FINANCE SPECIALIZATION

OVERVIEW

The Finance specialization prepares you for a career planning and managing organizational resources across the nonprofit, public, and private sectors. The program combines theory with skill-based tools and frameworks so that students graduate with the knowledge and experience that are prerequisites for a successful career.

In public service organizations, finance is practiced though both a management and policy lens. That's why in this specialization you’ll study the field of finance from both an internal managerial perspective (financial management) and an external policy perspective (public finance). Students interested in a deep dive into one or the other are encouraged to explore a focus area. You’ll learn an array of analytical tools: economics, budgeting, financial accounting, capital financing, investment management, debt management, and financial statement analysis. When you graduate, you'll be ready to fill a wide range of roles—our graduates are budget analysts, consultants, finance directors, grants managers, program auditors, hospital administrators, bond raters, and more.

PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS

Below is an overview of the required coursework. For detailed information, view the program checksheet

DEGREE CORE requirementS

Students must complete the following courses:

CORE-GP.1011, Statistical Methods
CORE-GP.1018, Microeconomics
CORE-GP.1020, Management and Leadership
CORE-GP.1021, Financial Management
CORE-GP.1022, Introduction to Public Policy

specialization requirements

Students must complete the following courses:

PADM-GP.2140, Public Economics
PADM-GP.2142, Financial Management II

Students must also choose and complete one of the following (and are encouraged to complete both):

PADM-GP.2147, Corporate Finance and Public Policy
PADM-GP.2902, Multiple Regression and Introduction to Econometrics

Electives

Focus Areas

Focus Areas are optional groupings of courses to help you choose electives. You can go deeper in your specialization and develop more advanced skills by choosing electives within the specialization-related focus areas below. To pursue depth in a focus area we suggest completing 9 credits. To pursue breadth, you may also choose electives across focus areas. 

Public Economics and Finance

This focus area allows students to apply the principles of economics to specific sectors, topics, or issues concerned specifically with resource allocation, generation, and distribution.

PADM-GP.2138, Macroeconomics: Policy Challenges for the US & Global Economy
PADM-GP.2139, Behavioral Economics and Public Policy Design
PADM-GP.2149, Cost-Benefit Analysis
PADM-GP.2150, Financial Markets and Crises
PADM-GP.2203, Economics of International Development
PADM-GP.2245, Financing Local Government in Developing Countries
PADM-GP.2441, The Economics of Education: Policy and Finance
URPL-GP.2608, Urban Economics
PADM-GP.4191, Understanding the Role Federal Tax Credits Play in the Affordable Housing & Renewable Energy Sectors
HPAM-GP.4830, Health Economics: Principles
HPAM-GP.4831, Health Economics: Topics in Domestic Health Policy

Financial Management

This focus area allows students to concentrate on planning and controlling organizational resources. This focus area is designed to cover both short-term operating and long-term capital financing topics applied to nonprofits, governments, and healthcare organizations.

PADM-GP.2143, Government Budgeting
PADM-GP.2144, Debt Financing and Management for Public Organizations
PADM-GP.2147, Corporate Finance and Public Policy
PADM-GP.2148, Introduction to Structured Finance: Strategies for Municipal, Health and Corporate Finance
URPL-GP.2639, Real Estate Finance
PADM-GP.2902, Multiple Regression and Introduction to Econometrics
PADM-GP.4191, Understanding the Role Federal Tax Credits Play in the Affordable Housing & Renewable Energy Sectors
PADM-GP.4503, Introduction to Data Analytics for Public Policy, Administration, and Management
PADM-GP.4504, Introduction to Database Design, Management, and Security
HPAM-GP.4840, Financial Management for Health Care Orgs - I: Financial Management and Budgeting
HPAM-GP.4841, Financial Management for Health Care Orgs - II: Capital Financing and Advanced Issues

School-wide Focus Areas

In addition to the courses in the specialization-related elective focus areas above, to gain a breadth of knowledge and skills you may also wish to choose electives from across course offerings, including from the school-wide focus areas or a different specialization. Relevant school-wide focus areas for you to consider as a Finance student include, Cities; Data Science and Management; Philanthropy and Fundraising, and more. 

CAPSTONE

The Capstone Program, a year-long consulting or research project, puts you out in the world resolving a problem or conducting an analysis for a client organization.

Students must complete the following courses:

CAP-GP.3401 & 3402 Capstone: Advanced Projects in Policy, Management, Finance, and Advocacy I & II

or

CAP-GP 3148 & 3149 Capstone: Advanced Research Projects in Quantitative Analysis I & II

 

Authoritative curriculum information can be found exclusively in the University Bulletin. All other content, including this web-page, is for informational purposes only. You can find the curriculum for this program on this page of the Bulletin.

Finance Faculty

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