Master of Finance | Academics

MF 211 ProSeminar
This course, coordinated with the Merage School Career Center, provides students with practical skills for success in the program and future careers in finance by teaching career planning, job search tactics and strategies, resume building, interviewing preparation, approaches to networking, salary negotiation, public speaking and business writing skills.

MF 203A Financial Reporting
Involves the development, analysis and interpretation of financial accounting information for external reporting purposes.

MF 210 Foundations of Finance
This course teaches the foundations of finance. The course begins by teaching financial tools such as time value of money, capital budgeting techniques and cash flow analysis. The course then examines the foundations of investment management. Theory and empirical evidence related to portfolio theory, market efficiency, asset pricing models, factor models and option pricing theory.

MF 240 Financial Research Methodology
This course bridges the gap between theoretical financial models and financial econometrics and empirics. The course explores the strengths and weaknesses of empirical finance and econometrics as well as implement many of the methods based on data the individual has drawn from the market.

MF 241 Risk Management
This course examines modern techniques for managing financial risks. Financial risks are generally classified into market risks, due to movement in financial prices or volatilities, credit risks, due to fact that counterparties are unwilling or unable to fulfill their contractual obligations and operational risks, which arise from human or technical failures.

The course covers measurement techniques for different types of financial risks (equity, fixed income, currency, commodity) and instruments. It also covers tools such as duration, portfolio beta, factor sensitivities, portfolio distribution analysis and value at risk (VAR). We also discuss how risk measurement tools can be used for active management of the risk/return profile of financial institutions.

MF 249 Derivatives
Derivatives are new financial instruments whose value “derives” from the values of other, more basic, underlying assets such as stocks and bonds. The course covers major derivative instruments including forward, futures, swaps and options. Derivatives are widely used for hedging, speculation and arbitrage. The size of this market is several times larger than the global economy. The focus of the course is on understanding the instruments, how to use them, how to price them and basic risk management principles. In particular, the course will show how to implement investment strategies with derivatives. Prerequisite:  MF 210

MF 296 Capstone Course
Students work in teams on an applied finance project, one that is associated with an internship or experiential project. This project should be associated with the area of focus of your electives, as it will illustrate your knowledge and expertise, which you can reference when speaking to potential employers.

Wealth Management - Pathway

252: Wealth Management

243: Bonds & Fixed Income

242: Portfolio Management

290: Real Estate Transactions

244: Multinational Finance

290: Fundamentals of Financial Analysis (CFA)

Real Estate - Pathway

290: Real Estate Transactions

246D: Real Estate Development Process

246F: Seminar in Real Estate Enterprise

290: Corporate Real Estate

290: Applied RE Secuirty Analysis

Quantitative Finance and Risk Management - Pathway

290: Programming and Data Analysis

290: Application of Machine Learning

290: Financial Econometrics

243: Bonds & Fixed Income

290: Financial Institutions

290: Financial Innovation

Fintech - Pathway

245: Fintech

290: Financial Institutions

253: Venture Capital and Private Equity

290: Financial Innovation

290: Programming and Data Analysis

290: Application of Machine Learning

Corporate Finance - Pathway

290: Financial Statement Analysis

247: Cases in Corporate Financial Management

248: Corporate Valuation

290: Fundamentals of Financial Analysis (CFA)

243: Bonds & Fixed Income

244: Multinational Finance

250: Mergers and Acquisitions

Investment Banking - Pathway

290: Financial Institution

250: Mergers and Acquisitions

253: Venture Capital and Private Equity

290: Financial Statement Analysis

247: Cases in Corporate Financial Management

248: Corporate Valuation

1. Suggested at least three electives taken for each pathway.
2. An elective should only be counted once for a pathway.
3. Electives taken from other programs (eg. MBA, MIE, MPAC, MSBA) may be counted on a case-by-case basis

• Advanced Derivatives
• Behavioral Finance
• Financial Innovation
• Corporate Valuation
• Investments
• Wealth Management
• Venture Capital & Private Equity
• Financial Econometrics
• FinTech
• Programming and Data Analytics
• Machine Learning
• Fundamentals of Financial Analysis

