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Finance and Business Economics

 

General Financial Management

Description of careers for which concentration prepares students:
This concentration allows the broadest exposure to finance and the most flexibility in course selection. The concentration is most suitable for students having a strong interest in finance but who have not identified a particular career path in the field. Possible careers using preparation from this concentration include corporate project analysis and budgeting, business consulting, marketing financial services to corporations, employment in small business or start-up entrepreneurial firms, and general management in financial areas of all business and service industries. The concentration is ideal for students prepared to accept positions in corporations or with consultants to businesses which have a general financial management focus and/or organize work in interdisciplinary teams to solve general business or strategic problems. The format of the concentration allows students to select course offerings in response to developing interests or perceived career preparation needs.

Description of the academic content and requirements for concentration:
The two required courses assure breadth in training by requiring at least two areas of finance from valuation, financial policy, financial strategy, investments, trading and exchanges, and international finance. Additional electives enable students to further broaden their preparation in the areas of business economics, financial institutions and markets, real estate, or to deepen their exposure to specific areas of finance as their interests and career choices develop.

Required for Concentration (Choose at least two of the following):

  • FBE-529: Financial Analysis and Valuation
  • FBE-531: Corporate Financial Policy and Corporate Control
  • FBE-532: Corporate Financial Strategy
  • FBE-555: Investment Analysis and Portfolio Management
  • FBE-556: Advanced Topics in Portfolio Management

Electives (Choose up to two of the following, for a total of four in the concentration):

  • FBE-516: Economics of Pricing, Compensation, and Control
  • FBE-523: Private Equity
  • FBE-524: Money and Capital Markets
  • FBE-525: Financial Institutions
  • FBE-527: Entrepreneurial Finance: Financial Management of Developing Firms
  • FBE-529: Financial Analysis and Valuation
  • FBE-531: Corporate Financial Policy and Corporate Control
  • FBE-532: Corporate Financial Strategy
  • FBE-533: Compensation, Incentives, and Governance
  • FBE-535: Applied Finance in Fixed Income Securities
  • FBE-543: Forecasting and Risk Analysis
  • FBE-552: Economics and Finance of the Entertainment Industry
  • FBE-554: Trading and Exchanges
  • FBE-555: Investment Analysis and Portfolio Management
  • FBE-556: Advanced Topics in Portfolio Management
  • FBE-557: Legal Environment of Business
  • FBE-558: The Legal Environment of Finance
  • FBE-559: Management of Financial Risk
  • FBE-562: Current Issues in International Finance
  • FBE-563: Theory of International Trade
  • FBE-564: International Financial Management
  • FBE-565: Economics of Urban Land Use: Feasibility Studies
  • FBE-570: Advanced Topics in Real Estate Finance
  • FBE-588: Advanced Real Estate Law
  • FBE-589: Mortgages, Mortgage-Backed Securities and Markets
  • FBE-591: Real Estate Finance and Investment

Corporate Finance

Description of careers for which concentration prepares students:
Courses in the corporate finance concentration train students for positions in the financial management of corporations, usually in the office of the chief financial officer or the financial strategy group of a company, or for representatives of service firms implementing corporate financial strategies, like commercial and investment bank officials and management consultants. The training is also appropriate for students anticipating a wide range of responsibilities in the finance function of smaller firms or start-ups. The concentration emphasizes a thorough grounding in corporate financial strategy and valuation.

Description of the academic content and requirements for concentration:
This concentration requires that students select four courses from a list of courses representing areas of corporate finance. There is one required course and three electives. Students should select these courses with the goal of providing some breadth across corporate finance problem areas (e.g., valuation, financial structure, compensation) and depth in areas of likely relevance to the student's career choice (e.g., international, financial services, risk management).

Choose four of the following:

  • FBE-523: Private Equity
  • FBE-525: Financial Institutions
  • FBE-527: Entrepreneurial Finance: Financial Management of Developing Firms
  • FBE-529: Financial Analysis and Valuation
  • FBE-531: Corporate Financial Policy and Corporate Control
  • FBE-532: Corporate Financial Strategy
  • FBE-533: Compensation, Incentives, and Governance
  • FBE-558: The Legal Environment of Finance
  • FBE-564: International Financial Management
  • FBE-570: Advanced Topics in Real Estate Finance
  • ACCT-572: Corporate Accounting and Reporting

Please see below for information about the Graduate Certificate Program in Financial Analysis and Valuation.

 

Investments and Financial Markets

Description of careers for which concentration prepares students:
This concentration prepares you for careers in investment management and securities trading. The insights that you will learn in these courses will help you obtain highly rewarding jobs as security analysts portfolio managers, dealers, buy-side traders, brokers, and financial advisors. You will also learn how to manage firms engaged in trading and/or investment management. You may select specific courses to advance a single career objective (e.g., portfolio management) or you may choose a broad range of courses to obtain a balanced exposure to the principles that practitioners must master to succeed in modern investment markets. A special 20-week course (not listed here) is also available in the department to prepare students for the chartered financial analyst (CFA) examination. (The CFA is a widely-used industry credential.)

