Finance and Economics

College of Business and Industry

Dr. Sara Freedman, Dean

Dr. Paul Grimes, Department Head

Dr. Barbara Spencer, Graduate Coordinator

326 McCool Hall

662-325-2341

gsb@cobilan.msstate.edu

The Department of Finance and Economics offers the following graduate degrees through the college of Business and Industry:

Master’s Degrees:      M.A. in Economics M.S.B.A. in Finance

Doctoral Degrees:       Ph.D. in Applied Economics Ph.D. in Business Administration with a concentration in Finance

The Ph.D. in Applied Economics is offered and administered jointly with the graduate economics faculty in the Department of Agricultural Economics.  Please see Applied Economics for a description of this degree.  Please see Business Administration for a description of the degree requirements for the Ph.D in Business Administration with a concentration in Finance.

Master of Arts (M.A.) in Economics

Program Objective—The Master of Arts in economics program provides training in economic science to prepare graduates for professional positions in business, government, and education.  Students receive training in the academic and applied skills necessary to establish and maintain a successful career or to prepare for further graduate work in economics or related fields.

Admission Criteria—An applicant must meet all University graduate admission requirements and achieve acceptable scores on each major section of the GRE (verbal, quantitative, and analytical).  For full admission to the program, the student must have previously completed intermediate microeconomics and intermediate macroeconomics or otherwise demonstrate a thorough understanding of basic economic theory and an ability to perform graduate-level work in economics.  Students from all undergraduate majors are invited to apply; however, it is highly desirable for prospective students to have completed additional economics, statistics, and mathematics courses before enrolling in the M.A. program.  Competitive fellowships, assistantships, and financial assistance are available to students with meritorious academic records.

Program of Study—Each M.A. student prepares a program of study with consultation from the graduate advisor and a program committee.  The student may choose to take field courses from a wide variety of areas within economics.  With the permission of the graduate advisor, the student may also elect to take major courses offered by the Department of Agricultural Economics.

Provisional Admission—The student who has not fully met the requirements stipulated by the University and the department for admission to graduate study may be granted admission as a degree-seeking graduate student with provisional status.  The student must have as his or her initial objective advancement to regular status.

A provisional student must receive a 3.00 GPA on the first nine hours of graduate level courses on the program of study taken at Mississippi State University (transfer hours and unclassified graduate hours will not apply) in order to achieve regular status.  If a 3.00 is not attained, the provisional student will be dismissed from graduate study.  While in the provisional status, a student is not eligible to hold a graduate assistantship.

Academic Performance—A grade of C or better is required on all undergraduate prerequisite courses. A student in any graduate degree program in the College of Business and Industry may not continue in the program with grades below B in more than 6 hours of graduate course work after admission to the program, regardless of the overall average. Thus, any program is terminated automatically when a seventh credit hour below B is recorded on graduate course work.

Core Courses—A student must complete the following core courses as part of the M.A. in Economics program:                                                                                      

EC 8133        Econometrics I. 3 hours

EC 8163        Microeconomics I. 3 hours

EC 8173        Macroeconomics I. 3 hours

Completion Requirements—The M.A. in Economics is earned upon completion of a minimum of 30 hours of graduate course work.  Students choose from two program options: thesis and non-thesis.  In addition to the core courses, the thesis option requires 15 hours of economics course work and six hours of thesis credit.  Students electing the non-thesis option must complete 21 hours of economics course work in addition to the core courses.  Both options also require a nine-hour minor field, and a committee member from the minor area is required.  Students choose a minor field which complements their career objectives and future plans.  Some of the minor fields available include: finance, marketing, management, sociology, quantitative analysis, agricultural economics, and public administration.

For further information write: Director, Graduate Studies in Business, P.O. Box 5288 , Mississippi State , MS   39762 .  fax:  662-325-8161.  E-Mail: gsb@cobilan.msstate.edu.  Web: www.cbi.msstate.edu/gsb/masters/econ.html.

Graduate Courses—Course prerequisites are noted in parentheses.

Economics:

EC 6183        U.S. Economic History (completion of any 1000-level history course). 3 hours                                                               

EC 6213        Personnel Economics (EC 2113 and EC 2123). 3 hours

EC 6223        Labor Law and  Employment Policy (three hours of economics or consent of instructor). 3 hours

EC 6303        Theory of Economic Development (EC 2113 and EC 2123). 3 hours

EC 6313        Introduction to Regional Economics (EC 2113, EC 2123, and MA 1463 or consent of instructor). 3 hours

EC 6323        International Economic Relations (EC 2113 and EC 2123). 3 hours

EC 6333        Applied Regional Economics (EC 4313/6313). 3 hours

EC 6423        Introduction to Public Finance (EC 2113 and EC 2123). 3 hours

EC 6433        Problems in State and Local Finance (EC 2113 and EC 2123). 3 hours

EC 6523        History of Economic Thought (EC 2113 or consent of instructor). 3 hours

EC 6990        Special Topics in Economics. 1-9 hours

EC 7000        Directed Individual Study. 3 hours

EC 8000        Research/Thesis. 6 hours

EC 8043        Survey of Economics (graduate standing). 3 hours

EC 8103        Economics for Managers (EC 2113 and EC 2123, or equivalent). 3 hours

EC 8113        Labor Theory and Analysis (graduate standing). 3 hours

EC 8133        Econometrics I (BQA 8443, ST 6134 or equivalent and familiarity with linear algebra). 3 hours

