In a data-driven business world, understanding cause-and-effect relationships is crucial for decision-making. This course introduces MBA students to modern experimental techniques, with a focus on randomized control trials (RCTs, also often called A/B tests), which are widely used to gain actionable insights in real business contexts. Students will learn how to design, execute, and analyze experiments that reveal the true impact of business strategies and allow for data-driven decisions. By the end of the course, students will have the practical tools and confidence to understand and apply experimental methods in answering questions and optimizing business practices in a variety of industries.
This course aims to familiarize graduate students with the different methods and approaches that US and European scholars have used to study gender and sexuality in other societies generally, and the way they study them in the context of the Arab World specifically. The course will also explore how Arab scholars have also studied their own societies. We will survey these different approaches, both theoretical and empirical, outlining their methodological difficulties and limitations. Readings will consist of theoretical elaborations of these difficulties and the methodological and empirical critiques that the field itself has generated in order to elaborate how gender and sexuality in the Arab World have been studied, or more accurately, not studied, and how many of these methodological pitfalls can be avoided.
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In 1964, Fluxus artist Daniel Spoerri fulfilled an unrealized wish of Marcel Duchamp’s by stretching a replica of the Mona Lisa over an ironing board. For her 2017 survey at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, Tania Bruguera included a photograph of a urinal she had installed in The Queens Museum, accompanied by the statement: “It’s time to return Duchamp’s urinal to the bathroom.” However we interpret these gestures, separated by more than fifty years, it’s clear that Duchamp’s “reciprocal readymade” endures as a potent model for the transvaluation of artwork and artistic practices into different states and uses.
This course introduces the fundamental physical principles that govern the behavior of the earth's atmosphere and climate. Topics to be studied include the general circulation of the atmosphere, motions on a rotating sphere, atmospheric thermodynamics, radiative transfer, the basic chemistry and physics of air pollution, the hydrologic cycle, climate dynamics and synoptic weather. The effects of these systems on public health, including mental health, rates of exercise, infectious disease, allergens and asthma, heat morbidity and mortality, will be assessed throughout the course.
This is the first 15-week course during the first term of the DPT curriculum and the first clinical courses designed to overview basic patient/client examination and evaluation skills in accordance with the International Classification of Functioning (ICF) and the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) Guide to Physical Therapy Practice.
Introduction to the patient management model with emphasis on examination is presented in a lecture-lab format. The examination process is detailed including systems review and tests and measures of peripheral nerve integrity, flexibility, motor function, muscle performance, posture, and range of motion. Emphasis is placed on, manual muscle testing and goniometry. Students are introduced to clinical decision-making.
What does interaction have to do to storytelling? How do we tell stories within media that are non-linear, including games, virtual reality, and immersive theater? How can we craft narratives that emerge from the dynamics of interaction, narratives experienced through exploration and choice? What design strategies exist regarding an understanding of character, plot, drama, time, space, and event within interactive fictions? This course will take a close look at the mechanics of storytelling within dynamic media, exploring connections between interactivity and narrative experience. The course will examine examples ranging from the design of Live Action Role Playing games to massively multi-player experiences, from hypertext to tarot cards, from Oculus to Punchdrunk. Content will be delivered through lectures, reading, discussion, case studies, and small studio-based exercises. Elective open to all SOA students.
This course introduces students to the basic principles and practices of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene. This field encompasses the anticipation, recognition, evaluation, and control of chemical, physical, and biological hazards arising in and from the workplace, home, and ambient environments. The course content encompasses many diverse aspects of the field such as the inhalation hazards of gases and vapors, the effects of particle size and morphology on aerodynamic behavior, respiratory system deposition, and disease risk, factors influencing dermal permeation of chemicals, biological monitoring for chemicals and their metabolites, and approaches to measurement and associated instrumentation. This course is intended to provide a basic understanding of the field for students in Public Health disciplines, and is the starting point for students who may choose to pursue occupational and environmental hygiene as a career.
