Curriculum
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The Masters of Science degree in Finance (MSF) is a 36-credit (12 graduate 3 cr. Courses) program offering graduate finance training from one of the best finance faculties in the world. The Finance department and the Bauer College of Business are in the midst of a vigorous growth phase. The department has recently hired excellent young faculty and internationally renowned scholars at senior levels. (Visit the department website www.bauer.uh.edu/departments/finance for a list of the faculty.)
The MSF has two tracks:
- A generalist track available to qualified students who choose to pursue a non-specialized masters curriculum in finance.
- A specialized executive MS track that allows specialization in energy risk management through the completion of the Certificate in Energy Risk Management (ERM).
Further details on these two tracks are provided below.
Generalist Track
- Candidates apply for the MSF using the standard Bauer College graduate degree procedure; however, students can choose to submit GMAT or GMAT (verbal, quantitative, and analytical) scores;
- Evaluation and admission decisions are made by the Finance department;
- Students must complete 36 graduate credits from the curriculum (see below);
- Admitted students are allowed to waive up-to 3 courses based on previous graduate or undergraduate BBA work (consistent with the faculty vote in the spring of 2004); these courses will typically be the required courses (waivers for electives will be granted only under very special circumstances);
- Students can apply for admission to the Cougar Fund Program; if admitted, they must take the Cougar Fund Curriculum (4-5 electives); performance benchmarks must be met to stay in the program.
Generalist Track Curriculum
Required Courses
- STAT 6360: Statistical Methods for Business
A survey of statistical methods for obtaining useful information from data. Data description; probability used in statistical inference; statistical inference in one-, two-, and multi sample situations, including analysis of count data.
- ACCT 6331 Financial Statement Analysis I
Introduction to transaction analysis, recording, preparation, and understanding of basic financial statements.
- FINA 6387: Managerial Analysis
An examination of analytical concepts and methods that have application to business problems.
- FINA 6335: Managerial Finance
Principles and methods of asset management, and financial planning and control of the attainment of both short- and long-range objectives.
Elective Courses
- FINA 7320: Investments
Risk, return and the institutional structure of stock and bond markets. The theory of portfolio analysis and performance evaluation. Methods employed in managing portfolio choices and asset allocation.
- FINA 7321: Fixed Income Security Analysis
Provides thorough grounding in fixed income security analysis. Develops performance measures for bond portfolios and analyzes their hedging and risk characteristics. Various strategies for pricing government and corporate bonds are also examined.
- FINA 7322: Security Analysis
(Requires admission into the Cougar Fund Program.) Topics will include: analytical methods used in projecting individual stock and bond performance such as discounted cash flows, factor models, value versus growth and an analysis of factors affecting the risks and returns of individual securities.
- FINA 7325: Equity Valuation and Analysis
(Requires admission into the Cougar Fund Program.) Study of equity valuation in financial market equilibrium, trading strategies, and development of performance measures to evaluate mutual funds and investment performance.
- FINA 7327: Debt Markets
Provides a thorough grounding in the concepts of language of fixed-income securities analysis, including valuation and price-risk assessment. The course will also develop performance measures to see how bond portfolios can be structured to achieve desired hedging and risk characteristics.
- FINA 7330: Advanced Corporate Finance
In-depth analysis of value maximization, capital budgeting, cost of capital, financial structure and dividend policy, working capital management, and financial forecasting.
- FINA 7340: Financial Markets
In-depth analysis of the financial system in which banks, other intermediaries, and non financial organizations function.
- FINA 7341: Commercial Banking
Survey of commercial banking principles and in-depth analysis of current banking issues.
- FINA 7350: Investment Strategies in Options and Other Derivatives
Economic properties of option pricing and the Black and Scholes pricing formula. The design of hedging strategies, arbitrage, and exotic securities.
- FINA 7351: Investment Strategies in Futures and Swaps (formerly FINA 7348)
Economic properties of forward and futures contracts in domestic and international markets.
- FINA 7360: International Finance
A comprehensive overview of currency, equity, and international bond markets around the world. Institutional, theoretical issues, and current trends will be analyzed. A strong emphasis will be placed on the hedging techniques and tools used to reduce the risks associated with those financial markets.
- FINA 7361: Risk Management
Cr. 3. (3-0). Prerequisites: graduate standing and permission of chair. Examines advanced risk issues for top management. Systematic characterization of types of risk facing corporations and the hedging of such risks through the use of derivatives, futures and forwards, securitization, and specialized contracting arrangements with input suppliers and purchasers.
- FINA 7370: Cases in Corporate Finance
Application of financial theory to analyze interesting and topical case studies of corporate financial management.
- FINA 7380: Real Estate Finance
Introduction to real estate economics and finance fundamentals. Analysis of investments, trends in development and financing.
- FINA 7397A: Strategy of Project Finance
- FINA 7397B: Tactics of Project Finance
- FINA 7397C: Venture Finance
Executive Track
- Candidates apply for the MSF along with the Certificate in Energy Risk Management (ERM); students can choose to submit GMAT or GMAT (verbal, quantitative, and analytical) scores;
- Evaluation and admission decisions are made by a committee consisting of the faculty director for ERM and finance department faculty nominated by the Chair of the Finance department;
- Students must complete 36 graduate credits from the curriculum; however, students must complete the ERM in order to receive the degree from this track;
- Admitted students are allowed to waive up-to 3 (non-ERM) courses based on previous work; these waivers will typically be given for only the non-ERM required courses.
Executive Track Curriculum
Required Courses
- DISC 6360
- ACCT 6331
- FINA 6387 Managerial Analysis
- FINA 6335 Managerial Finance
- 6 ERM Courses (See the ERM Curriculum)
Elective Courses
Choose 3 courses from:
- FINA 7320
- FINA 7321
- FINA 7327
- FINA 7330
- FINA 7340
- FINA 7341
- FINA 7351
- FINA 7360
- FINA 7361
- FINA 7370
- FINA 7380
- FINA 7397A
- FINA 7397B
- FINA 7397C
