Finance and Business Economic (FBE) Course Descriptions
The number in parentheses ( ) following each course title refers to the number of units the course is or can be worth.
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501 |
Investment Banking Fundamentals (1.5) The role of an investment banking associate. Students will effectively function as a junior banker through a sell-side merger and acquisition (M & A) process. |
| 504 | The FinTech and Blockchain Revolution (1.5) Emerging business models in finance including crowdfunding, marketplace lending, new payment solutions and wealth management automation. (M & A) process. |
| 505 | Behavioral Finance (3) Applications of behavioral finance and how psychological forces influence investor behavior, asset prices and corporate decision-making. Prerequisite: GSBA 521b or GSBA 548 or MBA-level Corporate Finance course. |
| 506 | Quantitative Methods in Finance (3) The development of single and bivariate mathematical and statistical methods used in modern finance and economics and applications of these methods. (Open to MS in Finance students only.) |
| 515 | Deals (3) Register for LAW-815 Examines the collaboration between business people aiming to accomplish a goal and lawyers translating their business objectives into contract language to achieve the goal. |
| 523 | Venture Capital and Private Equity (3) Advanced analysis of the economics of the private equity markets. Consider and value private securities in venture capital, initial public offerings, and leveraged buyouts. Prerequisite: GSBA 521b or GSBA 548 or MBA-level Corporate Finance course. |
| 524 | Money and Capital Markets (3) Review of financial institutions and markets, the determinants of interest rates, the impact of government regulation and policy on the financial system. Prerequisite: GSBA 521b or GSBA 548 or MBA-level Corporate Finance. |
| 525 | Financial Institution Management, Strategy and Valuation (3) Application of economic and financial analytic techniques to the managerial problems of financial institutions and implications for financial firm strategy and valuation. Prerequisite: GSBA 521ab or GSBA 548 or MBA-level Corporate Finance course. |
| 526 | Macroeconomic Analysis for Business (3) The economic environment of business: American economic and social goals and policies and their impact on business; growth, stability, and the new priorities; international forces influencing business. |
| 527 | Entrepreneurial Finance: Financial Management for Developing Firms (3) Internal financial management of developing firms. Cash flow analysis; capital budgeting; sources of financing; risk analysis; measurement of profits; and mergers and acquisitions. Prerequisite: GSBA 521b or GSBA 548 or MBA-level Corporate Finance course. |
| 529 | Financial Analysis and Valuation (3) An applications-oriented course to develop the financial and accounting tools required to do financial planning valuation and assessment of financial performance. Prerequisite: GSBA 521b or GSBA 548 or MBA-level Corporate Finance course. |
| 531 | Corporate Financial Policy and Corporate Governance (1.5 or 3) Advanced analysis of the determinants of corporate capital structure and payout policies, allocation and value of corporate control, and security issuance and retirement. Prerequisite: GSBA 521b or GSBA 548 or MBA-level Corporate Finance course. |
| 532 | Corporate Financial Strategy (3) Linkage between financial theory and policy and corporate strategy; the role of financial managers in developing corporate strategy; applications of concepts and techniques using cases. Prerequisite: GSBA 521b or GSBA 548 or MBA-level Corporate Finance course. |
| 533 | CEO Pay, Corporate Governance, and the Politics of Finance (3) Explores how value is created (or destroyed) in organizations, focusing on compensation and incentive systems and the causes and consequences of government (and populist) intervention. Prerequisite: GSBA 521b or GSBA 548 or MBA-level Corporate Finance course. |
| 535 | Applied Finance in Fixed Income Securities (1.5 or 3) The basic principles underlying fixed income securities and how these principles apply to the practical aspects of fixed income management. Prerequisite: GSBA 521b or GSBA 548 or MBA-level Corporate Finance course. |
| 540 | Hedge Funds (3, FaSp) Introduction to the investment strategies used by hedge funds, the quantitative tools and business plans used to implement them. Prerequisite: GSBA 521b or GSBA 548 or MBA-level Corporate Finance course. Recommended Preparation: Statistics and Calculus. |
