Courses

• GSM MF 600: Math Refresher
  The Mathematical Finance Program has a very strong quantitative component, one which many incoming students underestimate. Although students admitted to the program have satisfied the prerequisites in Mathematics, the program's prerequisites represent the minimal, not the optimal, background required. Even if you have learned the topics required as prerequisites, reviewing these concepts immediately prior to the start of the program could be enormously helpful and will certainly increase your chance of success in the program. The course will begin with a review of matrix algebra, then proceed to examine the role of calculus in comparative static analysis. Following this, unconstrained and constrained optimization will be covered using multivariate calculus. The second half of the class deals with dynamics, beginning with a review of integration, and continuing with first- and higher-order differential equations.
• GSM MF 601: Preparation Week
  Mathematical Finance Preparation Week is a combination of orientation activities, academic sessions, and career preparation designed to give you a foundational knowledge for the Mathematical Finance program. The week will include training on various tools you will need for the program, professional development sessions, and social gatherings.
• GSM MF 702: Fundamentals of Finance
  This course covers such topics as: financial markets (bonds, stocks, derivative securities, forward and futures contracts, exchanges, market indexes, and margins); interest rates, present value, yields, term structure of interest rates, duration and immunization of bonds, risk preferences, asset valuation, Arrow-Debreu securities, complete and incomplete markets, pricing by arbitrage, the first and the second fundamental theorems of Finance, option pricing on event trees, risk and return (Sharpe ratios, the risk-premium puzzle), the Capital Asset Pricing Model, and Value-at-Risk.
• GSM MF 730: Portfolio Theory
  A concise introduction to recent results on optimal dynamic consumption-investment problems is provided. Lectures will cover standard mean-variance theory, dynamic asset allocation, asset- liability management, and lifecycle finance. The main focus of this course is to present a financial engineering approach to dynamic asset allocation problems of institutional investors such as pension funds, mutual funds, hedge funds, and sovereign wealth funds. Numerical methods for implementation of asset allocation models will also be presented. The course also focuses on empirical features and practical implementation of dynamic portfolio problems.
• GSM MF 731: Corporate Risk Management
  This course provides an introduction to modern methods of risk management. Lectures cover risk metrics, measurement and estimation of extreme risks, management and control of risk exposures, and monitoring of risk positions. The impact of risk management tools, such as derivative securities, will be examined. Issues pertaining to the efficiency of communication architectures within the firm will be discussed. Regulatory constraints and their impact on risk management will be assessed. The approach to the topic is quantitative. The course is ideal for students with strong quantitative backgrounds who are seeking to understand issues pertaining to risk management and to master modern methods and techniques of risk control.
• GSM MF 770: Advanced Derivatives
  This course provides a comprehensive and in-depth treatment of valuation methods for derivative securities. Extensive use is made of continuous time stochastic processes, stochastic calculus and martingale methods. The main topics to be addressed include (i) European option valuation, (ii) Exotic options, (iii) Multiasset options, (iv) Stochastic interest rate, (v) Stochastic volatility, (vi) American options and (vii) Numerical methods. Additional topics may be covered depending on time constraints.
• GSM MF 772: Credit Risk
  This course covers asset pricing models (preferences, utility functions, risk aversion, basic consumption model, the mean-variance frontier, factor models, and robust preferences); and options pricing and risk management (arbitrage pricing in a complete market, delta-hedging, risk measure, and value-at-Risk).
• GSM MF 792: Stochastic Methods of Mathematical Finance I
  This course provides the necessary background for using the general tools of stochastic calculus in the domain of mathematical finance. The topics include: information structures and financial markets (sample spaces, event trees, ó-algebras, and partitions), random variables and random processes, expected values and conditional expected values, probability distributions and change of measure, convergence of random variables, martingales and convergence of martingales, and the Brownian motion process.
• GSM MF 793: Statistical Methods of Mathematical Finance
  This course provides an introduction to R and Exploratory Data Analysis, Time Series Analysis, Multivariate Data Analysis, and Elements of Extreme Value Theory. This course also covers an array of statistical techniques used for simulation, parameter estimation, and forecasting in Finance.
• GSM MF 795: Stochastic Methods of Mathematical Finance II
  This course focuses on developing the necessary tools from stochastic calculus to be applied in the mathematical theory of finance. Topics include: stochastic integration, equivalent changes of probability, fundamental theorems of finance, stochastic differential equations, pricing and hedging of contingent claims, short-rate models, introduction to American options, and changes of numeraire.
• GSM MF 810: Professional Practice Seminar
  The purpose of the Professional Practice Seminars is to give students a better understanding of the financial markets and introduce them to the career development skills needed to be successful in their internship and job searches. The Financial Markets Module will introduce students to the inner-workings of the markets, the market stakeholders, the organization of the markets, and the market jargon. The Career Preparation Module will teach students necessary communication skills for successful interviewing to leverage internship and full time opportunities. It will also help them identify their role in the industry, teach them how to establish a target list of companies and contacts, and guide them through how to strategically position themselves and their unique value through their personal brand.
• GSM MG 600: MBA Orientation
  Required orientation for all incoming M.B.A. students.
• GSM MG 700: Ethical and Global Foundations
  This experience, delivered during the pre-semester, will deliver ethical and global foundations which provide students a broad exposure to concepts that will be applied throughout the MBA experience. The foundation contains two courses. First, an intensive three day course - Ethics, Values, and Responsibility -- is designed to lay a conceptual foundation, introduce frameworks, provide a common language for ethics and ethical decision-making, and provoke awareness of one's values and ethical frontier to help guide principled thought and analysis. Second, Global Foundations will expose students to the complexities of operating in a global environment, discuss challenges associated with globalization, consider strategic factors when approaching global business problems, gain understating of global institutions, and provide a foundation on approaching country contexts. Synergies across both courses will emerge to provide students a strong foundation as they enter their core coursework.
• GSM MG 790: Ethical Leadership in a Global Economy
  Ethical Leadership in a Global Economy will provide students with a unique 2nd year learning experience on how the global economy is transforming economic sectors, presenting new risks, calling forth innovation, and challenging traditional values and norms. Through engagement with select firms, governmental, and civil society organizations, students will develop an appreciation of how new realities challenge traditional business integrity, strategy, and values in the global economy. Course projects and content will include both sector and functional based experiences. This course will provide opportunity for students to apply concepts which have been building through the pre-term, core, and professional skills courses.
• GSM MG 800: Variable Credit
  
