Course Descriptions
Course descriptions are listed below ordered by course number. For additional electives outside the program, please coordinate with you advisor or consult the university Course Listings.
3000 Level Courses
FIN 3303: Foundations of Finance |
| Prerequisite(s): A minimum grade of C in ACC 2301; upper-level standing; a minimum GPA of 2.75; not open to BBA students In this course we will study the way money is managed by individuals and businesses. The course explores (1) financial market operations, (2) financial statement analysis, (3) equity and debt characteristics and valuation, and (4) business investment criteria. This course is designed as an overview of finance for undergraduate students from any major who are enrolled in the Business Administration minor. |
FIN 3305: Principles of Risk Management and Insurance |
| Pre-requisite(s): A minimum grade of C in FIN 3309 or 3310 or concurrent enrollment; or consent of instructor; only open to BBA students; BBA student must be admitted to the Business School in order to take this course. Techniques for managing pure risks in order to maximize the value of a firm. The course contrasts the risk preferences of corporations with that of individuals, and explores the implications of differing preferences on insurance purchase decisions. The characteristics of as a tool in the process of managing both corporate and personal risk exposures are emphasized. |
FIN 3306: Principles of Real Estate |
| Prerequisite(s): A minimum grade of C in FIN 3310 or concurrent enrollment; only open to BBA students; BBA students must be admitted to the Business School in order to take this course An introduction to real estate principles and practices, including ethics, titles to and conveyance of real estate, legal descriptions and deeds, encumbrances, closing procedures, land economics, real estate finance, brokerage, marketing, appraising, real estate investment, and taxation. |
FIN 3309: Introduction to Finance |
| Prerequisite(s): A minimum grade of C in ACC 2303, ACC 2304, ECO 2306 and ECO 2307; completion of MTH 1309 or 1321. A study of the way money is managed by individuals and businesses. The course explores how financial markets operate, how individuals and corporate managers analyze investment opportunities and how they raise money to fund those investments. This course is designed as a survey of the application of financial analysis to a broad set of problems and is appropriate for undergraduate students from any major who meet the course prerequisites. |
FIN 3310: Introduction to Corporate Finance |
| Prerequisite(s): A minimum grade of C in ACC 2303 and ECO 2306 or 1380; completion of MTH 1309 or 1321. Not open to pre-business students. A study of long-term financial decision making by corporations with a focus on how firms raise cash, invest cash and distribute cash back to investors. Specific topics include how cash flow, time, risk, information, market imperfections and potential conflicts of interest affect financial decisions. Excel modeling of financial decisions is integrated throughout the course. |
GTX 3351: Great Texts in Business |
| An undergraduate seminar devoted to an examination of business, management, and entrepreneurship as presented through some of the great texts of the Western and Eastern traditions. |
4000 Level Courses
FIN 4285: Small-Cap Investing I |
| Co-requisite(s): FIN 4365 or equivalent coursework/experience; not open to pre-business students. Designed as a two-semester progression this course will give students valuable hands-on experience researching, analyzing and managing a portfolio of small capitalization stocks. Applications to enroll in the Small Cap Portfolio Management Practicum are due the third week in March for the class that will be held the following Fall and Spring semesters. |
FIN 4186: Small-Cap Investing II |
| Co-requisite(s): A minimum grade of C in FIN 4285; not open to pre-business students. This course gives students valuable hands-on experience researching, analyzing and managing a portfolio of small-cap stocks. The level of security research and valuation analysis will mirror that experienced working in industry. Each student will be required to produce a stock research report and present their recommendations to the other analysts managing the investment fund. |
FIN 4311: Fundamentals of Life and Health Insurance |
| Prerequisite(s): FIN 3305 and a minimum grade of C in FIN 3310; not open to pre-business students. A study of the financial implications of death, disability and retirement, as well as the corresponding forms of individual life insurance, health insurance and annuities. Elementary life and health insurance programming, taxation, legal aspects, business uses of individual life and health insurance, regulation and insurer operations and functions are covered. |
FIN 4320: Fundamentals of Property and Liability Insurance (Fall only) |
| Prerequisite(s): For Finance majors, FIN 3305 and a minimum grade of C in either FIN 3309 or 3310; for Entrepreneurship majors, ENT 3320 and a minimum grade of C in either FIN 3309 or 3310; not open to pre-business students. A study of the property-liability insurance industry, including the economic and financial issues inherent in property-liability contracting. Specific topics include automobile insurance costs and prices, tort reform effects on insurance markets, economics of distribution systems, corporate governance and organizational form, financial pricing models, solvency measurement, solvency regulation and market discipline, reinsurance and catastrophic risk, underwriting and risk selection, rate making techniques and underwriting cycles. |
FIN 4331: International Business Finance (Cross-listed as INB 4331) |
| Prerequisite(s): A minimum grade of B- in FIN 3310; not open to pre-business students. A study of international financial management, including multinational corporations (MNCs), international financial markets, international trade, foreign exchange rate, currency futures, forwards, options and swaps, currency exposures and short- and long-term financing decisions of MNCs. With a focus on the enhancement of analytical skills based on the tools and theory of international finance, this course will promote critical thinking skills of the student. |
FIN 4332: Employee Benefit Planning |
Prerequisite(s): A minimum grade of C in FIN 3310; not open to pre-business students.