• Pacific Life 1 - A Large financial services and life insurance company. Investment Division. Develop key indicators to assist in developing forecast for economic recession.
• Viasat - Communications Provider of Satellite Broadband Services and Secure Networking Systems (Military and Commercial Markets)- Develop and compare productivity related metrics among key competitors to assist in determining operational efficiency and profitability within the competitive landscape.
• Roth Capital - Relationship-driven, full-service investment bank that provides strategic and financial advisory services to emerging growth companies. Business development for Buy or Sell-Side Advisory Engagements.
• BNY Mellon Wealth Management - Large Banking and Wealth Management Firm. The project can be a combination of a or b below. The scope can be clarified further with Company Execs.
• Motive Energy - Full service, self-performing EPC (Engineer, procure, construct) infrastructure solutions provider for the Wireless, Wireline, and telecoms industry. Infrastructure Services Division. Prepare market research and refine price model and develop standard pricing proposal template for Network Operations Center (NOC) services.
• Illumination Foundation - IF is a social services non-profit whose mission is to disrupt the cycle of homelessness by providing housing and healthcare services to the most vulnerable segment of the homeless population, including children, seniors, and medically fragile individuals. Finance Department capacity building project.
• Gala Capital Partners - Family Investment Company that invests in restaurant franchisors. Project involves analysis for expanding platform for investing in other franchise verticals (non-restaurant such as beauty, pet, home services, car washes).
• INmune Bio - Clinical stage biotech company focused on developing drugs for patients’ immune system. Team will prepare revenue/pricing model and forecasts for a new drug to determine how to monetize potential whether licensing, partnership with a larger company, or an outright sale.
• Sonnet Technologies - Leading provider of PC card expansion systems, external graphic solutions, media readers, docks, ethernet adapters and network storage cards. Prepare strategic alternatives pitch for M&A Sell-side Advisory Engagement.
• Lifelong Learning Administration Corp - 2^nd Largest Non-Profit educational service organization in the nation. They provide support to schools in the areas of operations, financial, communications, legal, compliance and educational services. Project involves recommending solutions to provide an automated and integrated planning/budgeting process as well as developing efficient methods to track financial information compared to the budget.
• Public Media Group of So. California (PMGSC) - PBS affiliate in So. Cal operating 2 primary Linear Broadcast channels of KCET and PBS So Cal – Project involves helping with long term strategic planning for television and digital media business to insure sustainable growth in a rapidly changing media landscape.
• Western Digital - Provider of Data Storage Solutions - Pricing Tier and Product Placement framework across all regions and brands in the distribution channel (focused on HDD products).
• ConsumerDirect, Inc - B-2-B and B-2-C leading-edge platform that integrates consumers with their banks, creditors, and other institutions. Assist in development of financial analytics in support of financial planning process.

• Pacific Life
• Viasat
• First America Trust
• Tech Coast Angels (TCA)
• Pattison Group
• JP Morgan Private Bank
• Finfare
• BNY Mellon Wealth Management
• RIA Financial Services
• National Community Investment Fund (NCIF)
• KPMG
• Motive Energy
• FundBlackFounders
• Illumination Foundation
• Diamond Mattress

• Pacific Life - Assist in developing reporting tools that become a central part of pricing and competitive analysis
• Pacific Life - Develop a flexible platform and querying tool that can be used by the investment division to highlight portfolio similarities and differences between the firm’s investment portfolios and other large competitors
• Viasat - ESG Reporting and Peer Benchmarking. Create a framework that allows measurement, tracking progress towards industry standard ESG goals
• First American Trust - Review and communicate sensitivity of revenue/volume changes to interest rates and mortgage rates.
• Tech Coast Angels - Develop best practices and key performance indicators (KPIs) for sustainable and successful fund management
• Pattison Group - Business Development for Buy or Sell-side Engagements
• JP Morgan Private Bank - Develop key research for business development within local/regional minority communities
• Finfare - Determine the feasibility and risk associated with developing in-house lending capabilities for its customer base
• BNY Mellon Wealth Management - Prepare analysis of contribution to portfolio risk/return profile given performance of hedge funds in the categories of long/short, absolute return, and managed futures (Macro) and other alternative assets
• RIA Financial Services - Review of existing financial models and determine if there is a “one size fits all” model to incorporate most of the deal proposals in support of growth initiatives
• National Community Investment Fund (NCIF) - Review strategic alternatives for organization with the growth of Fintech and large sources of funding for minority owned banks
• KPMG - AI driven insights on ESG policies, opportunities, and challenges of enhancing diversity in corporate board rooms
• Motive Energy - Prepare market research and assist in development of new pricing models for NaaS (Network as a Service) using 5G mesh networks for data management for customer base
• FundBlackFounders - Develop ESG related research to assist in highlighting funding decisions for charitable funds and efficiency and effectiveness in capital raising and business growth for minority owned businesses
• Illumination Foundation - Develop financial model for financial reporting and organization decision making
• Diamond Mattress - Analyze current accounting and reporting systems and prepare a financial model for pricing decisions