Course Descriptions and Typical Program of Study

For more information, see the Graduate Catalog.

Fin 600 Doctoral Research and Dissertation: (3-15) P/NP only.

Fin 641 Seminar in Finance I: Capital Markets: (1-3) Capital markets, utility theory, asset pricing, theory of the firm, capital structure, dividend policy.  Prereq: Consent of instructor. S/NC or letter grade.

Fin 651 Seminar in Corporate Finance: (1-3) Recent theoretical and empirical developments in micro-finance literature.  Topics vary.   Prereq: 641 and consent of instructor. May be repeated.  Maximum 6 hrs. S/NC or letter grade.

Fin 652 Seminar in Asset Pricing and Markets: (1-3) Recent theoretical and empirical developments in finance.  Topics vary.  Prereq: 641 and consent of instructor.  May be repeated.  Maximum 6 hrs. S/NC or letter grade.

Fin 653 Seminar in Financial Institutions: (1-3) Theoretical and empirical studies of financial institutuions.  Topics: modeling banking firms, efficiencies in banking, bank lending arrangements and asymmetric information, international competitiveness, and deposit insurance.  Prereq: 641 and consent of instructor.  May be repeated.  Maximum 6 hrs. S/NC or letter grade.

Fin 654 Special Topics: (1-3) Recent developments in finance.  Topics vary.  Prereq: 641 and consent of instructor.  May be repeated.  Maximum 6 hrs. S/NC or letter grade.

Tentative Program for Ph.D. Students (Collateral Area: Economics) Hours credit are in parentheses.

 

FALL

SPRING

YEAR 1

 

 

 

ECON 511     (3)

(Microeconomics I)

ECON 512    (3)

(Microeconomics II)

ECON 581    (3)

(Mathematical  Economics)

ECON 582    (3)

(Econometrics I)

FIN 641         (3)

FIN 65x        (3)

FIN 599         (1)

FIN 599        (2)

 

Summer of Year 1--write summer paper and take Micro collateral exam

YEAR 2

 

 

ECON 513    (3)
(Macroeconomics)

FIN 654        (3)
(Special Topics) 

ECON 583    (3)
(Econometrics II)

ECON 682   (3)
(Econometrics III)

FIN 65x        (3)

FIN 65x        (3)
  Summer of Year 2--take comprehensive exam

YEAR 3

 

 

Elective        (3)

        Elective        (3)

FIN  600       (6)

FIN  600       (6)

Summer of Year 3 -- 3 hours of FIN 600

YEAR 4

FIN  600       (6)
 Elective       (3)

FIN  600       (9)

 NOTES:
1) FIN 65x represents any of FIN 651, FIN 652, or FIN 653.   The Department offers one of these seminars per term, and they may be taken in any order.  FIN 600 is dissertation research and may count as the elective in year 3.  However, once a student enrolls for dissertation research, he or she must remain enrolled continuously until graduation, including summers.  Thus, intense work on the dissertation begins at the latest by the fall of Year 3.

 2) Students who choose a collateral area other than economics need not take Econ 513, but must substitute at least 9 hours in a field approved by the Ph.D. Committee.

A research paper is written during the summer after satisfactory completion of Year 1.  The microeconomics collateral exam is is also given at the end of the summer following this first year.  Comprehensive exams are administered at the end of the summer after satisfactory completion of Year 2.