Graduate Catalog

2008-09 Academic Year

Finance, Insurance, Real Estate and Law

Business Law, BLAW

5050. Legal, Regulatory and Ethical Environment of Business. 1.5 hours. Introduction to the legal environment of business, with particular emphasis on managerial decision-making. Includes a study of the litigation process and constitutional law; selected areas of private and public law, including government regulation; international dimensions of the legal environment of business, business ethics and the social responsibility of business organizations. Business context is emphasized with a focus on individual and managerial decision-making in response to legal and ethical issues.

5400. Law for Accountants and Managers. 3 hours. A study of and practice in the technique of analyzing law problems and cases affecting accountants and managers. Topics include legal responsibility, business organizations, contracts, debtor-creditor relations, government regulation, uniform commercial code and property rights.

5600. Current Topics in Law. 3 hours. Designed to provide information on the legal environment of specified functional areas as required by need of functional areas and/or changes in the law. May be repeated for credit as topics vary.

5610. Legal Issues in Electronic Commerce. 3 hours. Part of the electronic commerce track in the MBA program. Examination of the emerging law, ethics and public policy applying to computer technology, the Internet, and electronic business and commerce. Prerequisite(s): BLAW 5050, or equivalent with approval of instructor.

5760. Insurance Law. 3 hours. Designed to lead the student into a study of fundamental legal doctrines and concepts applicable to the field of insurance. Includes contract law, parties to the contract, insurable interest, agency powers, waiver and estoppel, warranties, representations and concealments, the rights of the beneficiary and provisions controlling and limiting loss. Pertinent to the life-health and property-liability insurance areas.

5770. Advanced Real Estate Law and Contracts. 3 hours. In-depth study of legal principles governing real estate transactions with an emphasis on promulgated contracts. Topics may include contract law, estates in land, types of ownership, deeds, mortgages, title insurance, agency and homestead.

5900. Special Problems. 1–3 hours. Open to graduate students who are capable of developing a problem independently. Problem chosen by the student and developed through conferences and activities under the direction of the instructor. Prerequisite(s): approved applications for special problems/independent research/dissertation credit must be submitted to the CoB Graduate Programs Office prior to registration.

Finance, FINA

5040. Introduction to Finance and Financial Mathematics. 1.5 hours. Understanding of finance terms, procedures and concepts used by managers in making financial decisions. Basic concepts and techniques of finance; the role of financial markets and institutions, interest rates, inflation and yield curve determinants; analysis and interpretation of financial mathematics to understand the time value of money; and bond and stock valuation models. Course meets the deficiency requirement of finance for MBA candidates and may be counted as part of the graduate program in a field other than business administration. Prerequisite(s): ECON 5000 or equivalent, MATH 1190 or equivalent, or consent of department.

5170. Financial Management. 3 hours. Tools and techniques used and proposed in corporate financial management. Analysis of the investment and financing decisions and the environment in which such decisions are made are covered in readings, case problems and class discussion. Prerequisite(s): ACCT 5020, FINA 5040, ECON 5000, MATH 1190, BCIS 5090, DSCI 5010 or equivalent. Students with 15 credit hours of approved undergraduate finance courses may elect to substitute another 5000-level finance course for this course subject to the approval of the FIREL department master’s advisor. DSCI 5180 and ACCT 5130 are recommended.

5210. Investment Analysis and Management. 3 hours. Economic and industry studies, company analysis, selection of senior securities, theory and application of common stock valuation models, security markets and timing, portfolio management, options and futures markets. Prerequisite(s): FINA 5170 or equivalent; ECON 1100 or 5000 or equivalent; ACCT 2010 or 5020 or equivalent; MATH 1190 or equivalent, or consent of department.

5220. Theory and Application of Financial Derivatives. 3 hours. Theory, valuation and analysis of derivative securities; the use of options, futures and swaps in risk management; current applications to financial engineering and innovation. Prerequisite(s): FINA 5170 and 5210 or equivalents; ECON 1100 or 5000 or equivalent; ACCT 2010 or 5020 or equivalent; MATH 1190 or equivalent.

5230. Portfolio Management and Security Analysis in Investments. 3 hours. Overview of portfolio management and security analysis from the point of view of a trust officer, mutual fund manager, pension fund manager or other manager of securities. Emphasizes the need of financial managers for an understanding of problems, trends and theory of portfolio management. Prerequisite(s): FINA 5210 or consent of instructor.

