Curriculum: MBA Program
Required Curriculum
Finance I
This course examines the role of finance in supporting the functional areas of a firm, and fosters an understanding of how financial decisions themselves can create value.
Topics covered include:
- Basic analytical skills and principles of corporate finance.
- Functions of modern capital markets and financial institutions.
- Standard techniques of analysis, including capital budgeting, discounted cash flow valuation, and risk analysis.
Finance II
This course builds on the foundation developed in Finance I, focusing on three sets of managerial decisions:
- How to evaluate complex investments.
- How to set and execute financial policies within a firm.
- How to integrate the many financial decisions faced by firms.
The Finance II course is divided into four blocks of material:
- Advanced valuation—valuation of levered firms and projects.
- Advanced valuations—options as a metaphor for flexibility.
- Financial choices of firms—financing, distributing funds to shareholders, managing risk.
- Integrated financial decisions, especially in the face of conflicts of interest and different legal/regulatory rules.
All first-year HBS MBA students have a series of required courses, as listed below:
Term I Courses
These five courses focus on the internal functional operations of business enterprise.
Term II Courses
These six courses cover the relationship of the organization to larger economic, governmental, and social environments.