Finance Course Descriptions

Undergraduate Courses | Graduate Courses (BA)

Note: Course descriptions may vary slightly from semester to semester

FIN 200 - Personal Finance: An introduction to the problems of personal financial asset management, including income and expense budgeting. Emphasis also placed on consumer credit, insurance, investments, home ownership, and taxation. Will not count toward a major in finance.

FIN 270 - The Legal and Social Environment of Business: An examination of the legal, social, and political forces that influence business and businessmen. Particular attention to the role of law as an agency of social control in the modern business society. Prerequisite: sophomore standing.

FIN 280 - Business Law I: Legal problems arising from situations involving contracts and agency and business organizations. Not pass/fail for business Majors.

FIN 310 - Insurance: Fundamentals of insurance and risk management including a study of selected insurance contracts and alternative methods of controlling risk exposures. Prerequisite: junior standing.

FIN 320 - Real Estate: Problems of real estate ownership, management, financing, and development. Prerequisite: junior standing.

FIN 321 - Real Estate Finance: A study of the instruments, techniques and institutions of real estate finance; sources of and methods for obtaining funds for real estate investments; mortgage risk analyses. Prerequisite: 320 or consent of instructor and junior standing.

FIN 322 - Real Estate Appraisal: The techniques and art of real estate valuation using market comparison, cost, and income approaches. Includes appraisal principles, procedures, and applications. Prerequisite: 320 or consent of instructor and junior standing.

FIN 323 - Real Estate Law: A survey of legal principles applicable to real property, including the following: conveyances, titles, land descriptions, rights and duties of ownership, and the law of real estate brokerage. Prerequisite: 320 or consent of instructor and junior standing.

FIN 330 - Introduction to Finance: Study of issuance, distribution, and purchase of financial claims including the topics of financial management, financial markets, and financial investments. Prerequisite: Accounting 230, Economics 240, Accounting or Management 208, and junior standing.

FIN 331 - Investments: Survey of the problems and procedures of investment management; types of investment risks; investment problems of the individual as well as the corporation. Prerequisite: 330 with a grade of C or better; junior standing and must be business (not pre-business) major or consent of department.

FIN 341 - Financial Markets: Operations of capital markets. Sources and uses of funds of financial institutions. Prerequisite: 330 with a grade of C or better; junior standing and must be business major or consent.

FIN 350 - Small Business Financing: Financing problems involved in raising venture capital, debt type funds, expansion funds, and government sponsored funding. Budgeting, working capital management, and fixed asset planning are covered. Prerequisite: Accounting 230, Economics 240 and junior standing.

FIN 361 - Management of Business Finance: The principal problems of managing the financial operations of an enterprise. Emphasis upon analysis and solutions of problems pertaining to policy decisions. Prerequisite: 330 with a grade of C or better and Accounting 208 and Management 208, business major (not prebusiness).

FIN 380 - Business Law II: Legal problems arising from situations involving sales, commercial paper, secured transactions, suretyship, and bankruptcy. Prerequisite: junior standing.

FIN 432 - Options and Futures Markets: Study of modern concepts and issues in financial options and futures markets. Emphasis on risk management in financial institutions, and applications in corporate finance and funds management. Not for graduate credit. Prerequisite: 331 with a grade of C or better and 361 (361 may be taken concurrently).

FIN 433 - Portfolio Theory and Management: Examination of modern concepts relating to management of security portfolios. Topics include security analysis. Markowitz Portfolio Theory, efficient market hypothesis, portfolio performance measurement, risk, and portfolio construction. Prerequisite: 331 with a grade of C or better, and 361 (361 may be taken concurrently).

FIN 434 - Risk Management: This course includes a survey and application of various risk management techniques with an emphasis on commodity risk management. Topics include: pricing theories of futures and options, examination of firm risk, and the use of a trading room to simulate risk management techniques. Prerequisite: 432 or consent of department.

FIN 449 - Management of Financial Institutions: Principal policies and problems which confront top management. Emphasis on liquidity, loans, investments, deposits, capital funds, financial statements, organization structure, operations, personnel, cost analysis, and public relations. Not for graduate credit. Prerequisite: 330 and 341 with a grade of C or better.

FIN 462 - Working Capital Management: Liquidity analysis and management with focus on managing cash, marketable securities, accounts receivable, inventory, banking relationships and short-term financing. Students may choose to be associated with Corporate Treasury Management Program and may be eligible to pursue CTP certificate. Prerequisite: 361 or concurrent enrollment.

FIN 463 - Forecasting and Capital Budgeting: Long-term forecasting techniques used in business; alternative approaches to capital structure decisions, cost of capital measurement; and performance measurement for investment decisions including mergers and leasing; explicit consideration of certainty, risk, and uncertainty in investment analysis; theory and applications in private and public sectors. Prerequisite: 361 or concurrent enrollment.

FIN 464 - International Financial Management: Financial behavior of multinational firms. Emphasis on the modification of conventional financial models to incorporate uniquely foreign variables. Prerequisite: 361 or concurrent enrollment.

FIN 469 - Managerial Financial Policy: Development of financial strategies and policies based on an evaluation of alternative approaches. Emphasis upon application of financial concepts and techniques to real-life situations. Not for graduate credit. Prerequisite: 361.