Description of the academic content and requirements for concentration:
The investment and financial markets concentration required course provides fundamental training in concepts (such as portfolio theory and asset risk management) necessary for understanding all areas of securities markets activity. Three additional electives can provide either breadth in the range of topics relevant to developed securities markets (e.g., market microstructure and derivatives) or depth in a specific area of financial market activity (e.g., portfolio management).

Required for Concentration:

  • FBE-555: Investment Analysis and Portfolio Management

Electives (Choose three of the following):

  • FBE-524: The Financial System
  • FBE-525: Financial Institutions
  • FBE-529: Financial Analysis and Valuation
  • FBE-535: Applied Finance in Fixed Income Securities
  • FBE-543: Forecasting and Risk Analysis
  • FBE-554: Trading and Exchanges
  • FBE-556: Advanced Topics in Portfolio Management
  • FBE-562: Current Issues in International Finance
  • FBE-589: Mortgages, Mortgage-Backed Securities and Markets

 

The Graduate Certificate in Financial Analysis and Valuation

Students interested in a more structured approach to studying corporate finance or investments and those wish to receive formal recognition of their expertise in this area should consider the Graduate Certificate program in Financial Analysis and Valuation.

The Graduate Certificate in Financial Analysis and Valuation program offers Marshall MBA students intensive instruction and training to successfully compete in today's competitive global financial markets. The program is a joint effort between the USC Marshall Finance and Business Economics Department, the Leventhal School School of Accounting, and the Marshall Center for Investment Studies. Their sponsorship draws in areas of concentration through courses in financial accounting, financial analysis, valuation, credit analysis, and financial instruments and markets.

Units earned in the process of completing the certificate can be applied to the MBA as long as the certificate is completed before or at the same time as the MBA. Successful completion of the Graduate Certificate program is documented on the graduate's USC transcript and acknowledged with a certificate (diploma) issued by the University of Southern California.

NOTE: Completion of this program requires a formal application and admission. For more information click here.
ALSO NOTE: The Graduate Certificate in Financial Analysis and Valuation is an academic certificate, NOT a professional licensing or "certification" program. It is NOT the same thing as the Chartered Financial Analyst Review Program. For more information about that program please visit www.marshall.usc.edu/faculty/fbe/resources.

 

Real Estate Finance

Description of careers for which concentration prepares students:
The real estate finance concentration prepares students for the wide range of careers associated with real estate: real estate development, valuation and financing of real estate projects, and securitization of real estate assets. This training is relevant to students planning on corporate careers with financial institutions (banks, insurance companies, and investment banks) providing real estate financing real estate developers, or corporations with major real estate holdings or activities. It is also excellent training for students anticipating entrepreneurial careers involving real estate investment.

Description of the academic content and requirements for concentration:
Two required courses establish a foundation in real estate planning, valuation, and current developments in real estate financing. An additional two courses allow students to expand their preparation into deeper understanding of current issues in real estate markets and the market environment within which real estate transactions occur.

Required for Concentration (Both of the following):

  • FBE-589: Mortgages, Mortgage-Backed Securities and Markets
  • FBE-591: Real Estate Finance and Investment (3 units)
     [Note: RED-542 Finance of Real Estate Development (3 units) duplicates FBE-591 and cannot be applied to the M.B.A.in lieu of FBE-591]

Electives (Choose two of the following):

  • FBE-565: Economics of Urban Land Use: Feasibility Studies
  • FBE-570: Advanced Topics in Real Estate Finance (3 units)
  • FBE-588: Advanced Real Estate Law (3 units)

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Nine-unit Limit:
Students earning the Master of Business Administration (M.B.A.) degree are expected to complete their graduate electives within the Marshall School of Business by taking courses that begin with prefixes ACCT, BAEP, BUCO, FBE, GSBA, IOM, MKT, and MOR.  Unless the student is completing a dual degree program, up to nine units of graduate-level course work may be completed at USC outside the Marshall School of Business for elective credit, providing the courses chosen are listed in the Marshall EKG.  A student may take courses published in the ECG without petitioning, but the total number of ECG-listed non-business units completed without prior permission may not exceed nine (9) units.  A student who wishes to have either (a) more than 9 non-Marshall units or (b) a non-Marshall course that is not listed in the ECG applied to the MBA must request permission and receive approval to do so prior to taking the course.  A request for an exception must be submitted via petition (Marshall General Petition Form) to the student's MBA program office.  Only courses beginning with the Marshall prefixes may be applied to the MBA portion of a dual degree program.

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