This course provides students with a rigorous foundation in capital markets and investments, emphasizing asset valuation from an applied perspective. It covers valuation techniques for financial securities, essential to portfolio management and risk management applications. Key topics include arbitrage, the term structure of interest rates, portfolio theory, diversification, equilibrium asset pricing models such as the CAPM, market efficiency and inefficiencies, performance evaluation, analysis of common pooled investment vehicles, behavioral finance, and tax-aware investment strategies. Through interactive activities, case studies, and simulations utilizing real-world market data, students will acquire analytical skills and foundational knowledge required for advanced finance courses and practical roles within the investment industry
Molecular epidemiology is an interdisciplinary research approach that incorporates advanced laboratory methods into epidemiology to identify causes of disease and facilitate intervention. It is increasingly utilized as a tool to understand interactions between external ‘environmental’ exposures and genetic and other susceptibility factors, and to identify ‘at-risk’ populations and individuals. This course will cover conceptual and methodological issues in molecular epidemiology including the application of biomarkers to the study of disease causation, risk assessment, and prevention. The course covers principles in the selection and validation of biomarkers, study design and statistical methods in data analysis including gene-environment interactions, biological sample collection, storage, and banking, and current laboratory methods for biomarker analysis. These principles will be illustrated using examples from current molecular epidemiologic research in cancer, neurodevelopment, childhood asthma, screening, risk assessment and disease prevention. Students will gain proficiency and experience in critically evaluating key papers in molecular epidemiologic studies.
Formerly known as Advanced Corporate Finance develops the art and science of optimal strategic decision-making by applying corporate financial theory to cases of financial policy, financial instruments and valuation. In particular, the following topics are studied: cost of capital and capital budgeting, discounted cash flow valuation and financial multiples, payout policy, equity and debt financing, option pricing theory and applications, corporate control and recapitalizations. The classes are structured to maximize the synergy between theory and practice, providing students portable, durable and marketable tools for their internships and careers.
This course is designed to provide students with a comprehensive mechanistic understanding of the molecular events associated with chemically-induced degenerative and proliferative diseases.
The course will describe the major players in Debt Capital Markets, key institutions, broad empirical regularities, and analytical tools that are used for pricing and risk management. Some parts of the course will be analytical while others will be largely institutional. Each session will be organized around one or two key topics. In addition, class notes will be used to supplement and clarify issues. Some selected papers will also be kept in Canvas to serve as background reading for class discussions.Outline of Key Topics:- Overview of Debt Securities: What are debt securities? What are their sources of risk and return? Historical performance of fixed income securities. - Major players and their functions: United States Treasury, Federal Reserve Banks, Primary Dealers, Inter-Dealer Brokers (IDB), Rating agencies, Sell-side and Buy-side institutions. - Bond mathematics: a) price and yield conventions, b) PVBP, Duration (modified, effective and key-rate), convexity, and negative convexity. Trading applications: spread trades, bullet vs barbell positions. - Term Structure Theory: Spot rates, forward rates, par yields, modeling interest rates and pricing bonds. - Structural models of default: Modeling credit risk, credit spreads and their behavior, Distance to default, forecasting rating changes, high-yield and investment-grade debt markets - Government, Agency and Corporate markets - Municipal markets - MBS: Structure of MBS markets, prepayments, Option Adjusted Spreads, Pass-through securities, REMICs, risk measures - Asset-backed markets - Derivatives: Treasury futures, Interest Rate Swaps, and Single-name credit default swaps - Clearinghouses vs exchanges vs OTC markets
Prerequisites: ECON G6411 and G6412. Students will make presentations of original research.
Review of continuum mechanics in Cartesian coordinates; tensor calculus and the calculus of variation; large deformations in curvilinear coordinates; electricity problems and applications.
This course focuses on financial stability monitoring and evaluation as an essential discipline for macroeconomic, financial and prudential policymakers. We begin by defining financial stability, examining the dynamic behavior of macroeconomic models with developed models of the financial sector, and considering conceptual frameworks for assessment of threats to financial stability. From there, we identify key signatures of financial instability, how they can be measured and combined in a monitoring system, and how such measurement systems signal changes in the level of systemic risk. Through case studies, class participation and two assignments, you will interpret these measures, develop questions for further investigation and assess the nature and extent of systemic risk. You will be asked to write two policy memoranda: the first proposing and justifying a small set of financial stability indicators for monitoring; and the second assessing the risk of financial instability in indicators for that (or another) country, in indicators of vulnerabilities with strong network effects, and in unconventional risks such as cyber or widespread trade tensions. Both assignments emphasize developing timely and persuasive analysis that prompts policymakers to consider the need for action to preserve financial stability.
