Independent Studies/Special Projects

General Rules
I will only consider students for independent studies/special projects that meet the following requirements:
  • You should be a good student. If you took my FINA 4386 class, a grade of B or better is required. If you did not take my class, your GPA should be above 3.50.
  • You should come to talk to me with a brief summary of the idea you want to explore. Recall, this is a finance independent study/special project. Thus, it should involve some of the tools and techniques you've learned in your previous classes.
  • You should do original work. I have no interest in sponsoring an independent study that involves internship work, reading a book or a manual.
  • You should be willing to work between 80 and 100 hours on your project. You will be required to come to see me every week to talk about your progress.
  • Your grade will be completely based on a final paper, to be turned in on the final week of classes. Your final paper should have between 15 and 20 pages.

    Selecting a Topics for your Project
    Obviously, the topic for your project has to be interesting to me. I will be most interested in projects in the area of investments and international finance. Projects that involve valuation of assets or use of statistics are my favorites.

    To give you an idea of projects I might like, here is a list of the last five projects I have sponsored:

    The Profitability of Team Reallocations in Minor League Baseball
    Bonds and Swaps in the Car Financing Business
    Fundamental Methods for Forecasting Stock Returns
    The Determinants of Mutual Fund Performance
    Do Swaps Add Value to Oil Companies?


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    If you want to set an appointment, write to:
    rsusmel@uh.edu