• GSM MK 723: Marketing Management
  This course provides a practical understanding of how business strategies and tactics are driven by marketing's dual focus on customers and competition. Students will learn how to leverage marketing tools and emerging technologies in the creation (e.g., customer insight, product and service design, branding), delivery (e.g., communication and distribution), and capture (e.g., pricing, customer life time value) of marketplace value. Across business contexts including B2C, B2B, products versus services, global versus domestic markets, small/medium/large organizations, for-profit versus social enterprises, the course builds the fundamental skills involved in analyzing market challenges and opportunities and making decisions for the formulation and implementation of successful and sustainable marketing programs.
• GSM MK 724: Marketing Management
  This course provides a practical understanding of how business strategies and tactics are driven by marketing's dual focus on customers and competition. Students will learn how to leverage marketing tools and emerging technologies in the creation (e.g., customer insight, product and service design, branding), delivery (e.g., communication and distribution), and capture (e.g., pricing, customer life time value) of marketplace value. Across business contexts including B2C, B2B, products versus services, global versus domestic markets, small/medium/large organizations, for-profit versus social enterprises, the course builds the fundamental skills involved in analyzing market challenges and opportunities and making decisions for the formulation and implementation of successful and sustainable marketing programs.
• GSM MK 841: Customer-Driven Growth Strategies
  Because companies face constant pressure to develop markets -- both existing and new -- to feed demands for growth, we propose a course that would equip MBA students with a nimble yet robust approach to identify, quantify and leverage opportunities that facilitate growth. This course proposal comprises experiential "modules" that are based on real-world scenarios designed in collaboration with corporate executive partners (e.g., BU alumni, recruiters, major area employers, network contacts). Modules pose growth challenges partners have experienced in the sectors of (1) healthcare and pharmaceuticals, (2) digital, (3) retail and (4) consumer-packaged goods.
• GSM MK 845: Social Media Marketing
  Social media technologies are continuously transforming the ways consumers interact with each other and firms. These changes constitute a fundamental shift in the marketplace--consumers have greater opportunities to voice their opinions and connect with other consumers as well as increased influence over marketers and brands. In this course, we examine how organizations capitalize on social media and these consumer-to-consumer interactions to support their marketing efforts. Specifically, we'll examine (a) how social media can be used to listen to consumers and monitor their behavior; (b) developing and delivering content that engages consumers; and (c) how to track the effectiveness of these efforts. Finally, we'll explore how to manage both the internal and external dimensions of social media engagement. We view these issues from a strategic and a practical perspective, rather than a technical or platform perspective. We examine these topics using a hands-on approach, including live cases, personal engagement in social media, and a team project.
• GSM MK 849: Debiasing Decision Making
  The objective of this course is to inform future managers, consultants, and advisors of the psychological processes and biases underlying the decisions made by customers, competitors, colleagues, and themselves, with emphasis on how to incorporate such insights into marketing and business strategies. Applications of these processes and biases will be examined within the domains of the sustainability and health sectors. The course will provide students with a broad overview of important results from various behavioral sciences (e.g., behavioral decision research, cognitive and social psychology, behavioral economics, consumer research) that demonstrate the several biases that can affect the quality of our strategic decisions. It is intended to provide students with knowledge about applying these findings to topics in marketing, strategic management, and organizational behavior. Classroom time will be devoted to a combination of lectures, discussions, cases, and exercises illustrating the main concepts.

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