Courses
Courses for 2023-2024
Courses offered in the past four years. Courses offered currently are as noted.
INTD 0116
Current
Upcoming
Accounting/Budgeting/Lib Arts
Course Description
Accounting, Budgeting, and the Liberal Arts
Accounting is the lingua franca of commercial and financial activity, and applies equally to corporations, non-profits, and governments. In this course we will learn the basic concepts and standards underlying the accounting language including: revenue recognition, inventory, long-lived assets, present value, long-term liabilities, and financial statements. We then turn to the application and use of accounting information in forecasting, operating, and measuring an enterprise. These managerial accounting concepts are used to develop budgets and evaluate results. Our understanding of accounting and financial statements is needed to understand how business interrelates with society. The major course project will be developing an Excel financial model; no prior Excel experience required. 3 hrs. lect., 3 hr. lab (not open to students who have taken INTD 0316).
Terms Taught
INTD 0120
Current
Upcoming
Intro Business & Enterprise
Course Description
Introduction to Business and Enterprise
This course provides students who have little to no background in business with a broad overview of business and enterprise in the economy. Students will learn about types of enterprises and a functional framework for understanding a business, including strategy, finance, production, and marketing. This framework will be used to analyze various businesses and non-profits, exploring the advantages and disadvantages of various structures. The course will give overviews of accounting and entrepreneurship, and explore policy and philosophical debates about the morality of for-profit business and the need for corporate responsibility. 3 hrs. lect.
Terms Taught
Requirements
INTD 0130
Current
Upcoming
Business Ethics
Course Description
Business Ethics
Capitalism and competitive markets are often considered the most efficient system of simultaneously maximizing private wealth and public good. In the real world, however, truly competitive markets do not exist. Imperfect markets have been made to work efficiently while protecting public good through systems of public intervention, i.e., laws and regulations, and voluntary self-restraint by business organizations in response to societal expectations. In this class we will consider the role of ethics in business, with students analyzing the process by which ethical norms and strongly held moral beliefs guide the conduct of economically driven business organizations. Students will reflect on business managers’ responsibility to their owners, i.e., shareholders, other stakeholders, and society-at-large. 3 hrs. lect./dsc
Terms Taught
INTD 0205
Upcoming
Marketing
Course Description
Marketing: Formulation, Methods, and Research
Marketing is both a qualitative and a quantitative discipline. It is one of the rare business fields that actively draws upon and integrates the creative and analytical components of the liberal arts tradition. In this course students will be exposed to a broad overview of marketing principles, focusing on the application of marketing theory to for-profit, not-for-profit, and the public sectors. Cause marketing and social marketing techniques will also be discussed to determine their utility in combating social ills and promoting favorable public health behaviors and outcomes. As the implementation of marketing programs is undergoing a massive transformation from conventional to digital media, students will be exposed to digital designing and marketing, which are driven by a sound understanding of consumer segmentation, brand positioning, distinct product benefits, and relevant in-market executions. (INTD 0120) Introductory statistics course recommended. 3 hrs. lect.
Terms Taught
INTD 0208
Upcoming
Finance, Regulation, & Policy
Course Description
Finance, Regulation, and Policy
With recent financial scandals and crises, an important question is whether the finance industry should be regulated and should undergo further policy reforms. Many scholars and policy experts contend that the current system is simply not designed to make policy choices on behalf of the public. In this course we will explore current financial innovations (e.g., mutual funds, hedge funds, securitizations, cryptocurrencies, just to name a few) and potential policy options in order to protect “Main Street” from “Wall Street”. Additionally, we will explore the manner in which modern finance has grown out of powerful theories, both mathematical and psychological. 3 hrs. lect.
Terms Taught
Requirements
INTD 0209
Upcoming
Big Data & Big Obligations
Course Description
Big Business, Big Data, & Big Obligations
In this course we will examine the cultural, economic, ethical, and legal implications of, analytics, big data, and computation. Drawing on various disciplines in the humanities and the social sciences, students will read works relating to the science of data collection, aggregation, and analysis. Students will learn that with opportunities for both financial gain and social good (which big data brings) comes various perils, including privacy violations, disability/gender/racial discrimination, economic disruption, negative environmental spillovers, and political destabilization.
Terms Taught
Requirements
INTD 0217
Upcoming
Introduction to Finance
Course Description
Introduction to Finance
In this introductory survey course we will cover the role of finance in society, the basic workings of the financial system, how funds are allocated within the economy, and how institutions raise money. We will cover a range of topics, including: interest rates and the time value of money; uncertainty and the trade-off between risk and return; security market efficiency; stocks, bonds and optimal capital structure; financing decisions and capital budgeting; sovereign risk; foreign currencies; derivatives markets; and concerns about the role of finance in society. The course will include discussions of current news events in global markets. (INTD 0116 or INTD 0120 or by Instructor approval) 3 hrs. lect., 3 hr. lab
Terms Taught
INTD 0221
Current
Upcoming
Enterprise & Entrepreneurship
Course Description
Creating New Enterprises To Solve Significant Problems: For-Profit and Social Entrepreneurship
In this class students will explore how entrepreneurial innovators solve significant problems by creating new enterprises, and how these new organizations impact our society. In today’s society, entrepreneurship seems ubiquitous. At times, it appears that entrepreneurs can do no wrong. At other times, they are depicted as over-optimistic fools. Such polar characterizations may sell magazines, but they do not capture what entrepreneurship is, which involves a more complex and interesting story— in both for-profit and social entrepreneurship environments. Students will explore entrepreneurship in depth with the goal of penetrating the popular veneer and uncovering the essence of starting and growing new enterprises designed to solve significant societal problems.
Terms Taught
INTD 0302
Current
Upcoming
Life of Meaning
Course Description
Prepared for a Life of Meaning
In this course we will explore psychology, education and sociological literature detailing the promise of higher education and opportunities to create a life of meaning. Students will contemplate the relation between the social and economic promises of higher education and corresponding ideals of a life of meaning. Students will formulate their own definitions and goals for a meaningful life. Using multidisciplinary frameworks, students will develop skills that enhance the likelihood of leading meaningful lives for themselves and their communities. 3 hrs. lect. Instructor Approval only.
Terms Taught
INTD 0319
Investment Management
Course Description
Investment Management
In this course we will build on knowledge of accounting and finance and apply that knowledge to investment analysis, asset allocation, portfolio management, and capital markets and risk analysis. Designed to provide the basic concepts and principles of investing, the course examines investment theory and practice for investing a portfolio and evaluating its performance. We will discuss both traditional and alternative investments. Topics include securities markets, risk and return, capital asset pricing model (CAPM) and diversification, portfolio theory, private equity, valuation of equity, valuation of fixed-income securities, options and futures markets. Recommended prior courses would be: Math 0116, INTD 0116 or INTD 0217. Students who have not taken INTD 0116 or INTD 0217 are invited to contact the professor to discuss and review their basic proficiency in Accounting and Finance. 3 hrs. lect., 3 hrs lab
Terms Taught
INTD 0320
Capital Markets
Course Description
Capital Markets
This course surveys and analyzes the instruments traded in modern asset markets, the mechanisms that facilitate their trading and issuance, as well as, the motivations of issuers and investors across different asset classes. The course will balance functional and institutional perspectives by highlighting the problems market participants are seeking to solve, as well as the existing asset markets that have arisen to accomplish these goals. We will consider the nature of structure of asset markets, and the design, issuance, and pricing of financial instruments, focusing on how arbitrage strategies keep their prices in-line with one another. (INTD 0116 or INTD 0217 or by instructor approval) 3 hrs. lect., 3 hrs. lab
Terms Taught