Course Descriptions

Provides an in-depth coverage of the accounting system and basic financial statements with an emphasis on topics of interest to financial managers including revenue recognition, statement of cash flows, working capital, cash and receivables, and long-term liabilities. Prerequisite: ACCT 5323 or ACCT 6300 or equivalent.

3 credits

Course covers traditional management science/operations research concepts, models, and methods that are employed to make better, objective, verifiable, communicable, and more informed decisions for problems routinely encountered by decision makers in business. Emphasis is on application, interpretation, and the use of results to make better decisions for planning and operations. Prerequisites: BUAD 5350.

3 credits

This course addresses concepts, tool and techniques for using large datasets to address business problems. This includes understanding big data concepts, common architectures, and using industry-standard tools to store, query, transform and analyze large datasets. Techniques related to importing and working with diverse types of data across different technical environments are discussed and practiced. Prerequisites: BUAD 5350, BANA 6H15 and BANA 6H30.

3 credits

Introduces the student to programming in Python. Upon completion of this class, the student will be able to write non-trivial programs using Python for data processing and model deployment. Topics include language components, control flow constructs, strings, input/output, classes, packages, matrix expressions, and regular expressions. The course includes hands-on labs requiring students to bring a PC to class.

1.5 credits

Introduces the student to programming in R. Upon completion of this class, the student will be able to write non-trivial programs using R for data processing and model deployment. Topics include language components, control flow constructs, strings, input/output, classes, modules, matrix expressions, and regular expressions. The course includes hands-on labs requiring students to bring a PC to class.

1.5 credits

This course provides an introduction as well as hands-on experience in data visualization. Students will learn to analyze the context of data visualization, to identify, access and prepare data for visualization, to apply best practices in visual analytics, to design user-oriented visualizations based on essential cognitive and perceptual principles, and to create dash board and data stories that effectively communicate data insights to facilitate managerial decision-making. Students will complete data visualization assignments as well as a final project featuring an interactive dashboard and datastory. Co-requisite: BANA 6350.

3 credits

The course addresses practices related to predictive modeling (decision tree, regression, neural network, ensemble and boosting models, among others). Topics include modifying data for better analysis results, model training and testing, machine learning methods, comparing and explaining complex models, generating predictions, and communicating results to help make better business decisions. Prerequisite: BANA 6350, BANA 6H30.

3 credits

The Practicum is taken in the last semester and designed to integrate all earlier coursework. Under the guidance of the professor, each student completes applied analytics projects on approved topics. Approval is required to enroll. This course is open only to MS students in Business Analytics. Prerequisites: BANA 7365, BANA 6H15 and BANA 6H30.

3 credits

Focuses on the analysis and presentation of quantitative information in a manner that facilitates understanding and decision-making. The course covers basic sampling, statistical analysis, reporting, and data presentation techniques.

3 credits

Facilitates the development of interpersonal and team skills leaders need to function effectively. Focus is on the integrated behavioral competencies that organizations value today: self-awareness, communication, collaboration, and relationship-building. Students plan and implement new behaviors relevant to individuals who hold leadership positions, as well as those who informally assume leadership roles as they work with others to achieve business goals.

3 credits

Examines the social, political, legal and regulatory environments that constitute the background in which a for-profit business firm conducts its activities in domestic and global contexts. Corporate social responsibility and the ethical dimensions of decisions that impact stakeholder groups and corporate sustainability in a competitive environment are discussed. Prerequisites: MANA 5F50.

3 credits

Focuses on risk-return analyses that managers use to maximize firm value. Topics include time value of money (review), valuation of financial instruments, capital budgeting, cost of capital and capital structure, working capital management and dividend policy. Prerequisites: ACCT 5323 or ACCT 6300, BUAD 5350 or BUAD 6300 and ECON 5F70.

3 credits

Builds on Managerial Finance and presents additional concepts and models for financial decision-making. Topics covered include capital budgeting, lease financing, working capital management, mergers and acquisitions, risk management, capital structure theory, dividend policy and multinational financial management. Prerequisites: FINA 6305.

3 credits

A thorough overview of investments, providing students with knowledge of basic types of securities (bond, stock, foreign exchanges and derivatives) and how the markets for these securities operate. The principles of finance, including arbitrage, market efficiency, asset pricing models and portfolio theory are covered. Specific topics include risk-return and mean-variance efficient frontiers, diversification and pricing of risk, security, pricing, etc. Students apply skills in modern investment pricing techniques, including the pricing of fixed-income securities, equities, foreign exchange and derivatives. Principles of portfolio selection and management and risk control are also covered in relevant topics. Finally, the course looks at how banks and other financial institutions make money by bringing issuers and investors together. Prerequisites: ACCT 5325 and FINA 6305.

3 credits

Development of an understanding of financial derivative instruments (forwards, futures, options and swaps) and their applications to investment strategy and risk management. Throughout the course, we cover material in the contracts, hedging, arbitrage, pricing and risk management of financial derivative instruments. Derivatives pricing models such as Binomial Tree Model and BSM Model are discussed in detail. Students learn how to apply futures strategies for long and short hedge and how to apply option strategies such as covered calls, spreads and butterflies and options Greeks for financial engineering and risk management purpose. Students use options and futures contracts for tactical portfolio strategies purpose. Relevant topics such as securitization and real options are also covered. Prerequisite: FINA 7322.

3 credits

This course serves as the final class of the MS Finance program. The objective of the course is to apply all of the theoretical finance knowledge students have learned in other MS Finance courses. By studying the empirical evidence relevant for portfolio management, we will cover investment strategies and risk management of equity portfolios, such as estimation of capital market parameters, trade-off between risk and return, equilibrium asset pricing models, portfolio construction, optimal portfolio selection and random walk as applied to portfolio management, etc. Approval required – final term. Prerequisites: FINA 7310 and FINA 7322.

3 credits