Graduate Courses

The faculty has approval to offer the following courses in the academic years 2019–2020 and 2020–2021; however, not all courses are taught each semester or summer session. Students should consult the Course Schedule to determine which courses and topics will be offered during a particular semester or summer session. The Course Schedule may also reflect changes made to the course inventory after the publication of this catalog.

Finance: FIN

FIN 286, 386. Valuation.

Study of subjects such as financial modeling, derivatives in corporate finance, business valuation, and value-based management. For each semester hour of credit earned, one lecture hour a week for one semester. Prerequisite: Graduate standing and Business Administration 285T or 385T.

FIN 290, 390. Seminar: Money and Capital Markets.

For each semester hour of credit earned, one lecture hour a week for one semester. May be repeated for credit when the topics vary. Prerequisite: Graduate standing, Business Administration 285T or 385T, Finance 286, and credit or registration for Finance 394 (Topic 1: Advanced Corporate Finance) and 397 (Topic 1: Investment Theory and Practice).

Topic 1: Financial Markets and Institutions. How financial markets are organized and function. Includes debt equity and foreign exchange markets, primary and secondary market operations, and investment banking.
Topic 2: Special Topics in Capital Markets and Financial Institutions. Study of issues and topics in the capital markets and financial institutions that are not covered in other courses.

FIN 294, 394. Seminar: Financial Management and Theory.

For each semester hour of credit earned, one lecture hour a week for one semester. May be repeated for credit when the topics vary. Prerequisite: Graduate standing and Business Administration 285T or 385T.

Topic 1: Advanced Corporate Finance. Advanced corporate financial management in the global marketplace: valuation concepts, optimal capital structure, risk management, corporate control and restructuring, and mergers and acquisitions. Additional prerequisite: Credit or registration for Finance 286.
Topic 2: Financial Strategies. An integrated analysis of the interaction between the investment and operating policies of a corporation and its financial strategies. Additional prerequisite: Finance 286, 394 (Topic 1), and credit or registration for Finance 397 (Topic 1: Investment Theory and Practice).
Topic 3: Global Finance. Additional prerequisite: Finance 286, 394 (Topic 1), and 397 (Topic 1: Investment Theory and Practice).
Topic 4: Financial Management of Small Business. Additional prerequisite: Finance 286.
Topic 5: Financial Technology. Analyzes the effect technology has on the delivery of financial services and products in the areas of lending, clearing and trading. Finance 294 (Topic: FINANCIAL TECHNOLOGY) and 294, 394 (Topic 5) may not both be counted.
Topic 6: Special Topics in Corporate Finance.
Topic 7: Raising Capital. An analysis of the decision to raise capital, including sources of debt and equity, financial distress, restructuring, and financing acquisitions. Prerequisite: Finance 286, 394 (Topic 1), and credit or registration for Finance 397 (Topic 1).
Topic 8: Financial Strategies for Energy Firms. An integrated analysis of the interaction between the investment and operating policies of a corporation and its financial strategies, with special emphasis on firms in the energy industry. Prerequisite: Finance 286, 394 (Topic 1), and credit or registration for Finance 397 (Topic 1).
Topic 9: Advanced Valuation and Financial Modeling for Energy Firms. Construction and use of financial models for valuation and decision-making, with applications to the energy industry. Prerequisite: Finance 286, 394 (Topic 1), and 397 (Topic 1).
Topic 10: New Venture Finance. Explore the process to building a new venture from idea to liquidation event from the perspectives of both the founders as well as sophisticated venture investors. Develop a common financial framework to parse financial instruments through which we can demonstrate the salient points of a new venture's value proposition to its stakeholders. Use this framework to scale the model to express managerial controls, confidence, and ultimately the core values such that the founding team could reasonably expect to raise sophisticated capital. Finance 394 (Topic: New Venture Finance) and 294, 394 (Topic 10) may not both be counted.
Topic 11: Private Equity. An examination of the application of advanced corporate finance concepts in the private equity markets. Additional prerequisite: Finance 286, 394 (Topic 1: Advanced Corporate Finance), and credit or registration for Finance 397 (Topic 1: Investment Theory and Practice).
Topic 12: Energy Development and Corporate Strategies. Introduction to the legal, engineering, business, and financial aspects of energy development and operations. Additional prerequisite: Finance 286 and credit or registration for Finance 394 (Topic 1: Advanced Corporate Finance).
Topic 13: Valuation of Energy Investments. Covers the theory and practice of the evaluation and financing of energy investments with a focus on application to upstream oil and gas projects. Develop financial modeling skills, from detailed discounted cash flow models to advanced option pricing models utilizing a variety of computational approaches. Finance 294 (Topic: VALUTN OF ENERGY INVSTMNTS) and 294, 394 (Topic 13) may not both be counted. Additional prerequisite: Finance 286.
Topic 14: Venture Capital Fellows Program. Additional prerequisite: Credit or registration for Finance 286 and 394 (Topic 1).
Topic 15: Energy Finance Practicum. Additional prerequisite: Credit or registration for Finance 286.
Topic 16: Corporate Finance and Financial Markets. Restricted to students admitted to the McCombs School of Business.
Topic 17: Advanced Valuation and Financial Modeling. Construction and use of financial models for valuation and decision-making. Additional prerequisite: Finance 286, 394 (Topic 1: Advanced Corporate Finance), and 397 (Topic 1: Investment Theory and Practice).
Topic 18: Corporate Finance Fellows I. Restricted to students admitted to the Corporate Finance Fellows program. Only one of the following may be counted: Finance 394 (Topic: Corporate Finance Fellows), 294 (Topic 18), 394 (Topic 18).
Topic 19: Economic Principles of Managerial Decisions. Study of how economic principles are used to think strategically about business decisions. Only one of the following may be counted: Finance 394 (Topic: Economic Principals of Managerial Decision), 294 (Topic 19), 394 (Topic 19).
Topic 20: Corporate Finance Fellows II. Restricted to students admitted to the Corporate Finance Fellows program.

