The finance specialization is designed to meet the growing demand of investment firms, venture capital companies, real estate firms, and major corporations for technically adept experts in finance. Graduates in this highly sought-after specialization enter the marketplace prepared to manage significant financial issues, including portfolio management, sell/lease decision-making, risk hedging, risk management, and debt/equity management.
Kogod finance students examine real world financial issues by analyzing case studies, performing industry analyses, performing country analyses, and producing investment proposals. Students can create and publish equity research reports on publicly held companies in the Washington metropolitan region that are not routinely covered by financial analysts.
Outside the classroom, the Investment Club at Kogod allows students the opportunity to work with their peers to apply the fundamentals of market analysis and portfolio management by investing real funds donated by Kogod.
Most recently, Kogod finance students have interned or taken full-time positions with such top companies as Ameriprise Financial, Booz Allen Hamilton, Fannie Mae, FDIC, Lucent Technologies, Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley,Sallie Mae, and Salomon Smith Barney.
Curriculum
For students entering American University prior to August 2011:
One of the following:
- FIN-468 Intermediate Corporate Finance
- FIN-469 Investment Analysis
Plus three of the following:
- FIN-460 Financial Modeling
- FIN-462 Private Wealth Management
- FIN/IBUS-463 International Finance (formerly IBUS-302)
- FIN-464 Financial Markets & Institutions
- FIN-465 Derivative Securities
- REAL-467 Real Estate Finance & Economics
- FIN-468 Intermediate Corporate Finance (if not taken as first requirement)
- FIN-469 Investment Analysis (if not taken as first requirement)
For students entering American University August 2011 or after:
- FIN-468 Intermediate Corporate Finance
- FIN-469 Investment Analysis
6 credit hours from the following:
- FIN-460 Financial Modeling
- FIN-462 Private Wealth Management
- FIN/IBUS-463 International Finance (formerly IBUS-302)
- FIN-464 Financial Markets & Institutions
- FIN-465 Derivative Securities
- REAL-467 Real Estate Finance & Economics
- FIN-471 Quantitative Methods in Finance
- FIN-472 Fixed Income
Plus 3 credit hours from the courses above or from the following:
- ACCT-340 Intermediate Accounting I
- ECON-301 Intermediate Macroeconomics
- ECON-322 Introduction to Econometrics
- ECON-341 Public Economics
- ECON-345 Introduction to Game Theory
- ECON-346 Competition, Regulation, and Business Strategies
- ECON-523 Applied Econometrics I
- FIN/REAL-475 Real Estate Management and Development