FIN 480 - Problems in Labor Law: Social, economic, and legal evaluations of recent labor problems, court decisions, and legislation. Concern is on long-run legislative impact on manpower planning, dispute settlement, and utilization of employment resources.

FIN 491 - Readings in Finance: Readings in classical and current writing on selected topics in various areas in the field of finance not available through regularly scheduled courses. Not for graduate credit. Prerequisite: consent of department chair and outstanding record in finance and must be a business (not pre-business) major or consent of department. Mandatory Pass/Fail.

FIN 495 - Internship in Finance: Designed to provide an opportunity to relate certain types of work experience to the student's academic program and objectives. Approved internship assignments with cooperating companies in the fields of finance are coordinated by the faculty member. Not repeatable for credit. Not for graduate credit. Prerequisite: consent of department chair and outstanding record in finance and must be a business (not pre-business) major or consent of department. Mandatory Pass/Fail.

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Graduate Level Courses

BA 426 - Managerial Economics: Develops conceptual framework for business decision making with emphasis on demand, costs, prices and profits. Prerequisite: Enrollment in MBA program or consent of department.

BA 430 - Business Finance: An introductory course combining both a description of the structure of business financing and an analysis of functional finance from a managerial viewpoint. Prerequisite: Enrollment in MBA program or consent of department;410, Educational Psychology 506 and MBA program "computer ability" foundation requirement met, or equivalent.

BA 470 - Legal and Social Environment: An overview of the legal, social, and ethical dimensions which influence business with particular attention to the role of law as a control factor of society in the business world. Prerequisite: Enrollment in MBA program or consent of department.

BA 521 - Business Conditions Analysis: Emphasis is given to macro-economic throe as it affects economic forecasting. Particular emphasis is given to GNP forecasting models, industry forecasts and forecasting for the firm. Prerequisite: Enrollment in MBA program or consent of department; 430 or equivalent.

BA 530 - Financial Management: A study of financial principles and practices with special emphasis on their relation to managerial planning and control. Prerequisite: enrollment in M.B.A. program or consent of department; 510 and economics foundation requirement, Finance 330 with a grade of C or better; Students who have had Finance 361 or its equivalent or were undergraduate finance majors are not allowed in Business Administration 530 and should take Business Administration 531 instead.

BA 531 - Advanced Financial Management: An evaluation of selected financial policies connected with the acquisition and disposition of funds by the firm. An emphasis is placed on quantitative solutions to these problems. Prerequisite: Enrollment in MBA program or consent of department; 430 or equivalent.

BA 532 - Financial Instituations and Markets: The principal financial institutions and markets will be studies in relation to their contribution to the efficient operation of the individual enterprise and the total company. Prerequisite: Enrollment in MBA program or consent of department; 430 or equivalent.

BA 533 - Investment Concepts: A study of fixed return and variable return securities, investment services, industry and issue analysis, empirical studies of groups and individual stock price movements. Prerequisite: Enrollment in MBA program or consent of department; 430 or equivalent.

BA 534 - Financial Decision Making: Study of the scope and nature of advanced financial decision making and the application of quantitative tools and techniques to decisions relating to working capital, fixed assets, cost of capital, value of the firm and financial structure. Prerequisite: doctoral student in business administration or consent of department.

BA 536 - Advanced Financial Analysis: Deals with examination of classical and various modern treatments of investment, valuation, cost of capital and capital structure. Portfolio, state-preference, capital markets, options pricing, mergers and exchange rate theories are explored. Prerequisite: graduate student in business administration or consent of department.

BA 539a - Seminar in Finance: Corporate Financial Theory: Part in a series of doctoral seminars on theoretical and empirical issues in finance. Prerequisite: doctoral student in business administration or consent of department. May be taken only once.

BA 539b - Seminar in Finance: Financial Institutions and Markets: Part in a series of doctoral seminars on theoretical and empirical issues in finance. Prerequisite: doctoral student in business administration or consent of department. May be taken only once.

BA 539c - Seminar in Finance: Portfolio Theory and Speculative Markets: Part in a series of doctoral seminars on theoretical and empirical issues in finance. Prerequisite: doctoral student in business administration or consent of department. May be taken only once.

BA 539d - Seminar in Finance: International Financial Theory: Part in a series of doctoral seminars on theoretical and empirical issues in finance. Prerequisite: doctoral student in business administration or consent of department. May be taken only once.

BA 539e - Seminar in Finance: Special Topics: Part in a series of doctoral seminars on theoretical and empirical issues in finance. Prerequisite: doctoral student in business administration or consent of department. May be repeated as topics vary.

BA 563 - Management of Financial Information: An overview of new database, decision support and data communications technology used in financial institutions. Topics include loan/insurance applicant analysis, trust and investment services, value at risk, derivative security management and operations issues. Prerequisite: 452 or equivalent, 532 or equivalent, 560 or equivalent, enrollment in MBA program or consent of department.

BA 582 - International Finance: Discussion of international monetary system, parity conditions, foreign exchange markets and financial markets. Special focus on financial management of the multinational firm, including risk assessment, hedging, capital budgeting and performance evaluation and control. Prerequisite: 530, Enrollment in MBA program or consent of department.

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