| 543 | Forecasting and Risk Analysis (3, Irregular) Application of econometric tools and versions of Capital Asset Pricing Models to estimate financial risk and stock market risk premia for portfolio management. Prerequisite: FBE 506 or GSBA 506b or GSBA 524 or GSBA 545 or MBA-level Microeconomics and Statistics. |
| 545 | Applied Financial Modeling (3) Hands-on Excel skills necessary to analyze complicated financial situations and to present the analysis in a coherent and professional manner. |
| 550 | High Yield Bond Investing - Managing Credit Risk (1.5) Review the structure of the high yield bond market. Develop a practical approach to assess credit risk and understand how deals are structured and priced. |
| 551 | Quantitative Investing (3) Build, test and implement the types of models in use by quantitative asset managers. |
| 553ab | Applied Portfolio Management (a: 3, ; b: 3) a: Application of portfolio management techniques in a laboratory setting. Stock selection, asset allocation, industry analysis, investment thesis research; off-site visits; oral and written presentations. Prerequisite: GSBA 521b or GSBA 548. b: Application of advanced portfolio management techniques in a laboratory setting. Bond portfolio management, quantitative stock screens, derivatives trading, portfolio optimization. Off-site visits and presentations. Enrollment restricted to Student Investment Fund students only. For more information about SIF visit https://www.marshall.usc.edu/institutes-and-centers/center-for-investment-studies. |
| 554 | Trading and Exchanges (3) Theories, practices, and technologies of trading at exchanges and in dealer networks. Sources of liquidity, volatility, profitability, and institutional change. Domestic and international public policy issues. |
| 555 | Investment Analysis and Portfolio Management (3) Analysis and management of common stocks and fixed income securities; development of modern portfolio theory and the efficient market hypothesis; organization of securities markets. Prerequisite: GSBA 521b or GSBA 548 or MBA-level Corporate Finance course. |
| 557 | Business Law and Ethics (3) Business law of traditional and e-contracts, UCC, crimes, torts, employment, ethics, social responsibility, intellectual property, digital law, e-commerce, accountants' liability, property, estates, and government regulation. |
| 558 | Law for Structuring, Financing, and Managing Businesses (3) Legal environment of agency law, general and limited partnerships, limited liability companies, corporate formation and financing, corporate governance, securities law, acquisitions, bankruptcy. and business ethics. |
| 559 | Management of Financial Risk (3) Analysis of commodity, futures, and options contracts; theoretical and empirical approaches; spot and futures price relationships, speculation and hedging strategies; market efficiency. Prerequisite: GSBA 521b or GSBA 548 or MBA-level Corporate Finance course. |
| 560 | Mergers and Acquisitions (3) Practical application of the critical components of mergers and acquisitions: deal flow strategies, preliminary negotiations, deal structures, due diligence, valuation, post-merger integration, and regulations. Prerequisite: GSBA 521b or GSBA 548 or MBA-level Corporate Finance course. |
| 563 | Global Trade and Finance (3) Impact of trade globalization in goods, services and financial securities on business decisions; special attention to foreign currency markets, foreign investments and international portfolios investments. |
| 564 | International Financial Management (3) Financial management of the multinational firm; legal entities and taxation abroad; risk in foreign operations; strategies in foreign exchange, money and capital markets and institutions. Prerequisite: GSBA 521b or GSBA 548 or MBA-level Corporate Finance course. |
| 565 | Economics of Urban Land Use: Feasibility Studies (3) Economic, market and financial analysis related to feasibility of real estate development; theory and case analysis. Prerequisite: GSBA 521b or GSBA 548 or MBA-level Corporate Finance course. |
| 566 | Real Estate Finance Analysis and Modeling (1.5) Real estate cash flow modeling, analysis and valuation using state-of-the-art software. |
| 570 | Advanced Topics in Real Estate Finance (3) Current topics in real estate finance including sources of equity and debt, the role of capital markets, REITs, conduits, portfolio analysis, and acquisition of distressed assets. Cases and analytic methods. Prerequisite: GSBA 521b or GSBA 548 or MBA-level Corporate Finance course. Recommended preparation: FBE 591. |