This course explains the toxic effects of chemicals (including drugs and other agents) on living organisms. An overview of the history, principles, mechanisms and regulatory applications of toxicology is provided. Also, the absorption, distribution and excretion of toxins are described. The toxic effects of chemicals (including cancer) on the digestive (liver), respiratory, cardiovascular, nervous, hematopoetic, immune, dermal, urinary, endocrine and reproductive systems and development forms the major portion of the course. Members of chemical classes such as solvents, metals, pesticides, air pollutants (sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides and ozone), radiation, plants, fungi, venoms and pharmaceuticals are used as examples. Environmental toxicology form the primary emphasis, but aspects of occupational, food, pharmaceutical and clinical toxicology are also included.
An optional addition hour for credit is provided for those students needing a background in anatomy, histology, chemistry, biochemistry, cell biology, and the normal physiology of the digestive (liver), respiratory, cardiovascular, nervous, hematopoetic, immune, dermal, urinary, endocrine and reproductive systems.
This short course will start with a brief overview of the post-crisis reforms and focus on the gap that macroprudential policy was meant to fill: the lack of a system-wide perspective on financial stability. It will explore the conceptual and practical difficulties in defining financial stability and setting an operational target for policy; provide a high-level overview of the tools for monitoring systemic risk, including stress tests, as well as of the various macroprudential policy instruments available to mitigate it; and discuss the governance challenges in setting up an institutional framework for macroprudential policy. The course will review how the major advanced economies (US, UK, Euro area) have tackled these issues, as well as discuss aspects of macroprudential policy specific to emerging market (EM) and developing countries. Lastly, the course will examine recent and emerging challenges to financial stability, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, cyber risk, and the transition to a low-carbon economy; discuss the experience so far with macroprudential policy responses to these challenges; and assess the adequacy of the existing tools to address them.
This course will have a practical focus, emphasizing the perspective and actual experience of policymakers. By the end of this course, students should have a good understanding of the concepts of financial stability and systemic risk and their measurement, as well as how they are applied in the real world; the difference between the micro- and macro-prudential approach to financial regulation; the architecture and working of macroprudential policy in a variety of country circumstances; the role of central banks and the associated political economy challenges; and emerging risks to financial stability. Students will be encouraged, including through class discussions and assignments, to approach these issues from the standpoint of policymakers.
Prerequisites: G6215 and G6216. Open-economy macroeconomics, computational methods for dynamic equilibrium analysis, and sources of business cycles.
Digital Storytelling III: Immersive Production is a mix of theory and practice. Teams of students work to design, build and deploy a digital storytelling experience that is staged for an audience at the end of the semester. The course combines project work, mentors, emerging technologies and collaborative methods to create a dynamic hands-on immersive environment that mixes story and code.
How should society regulate environmental health risks? Some argue that the health of the citizenry is paramount, and that the role of government should be to protect against any possibility of harm. Others back an approach based on a full accounting of the benefits and costs of environmental protection. And in the current political environment, ideological positions sometimes eclipse analysis. These debates occur against a backdrop of uncertainty about the health risks posed by specific environmental insults. In spite of all this ambiguity and complexity, policy happens: congress makes laws, regulatory agencies enforce the law, and most polluters comply.
In this class we will study several frameworks for thinking about these questions. Environmental economics, in the form of benefit-cost analyses, is the primary framing used by the US Federal Government. We will explore its conceptual foundations and its applications in the US regulatory context. In our discussions of the sociology of science perspective, we will examine how environmental health scientists interact with the policy process, and think through how such interactions might be improved. The third perspective is decision theory, and in particular, choice under uncertainty. We will consider the basic analytics of expected value, and some permutations and applications that are germane to the environmental health policy domain. In addition to these conceptual frameworks, we will analyze and interpret cases drawn from recent experiences with environmental health regulation in the United States.
This course is designed to introduce Mailman students to core frameworks for thinking about environmental health policy. The course is open to all students.
Science Basic to Public Health Practice (SBPHP) is a 3 credit, one semester course designed to provide students with a better understanding of the science underlying topical issues vital to public health. In past years, this class has examined scientific support (or not) for legislative and policy decisions concerning the potential human health effects related to exposure to bisphenols, UV and low-dose ionizing radiation, mercury and other heavy metals, GMO foods, alternative energy sources, or talcum (baby) powder. In addition to case studies such as these, the course provides a basic introduction to the biochemistry, cell & molecular biology, genetics and toxicology surrounding carcinogenesis, neurotoxicity, endocrine disruption and damage to specific target organs and tissues. Students in this course are often drawn from a cross-section of different educational and scientific backgrounds including the Schools of Public Health, Physicians & Surgeons, Journalism, SIPA and Law. The diversity of backgrounds provide for vigorous discussions from various perspectives and enriches the student experience. In essence, this course is designed for and appropriate for any student interested in gaining a clearer basic science understanding of the biological processes underlying current public health concerns.
