this dynamic.

This course examines options and futures markets, providing rigorous training to prepare students for employment with firms where derivatives are either of primary importance (e.g., banks, trading firms) or secondary importance (e.g., corporations having interest rate or foreign exchange exposure that requires hedging). Topics include fundamental pricing relations and models, trading strategies, and risk management. The emphasis is on financial derivatives for which the underlying assets are stocks, bonds, or foreign exchange.

This 6-CH course provides an opportunity for students to blend the theory of investments with the practical demands of investment management. The course objectives include an understanding of the process of establishing a portfolio strategy with a real portfolio, gaining knowledge of the mechanics of trading, principles of equity valuation and technical analysis. Students actively manage a multi-million dollar portolio throughout the semester.

This course studies the U.S. and global bond markets. The focus is on traditional and evolving bond instruments including those with embedded options. We will consider bond valuation techniques, the term structure of interest rates and the analysis of bonds with embedded options. Bond portfolio management strategies and performance benchmarks are also studied.

This honors course provides an advanced exploration of fixed income markets, emphasizing intellectual rigor and real-world applications. It delves into the intricate world of fixed income securities, a cornerstone of the global financial system. The course begins with core concepts such as fixed income valuation, the term structure of interest rates, and the fundamentals of hedging and arbitrage. Building on this foundation, students engage with advanced and timely topics, including the Federal Reserve’s impact on markets, fiscal capacity and Treasury supply dynamics, and opportunities in areas like distressed investing. Beyond traditional lectures, the course adopts an interactive seminar format. Students participate in accelerated learning modules, critically review cutting-edge academic research, and actively engage in class discussions. Key features include fixed income investment strategy presentations and market updates, where students analyze and present insights on recent market developments. These elements cultivate advanced analytical skills and strategic thinking, preparing students to navigate and excel in the complexities of modern fixed income markets. Minimum grades of B in FIN 20150 and FIN 30600 are required to enroll in Honors Fixed Income Investment Strategies; students not meeting this requirement will be removed from the course.

This course introduces students to advanced topics in investments. The building blocks of the course include portfolio theory and factor models, active quantitative investment strategies based on time-series and cross-sectional return predictability, market frictions (transaction costs, liquidity, short-sale constraints, tax, etc.), and major institutional players. Special topics change from one year to another to reflect recent trends and practices in the industry.

This course will expose students to investments in privately-held companies that do not trade on organized exchanges, at all stages of a firm’s life cycle from venture capital through growth and mezzanine capital and leveraged buyouts. Topics include deal sourcing and structure, contract design, valuation, and returns to holders of private equity securities and publicly traded private equity firms. Recent developments, the impact of private equity on society and ethical issues surrounding each topic will also be discussed.

Applied Private Equity Projects is an advanced course that will provide an opportunity for students to practice private equity in a setting as close to real as possible. The course will combine lectures that introduce core concepts with investment projects that emphasize practical application. Through the project work, students will have the opportunity to work directly with private equity firms on a feasible yet challenging investment assignment. Class sessions will include several guest lecturers that address a variety of PE topics, including but not limited to investing fundamentals, deal sourcing, portfolio company operations, fund raising and monetization, and the importance of private equity in the global economy. The class is designed to allow a more natural business interaction that mimics as closely as possible the partner/associate relationship.

This course provides an understanding of the behavioral biases that individuals exhibit and the effects of these biases on financial markets. Standard finance theory assumes that individuals such as investors or financial managers are rational expected utility maximizers. Behavioral  finance argues that some investors are not fully rational and arbitragers are limited in the extent to which they can undo the effects of these investors. A number of stock market anomalies will be presented and analyzed.

The course considers fundamental methods of real estate valuation with emphasis on income property valuation and single property investment analysis.  Topics will include market comparable and discounted cash flow methods of valuation, financial leverage, taxes, corporate real estate investment, performance measures, pro forma construction and software (Argus), and the role of real estate in mixed asset portfolios. Techniques of market analysis may be considered.

This course analyzes primary and secondary real estate capital markets.  Included are fundamental features, investment characteristics, and underwriting of commercial and residential mortgages. The economics and mathematics of alternative loan structures is considered. Additionally, construction debt, subdebt, alternative lending (land/bridge/hard asset loans), private and public equity markets and real estate securitization markets are covered. The basic structure and mathematics of private equity funds and joint ventures is addressed.

This course has two objectives. First, students will learn how to read and evaluate academic research in finance and learn how to implement the results of research in practice. Second, students will learn about a few topics in finance in depth. Most classes will consist of student presentations and discussion. The class will cover both “classic” articles and current research. Both theory and empirical work will be covered, but more time will be spent on empirical research. This class will be especially useful for students who are considering getting a PhD or pursuing a career that requires them to keep up on current research.

This course, offered in the London program, will introduce students to emerging markets investing and provide them with both the conceptual framework and practical knowledge necessary to understand emerging economies. The course will include significant practitioner involvement, combining lectures that introduce core topics with case studies that emphasize practical application. Students will develop an understanding of the unique dynamics that make finance and investing in emerging markets so challenging. At the conclusion of the course, students will be prepared to analyze emerging market economies and economies in transition, taking into account critical characteristics and historical experiences.