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Department: Finance + Business Economics

  • Finance and Business Economics

    Finance and Business Economics

    Faculty and students in the Finance and Business Economics Department examine economic decision-making and the role of markets in the allocation of real and financial resources. Using perspectives from both finance and economics, our faculty illuminates issues in corporate finance, investments, speculative and financial markets, real estate, insurance, banking, industrial organization, taxation, and in the making of related public policies. We place equal emphasis on primary theory and its application to the real problems that practitioners face when doing business.

DEGREES + NEW COURSES

  • BS Business Administration with Emphasis in Finance (BFIN)

  • The Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with an emphasis in Finance provides specialized skill sets for students wishing to work in finance industry. The degree signals to potential employers that the graduate is ready to perform complex tasks involving finance, economics and state-of-the-art computer modelling.

    COURSE CATALOGUE BS Business Administration with Emphasis in Finance (BFIN)

New Courses

  • An abstract representation of blockchain.

    FBE 499 – Introduction to Decentralized Finance (DeFi) (2.0 Unit)

    At the center of DeFi is a network system that relies upon blockchains. The course will then begin with a brief introduction to the structure of blockchains used in finance. To better grasp how a financial application in blockchain works, we will develop in class simple computer codes that develop some financial applications.

  • Two bitcoin sitting on a laptop displaying a graph.

    FBE – Blockchain: Crypto, Web3 and the Future of Business and Finance (2.0 Unit)

    Through practical application, students are exposed to emerging business models enabled by blockchain technology. Key discussion topics include decentralized finance, non-fungible tokens, Web3, DAOs, and the metaverse.

  • A female-presenting executive in a meeting.

    FBE 499 – Quantitative Investment Analysis (4.0 Unit)

    Modern investment management is increasingly quantitative in nature, and investment strategies are more and more determined by the output of data-driven models rather than the subjective views of analysts and portfolio managers. Students will learn how to build, test, and implement the types of models in use today by quantitative asset managers. This course focuses on the prediction of asset returns, and to a lesser extent asset volatilities, with the goal of constructing profitable investment strategies.

INSIGHT + ANALYSIS

ALL INSIGHT + ANALYSIS

NEWS + EVENTS

ALL NEWS + EVENTS

FACULTY

FULL-TIME FACULTY

  • Scott Abrams

    Scott Abrams
    • Academic Director for the Full-Time MBA Program
    • Professor of Clinical Finance and Business Economics

    Scott Abrams is a Professor of Clinical Finance and Business Economics at the USC Marshall School of Business. He specializes in corporate finance, financial analysis and valuation, and portfolio management. Professor Abrams teaches these subjects in the MBA, MS Finance, and Undergraduate Programs. He is a two-time winner of the Golden Apple Teaching Award for the Full-Time MBA Core Program (2016 and 2021), a winner of the Golden Apple Teaching Award for Undergraduate Electives (2023), and winner of the Golden Apple Teaching Award for Graduate Electives (2024). He has been recognized with other awards including the Evan C. Thompson Teaching & Learning Innovation Award (2024). In addition, he serves as the Academic Director for the Full-Time MBA Program.

  • Kenneth R. Ahern

    Kenneth R. Ahern
    • Associate Professor of Finance and Business Economics

    Kenneth Ahern is an Associate Professor at the Marshall School of Business and a Faculty Research Fellow at the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER). His research is distinguished by the study of networks to study how economic outcomes spread from one agent to another through interactions, including interactions among industries, individuals, and information sharing. His research has been published in leading finance and economics journals including the Quarterly Journal of Economics, Journal of Finance, Journal of Financial Economics, and Review of Economics and Statistics, and has been cited in both the popular press and legislative hearings around the world. Before joining USC, Kenneth was on the faculty of the Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan.

  • Rahsan Akbulut

    Rahsan Akbulut
    • Associate Dean for Specialized Masters Programs
    • Clinical Professor in the Department of Finance and Business Economics

    Rahsan Akbulut is a Professor of Clinical Finance & Business Economics. She is also serving as the Associate Dean for Specialized Masters Programs. She previously served as Academic Director of the MBA for Professionals and Mangers as well as the MS Finance Programs. Her teaching focuses on Microeconomics. She is also a recipient of the Golden Apple Teaching Award. Professor Akbulut's research interests include macroeconomics, labor economics, and household and family economics. Prior tore-joining USC, she was a visiting Assistant Professor at Pomona College for 3years. Before her academic career began, Professor Akbulut worked as a financial controller at Daimler AG. in Istanbul, Turkiye.

  • Ayca Altintig

    Ayca Altintig
    • Associate Professor of Clinical Finance

PhD STUDENTS

STUDENT ORGANIZATIONS

  • Marshall Real Estate Finance Association

    MREFA represents the educational, pre-professional and social interests of students pursuing studies and careers in Real Estate Finance at the USC Marshall School of Business. MREFA is open to all USC students, and activities include industry panels and speaker events, weekly general member meetings, technical trainings (ARGUS, underwriting, financial modeling), and possible officetours, treks, and other hands-on professional development opportunities.

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  • Smart Woman Securities

    The University of Southern California Chapter of Smart Woman Securities aims to teach undergraduate members about finance and investments and empower women through financial literacy and independence. As the University of Southern California Chapter, we are one of 25 chapters across the United States in the Smart Woman Securities network. To fulfill our goals of teaching and empowering women, we seek to foster a tight-knit community of female leaders.

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CURRENT COURSES

Below is a selection of current courses taught by the department. For a complete listing of current courses please see the USC SCHEDULE OF CLASSES.

  • BUAD-200
    Economic Foundations for Business
    Examines fundamental concepts of both microeconomics and macroeconomics as they pertain to business and financial decisions. Not available for degree credit to business majors.
  • BUAD-306
    Business Finance
    Financial problems of business enterprise; function of financial manager; sources of funds; instruments, institutions, and practices of finance; problems of financial management using case studies. Recommended Preparation: foundational courses in microeconomics, financial accounting, and business statistics. Duplicates credit in the former BUAD 215x and BUAD 308.
  • BUAD-308
    Advanced Business Finance
    Rigorous coverage of principles and practices of financial management; valuation of cash flows; capital budgeting; risk and return; cost of capital; corporate financial policy. Recommended Preparation: foundational courses in microeconomics, financial accounting, and business statistics. Duplicates credit in the former BUAD 215x and BUAD 306.

CONNECT WITH US

  • CONTACT US

    Phone: 213-740-6515

    Fax: 213-740-6650
    EMAIL

    Office Hours Hoffman Hall (HOH), Room 231
    8:30am - 5:00pm, Monday - Friday

  • COME SEE US

    USC Marshall School of Business
    Finance and Business Economics Department
    HOH Hall - 231, MC-1422
    701 Exposition Boulevard, Ste. 231
    Los Angeles, CA 90089-1422