FIN 395. Finance Doctoral Seminar.

Three lecture hours a week for one semester. May be repeated for credit when the topics vary. Prerequisite: Graduate standing and consent of instructor.

Topic 1: Fundamentals of Financial Theory. An overview of finance theory and empirical evidence.
Topic 2: Uncertainty in Economics and Finance. The notions of risk, risk aversion, prudence, arbitrage, and equilibria in economies that include financial markets. The impact of adverse selection and moral hazard problems on the existence and properties of market equilibria.
Topic 3: Asset Pricing Theory. Detailed introduction to asset pricing theory, focusing on absence of arbitrage, consumption-portfolio choice, and simple equilibrium models.
Topic 4: Empirical Methods in Asset Pricing. In-depth study of existing empirical work in asset pricing, including econometric and statistical methods.
Topic 5: Corporate Finance. Analysis of the theory of corporate finance and empirical evidence regarding corporate finance.
Topic 6: Current Research Topics in Finance. Restricted to doctoral students in finance.
Topic 7: Summer Research Topics. Restricted to doctoral students in finance. Provides an opportunity for students to develop and conduct original research projects.
Topic 8: Special Topics in Finance Theory.
Topic 9: Applied Finance Research. Restricted to doctoral students in finance. Provides an opportunity for students to develop and conduct original research.
Topic 10: Empirical Methods in Corporate Finance. Restricted to doctoral students. In-depth study of existing empirical work in corporate finance, including econometric and statistical methods.

FIN 297, 397. Seminar: Investment Theory and Management.

For each semester hour of credit earned, one lecture hour a week for one semester. May be repeated for credit when the topics vary. Prerequisite: Graduate standing and Business Administration 285T or 385T.

