Course Descriptions

Department of Finance

J. A. Adkisson, K. E. Back, D. W. Blackwell, E. Boehmer (Interim Head), S. Chava, S. K. Cooper, C. C. Donnell, R. T. Dye**, O. E. Elmore, L. P. Fields, D. R. Fraser, M. F. Gallmeyer, N. E. Galpin, J. E. Gaspar, J. C. Groth, D. Hallermann, R. L. Haney, Jr., T. O. Jackson, S. A. Johnson, J. W. Kolari, D. S. Lee, A. Mahajan, L. R. Martindale, R. Petkova, S. M. Sorescu*, L. C. Wolken

* Doctoral Student Advisor

** MS Student Advisor

The Department of Finance offers graduate studies leading to MS, Master of Real Estate (MRE), and PhD degrees and course work supporting the Mays Business School’s MBA degree. Areas of course work include corporate finance, management of financial institutions, investment management, international finance, money and capital markets and real estate analysis. The MS and MRE degree programs are designed to give a greater degree of specialization in finance and real estate. The department offers a five-year integrated Professional Program in Financial Management (PPFM) in cooperation with the Department of Accounting. Students enter the PPFM program in the junior year of their BBA program. Graduates receive a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in accounting and an MS degree in finance. The MBA degree program includes two required course offered by the department and elective credit hours to be taken in finance. The PhD program emphasizes financial theory and research tools and is structured to prepare students for academic careers in finance.

Additional information, including specific departmental requirements, may be obtained by contacting the department or the Office of the Dean, Mays Business School.

Finance
(FINC)

612. Finance for the Professional. Credit 1 to 4.

Focuses on investment and financing decisions in corporate firms. Emphasizes principles, techniques and applications in corporate finance, including: risk and return, capital budgeting, discounted cash flow valuation, capital structure, and payout policy. Classification 6 students may not enroll in this course. Please note this is changing to a variable credit course. Prerequisite: ACCT 610 or equivalent. Enrollment is limited to BUAD classification 7.

613. Finance for the Professional II. Credit 1 to 3.

Focus on advanced topics in domestic and international finance; analysis of dividend, capital structure and refinancing decisions; exposure to financial derivatives; foreign exchange rate determination and risk management. Prerequisite: FINC 612. Enrollment is limited to BUAD classification 7.

629. Financial Management I. Credit 1 to 3.

Analysis of finance function, credit and equity markets, financing and dividend decisions; mechanics of financial analysis. Classification 6 students may not enroll in this course. Prerequisites: FINC 612 or 635; ACCT 610 or 640.

630. Financial Management II. (3-0). Credit 3.

Basic concepts of finance applied to solution of business problems using case studies; financial analysis skills further developed and refined; investment and financing decisions analyzed. Classification 6 students may not enroll in this course. Prerequisite: FINC 629.

632. Investment Management. (3-0). Credit 3.

Introductory course in investments; nature and functioning of securities markets; various investment media and tools for analysis of these media; analysis of debt and equity securities. Alternative trading strategies evaluated. Classification 6 students may not enroll in this course. Prerequisite: FINC 612 or 635.

635. Financial Management for Non-Business. (3-0). Credit 3.

External and internal factors affecting financial decision-making in the firm; fundamental concepts of accounting and managerial economics. Prerequisite: ACCT 640 or equivalent or approval of instructor.

642. Analysis of Money and Capital Markets. (3-0). Credit 3.

U.S. money and capital markets; changes in supply of and demand for money and capital as they influence the policies of financial intermediaries, fiscal and monetary authorities and nonfinancial firms. Interest rates; factors affecting their level and structure; flow of funds in the U.S. economy. Classification 6 students may not enroll in this course. Prerequisite: FINC 612 or 635.

643. Commercial Bank Management. (3-0). Credit 3.

Financial management problems of commercial bank management including raising funds, investing funds and making loans; nontraditional bank activities; emphasis on actual case situations. Classification 6 students may not enroll in this course. Prerequisite: FINC 642.

645. International Finance. Credit 1 to 3.

Problems confronted by financial managers of firms with international business operations; international money and capital markets; exchange rate risks and political risks. May be repeated for up to 3 hours credit. Classification 6 students may not enroll in this course. Prerequisite: FINC 612 or 635. Cross-listed with IBUS 645.

647. Financial Statement Analysis. (3-0). Credit 3.

Analytical approach to financial statements; application of finance and accounting principles relevant to the analysis of financial statements. Classification 6 students may not enroll in this course. Prerequisites: FINC 612 or 635; ACCT 610 or 640. Cross-listed with ACCT 647.

661. Trading Risk Management. (3-0). Credit 3.

Focuses on Mid-office risk management strategies using the energy markets as a focus; develops understanding of commodity market behavior, use of forwards and options for risk management, risk management reporting, Greeks and simulation-based VaR analysis. Classification 6 students may not enroll in this course. Prerequisite: FINC 632.

663. Trading and Markets. (3-0). Credit 3.

Issues relating to securities trading and securities markets; discusses why and how people trade, and the operation, structure, and regulation of securities markets; focus on equity markets; comparisons to the markets for derivatives and other securities. Classification 6 students may not enroll in this course. Prerequisite: FINC 632.

