Course List - Master of Finance
The 30-credit Master of Finance program is made up of 6 credits of course work per semester across five semesters. Each course is offered in a seven-week term, meaning that for most of the program you will take one course per term, with two terms in each semester.
Almost all of the courses are offered asynchronously online. The only exception to this is in the second semester where you will attend a one-week residency at the Penn State Great Valley campus near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, soon after the start of the fourth course (BUSAD 526).
| Year 1—Semester 1 | |||
| BUSAD 525 | Quantitative Methods in Finance Study of quantitative methods used in financial and investment analysis and modeling. |
3 credits | Term 1 |
| FIN 508 | Analysis of Financial Markets Analysis of factors affecting price determination in financial markets. |
3 credits | Term 2 |
| Year 1—Semester 2 | |||
| ACCTG 512 | Financial Accounting Theory and Reporting Problems Measurement and reporting of financial information for external purposes, with particular attention to current problems in asset and income measurement. |
3 credits | Term 1 |
| On-campus residency In this interactive residency, you will work closely with the program faculty to receive hands-on, model-building experience, using a complex simulation tool. You will analyze a range of possible financial risk outcomes and the probabilities that they will occur for any choice of action. The residency will include four days of coursework for BUSAD 526. |
Term 2 | ||
| BUSAD 526 | Current Issues in Corporate Finance Finance topics involving strategic financial decisions, including capital structure and cost of capital, financial forecasting, valuation, and corporate control. |
3 credits | Term 2 |
| Year 1—Semester 3 | |||
| FIN 505 | Multinational Managerial Finance Analysis of the international aspects of managerial finance. Emphasis on the environmental and institutional factors influencing capital acquisition and allocation. |
3 credits | Term 1 |
| FIN 506 | Portfolio Theory and Policy Rigorous examination and analysis of asset-holder behavior under conditions of risk and uncertainty. |
3 credits | Term 2 |
| Year 2—Semester 4 | |||
| FIN 513 | Speculative Markets Analysis of derivative securities covering options, forwards, futures, OTC derivatives; topics include valuation, trading, hedging. Involves computer analysis. |
3 credits | Term 1 |
| FIN 532 | Financial Decision Processes Financial decision making under uncertainty; positive and normative models and current issues in financial management. |
3 credits | Term 2 |
| Year 2—Semester 5 | |||
| FIN 597/BUSAD 528 | Mergers and Acquisitions Survey of drivers of success in M&A and develop knowledge and skills in the design and evaluation of M&A transactions. |
3 credits | Term 1 |
| BUSAD 585 | Research in Security Valuation Analysis and valuation of equity investments. |
3 credits | Term 2 |