Background
Faculty in the Department of Finance teach finance and real estate courses in the three primary academic programs offered in the McCombs School of Business: the Bachelors of Business Administration (BBA), the Masters of Business Administration (MBA) and the Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) as well as in the Business Foundations certificate program. As part of a BBA students can major in finance. The Department offers one required course for all BBA students (FIN 357 - Business Finance) as well as a variety of undergraduate finance elective courses in the areas of investments, money and capital markets, corporate, international, energy and real estate finance. Students can choose a general finance major or to focus their studies in particular areas of finance by choosing one of six tracks: corporate finance and investments, banking, energy finance, investment management, financial markets/banking, or real estate finance. For further information about the BBA finance major, see Finance Major and, for information on the BBA program, contact the Undergraduate Dean’s Office.
In the MBA program, the Department teaches two required courses in the MBA core, BA 380S - Managerial Economics and BA 385T - Financial Management. MBA students can choose to concentrate in finance and they can select from graduate electives in the fields of corporate finance, investments, financial institutions and markets, energy finance, real estate finance, private equity, and venture capital. For additional information about the finance concentration, see MBA Finance Concentration. For information on the MBA program or for MBA application materials, contact the McCombs MBA Program Office.
The Ph.D. program in finance prepares students for academic and professional careers focused on teaching and research. The doctoral program is described in Ph.D. Program Description. For Ph.D. application materials contact finphd@mail.utexas.edu
Centers and Special Programs of the Department of Finance
The AIM Investment Center, funded by donations by two of the founders of AIM Capital Management, supports the development of investment management courses, faculty research, and the academic programs associated with the MBA Investment Fund and the Financial Analysts Program. The MBA Investment Fund, L.L.C is the first legally-constituted, private investment company to be managed by students. Started in December, 1994, the Fund is designed to offer students at The University of Texas a real-world experience in the process of managing investment portfolios, in running a business, and in developing relationships with clients. As of February 2008, the Fund had approximately 60 investors and more than $16 million under management in three different investment products: a growth-oriented equity portfolio and a value-oriented equity portfolio, which are managed for individual and institutional clients, and an endowment portfolio which supports the activities of the AIM Investment Center.
The Financial Analyst Program is a special offering by the Department that provides an opportunity for undergraduate students to develop their skills and experiences as analysts. Outstanding finance and accounting majors are selected to participate in an academic and professional curriculum in their senior year that gives them an intensive, "hands-on" experience in financial analysis and valuation in corporate, investment, and financial services settings. During a portion of the program, the students work as researchers for The MBA Investment Fund.
The EDS Financial Trading and Technology Center is a state-of-the-art trading, research, and teaching facility in the College and Graduate School of Business at The University of Texas. The goal of this Center is to help students, faculty, and executives better understand the growing flow of financial data that affects markets as well as to enable them to participate in the development of new applications of information technology to finance. Through the Center faculty and students have access to real-time data feeds from leading providers of financial information.
The Center for Energy Finance Education & Research (CEFER) is offered to support education in energy finance to MBA and undergraduate students. Both the MBA and undergraduate students are offered a six-hour course sequence on the foundations of energy finance, addressing issues in the areas of asset valuation, corporate finance, and financial risk management. This program prepares students to work in financial analysis, valuation, and trading positions with major oil and gas exploration, production, and distribution companies, energy trading firms, power companies as well as leading investment banking and financial services firms working in the energy industry. The MBA curriculum also includes a practicum in energy finance.
The Real Estate Finance and Investment Center (REFIC) supports curriculum development in real estate and funds research by Department faculty on issues related to real estate finance, real estate and capital markets, investments, corporate finance, and financial services. The Center also supports student activities related to real estate finance and investments. REFIC is supported by the annual donations of numerous individuals and firms.
Through the donation of the named partners of the investment firm of The Hicks, Muse, Tate & Furst Center, the Department established an academic center for the study of private equity finance. The Hicks, Muse, Tate & Furst Center for Private Equity Finance supports research and curriculum development related to private equity finance, capital markets, corporate finance, investment, and real estate as well as student activities related to private equity finance.
At the start of the 2008-09 academic year, the Department consists of twenty-two tenured or tenure-track faculty, eight full-time non-tenure-track faculty, and a number of visiting and part-time faculty. The Department expects to add additional faculty members over the next few years. The faculty's teaching and research interests span the areas of corporate finance, investments, financial services, financial markets and institutions, energy finance, and real estate finance. The faculty received their Ph.D.s from a number of leading academic institutions including Berkeley, Carnegie Mellon, Illinois, Michigan, MIT, Rochester, Stanford, and UCLA.
Three faculty members in the Department hold endowed chairs: Stephen Magee, Laura Starks, and Sheridan Titman. In addition, three are appointed to named professorships: George Gau, Robert Parrino, and Ramesh Rao.
The Chairman of the Finance Department is Laura Starks. She is supported by Beverly Hadaway, as Associate Chair. Faculty working with her in particular programs are Andres Almazan as Graduate Advisor and academic leader of the Department's Ph.D. program and William J. Way who is Undergraduate Advisor for the Finance Major in the BBA program.
Past Chairman of the Department
George W. Gau, 1992-2002
Seha M. Tinic, 1988-1992
Robert C. Witt, 1984-1988
Stephen P. Magee, 1980-1984
R. Conrad Doenges, 1976-1980
Lawrence L. Crum, 1969-1976
James Kay, 1968-1969
John Bickley, 1965-1968
Ernest Walker, 1961-1965
