This course sharpens corporate valuation and corporate financing skills in a wide variety of cases and contexts. It is intended to extend the theoretical knowledge gained in financial management GCOM 7060 to numerous applied settings, including mergers and acquisitions, initial public offerings, capital structure decisions, and leveraged buyout/private equity investments. Prerequisite: Restricted to M.S. in Commerce students.
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M.S. in Commerce | Academics
Finance Track
Careers in finance focus on matters of money, profitability, and resource allocation. A wide array of career choices are available within the financial services industry, including but not limited to capital markets, investment banking, asset management, wealth management, financial consulting, and transaction services. Each requires a slightly different skill set and offers potentially very different work environments.
In the Finance Track, you will gain a deep and comprehensive understanding of global financial markets and systems, along with the critical financial, analytical, and decision-making methods and tools needed for success in the field.
Finance Track Course Descriptions
Students will take GCOM 7710 and 12 credits from an approved list of primary track courses.
GCOM 7710: Corporate Valuation and Financing (3 credits)
GCOM 7510: Special Topics in Finance (3 credits)
New graduate Commerce course: Special Topics in Finance
GCOM 7720: Financial Trading Analytics (3 credits)
This course teaches analytical consulting competencies focused on the fast-paced financial industry: 1) process automation: automating repetitive tasks to increase individual productivity; 2) financial business intelligence: accessing and manipulating information stored in organizational databases; 3) financial engineering: designing and implementing financial algorithms that make financial decisions.
GCOM 7730: Mergers & Acquisitions, Private Equity, and Restructuring (3 credits)
GCOM 7730 explores three main topics: (1) mergers & acquisitions, (2) non-distressed corporate restructurings in the form of leveraged buyouts and private equity, and (3) distressed corporate restructuring/bankruptcy. The course is largely case-based and extends concepts and principles learned in GCOM 7060 and GCOM 7710 to practical applications. Students also participate in two negotiation exercises during the term.
GCOM 7750: Asset Management (3 credits)
This course develops the concepts and tools needed to build and analyze investment portfolios for a wide range of investors, including sovereign wealth funds (SWFs), pensions, endowments, family funds, high-net-worth individuals, and even small investors, taking into account a broad array of investing objectives. The course covers risk/return tradeoffs and valuation in the equity, fixed income, and derivative markets.
GCOM 7760: Real Estate Investments and Analysis (3 credits)
This course develops an analytical framework by which individuals and institutions can make real estate investment and financing decisions. It emphasizes theory, concept building, financial modeling, and practical real estate applications and uses the case method to illustrate the implementation of an analytical framework.
Electives
Students will also choose from a set of electives. Course availability is subject to program approval.
COMM 5559: New Course in Commerce (1 to 3 credits)
This course provides the opportunity to offer new topics in the subject of commerce.
GCOM 7215: Python for Data Science (1.5 credits)
The course provides an overview of the fundamentals necessary to conduct data analytics with Python, including understanding Python objects, data types, structures, packages, and data flow statements and reading, writing, manipulating, and plotting data. Students perform predictive analytics via machine learning using industry-standard packages.
GCOM 7216: Data Aggregation and Visualization (1.5 credits)
Students learn how to communicate effectively with data and data structures. This includes how to evaluate potential sources of data; aggregate data values from multiple sources; and compile creative, professional, and descriptive visualizations from that data. Students learn the best type of chart or figure for different situations and how to format those visualizations to maximize the impact to the viewer.
GCOM 7251: Essentials of Project Management (1.5 credits)
This course provides students with an introduction to how to effectively fill the role of project manager. It covers a blend of conceptual knowledge and practical skills necessary for the effective management of complex projects.
GCOM 7252: Consulting (1.5 credits)
This course provides a broad overview of management consulting and other related advisory services professions while also helping students develop skills that are broadly applicable in these professions as well as in other fields (business, politics, not-for-profit, etc.). Working both individually and in teams, students gain an appreciation of what makes consulting and advisory services unique from other areas of business.
Disclosure: The information contained on this website is for informational purposes only. The Undergraduate Record and Graduate Record represent the official repository for academic program requirements.
Hiring Companies
Accenture
Adams Capital
Bain & Company
Cambridge Associates
Capital One
Citigroup
Credit Suisse
DC Energy
EY
Goldman Sachs
Harris Williams
IBM
JP Morgan
KPMG
McKinsey & Company
Merrill Lynch
Morgan Stanley
Oracle
PricewaterhouseCoopers
RBC Capital Markets
Wells Fargo
Finance Track
Alumni Profiles
Sarah Colburn '14
Backdrop, Co-Founder
"My M.S. in Commerce education has been so helpful in founding Backdrop. Exposure to so many facets of business has been pivotal: from crafting a personal narrative and learning to write emails and memos to touring factories and ports. They have all been a tremendous help throughout my career."
Thomas de la Hunty '18
Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Investment Banking Analyst
"My most compelling class was Investment Banking. This class is especially relevant to my career and contained an interesting blend of theoretical considerations and compelling case studies into famous moments in financial history, where we could apply the theories and topics learned to real-world situations."
Bryce Keblish ’20
Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Global Capital Markets Analyst
"I highly recommend this program to anyone who wants an opportunity to rebrand themselves if coming from a non-business background."
Alexandra Lopez '16
Capital One, Product Owner
"After completing my economics major, I felt that I had a general, theoretical idea of business, but not what I needed to know in order to land a job, or succeed in that job. The Finance Track really taught me the quantitative skills I use today, and the M.S. in Commerce Program as a whole gave me the necessary experience presenting and actively contributing in discussions, as well as collaborating and working with others."