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COURSE DESCRIPTIONS


SAMPLE COURSE DESCRIPTION

COURSE NUMBERING SYSTEM

GENERAL EDUCATION DESIGNATION

DEPARTMENTS OFFERING DIVERSIFICATION COURSES

Finance (FIN)

Shidler College of Business

FIN 301 Personal Finance (3) Focuses on principles and techniques for handling personal financial decisions, including: personal budgeting, obtaining credit, life and casualty insurance, buying a home, buying an automobile, savings and investments, and retirement planning.

FIN 305 Problems of Business Finance (3) Application of financial principles to cases involving important financial decisions. Pre: BUS 314.

FIN 307 Corporate Financial Management (3) Development and analysis of modern financial theory and its implications for management decisions: market efficiency, capital asset pricing, firm investment decisions, capital structure, dividend policy, and cost of capital. Pre: BUS 314.

FIN 311 Investments (3) Introduction to various investment media and capital markets. Topics include the analysis of security returns using techniques such as beta, filter rules, and portfolio theory. Pre: BUS 314.

FIN 321 International Business Finance (3) Financial management of foreign and international business operations: the regulatory environment of international finance, financing international transactions, international capital markets, taxation. Financial decision-making in the firm. Pre: BUS 314.

FIN 331 International Banking (3) Commercial, investment, and merchant banking. Includes theory and practical applications. Topics include international lending, Euromarkets, global gap management, Forex activities, and global risk management. Pre: BUS 314.

FIN 341 Financial Aspects of New Ventures (3) Examination of underlying business models for new ventures, how to determine corresponding financial requirements, and approaches to resource acquisition. Students explore a range of financing sources and related issues of valuation and deal structure. Pre: junior standing and BUS 314, or consent.

FIN 399 Directed Reading and Research (V) Reading and research in a special area of major under direction of faculty member(s). Project must include statement of objectives, outline of activities planned, results expected, and how they are to be reported and evaluated. Must be approved in advance by the department chair and the faculty advisor. Repeatable unlimited times.

FIN 412 Options and Other Derivatives (3) Options and other derivatives. Equity options, index options and options on futures. Black-Scholos Model. Trading strategies and tactics. Contemporary developments in financial engineering. A-F only. Pre: BUS 314 or consent.

FIN 415 Security Analysis and Portfolio Management (3) Security analysis and portfolio management from standpoint of the professional analyst and institutional investor. Recent advances in security valuation models, portfolio selection, and techniques for appraising portfolio performance. A-F only. Pre: 311.

FIN 430 Bank Financial Management (3) Analysis of financial institution management within the domestic economy and regulatory environment. Topics include federal reserve activities, interest rates, regulation, lending, investments, and asset/liability management. Pre: BUS 314.

FIN 444 Asian Finance (3) Financial systems, regulatory structure over financial institutions in the Asia-Pacific region. Major financial policy issues for financial sector reforms in the region. Seminar format. A-F only. Pre: BUS 314 or consent.

FIN 450 Enterprise Risk Management (3) Overview analyzing various primary risks faced by corporations and developing important risk management techniques with an emphasis on enterprise risk management. Combined lectures, case studies, and discussions. A-F only. Pre: BUS 314 or consent. (Once a year)

FIN 467 Seminar in Financial Planning (3) A capstone course for financial services and planning track. This is a case study course intended to provide students the opportunity to integrate concepts from earlier courses and develop a comprehensive view of the financial planning process. A-F only. Pre: 301 and 311 and two of the following courses: 490E, 490F, ACC 401, INS 300.

FIN 470 Sustainable Development in East Asia (3) Interdisciplinary investigation of development in East Asia is an urgent issue. Status and role of Asian business; current technological, economic, and financial developments; impact on world economy. Pre: ASAN 201, ASAN 312, or BUS 314; or consent. (Cross-listed as ASAN 470)

FIN 490 (Alpha) Advanced Topics in Finance (3) In-depth analysis of selected current practices and issues in finance. (C) Japanese financial management; (D) financial analysis (repeatable four times); (E) retirement and employee benefit planning; (F) finance estate planning. A-F only for (E) and (F). Pre: BUS 314 or BUS 629 for (C); 311 or 634 for (D); 301 for (E) and (F).

FIN 625 International Monetary Systems and Global Financial Markets (3) Supply and demand for capital in national and international markets. Nature of capital movements and role of capital in industrialization of regions and nations.

FIN 633 Problems in Business Finance (3) Application of financial principles and analytical techniques to financial problems. Case method. Pre: BUS 629 or consent.

FIN 634 Investment Analysis and Management (3) Techniques of security analysis, theories of investment, and the analysis of investment decisions related to portfolio planning. Pre: BUS 629 or consent.

FIN 635 (Alpha) Advanced Topics in Finance (3) Major current financial issues and problems. (C) Japanese financial management; (D) portfolio management theory; (F) stocks, bonds, and modern instruments. Pre: BUS 629 or consent.

