MBA Finance Tracks
The Finance Department has organized its programs around particular tracks to assist Eller College MBA in Finance students in career planning.
Planning your curricula around these tracks enhances your job opportunities. The department's tracks are designed to help you establish a plan and communicate your plan with recruiters through your resume, cover letters, and interviews.
For details on a particular track of study, please scroll down or link below:
Each track consists of five courses with specific required courses and other select alternatives identified. Other finance elective courses are available and may be selected as general MBA electives, outside of the finance track requirements. An Excel worksheet is available to help students plan their finance courses within each track. Please check the MBA Course listing for a full listing of finance courses.
Investment Management Track
The Investment Management track is designed for students seeking a career in investment management/capital markets. The program will also help students prepare to take the levels I and II Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) exams.
Each year the Finance Department and the Tucson CFA Society identify a number of worthy candidates to receive scholarships for the CFA exam. These scholarships are awarded on a competitive basis.
Coursework
The following three classes are required in this track:
- FIN 516. Financial Statement Analysis for Investment Management (Fall)
- FIN 521. Investment Analysis (Fall)
- FIN 526. Portfolio Management Theory (Spring)
In addition, students pursuing this track must select at least two classes from the following list:
- FIN 513. Valuation Modeling (Spring of 1st year or Fall of 2nd year)
- FIN 514. International Finance (Spring)
- FIN 522. Advanced Risk Management and Derivatives (Fall)
- FIN 523A*. Applied Portfolio Management (Fall)
- FIN 523B*. Applied Portfolio Management (Spring)
- FIN 524. Applied Risk Management (Spring)
- FIN 525. Empirical Finance Methods (Spring)
- FIN 542. Fixed Income (Fall)
Careers
The Investment Management track is designed to enable students to pursue a CFA designation and a career in professional investment management. Good starting positions are available at asset management and brokerage firms, bank trust departments, state and local pension funds, and insurance companies. Careers-in-Finance offers good insight into a few of the types of positions and day-to-day work in these fields.
Fixed Income Track
The fixed income track is designed to familiarize students with the fundamental theoretical concepts and relevant models of fixed income portfolio management and a set of tools to analyze fixed income markets. This track is geared for students with very strong quantitative and analytical skills and technical strengths. The coursework is the most rigorous of the tracks.
Coursework
The following three classes are required in this track:
- FIN 521. Investment Analysis (Fall)
- FIN 542. Fixed Income (Fall)
- FIN 544. Interest Rate Models (Spring) or FIN 545. Credit Risk Modeling (Spring)
In addition, students pursuing this track must select at least two classes from the following list:
- FIN 522. Advanced Risk Management and Derivatives (Fall)
- FIN 523A*. Applied Portfolio Management (Fall)
- FIN 523B*. Applied Portfolio Management (Spring)
- FIN 524. Applied Risk Management (Spring) [New course]
- FIN 544. Interest Rate Models (Spring)
- FIN 545. Credit Risk Modeling (Spring)
- FIN 552. Financial Statement Analysis for Investment Management (Fall) or ACCT 554. Accounting Analysis/Financial Statements (Fall)
Careers
The Fixed Income track is designed to enable students to pursue careers within the broad area of fixed income, including positions as fixed income analyst, mortgage securities analyst and risk management expert/consultant. Companies include financial institutions, utilities and industrials. Careers-in-Finance offers good insight into a few of the types of positions and day-to-day work in these fields.
Corporate Finance Track
The corporate finance track is designed to familiarize students with the financial decisions made and decision-making tools used by corporate financial managers. The vast majority of Eller MBA-Finance graduates work in this field.
Coursework
The following three classes are required in this track:
- FIN 512. Advanced Corporate Finance (Fall)
- FIN 513. Valuation Modeling (Spring of 1st year or Fall of 2nd year)
- FIN 532. Corporate Finance Strategy (Spring)
In addition, students pursuing this track must select at least two classes from the following list:
- FIN 514. International Finance (Spring)
- FIN 515. Venture Capital (Fall)
- FIN 521. Investments Analysis (Fall)
- FIN 536. New Venture Finance (Fall)
- FIN 542. Fixed Income (Fall)
- FIN 560. Real Property (Spring)
- FIN 552. Financial Statement Analysis for Investment Management (Fall) or ACCT 554. Accounting Analysis/Financial Statements (Fall)
Careers
The Corporate Finance track is designed to enable students to pursue a wide variety of fascinating careers at the world's top companies whose main business is not finance. These companies need finance professionals in the treasury, planning and budgeting, and strategic planning and risk management areas. Careers-in-Finance offers good insight into the types of positions and day-to-day work in these fields.
Real Estate Finance Track
The real estate finance track is designed to familiarize students with the financial decisions made and decision-making tools used in real estate development and finance.
Coursework
The following two classes are required in this track:
- FIN 513. Valuation Modeling (Fall)
- FIN 560. Real Property (Spring)
In addition, students pursuing this track must select at least three classes from the following list:
- FIN 512. Advanced Corporate Finance (Fall)
- FIN 515. Venture Capital (Fall)
- FIN 521. Investments Analysis (Fall)
- FIN 522. Advanced Risk Management and Derivatives (Fall)
- FIN 524. Applied Risk Management (Spring) [New course]
- FIN 532. Corporate Finance Strategy (Spring)
- FIN 542. Fixed Income (Fall)
- FIN 552. Financial Statement Analysis for Investment Management (Fall) or ACCT 554. Accounting Analysis/Financial Statements (Fall)
- ARC 561E. Sustainable Design and the LEED Initiative
- PA 514. Analytic Methods in Planning and Strategic Management
- PA 551. Local Economic and Community Development
- PLNN 559. Land Use and Growth Controls
- PLNN 576. The Land Development Process
- PLNN 580. Environmental and Healthy City Planning
- PLNN 597S. New Urbanism and Sustainability in the Southwest
Careers
The Real Estate Finance track is designed to enable students to pursue careers in the field of real estate, from development to mortgage banking. Companies in a wide variety of fields need finance professionals to evaluate development and credit risk, and to develop financial plans and budgets. Careers-in-Finance offers good insight into the types of positions and day-to-day work in these fields.All courses are three units.
Course offerings are subject to change.
*Students accepted to FIN523A make a one-year commitment and also complete FIN523B in the Spring semester.
For additional information, please contact us.