EC 8143        Econometrics II (EC 8133). 3 hours

EC 8163        Microeconomics I (EC 3123, one semester calculus, or consent of instructor). 3 hours

EC 8173        Macroeconomics I (EC 3113,  EC 3123 and one semester calculus, or consent of instructor). 3 hours

EC 8183        Industrial Organization (EC 8103 or equivalent). 3 hours

EC 8263        Microeconomics II (EC 8163). 3 hours

EC 8273        Macroeconomics II (EC 8173 or equivalent). 3 hours

EC 8323        Economic Analysis of Developing Nations (nine hours in economics, including EC 4303/6303 or equivalent). 3 hours

EC 8423        Public Finance (EC 2113, EC 2123 and graduate standing). 3 hours

EC 8522        Seminar in the History Economic Thought (graduate standing or consent of instructor). 2 hours

EC 8643        Applied Economic Skills:  Advanced Estimation and Diagnostics of Econometric Models (EC 8133 and EC 8143 or consent of            instructor). 3 hours

EC 8990        Special Topics in Economics. 1-9 hours

EC 9000        Research/Dissertation. 20 hours

Master of Science in Business Administration (M.S.B.A.) in Finance

Program Objective—This program targets graduate students who are interested in a business curriculum with a specialization in Finance.  An applicant for the M.S.B.A. program should hold a bachelor’s degree from a fully recognized four-year institution of higher learning that enjoys unconditional accreditation by appropriate regional accrediting agencies. All general requirements stated in the Graduate Bulletin must be met.

Admission Criteria—An applicant for the M.S.B.A. program must take the Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT).  Admission to the M.S.B.A. program requires a GPA of 3.00 or above out of 4.00 points over the last 60 semester hours of baccalaureate work and a GMAT score of 500 or above or a combined score of 1100 using the formula (200 x GPA + GMAT).  When a student is deficient in either of the criteria cited, the student’s application, nevertheless, may be considered for admission based on the strength of other materials contained in the student’s application.  However, reasonable minimum levels of performance must be achieved in both the applicant’s GPA and GMAT scores.

Provisional Admission—A student who has not fully met the requirements stipulated by the University and the department for admission to graduate study may be granted admission as a degree-seeking graduate student with provisional status.  Such student must have as his/her initial objective advancement to regular status.

A provisional student must receive a 3.00 GPA on the first nine hours of graduate level courses on the program of study taken at Mississippi State University (transfer hours and unclassified graduate hours will not apply) in order to achieve regular status.  If a 3.00 is not attained, the provisional student will be dismissed from graduate study.  While in the provisional status, a student is not eligible to hold a graduate assistantship.

International applicants—An international applicant not holding degree from a U.S. institution must submit a TOEFL report of 575 or higher with her/his application in order to be considered for regular admission.

Program of Study/Completion Requirements—Course work for the M.S.B.A . program consists of the major and minor. At a minimum, all candidates for the M.S.B.A. must complete 30 hours of course work beyond the required pre-requisites.  This 30 hours is composed of 21 hours in the major and nine  hours in the  minor area.  A committee member from the minor area is required.

Academic Performance—A grade of C or better is required on all undergraduate prerequisite courses. A student in any graduate degree program in the College of Business and Industry may not continue in the program with grades below B in more than six hours of graduate course work, regardless of the overall average. Thus, any program is terminated automatically when a seventh credit hour below B is recorded on graduate course work.

Core Courses—The finance major core is structured around the following courses:

FIN 6923       International Financial Management (FIN 8112 and FIN 8122 or equivalent). 3 hours

FIN 6990       Special Topics in Finance. 1-9 hours

FIN 7000       Directed Individual Study. 1-3 hours

FIN 8000       Research/Thesis. 1-6 hours

FIN 8052       Survey of Finance (graduate standing; ACC 8013, BQA 8033, and EC 8043, equivalent or concurrent enrollment). 2 hours

FIN 8112       Capital Acquisition and Allocation (FIN 8052 or equivalent). 2 hours

FIN 8122       Corporate Liquidity Analysis (FIN 8052 or equivalent). 2 hours

FIN 8223       Problems in Corporation Finance (FIN 8213). 3 hours

FIN 8233       Advanced Financial Management (FIN 8112 and FIN 8122 or equivalent). 3 hours

FIN 8423       Portfolio Management (FIN 8112 or FIN 8122 or equivalent).  3 hours

FIN 8723       Financial Institutions Management (FIN 3113 and FIN 3123 or equivalent). 3 hours

FIN 8733       Financial Markets, Rates, and Flows (FIN 8112 and FIN 8122 or equivalent). 3 hours

FIN 8990       Special Topics in Finance. 1-9 hours

FIN 9000       Research/Dissertation. 20 hours

FIN 9233       Seminar in Corporate Finance (FIN 8233 or equivalent). 3 hours

FIN 9433       Seminar in Portfolio Theory (FIN 8423). 3 hours

FIN 9733       Seminar in Financial Markets and Institutions (FIN 8733 or equivalent). 3 hours

Insurance:

INS 6503       Risk Management (FIN 3123, MGT 3113, MKT 3013, or consent of  instructor). 3 hours

INS 6990       Special Topics in Insurance. 1-9 hours

INS 8512       Risk Management Seminar (consent of instructor). 2 hours

Real Estate and Mortgage Financing:

REM 6353     Income Property Appraisal (REM 3333 or consent of instructor). 3 hours

REM 6990     Special Topics in Real Estate and Mortgage Finance. 1-9 hours