FIN 637 International Financial Management (3) Financial decision-making in an international setting: analysis of direct foreign investment; economic, accounting, and regulatory environments, including taxation; international money and capital markets; import and export financing; multinational working capital management; and risk aspects of international finance. Pre: BUS 629 or consent.

FIN 639 International Banking (3) Commercial, investment, and merchant banking in the international arena. Includes international lending, Euromarkets, global gap management, Forex activities, and international risk management. Pre: BUS 629 or consent.

FIN 641 Entrepreneurial Finance (3) Assessment of financial needs, arranging venture financing, assessing value to the entrepreneur and the investor(s), financial aspects of strategic planning, analyzing the tradeoffs between alternative financing choices and flexibility and control, harvesting the investment. Pre: BUS 629 or consent.

FIN 645 Advanced Capital Markets (3) Regulatory structure over capital market institutions, market developmental issues, market microstructure issues, and corporate governance, and creation of capital market infrastructure. Seminar format. Pre: BUS 629 or consent.

FIN 651 PDEs and Stochastic Calculus (3) Covers PDEs (Partial Differential Equations) and calculus in a stochastic environment. A-F only. Pre: graduate standing in Financial Engineering program, or consent. (Once a year)

FIN 652 Programming in Finance (3) Addresses programming principles, and programming languages used in financial modeling. A-F only. Pre: graduate standing in Financial Engineering program, or consent. (Once a year)

FIN 653 Portfolio Optimization (3) Introduces students to principles of capital markets, classical portfolio theory, and focus on portfolio optimization. A-F only. Pre: graduate standing in Financial Engineering program, or consent. (Once a year)

FIN 654 Financial Derivatives (3) Will familiarize the students with the mathematical foundation and the application of Futures, Swaps, and Options. A-F only. Pre: graduate standing in Financial Engineering program, or consent. (Once a year)

FIN 655 Financial Forecasting (3) Focus on financial forecasting and financial econometrics as volatility and correlation modeling. A-F only. Pre: graduate standing in Financial Engineering program, or consent. (Once a year)

FIN 656 Insurance and Risk Management (3) Introduces students to topics in the actuarial science and latest developments in risk management. A-F only. Pre: graduate standing in Financial Engineering program, or consent. (Once a year)

FIN 657 Interest Rate/Credit Models (3) Addresses specific properties of interest rate modelling as mean reversion as well as latest developments in credit risk modelling. A-F only. Pre: graduate standing in Financial Engineering program, or consent. (Once a year)

FIN 658 Financial Modelling (3) Addresses advanced techniques in financial modelling and related fields. A-F only. Pre: graduate standing in Financial Engineering program, or consent. (Once a year)

FIN 659 Mortgage/Weather Derivatives (3) Covers the real estate market, mortgage backed securities (MBSs) and real estate derivatives. Focuses on modelling weather, climate change, and weather derivatives. A-F only. Pre: graduate standing in Financial Engineering program, or consent. (Once a year)

FIN 660 Seminar in Finance (3) In-depth analysis of selected current practices and issues in finance. Pre: BUS 629 or consent. May be repeated with change in topic.

FIN 661 Research Seminar (3) Students either program a model or write a paper with high practical or scientific merit. Outcome enhances the chances for employment. Represents the culminating experience for students in this program. A-F only. Pre: graduate standing in Financial Engineering program, or consent. (Once a year)

FIN 701 Theory of International Finance (3) Concise framework of conceptual knowledge to understand the literature on financial theory and related empirical evidence. Includes fundamentals of capital markets, capital budgeting, utility theory, asset pricing, and international finance. A-F only. Pre: PhD student status in international management or consent.

FIN 702 Seminar in International Investments (3) Seminar covers research issues and methodologies in investments and capital markets. Main topics include theories and empirical characteristics of asset pricing, portfolio diversification and performance evaluation, derivatives, and risk management. A-F only. Pre: 701 and PhD student status in international management, or consent.

FIN 703 International Corporate Control and Restructuring (3) Provides and understanding of some of the scholarly research in corporate control and restructuring. Topics include: mergers and takeovers, international corporate governance, corporate restructuring, raising capital, and entrepreneurship. A-F only. Pre: 701 and PhD student status in international management, or consent.

FIN 704 International Asian Finance (3) In-depth review of scholarly journal articles and working papers relevant to Asian finance to prepare PhD students for scholarly research work. A-F only. Pre: 701 and PhD student status in international management, or consent.

FIN 799 Directed Reading and Research (V) Reading and research in a special area of major under direction of faculty member(s). Project must include statement of objectives, outline of activities planned, results expected, and how they are to be reported and evaluated. Must be approved in advance by department chair and the faculty advisor. A-F only. Pre: PhD student status in international management, or consent.