Topic 1: Investment Theory and Practice. Analysis of the investment decision-making process, asset allocation, security analysis, risk and expected return measurement, asset-pricing models, and international investment. Additional prerequisite: Credit or registration for Finance 286.
Topic 2: Portfolio Management and Security Analysis. Modern practices in managing investment portfolios, portfolio optimization methods, asset management for individual and institutional investors, and valuation of equity securities. Additional prerequisite: Finance 286 and 397 (Topic 1), and credit or registration for Finance 394 (Topic 1: Advanced Corporate Finance).
Topic 4: Financial Risk Management. Studies how firms manage their financial risk exposures and how they use derivative securities. Additional prerequisite: Finance 286 and 397 (Topic 1), and credit or registration for Finance 394 (Topic 1: Advanced Corporate Finance).
Topic 5: Fixed Income Analysis. Comprehensive analysis of debt securities and the techniques used to value these instruments. Additional prerequisite: Finance 286 and 397 (Topic 1), and credit or registration for Finance 394 (Topic 1: Advanced Corporate Finance).
Topic 6: Special Topics in Investments. Issues and topics in the investment area that are not covered in other courses. Additional prerequisite: Finance 286 and 397 (Topic 1), and credit or registration for Finance 394 (Topic 1: Advanced Corporate Finance).
Topic 7: Derivative Securities. Analysis and pricing of derivative securities, including forwards, futures, and options. Prerequisite: Finance 286 and 397 (Topic 1).
Topic 8: Energy Derivatives. Analysis and pricing of derivative securities, including forwards, futures, and options, with emphasis on derivatives related to the energy industry. Prerequisite: Finance 286 and 397 (Topic 1).
Topic 9: Alternative Investments. Overview of alternative investments, including hedge funds, private equity, and real estate. Prerequisite: Finance 286 and 397 (Topic 1).
Topic 10: Environmental, Social, and Governance Investing. A critical assessment of the actions of investors and corporations with regard to environmental, social, and governance policies, including the potential motivations and resulting consequences. Finance 397 (Topic: ENVIR/SOCIAL/GOV INVESTING ) and Finance 297, 397 (Topic 10) may not both be counted.

FIN 297P, 397P. Investments Practicum.

Project-based study with a focus on the application of finance principles to practical investment problems. For 297P, at least twelve lecture hours and forty-eight hours of project work scheduled throughout the semester. For 397P, at least fifteen lecture hours and sixty hours of project work scheduled throughout the semester. Prerequisite: Graduate standing.

FIN 698. Thesis.

The equivalent of three lecture hours a week for two semesters. Offered on the credit/no credit basis only. Prerequisite: For 698A, graduate standing in finance and consent of the graduate adviser; for 698B, Finance 698A.

FIN 398R. Master's Report.

Preparation of a report to fulfill the requirement for the master's degree under the report option. The equivalent of three lecture hours a week for one semester. Offered on the credit/no credit basis only. Prerequisite: Graduate standing in finance and consent of the supervising faculty member and the graduate adviser.

FIN 399W, 699W, 999W. Dissertation.

May be repeated for credit. Offered on the credit/no credit basis only. Prerequisite: Admission to candidacy for the doctoral degree.

Real Estate: R E

R E 386. Seminar in Real Estate Analysis.

Three lecture hours a week for one semester. May be repeated for credit when the topics vary. Prerequisite: Business Administration 285T or 385T, and credit or registration for Finance 286.

Topic 1: Real Estate Markets. Overview of real estate principles, markets, and valuation. Introduction to the major types of commercial property, methods of analyzing real estate markets and investments, urban economics, and real estate institutions.
Topic 2: Real Estate Investment Decisions. In-depth coverage of approaches used to analyze real estate investments, including debt and equity. Additional prerequisite: Real Estate 386 (Topic 1).
Topic 3: Real Estate Analysis. Prerequisite: Finance 394 (Topic 1), 397 (Topic 1), and Real Estate 386 (Topic 1); or consent of instructor.
Topic 7: Real Estate Decision Making. Additional prerequisite: Real Estate 386 (Topic 1).

R E 288, 388. Seminar in Real Estate Finance.

Current aspects of real estate finance as they affect lenders, borrowers, and investors. Institutional changes affecting trends in real estate finance are presented within a decision-making framework. Special emphasis on real estate capital markets, public and private debt, and equity. For each semester hour of credit earned, one lecture hour a week for one semester. Prerequisite: Graduate standing.

R E 289, 389. Real Estate Practicum.

Project-based study with a focus on the application of real estate and finance principles to practical problems. For 289, at least ten lecture hours and forty hours of project work scheduled throughout the semester. For 389, at least fifteen lecture hours and sixty hours of project work scheduled throughout the semester. Prerequisite: Graduate standing, Business Administration 285T or 385T, Real Estate 386 (Topic 1: Real Estate Markets), and credit or registration for Finance 286.