Constitutive equations of viscoelastic and plastic bodies. Formulation and methods of solution of the boundary value, problems of viscoelasticity and plasticity.
Through the process of developing, pitching, researching, and writing a treatment for a documentary short, students will develop an overview of the documentary process from development through distribution. The course will touch on research, story, production and post production logistics, legal, financing, budgeting, distribution, and ethical issues in the creation of documentary films.
This class, will primarily focus on the challenges of interpreting and performing Shakespeare.
What should you expect to learn from this class?
1. Develop and refine a high-quality investment process
2. Build background and primary research skills
3. Attain greater awareness and insight into metacognition and psychology in investing
4. Understand the different ways of managing risk in investing
5. Develop and cultivate relationships with industry experts
6. Build relationships with fantastic alumni
There are many ways to make money in the markets and our goal is to provide you
with an investment process/approach that can be applied not just to public investing,
which is the focus of this class, but also to other asset classes.
Speakers: Each class will be supplemented with a guest speaker who is an expert in
their field and in the key topic of each class to further bridge theory and practice.
Speakers will include hedge fund managers, experienced investment analysts, CEOs,
industry experts, and investigative researchers.
Mentors: Each student will be provided a mentor from the industry. We encourage
you to connect with them regularly, utilize their feedback in your work, and build a longterm relationship.
The “Private Equity Lab” offers a distinctive experiential learning opportunity for students to engage directly with private equity firms on real-world projects. This course is a blend of academic instruction and hands-on experience, tailored for those looking to deepen their understanding of private equity (PE) through practical application. Partnering with PE firms identified through the Columbia Business School's (CBS) alumni network in the New York City area, this program supports students who work on specific research projects integral to the firms' current deals, portfolio management, or investment strategy. These projects are screened to be mission-crucial but not mission-critical for the firms. This ensures students will work on meaningful projects while protecting the partner firm’s performance. The course thus facilitates a connection between a student and a PE firm with a self-contained research project that could benefit from the student’s skills.
The course aims to coordinate a collection of such projects that would otherwise be organized as “Field Study Projects” in independent studies and seeks to overcome the challenge of students sourcing these opportunities and identifying faculty advisors to mentor the project. Importantly, this is not an internship arrangement, and students are not paid (thus, the hours worked are capped at the usual amount of total expected class time).
This second course of three consecutive courses focuses on using a systems and developmental approach to expand the knowledge of the advanced practice student. This course will focus on the differential diagnosis and comprehensive multi-modal management of commonly encountered acute and chronic physical and mental health illnesses as they affect individuals across the lifespan. Emphasis will be placed on the age specific biopsychosocial variables influencing those health problems and behaviors which are most likely to present, and are most amenable to management in a community setting.
Risk Assessment is the process of correlating the amount of exposure (to a chemical, activity, or situation) with expected harm. This Department core course is primarily concerned with toxic substances to which humans are exposed through their environments, in the context of whether and how exposure to such toxicants should be controlled: risk assessment. Toxicological and epidemiological principles are used primarily to provide (uncertain) quantitative estimates of the harm associated with a given level of exposure: dose-response. Using a dose-response relationship necessitates quantifying exposure, an uncertain endeavor that relies on understanding human physiology and behavior. The quantitative estimates of harm from anthropogenic activity that risk assessment gives are just the starting point for the challenge of risk management: What do we do now?" The resulting decisions are influenced by both economic factors (e.g., cost-benefit analysis) and psychological factors (e.g., risk perception)."
This course is designed to be an applications oriented course and will draw heavily upon real world change of control case studies. The course builds on the prior courses in corporate finance. The course will not introduce significantly new finance principles or analytical techniques other than those to which the student has been exposed to previously in the prerequisite introductory courses in finance at Columbia. The course will seek to apply basic finance principles and analytical techniques to actual problems likely to be encountered by senior management of major corporations or those who are the advisors to such management in the context of an M&A transaction. At the conclusion of the course, the student will have gained an appreciation for the role M&A plays on today's corporate landscape and have formed an opinion as to whether or not an M&A transaction makes sense" for the firm. The student should expect at the conclusion of this course to have gained a level of competency in M&A commensurate with an entry-level investment banking associate in M&A. Whether or not the student "practices" M&A, the course will afford the student with an insider's look into what is an undeniable major force on today's corporate landscape. Accordingly, students who are interested in investment banking, consulting, equity research, corporate development, corporate lending, strategic planning, private equity, leveraged finance, or proprietary trading many wish to consider this course."