The approach focuses on the economic theory and historical developments of each of these areas. |
FIN 4335: Business Risk Management |
| Prerequisite(s): For risk management and insurance majors, FIN 3305 and a minimum grade of C in FIN 3310; for finance majors, a minimum grade of C in FIN 3310; not open to pre-business students. This course covers the new and emerging field of integrated, or enterprise, risk management. Specifically, it examines the use of insurance as well as various financial instruments to control the costs of corporate risk. Emphasis is placed on the identification, evaluation and management of corporate risks. Besides examining traditional hedging strategies, techniques such as leveraging, post-loss financing, contingent financing and diversification are also considered. |
FIN 4339: Real Estate Investments |
| Pre-requisite(s): A minimum grade of B- in FIN 3310; only open to BBA students; BBA students must be admitted to the Business School in order to take this course. An analysis of real estate investments using ARGUS Financial Analysis, the real estate industry’s leading computer software specifically designed for the analysis of income producing properties. Additionally, an extensive review of legal issues related to ownership interests, mortgages, fair housing and ADA requirements in included. Current issues as well as analytical methods are presented in a case study approach. Creative financing and income tax considerations are also included. |
FIN 4340: Real Estate Finance |
| Prerequisite(s): For Real Estate majors, FIN 3405 and a minimum grade of C in FIN 3310; for Finance majors, FIN 3310; not open to pre-business students. This course will analyze the flow of real estate funds, including the origination process, primary & secondary markets and the securitization of mortgage pools. Credit procedures, underwriting and the federal government's role in real estate financing will also be explored. Industry-standard software is used to analyze the cash flow and amortization characteristics of fixed and adjustable rate mortgages. Issues pertaining to financing structures, expected mortgage life and refinancing are also investigated. |
FIN 4350: Financial Modeling |
| Prerequisite(s): A minimum grade of B- in FIN 3310; not open to pre-business students. This course is designed to provide proficiency in various analytical tools used by financial managers and analysts. Students will learn how to link financial theory to data to ultimately frame and answer questions, solve problems and make informed financial decisions. This course bridges abstract ideas related to corporate strategy to concrete practices like firm valuation by learning to use relevant analytical tools. |
FIN 4360: Advanced Corporate Finance |
| Prerequisite(s): A minimum grade of B- in FIN 3310; not open to pre-business students. The class applies the tools of financial analysis and financial theory to explore capital allocation and capital acquisition decisions of corporations. Students review and develop an understanding of the seminal theories that underpin the study and practice of finance. |
FIN 4361: Short-Term Financial Management |
| Prerequisite(s): A minimum grade of B- in FIN 3310 or a minimum grade of B in FIN 3309 and registered for FIN 3310; not open to pre-business students. An advanced study of short-term financial management and financial statement analysis. Topics include cash management, credit and collections, payables management, bank relations, short-term investing & borrowing and management of interest rate & foreign exchange risks. The class will provide partial preparation for students wishing to take the Certified Treasury Professional (CTP) exam. |
FIN 4363: Mergers and Acquisitions |
| Prerequisite(s): A minimum grade of B- in FIN 3310. The objective of this course is to examine mergers and acquisitions (M&A) through the lens of financial economics. Though there are a significant number of other disciplines involved in M&A (i.e., Accounting, Law, Economics, Management, etc.), we will focus primarily on the financial aspects of these transactions. |
FIN 4365: Investment Analysis |
| Prerequisite(s): A minimum grade of B- in FIN 3310; not open to pre-business students. Investment decision making with emphasis on stocks, bonds and portfolio management. Major topics include portfolio theory and the measurement of risk, performance evaluation, the efficient markets hypothesis, valuation of securities and portfolio composition in relation to investor objectives. Other topics may include the functioning of the securities markets, securities law and regulations and an introduction to derivative securities. |
FIN 4366: Options, Futures and Other Derivatives |