| 571 | Introduction to Financial Analysis: Practicum (3) A.k.a. CFA I. Introductory financial analysis (tools, techniques) practicum emphasizing practical application of asset valuation and portfolio management techniques for those with little previous experience. (Duplicates credit in FBE 572 and FBE 573.) Graded CR/NC. Prerequisite: GSBA 521b or GSBA 548 or MBA-level Corporate Finance course. |
| 572 | Intermediate Financial Analysis: Practicum (3) A.k.a. CFA II. This practicum emphasizes asset valuation, including applications of tools and inputs (including economics, accounting, and quantitative techniques) in asset valuation for those with prior experience. (Duplicates credit in FBE 571 and FBE 573.) Graded CR/NC. Prerequisite: GSBA 521b or GSBA 548 or MBA-level Corporate Finance course. |
| 573 | Advanced Financial Analysis: Practicum (3) A.k.a. CFA III. This is an advanced practicum emphasizing portfolio management skills, including applied strategies (tools, inputs) in equity and fixed-income management for those with extensive prior experience. (Duplicates credit in FBE 571 and FBE 572.) Graded CR/NC. Prerequisite: GSBA 521b or GSBA 548 or MBA-level Corporate Finance course. |
| 588 | Real Estate Law and Transactions (3) Introduction to legal aspects of real estate. Real property rights; co-ownership; acquiring, financing, and restructuring; leasing; insuring land use and taxation issues; and construction law. (Duplicates credit in RED 562.) |
| 589 | Mortgages and Mortgage-Backed Securities and Markets (3) Valuation and analysis of residential and commercial mortgages and mortgage-backed securities and related markets. Prerequisite: GSBA 521b or GSBA 548 or MBA-level Corporate Finance course. |
| 591 | Real Estate Finance and Investment (3) Analysis of investment in and financing of real estate assets including projections, valuation, deal structure, contracts, portfolio and tax and entity considerations. Prerequisite: GSBA 521b or GSBA 548 or MBA-level Corporate Finance course. |
| 592 | Field Research in Finance or Business Economics (.5-4, repeatable subject to program director approval) Individual or team projects studying the business practices of an industry, company, government agency, country, geographic region, etc. Proposal, data collection, analyses, and written report. Recommended preparation: completion of required MBA, MSF, MAcc, or MBT course work. Visit the Independent Study page of this site for instructions and the application. Graded CR/NC. |
| 593 | Independent Research in Finance or Business Economics (.5-4 repeatable subject to program director approval) Individual research beyond normal course offerings. Proposal, research and written report/paper required. Recommended preparation: completion of required MBA, MSF, MAcc, or MBT course work. Visit the Independent Study page of this site for instructions and the application. Graded CR/NC |
| 595 | Internship in Finance or Business Economics (.5-2 repeatable; units credited toward degree usually limited to 1) Supervised on-the-job business experience in the student's area of interest. (Curricular Practical Training) Recommended preparation: completion of required MBA, MSF, MAcc, or MBT course work. Visit the Independent Study page of this site for instructions and the application. Graded CR/NC. |
| 596 | Research Practicum in Finance or Business Economics (.5-2 repeatable subject to program director approval) Hands-on practical experience working with a Marshall faculty member from the Department of Finance and Business Economics on an ongoing research project. Recommended preparation: completion of required MBA, MSF, MAcc, or MBT course work. Visit the Independent Study page of this site for instructions and the application. Graded CR/NC. |
| 597 | Consulting Project in Finance or Business Economics (.5-5 repeatable subject to program director approval) Individual or team projects solving real business problems for an existing business entity, domestic and/or international. Proposal, field research, analyses and oral and written presentations. Recommended preparation: completion of required MBA, MSF, MAcc, or MBT course work. Visit the Independent Study page of this site for instructions and the application. Graded CR/NC. |
| 598 | Special Topics (1, 1.5, 2, or 3, max 9) Current developments in the field of Finance and Business Economics; topics to be selected each semester. Graded CR/NCr. |
| 599 | Special Topics (1, 1.5, 2, or 3, max 9) Current developments in the field of Finance and Business Economics; topics to be selected each semester. Letter-graded. |
Not all courses are offered every semester. To view class schedules, please visit the USC Schedule of Classes at www.usc.edu/soc or www.marshall.usc.edu/registrationpolicies - Marshall Graduate Student Resources - Graduate Electives Planning Matrix.