What is “health,” biologically speaking? What is aging? These big, controversial questions are the subject of much debate, but the answers are crucial to everything we do in public health: what kinds of treatments and research we pursue, how we evaluate our progress, and whether we make a difference in people’s lives. The current biomedical framework is built on a reductionist view of these questions, building up the organism one molecule, cell, or tissue at a time. However, new research is increasingly showing us the interconnected nature of our biological systems, where risk factors for one disease are often risk factors for many. This course will provide a foundation in this new research, showing how it relates to old knowledge and paradigms, and using it to build a global understanding of what an organism is, how it maintains it health, and how this gets lost during the aging process. All of this will be situated within a public health perspective: how can we, as public health researchers, use this knowledge to ask better questions, to identify true risks and evaluate interventions, and most importantly to grow the health of our societies.
The course focuses on the set of concepts and techniques used to analyze and finance income-producing real property. It starts with the characteristics that make real property different, including cash flow uncertainties, debt sources and tax features. It then considers the available strategies and structures of real estate finance, including capital structure choices for construction and permanent financing. Extensive use is then made of cases to illustrate the range of choices and outcomes.
Real Estate Transactions is to provide you with an understanding of the institutional framework of commercial real estate transactions. It is the complement to the analytics of finance and investment. Real estate transactions draw upon a vast array of laws and regulations - property law, contract law, land-use law, environment law, securities law, constitutional law, corporate law, bankruptcy law, insurance law, and riparian law. Tax considerations similarly play a significant role in shaping transactions as real estate is highly sensitive to taxation at all levels of government and across all stages of property ownership. You should finish the course knowing how the terms and conditions spelled out in a term sheet find their way into particular sections and provisions of a deals legal documentation. To succeed in this business, you will need to be savvy consumers of legal expertise, notwithstanding the knowledge and expertise of your attorney.
This course is a quantitative companion to Molecular Epidemiology (P8307) and will discuss quantitative methods and considerations needed to conduct epidemiology research involving biomarkers. Using ‘real world’ examples, this course covers topics including data accession, storage, and sharing. It includes a comprehensive evaluation of sources of biomarker data variability and how these features are handled analytically in the conduct of molecular epidemiology research. The course covers topics including how to handle values less than the limits of detection, the identification of outliers and variability due to batch effects, freeze/thaw cycles along with sources of biologic variability including urinary dilution and lipid concentration. It also discuss methods for implementing genome-wide and epigenome-wide association studies, sample and data pooling along with considerations for returning individual and aggregate-level molecular epidemiology results to study participants, scientific and lay audiences. Class activities include quantitive demonstrations and discussions. Assessment will be based on four assignments that include responses to quantitive and qualitative prompts using R-markdown.
The course "Private Equity: Capital Formation, Innovation, and Impact" focuses on the dynamics in private equity between General Partners (GPs) and Limited Partners (LPs), especially through the private equity capital formation process, the market innovations driven by the needs of both GPs and LPs and the increasing emphasis on sustainability and impact. We start with an overview of the investor’s – limited partner’s – problem: allocating capital to private equity managers, funds and co-direct investments. The course covers the major types of limited partners, including both the traditional LPs, such as pensions, endowment, and insurers, and the fastest growing global LP segments, such as sovereign wealth funds in Asia and the Middle East, family offices, and private wealth in Europe and Asia. We will investigate how illiquidity and the absence of periodic mark-to-markets stress the traditional portfolio construction problem. The private equity industry has experienced several financial innovations that have altered the risk-return profile and impacted the set of investors able to access the asset class. We will discuss secondary transactions, evergreen structures, and co-investments. Finally, given their size and political influence, institutional investors are at the forefront of sustainability and ESG initiatives. The course will cover how private equity uniquely addresses these challenges. The course includes lectures, case discussions, and guest speakers. The topics covered in the class include:
- Capital formation: the global landscape of institutional LP capital
- Sovereign wealth funds, private wealth, and family offices
- Secondary transactions for limited partner positions and co-investments
- The role of state-backed capital
- Portfolio construction and management with private equity as a major component
- ESG and other sustainability objectives
- Evergreen funds and fund extension issues
Students interested in careers in any financial industry where they expect to interact with large institutional investors or private equity investors will benefit from this course.
