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Degrees
BS Business Administration (BUAD)
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BS Accounting (ACCT)
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BS Artificial Intelligence for Business (BUAI)
Undergraduate Minors
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Full-Time MBA (FTMBA)
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MS Business Administration (MSBUSAD)
MS Business Analytics (MSBA)
MS Entrepreneurship + Innovation (MSEI)
MS Finance (MSF)
MS Global Supply Chain Management (MSGSCM)
MS Marketing (MSMKT)
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Master of Business for Veterans (MBV)
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Master of Accounting (MAcc)
Master of Business Taxation (MBT)
Master of Business Taxation for Working Professionals (MBT.WP)
PhD Program
Accounting
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Graduate Certificates
GC in Business Analytics
GC in Financial Analysis + Valuation
GC in Management Studies
GC in Marketing
GC in Optimization + Supply Chain Management
GC in Strategy + Management Consulting
GC in Sustainability + Business
GC in Technology Commercialization
GC in Library and Information Management – Online
Executive Education
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Faculty
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Finance + Business Economics (FBE)
Leventhal School of Accounting (ACCT)
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Marketing (MKT)
Institutes + Centers
Randall R. Kendrick Global Supply Chain Institute
Peter Arkley Institute for Risk Management
VanEck Digital Assets Initiative
Institute for Outlier Research in Business
Lloyd Greif Center for Entrepreneurial Studies
Incubate USC
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Neely Center for Ethical Leadership and Decision Making
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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 + 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.
BS Business Administration with Emphasis in Real Estate Finance (BREF)
The Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with an emphasis in Real Estate Finance provides specialized skill sets for students wishing to work in real estate finance and development. The degree signals to potential employers that the graduate is ready to perform complex tasks involving real estate finance, economics and state-of-the-art computer modelling.
Business Economics Minor
This minor is available to students of all majors except business, accounting and economics. This minor teaches students to think strategically about business. It integrates economic ideas with practical applications in the real world. Students who minor in business economics learn to think like leaders in business firms. This minor approaches problems conceptually, proceeding from the general economic theories to specific real world applications. This gives students a higher level of understanding of business opportunities and problems.
Many students in disciplines other than business need economic skills that focus on business. This minor teaches a combination of the ideas, skill sets and methodological approaches used in business economics. Students develop economic reasoning skills related to real-world problems and opportunities.
Business Finance Minor
Non-business/accounting majors can learn about financial concepts, valuation and financial strategy. It provides students with the necessary tools to measure benefits and related costs that will enable them to make better business decisions.
Real Estate Finance Minor
For non-business/accounting or real estate development students, this minor provides students with training in the areas of business, finance, real estate law, design, and urban economics.
The Master of Science in Finance is designed to provide individuals with the necessary skills and knowledge to become experts in finance and thus advance their careers. The program provides individuals with tools, ideas and frameworks that will aid them in applying finance principles to businesses.
The program lays the groundwork with core courses in accounting, economics, finance and statistics. The foundation is supplemented with courses on the role of finance in corporations, investment analysis and portfolio theory, and forecasting and risk. In addition, students personalize their degree with a choice of elective courses covering topics like real estate, mergers and acquisitions, and hedge funds.
This degree is STEM certified.
Graduate Certificate in Financial Analysis + Valuation
The Graduate Certificate in Financial Analysis and Valuation program is designed to enhance the individual’s graduate education through a concentrated curriculum in financial accounting, financial analysis, valuation, credit analysis, and financial instruments and markets.
Master of Business Administration/Master of Real Estate Development (MBA/MRED)
The Master of Business Administration/Master of Real Estate Development dual degree program enables students to expand their skills in planning, land development, marketing, decision sciences, accounting, management, finance and economics. A more sophisticated real estate market makes this diversity of training essential for many students pursuing careers in real estate finance and development.
Completion of the MRED portion of the program requires that students have use of an approved laptop computer and demonstrate calculator and spreadsheet skills; a calculator and/or spreadsheet class is offered online.
BS + MS Progressive Degree
Undergraduate students can utilize thePDP PATHWAY to add a Masters of Science degree to deepen their education starting junior year. This pathway reduces the number of units needed to complete MS degree, in some cases as much as 1/3rd, allowing completion within one additional year depending on program and individual student course-plans.
PDP PATHWAY
New Courses
New course offerings in Finance and Business Economics in 2022 / 2023 academic year.
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.
FBE 499 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.
FBE 499 – Quantitative Investment Analysis (4-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.
FBE 499 Sustainable Finance: Principles and Practice (4-unit)This course covers ESG concepts, their applications, and transition challenges in this context. We will learn how the broad goals for ESG transformation apply to current economic models that were developed in the age of resource abundance. On the environmental front we will cover climate change, land-use adjustment, biodiversity loss, and depletion of natural resources. From a social perspective we will address poverty, hunger, lack of healthcare, and other societal inequalities.
