Northeastern University's online Master of Science in Finance consists of the courses below.
Core Courses
Analysis of Financial Institutions and Markets
Introduces the domestic and international financial system and the institutions within it. Develops data and quantitative analysis tools utilized for economic and financial modeling and analysis. Emphasis is on regression analysis and its application, including how to build and interpret statistical models. Topics include the major types of financial institutions that operate within the global economy and the financial instruments employed by them; how exchange rates, interests rates, and security prices are determined and how they affect the global economy; and how governments and central banks impact economic and financial conditions.
Finance Seminar
Structures discussion of current topics in the finance literature. Students read and present the works of leading researchers. Topics are broad and may cover various areas of corporate finance, investments, and institutions. Students also complete an original project emphasizing current methodologies of analysis. Prereq.
Financial Strategy
Develops financial, analytical, and communication skills necessary to develop and implement a financial strategy consistent with firm value creation in a dynamic environment. Stresses the impact of ethical and legal considerations, global markets, and technological innovation on efficient economic outcomes. Emphasizes written and oral communication skills. Upon completion of this course, students should be able to identify and analyze a firm’s strategic opportunities and propose a suitable financial strategy that is consistent with firm value creation.
Financial Theory and Policy
Covers the fundamentals of financial decision making. Introduces students to the basic framework of corporate finance. Topics include tools and applications of financial asset valuations, the risk-return tradeoff, modern portfolio theory, methods of calculating the risk of financial assets, tools and applications for analyzing a firm’s capital investment decisions, capital structure and dividend policy issues, theory and evidence concerning corporate restructuring, such as mergers and hostile takeovers, and issues concerning international financial management and the legal, ethical, and regulatory environment of financial management.
International Finance Management
Develops specific concepts, policies, and techniques for the financial management of the multinational firm. Topics include operation of the foreign exchange markets, foreign exchange risk management, sources and instruments of international financing, foreign direct investment and the management of political risk, multinational capital budgeting, and financing control systems for the multinational firm.
Investment Analysis
Familiarizes students with domestic and international financial markets and the securities traded therein. Discusses a variety of techniques for valuation of financial assets and relies heavily on quantitative methods. Critically analyzes such qualitative concepts as market efficiency, intrinsic value, and risk. The contents of this course, descriptive, theoretical, and applied, should provide students with the ability to build unique valuation models to suit the particular investment alternative they wish to scrutinize. Also provides students with an understanding of how investment theory and investment practice relate.
Elective Courses
Business Turnarounds
Concentrates on the diagnosis, prescription, and implementation of actions pertinent to business turnarounds, troubled companies, workouts, bankruptcies, and liquidations. Case studies and readings guide the student through the maze of financial, ethical, legal, general business, and strategic aspects of turnarounds, culminating in the student evaluating and developing a turnaround plan.
Financial Risk Management
Provides an overview of all of the hedging markets and hedging instruments. Explores specific hedging use of options, forwards, futures, swaps, and options on futures. Focuses on advanced financial risk management of interest rates, currency rates, equity returns, and fixed income returns. Students use readings and case problems to study when and how to use hedging instruments to alter a portfolio’s risk exposure.
Fixed Income Securities and Risk
Exposes students to theory, applications, and evidence concerning highly sensitive interest rate products. Discusses recent developments in pension fund management, asset/liability management, duration matching, "gap" management, concurrent interest rate and exchange rate management, and other important issues now confronting domestic and international financial and corporate management. Studies how to customize a risk management program.
Investment Banking
Discusses policy, strategy, and administration of financial services firms. Topics include issuance of securities, the service function within financial services, pricing a negotiated issue of common stock or competitive bid issue, and meeting capital requirements of a securities firm.
Mergers and Acquisitions
Explores the environments that have recently given rise to a large number of corporate mergers and the business factors underlying these corporate combinations. Examines the financial, managerial, accounting, and legal factors affecting mergers. Studies how to appraise a potential merger and structure a merger on advantageous terms.
Portfolio Management
Develops portfolio construction, revision, and performance measurement. Highlights portfolio construction in an efficient capital market. Topics include risk-return analysis, the effects of diversification on risk reduction, and the costs of inflation, taxes, and transaction costs on fixed income and equity security portfolios. Examines financial models of capital asset pricing as the basis for the analysis of portfolios from the institutional investor’s viewpoint.
Real Estate Finance and Investment
Provides students with a comprehensive understanding of real estate finance. Emphasizes factors affecting real estate investment. Topics include valuation (appraisal), market analysis, development, taxation, ownership types, short-term financing, mortgage markets, and investment strategies. Designed for students interested in a general overview of real estate finance, as well as those intending to pursue a career in the real-estate field.
Valuation and Value Creation
Explores recent developments in financial management and financial analysis through the use of modern finance theory to make capital allocation decisions that lead to long-run value maximization for the corporation. Focuses on applications and financial model building, risk analysis for valuation applications, and business strategies to measure and manage corporate value and value creation. Topics are relevant to value consultants, corporate managers, and securities analysts.
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