5310. Advanced Topics in Financial Management. 3 hours. Introduces the student to the use of financial decision models. Also focuses on the application of advanced theoretical models and provides an understanding of the interaction of financial decisions. Prerequisite(s): FINA 5170 or equivalent; ECON 1100 or 5000 or equivalent; ACCT 2010 or 5020 or equivalent; MATH 1190 or equivalent.

5400. Financial Markets and Institutions. 3 hours. The determination of interest rates, their term structure and the relationship with inflation. Management of interest rate risk. Financial instruments and their characteristics. Monetary policy, the Federal Reserve System and regulation. Introduction to the international financial system. Prerequisite(s): FINA 5170 or equivalent; ECON 1100 or 5000 or equivalent; ACCT 2010 or 5020 or equivalent; MATH 1190 or equivalent.

5410. Advanced Management of Financial Institutions. 3 hours. Current problems and issues in the management of financial institutions are covered in readings, case problems and computer simulation models. Prerequisite(s): FINA 5400 or consent of department.

5500. International Financial Management. 3 hours. Analyses of the balance of payments and its impact on domestic economies and currencies. Theories of financing foreign trade and investments. Foreign exchange markets and exchange rate behavior in theory and practice. Assessing exposure to the foreign exchange risk and the use of hedging tools and techniques. Prerequisite(s): FINA 5170 or equivalent; ECON 1100 or 5000 or equivalent; ACCT 2010 or 5020 or equivalent; MATH 1190 or equivalent.

5510. Theory of Finance. 3 hours. Advanced topics in the theory of finance. Topics include decision-making under uncertainty; equilibrium pricing models, capital structure theory; agency theory and the market for corporate control; signaling models; the pricing of contingent claims; current developments and selected readings in the finance literature. Prerequisite(s): FINA 5310 or equivalent; knowledge of differential and integral calculus, matrix algebra and intermediate microeconomics are recommended; or consent of department.

5650. Contemporary Issues in Finance. 3 hours. Current topics as selected by the instructor. May include cases and/or lecture format. Prerequisite(s): consent of instructor. May be repeated for credit.

5700. Integrative Capstone Course in Finance. 3 hours. Integrative cases and/or theory as selected by the instructor. Required for MS finance students. Open to MBA students, but all students must meet prerequisites. Prerequisite(s): FINA 5210, 5310, 5400 and 5500 or consent of department. One or two prerequisites may be taken concurrently.

5800. Internship. 1–3 hours. Supervised work experience in a position related to the student’s career objective that meets the department’s internship requirements. Prerequisite(s): students must meet employer’s requirements and have consent of the department’s master’s advisor.

5900-5910. Special Problems. 1–3 hours each. Open to graduate students who are capable of developing a problem independently. Problem chosen by the student and developed through conferences and activities under the direction of the instructor. Prerequisite(s): approved applications for special problems/independent research/dissertation credit must be submitted to the CoB Graduate Programs Office prior to registration.

6010. Seminar in Business Administration. 3 hours. Covers one or more special fields. Prerequisite(s): approval of the PhD program advisor in the department. May be repeated for credit, and two or more sections may be taken concurrently.

6100. The Theory of Financial Decisions. 3 hours. Examines the theoretical underpinnings of financial decision making. Explores valuation and the impact on firm value of the investment, financing and dividend decisions under conditions of certainty and uncertainty in both perfect and imperfect markets. Prerequisite(s): FINA 5310 and doctoral standing, or consent of department.

6110. Special Topics in Financial Theory. 3 hours. Emphasizes current issues in theoretical finance. Students explore both current and classic literature and engage in individual research on the issues under consideration. Prerequisite(s): FINA 6100 or consent of department.

6900. Special Problems. 1–3 hours. Research by doctoral students in fields of special interest. Includes project research studies and intensive reading programs, accompanied by conferences with professors in fields involved. Prerequisite(s): approved applications for special problems/independent research/dissertation credit must be submitted to the CoB Graduate Programs Office prior to registration.

6910. Independent Doctoral Research. 1–12 hours. Research by doctoral students in fields of special interest. Includes project research studies and intensive reading programs, accompanied by conferences with professors in fields involved. Prerequisite(s): approved applications for special problems/independent research/dissertation credit must be submitted to the CoB Graduate Programs Office prior to registration. May be repeated for credit.

