MBA Emphasis in Finance

Financial Principles

There are three guiding financial principles imparted in the MBA Emphasis in Finance:

Acquiring
Protecting
Spending Money

Acquiring your money (debt or equity)

Corporations and other entities:

borrowing (raise debt)
selling assets (human capital, equity--IPO & venture capital)

Analogy to personal finance:

borrowing (raise debt).
sell your human capital, e.g., get a job

Protecting your money (risk management)

Once you have money, you may be concerned about losing it, because of unexpected changes in the political environment, macro economy, and the financial markets, e.g., stock and commodity prices, interest rates, and debt credit rating.

Spending your money (investing)

Now that you've acquired and protected your money, you should grow it by putting it to work

Real Assets: Plant & Equipment, R&D, Intellectual Property
Financial Assets: stock of public traded firms; debt of public traded firms, Fed. Gov., States, & Cities; commodities

The Finance Department offers courses covering each of the three principles

BUS 785 Financial Management (Prerequisites: BUS 780 Financial Accounting; and BUS 776 Data Analysis for Managers)
Taught from the perspective of a non-financial corporation. Offered every semester.

FIN 819 Financial Analysis and Management (Prerequisites: BUS 785 Financial Management, must be completed prior to enrolling in FIN 819)
Prerequisite to all other 800-level Fin courses
Taught from the perspective of a non-financial corporation. Offered every semester.

Finance elective courses: up to five 800-level Finance courses or courses from other disciplines with approval from a faculty advisor.

FIN 825 Seminar in Investments
FIN 828 Seminar in Financial Markets and Institutions
FIN 836 Seminar in International Finance

Each semester the Finance Department offers one of the elective courses. Students must complete FIN 819 before enrolling in any Finance elective course.

Faculty Advisers

Ping Hsiao
Ming Li
Shuming Liu

AACSB Accredited

Accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) International since 1964, the Lam Family College of Business at San Francisco State University provides a high quality business education to a diverse learning community through innovative teaching, research, and support. We are one of just five percent of all business schools worldwide that meet the rigorous standards for this accreditation.

COVID-19 and Our Campus Comeback

Health & Safety Commitments

Your health and safety are our paramount concern at San Francisco State University. We ask every member of our campus community to join a pledge to make and follow plans to keep fellow students, faculty, and staff safe and well. Feeling confident, safe and well will help you focus on your academic success. To participate in in-person classes, all students are asked and expected to:

stay informed on the most up-to-date information related to SF State’s COVID-19 response and Campus Comeback plan.
plan ahead for possible class disruptions due to COVID-19 or other unexpected events, such as unhealthy air quality caused by smoke.
take care of yourself and others by staying home when you aren’t feeling well or believe you have been exposed to COVID-19, and
follow all required health and safety guidelines, including verifying your proof of vaccination or exemption status before coming to class; and wearing a multilayered mask over your nose and mouth at all times when indoors on campus; and wash your hands as often as possible (i.e. soap and water, hand sanitizer).

Campus Comeback

For the fall 2021 semester, classes will be offered in a variety of learning modes. There will be in-person courses, hybrid courses (some meetings in person on campus and some online), and fully online.

For up-to-date information about SF State’s response to COVID-19 and how you can keep yourself and others safe and well, visit the Campus Comeback website. For students to plan how you will maintain your academic success when unexpected events disrupt regular teaching and learning activities, follow the information on the course syllabus and consult the Keep Learning Student Planning Guide.

For our faculty: to help our faculty adapt and respond to a variety of unexpected events so that you can keep teaching, a curated list of resources is available at the Keep Teaching: Instructor Planning Guide | Instructional Continuity website.