FBE 499 Media and Entertainment Finance: Principles and Practice (4-unit)Under review by Undergraduate Curriculum Committee for Spring 2023.Designed for undergraduate students considering careers in media and entertainment industries as first/second year analysts in investment/commercial banking, investing and investment management, and corporate/operating financial management. We will cover the fundamental constructs of economic frameworks and idiosyncrasies in the fast-evolving global dynamics of the entertainment industry across the breadth of platforms and outlets including film, television, streaming, music, book and magazine publishing, video games, performing arts, sports, and advertising.
FBE 599 Decentralized Finance (1.5 unit)The goal of this course is to introduce students to the growing phenomenon of “decentralized finance,” also known as “DeFi”. Technological advances are at the core of DeFi, as they are for the broader FinTech. An important component of the course is the financial analysis to evaluate and assess the risk-return trade-off of cryptocurrencies and more generally of digital assets. The data analysis will be performed with Python.
FBE 599 Behavioral Finance (3-unit)This course will cover the foundations of behavioral finance -- a large and active subfield of financial economics that imports insights from psychology to better understand financial markets. We will examine the seminal applications of psychological forces to investor behavior, aggregate stock market returns, cross-sectional stock market returns, and corporate decision-making. This course will scheduled as FBE 505 in Spring 2023.
FBE 599 Sustainable Finance: Concepts and Applications (3-unit)The strategic and tactical approach and actions by corporations and other organizations towards environmental, social and governance (ESG) transformation have become mainstream and are accelerating globally. This course is designed towards assessing how the business models will be impacted across a broad spectrum of industries and how the financial industry should incorporate them their risk/return decisions.
FBE 599: Media and Entertainment Finance: Concepts and Applications (3-unit)This course is designed for graduate students considering initiating or advancing their careers in media and entertainment industry as investors, bankers, or executives in corporate/operating financial management. Applications of economic frameworks for evaluating investment and expected returns in the fast-evolving global dynamics of the entertainment industry across all platforms and outlets including film, television, streaming, music, book and magazine publishing, video games, performing arts, sports, and advertising.
INSIGHT + ANALYSIS
Quoted: Larry Harris on CNBC
HARRIS, Professor of Finance and Business Economics, offers advice on preparing for and managing personal finances amidst 2023's continuing inflation concerns and a "rolling recession".
Cited: Emily Nix on Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis
Work by Nix, Assistant Professor of Finance and Business Economics, and co-authors studies the harm caused by workplace violence and how gender influences consequences.
Cited: Arthur Korteweg's in American Investment Council
Work by Arthur Korteweg, Associate Professor of Finance and Business Economics, is featured in a round up of top research examining private capital markets from 2022 in AMERICAN INVESTMENT COUNCIL.
Op-Ed: To Reel in Oil Industry, California Should Examine Its Maintenance Practices – Not Tax Profits
Larry Harris, Professor of Finance and Business Economics, presents an alternative tact California lawmakers could consider to held reduce gas prices for Cal Matters.
Article: Bullish Treasuries Chart Pack
Nikhil Bhatia, Adjunct Professor of Finance and Business Economics, makes the case for the Fed lowering rates in the near term on his Substack.
NEWS + EVENTS
VanEck Digital Assets Initiative Names Co-Directors
Professors Anthony Borquez and James Healy bring deep professional experience and wide networks to the role.
USC Marshall, Price Students Win Cornell International Real Estate Case Competition
It was the first year Trojans were invited to compete…and they took home first place.
Three Questions for James Healy on FTX
USC Marshall expert answers some questions about the FTX bankruptcy…but still believes digital assets are here to stay.
Larry Harris Wins DARPA Grant
The leading markets scholar is chosen for a prestigious government grant.
USC Marshall Hosts Inaugural Blockchain Event
First VanEck Southern California Blockchain Conference convenes visionary blockchain leaders with business students from across the region.
FACULTY
SELECT FACULTY
Scott Abrams is an Associate Professor of Clinical Finance and Business Economics. 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). Prior to joining the faculty at USC Marshall, he worked in the corporate finance groups at Sony Pictures and Warner Bros. and is an alumnus of Deloitte. He is a CFA Charterholder and is a licensed CPA.
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 is an Associate Professor of Clinical Finance & Business Economics. She is also serving as Academic Director of the MBA.PM Program. Rahsan previously served as Academic Director of the MS Finance Program. Her teaching focuses on Microeconomics. She is also a recipient of the Golden Apple Teaching Award.
PhD STUDENTS
STUDENT ORGANIZATIONS
The purpose of GIS is to teach and practice investing with an emphasis on global markets and varied investment classes. The club’s goal is to foster an environment of global knowledge and expertise in the investing sector.
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.
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.
Contact Us
USC Marshall School of BusinessFinance and Business Economics DepartmentHOH Hall - 231, MC-1422701 Exposition Boulevard, Ste. 231Los Angeles, CA 90089-1422
Phone: 213-740-6515 Fax: 213-740-6650 EMAIL
Office Hours Hoffman Hall (HOH), Room 231 8:30am - 5:00pm, Monday - Friday