6940. Individual Research. 1–12 hours. Individual research for the doctoral candidate. Prerequisite(s): approved applications for special problems/independent research/dissertation credit must be submitted to the CoB Graduate Programs Office prior to registration. May be repeated for credit.

6950. Doctoral Dissertation. 3, 6 or 9 hours. To be scheduled only with consent of department. 12 hours credit required. No credit assigned until dissertation has been completed and filed with the graduate dean. Doctoral students must maintain continuous enrollment in this course subsequent to passing qualifying examination for admission to candidacy. Prerequisite(s): approved applications for special problems/independent research/dissertation credit must be submitted to the CoB Graduate Programs Office prior to registration. May be repeated for credit.

Real Estate, REAL

5350. Introduction to Real Estate and Investment Analysis. 3 hours. An advanced survey course on real estate, including topics in urban land economics, appraisal, law, finance, taxes and investments. Emphasis is on investment analysis of commercial property.

5400. Advanced Real Estate Valuation. 3 hours. In-depth study, application and evaluation of the theory and methods of residential and income property appraisal. Topics include case study analyses of the market comparison approach, the income capitalization approach and the cost approach to estimating value. Graduate students are required to complete group work, as well as a sequence of approximately ten complete case study solutions and presentations. Prerequisite(s): REAL 5350 or consent of department. (Meets with REAL 4400.)

5440. Advanced Real Estate Finance and Analysis. 3 hours. Emphasis on the financial management of real estate assets in an institutional setting with special attention given to evaluation and control of risk and return trade-off by the decision maker. Additional topics to be included are real estate finance instruments, financing techniques, real estate financing institutions and markets. Prerequisite(s): REAL 5350 or consent of department.

5750. Real Estate Market and Feasibility Analysis. 3 hours. Analysis of financial and non-financial factors influencing the investment feasibility of income-producing property. Prerequisite(s): REAL 5350 or consent of department.

5760. Advanced Real Estate Investments and Analysis. 3 hours. Analysis of commercial real estate investments. Focus is on the theory and methods of investment analysis in respect to tax and financial consequences. Prerequisite(s): REAL 5350 or consent of department.

5780. Seminar in Real Estate Research. 3 hours. Reading and analysis of current real estate literature and research. Topics vary. Prerequisite(s): REAL 5350, 5440 and 5760.

5800. Internship. 3 hours. Supervised work experience in a position related to the student’s career objective that meets the department’s internship requirements. Prerequisite(s): student must meet employer’s requirements and have consent of the department’s advisor.

5900. Special Problems. 1–3 hours. Open to graduate students who are capable of developing a problem independently. Problem chosen by the student and developed through conferences and activities under the direction of the instructor. Prerequisite(s): approved applications for special problems/independent research/dissertation credit must be submitted to the CoB Graduate Programs Office prior to registration.

Risk Management and Insurance, RMIN

5730. Risk Management Techniques for the Business Executive. 3 hours. Designed to acquaint the student with the economic concept of risk; types of risk and techniques for the discovery, evaluation and treatment of pure risk in the business situation. Examination of the nature of insurance and other risk treatment techniques; the role of the risk manager within the firm; industrial accident prevention as related to the risk manager’s role; types of loss and their financial impact on the costs of loss prevention versus its benefits; the risk manager’s relationship with insurers; and current problem areas for risk management today, as time allows.

5770. Employee Benefits and Other Business Uses of Life and Health Insurance. 3 hours. Buy-sell agreements for businesses and life/disability income insurance funding, tax implications, group life, medical expense and disability income insurance plans, health maintenance organizations, pension plans, profit sharing plans, individual retirement accounts, Keogh plans, tax implications and regulation.

5780. Financial and Estate Planning. 3 hours. Designed to prepare students to assist individuals with their financial and estate planning. Study of appropriate strategies, the planning process and pertinent statutes as well as selected tools and techniques utilized in the acquisition, conservation, management and disposition of property. Covers insurance and investment programs, buy-sell agreements, tax planning and shelters, wills, trusts, powers of appointment and other related topics in conjunction with applicable income, gift and estate tax provisions.

5900. Special Problems. 1–3 hours. Open to graduate students who are capable of developing a problem independently. Problem chosen by the student and developed through conferences and activities under the direction of the instructor. Prerequisite(s): approved applications for special problems/independent research/dissertation credit must be submitted to the CoB Graduate Programs Office prior to registration.

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