| Prerequisite(s): A minimum grade of B- in FIN 3310; not open to pre-business students. This course covers derivative securities such as futures, forwards, swaps and options. Such securities are commonly referred to as "derivatives" because their values depend upon the values of other assets. This course presents a conceptual framework for understanding how to price derivatives and design risk management strategies. |
FIN 4368: Behavioral Finance |
| Prerequisite(s): FIN 4365; only open to BBA students. In this course, students study evidence for behavioral biases, frames, and heuristics in financial decision-making. The course examines behavioral finance’s implications at the investor, firm, and market levels. Additionally, students explore possible applications of behavioral finance insights into financial and investment activities. |
FIN 4370: Financial Analysis and Banking |
| Prerequisite(s): A minimum grade of B- in FIN 3310; not open to pre-business students. An advanced study of financial statement analysis that includes UCA Cash Flow Statement, fraud, window dressing and warning signs. Other topics include credit policy and loan characteristics; loan underwriting techniques that mitigate credit risk; evaluating commercial loan requests; pricing fixed-income securities; and managing interest rate risk as it relates to earnings sensitivity and economic value of equity. |
FIN 4381: Practicum in Portfolio Management |
| Pre-requisite(s): FIN 4365 or equivalent and consent of instructor; only open to BBA students. This practicum gives students valuable hands-on experience in securities research, valuation of risky assets and asset allocation by managing the Philip M. Dorr and Alumni Endowed Investment Fund. Through readings and student-prepared research reports students develop skills in evaluating economic, industry and firm data; integrating such data into securities analysis; and communicating their research results to others. |
FIN 4387: Seminar in Contemporary Financial Economics |
| Prerequisite(s): FIN 4360 or ECO 3306; not open to pre-business students. This course integrates economic theories of market structure, marginal analysis and incentive contracts with the finance theories of value creation, market efficiency and agency conflicts to model specific business behaviors. Mass marketed audiovisual presentations are used to give context to the seminar discussions. Specific topics include investment banking, international derivative securities, mergers and acquisitions, compensation incentives, labor and business ethics. |
FIN 4V98: Special Studies in Finance |
| Prerequisite(s): A minimum grade of B- in FIN 3310; not open to pre-business students. With the permission of the chair of the Department of Finance, Insurance and Real Estate, this course may be taken for 1 to 6 semester hours of credit. |
Graduate Courses
FIN 5330: Seminar in Employee Benefit Planning |
| The rationale, design, implementation and evaluation of employee benefit plans. Emphasis on employer-sponsored plans to provide benefits for death, medical and dental expenses, disability and retirement; insurance and self-insurance funding arrangements; the taxation of employee benefits; legal requirements; integration with public programs and individually purchased insurance; labor union influences; and contemporary problems and issues. Consideration of new types of employee benefits, as well as such traditional benefits as paid vacations, sick leave, educational assistance and other aspects of total compensation. Case studies are used to illustrate the process of balancing employer objectives, employee needs and desires and cost considerations. |
FIN 5330: Seminar in Real Estate Valuation |
| Valuation concepts and techniques necessary to appraise real estate. Topics include theoretical valuation models, regression-based models, the cost approach, market feasibility studies and urban-growth models. Case studies require application of statistical techniques. |
FIN 5335: Seminar in Business Risk Management |
| Prerequisite(s): BUS 5602 or equivalent. A study of business risk management, recognizing the relationship between risk management and the overall goals of the firm, through an integrated approach that combines the concepts and tools from both the insurance and the financial risk management disciplines. Emphasis is placed on the identification, evaluation and management of corporate risks, defined broadly to included both operating and financial risks. Specific topics include traditional hedging strategies as well as techniques such as leveraging, post-loss financing, contingent financing and diversification. |
FIN 5V98: Special Studies in Real Estate |
| This course may be taken for 1 to 6 semester hours of credit. |