664. Portfolio Management. (3-0). Credit 3.

Overview of the investment industry and the portfolio management process; includes portfolio structuring, stock vs. sector selection, performance measurement and attribution analysis, investment products and distribution channels, legal and governance issues, operations, product development and marketing. Classification 6 students may not enroll in this course. Prerequisites: FINC 629 and 632.

665. Derivative Securities. (3-0). Credit 3.

Valuation of financial forward contracts, futures contracts and basic options; course covers valuation and behavior of interest rate and exchange rate forward curves, fixed-for-float transactions, stock options, and index based-options. Classification 6 students may not enroll in this course. Prerequisite: FINC 632.

666. Wall Street, Investment Banking and the Financial Markets. (3-0). Credit 3.

Provides students an opportunity to visit Wall Street and the heart of U.S. financial and security markets; focuses on visitations to Wall Street firms and interaction with financial market professionals. Classification 6 students may not enroll in this course. Prerequisite: Approval of instructor.

667. Commodity Trade Strategy. (3-0). Credit 3.

Focuses on Front office trading strategies using the energy markets as a focus; comprehending and evaluating price behavior in energy markets; derivation of price and risk strategies. Classification 6 students may not enroll in this course. Prerequisites: FINC 632.

668. Applied Investment Analysis. (3-0) Credit 3.

Theoretical and analytical developments in security selection and portfolio management; includes macroeconomic analysis, portfolio theory, and portfolio performance evaluation; concepts applied to the allocation of investments in a student-managed equity portfolio. Prerequisites: FINC 632 and approval of instructor.

670. Real Property Analysis. (3-0). Credit 3.

Provides the economic and financial tools used to analyze real estate investments, new property developments and the redevelopment of existing properties. Prerequisite: Graduate classification.

672. Real Property Finance. (3-0). Credit 3.

Primary and secondary mortgage markets; mortgage markets’ institutional organization, alternative mortgage instruments, creative financing techniques, loan underwriting factors and risk hedging strategies. Classification 6 students may not enroll in this course. Prerequisite: FINC 612 or 635; FINC 670.

673. Real Property Valuation I. (3-0). Credit 3.

Procedures used to estimate market value of real property; market analysis and valuation techniques most appropriate for appraising income-producing properties; demonstration appraisal report. Classification 6 students may not enroll in this course. Prerequisites: FINC 612 or 635; FINC 670; enrollment in MRE program.

674. Real Property Valuation II. (3-0). Credit 3.

Provides opportunity to develop advanced competencies in analysis and valuation of more complex assignments and properties; draws upon previous course work in land economics and real estate program including real property valuations, market analysis, real estate investment analysis and real property finance. Classification 6 students may not enroll in this course.
Prerequisites: Enrollment in MRE program; FINC 670.

675. Analysis of Real Estate Investment Decisions. (3-0). Credit 3.

Analytical techniques for real estate investment decision-making which emphasize the importance of income tax considerations, the magnitude of relevant cash flows and the timing of both; case histories used to analyze investment problems. Classification 6 students may not enroll in this course. Prerequisite: FINC 612 or 635.

676. Commercial Real Estate Law. (3-0). Credit 3.

Commercial real estate law including legal ownership interests in oil and gas law, real estate sales contacts, financing, instruments and closings, commercial leases and real estate regulations and taxation. Classification 6 students may not enroll in this course. Prerequisite: Graduate classification.

677. Real Estate Development Analysis. (3-0). Credit 3.

Financial aspects of real estate development; project investment characteristics and merits. Classification 6 students may not enroll in this course. Prerequisites: FINC 612 or 635; enrollment in MRE program.

684. Professional Internship. Credit 1 to 6.

A directed internship in an organization to provide students with on-the-job training with professionals in organizational settings appropriate to the student’s professional objectives. Classification 6 students may not enroll in this course. Prerequisites: Approval of committee chair and department head.

685. Directed Studies. Credit 1 to 4 each semester.

Directed study of selected problems using recent developments in business research methods. Classification 6 students may not enroll in this course. Prerequisites: Graduate classification and approval of instructor.

688. Doctoral Seminar. (3-0). Credit 3.

Historical development of the conceptual framework of finance theory and practices; analysis of current research and controversial issues in the field. For doctoral students only. Classification 6 students may not enroll in this course. May be repeated for credit. Prerequisite: Enrollment in PhD program.

689. Special Topics in... Credit 1 to 4.

Selected topics in an identified area of finance. May be repeated for credit. Classification 6 students may not enroll in this course.

690. Theory of Research in Finance. (3-0). Credit 3.

Design of research in various subfields of finance and the evaluation of research results using examples from the current research literature. May be repeated for credit. Classification 6 students may not enroll in this course. Prerequisite: Enrollment in PhD program.

691. Research. Credit 1 or more each semester.

Research for thesis or dissertation. Classification 6 students may not enroll in this course. Prerequisite: Enrollment in PhD program.