Careful consideration is needed in the design and implementation of molecular epidemiologic studies that leverage biomarkers of exposure, disease susceptibility, disease etiology, prediction, and prognosis. This course aims to provide insight into major methodologies and logistic considerations when incorporating the use of biological specimens in epidemiologic research from concept to publication. For this purpose, we will utilize simulated laboratory experiences and a mock molecular epidemiology study for hands-on insight into the application of biomarkers in epidemiologic settings in conjunction with class discussions on published findings. Class activities include small group assignments where each group takes responsibility of designated tasks as part of a mock molecular epidemiology study and report back their activities for in-class discussion throughout the semester. This work will culminate in a final report at the end of the semester. In addition, 1-2 students in each session will be assigned to lead an in-class discussion that critically exams a published molecular epidemiology study. Students will also complete a virtual lab notebook that assesses material covered in the assigned virtual laboratory.
In this twelve-person seminar, we will review the structure of the high yield bond and private lending markets and develop a practical approach to assess credit risk. The class will be divided into four groups of three students each. Homework assignments and presentations are to be completed collaboratively within each group. We will discuss market trends and analyze recent debt offerings. The emphasis will be placed on developing analytic skills for reviewing corporate credit (i.e., understanding the economics/cash generation capacity of a business, one’s position in a balance sheet and rights as a creditor) and assessing how the market measures and prices credit risk.
Industrial policy is returning, and this is not just a US phenomenon China, the European Union (EU), Japan, and Korea have each increased subsidies in support of key industries, while a number of countries, such as Australia and the United Kingdom (UK) have been updating their national lists of sensitive sectors that are required to remain in the hands of domestic firms and individuals New export control measures have been introduced by the United States and other nations, and a combination of legal and policy tools are being utilized to support priority sectors, limit, and direct foreign investment and collaboration, and alter trade and investment flows Most of these measures have been introduced in the name of national security or some combination of national security, supply chain resilience, and climate change The significant US measures have introduced tension between the US and some of its allies, and of course, geopolitical tensions with China are a significant feature of the background to the measures—even as the world community finds it hard to get together and address the global challenges that it is now facing (climate change etc.) Against this background, this year’s international trade regulation seminar will examine the root causes of this phenomenon, the legal and policy instruments that are being utilized by the US and other jurisdictions, and more generally the consequences for the world trading system and multilateral cooperation The seminar will be composed of a mixture of SIPA and CLS students.
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To begin to develop an understanding and vocabulary in relation to theatrical design with a central emphasis on the roles of scenery and costumes in telling a dramatic story.
The class will begin with a general introduction into the issues and goals of the course, after which there will be three sessions devoted to issues of scene design and three sessions devoted to issues of costume design. Shakespeare’s Hamlet will be the focus for these discussions. Over the course of these sessions, directors will be asked to gather visual research and, in the end, arrive at a concept for their production of the play.
Directors will also be asked to visit one set and one costume class so that they can see how designers are grappling with the same principles and developing different approaches to interpreting and realizing a theatrical text for the stage.
This course is intended to provide students with an overview of the range of investing and funding approaches used by impact investors. This will be done through a combination of lectures, discussions, and presentations by leading impact investors and thought leaders. The substantive areas covered will include: (1) financial instruments and techniques used to fund social enterprises (for-profit, nonprofit and hybrids); (2) the differing financial return and social impact return expectations of impact investors; (3) how investors/funders and investment/wealth managers and advisors structure their portfolios and funds; and (4) strategies used by impact investors to search for impact investing opportunities. As well as investor/funder perspectives, the course will explore the role of financial innovation in creating opportunities to finance social enterprises, and the enabling regulatory framework and information intermediaries that are needed to support the development of robust social capital markets.
This class will focus in on how to direct opera and will cover the process of making an opera from analysing the score until the opening night. The aims are to: 1) Introduce theatre directing students to the practical differences between theatre and opera directing; 2) Equip them with practical skills and knowledge so that they could walk into any opera rehearsal room (either as an assistant or a director) and know exactly what to expect and how to manage the process; 3) Offer them techniques to strengthen their skill of interpretation or concept by guiding them to focus in on one specific opera case study; and 4) Introduce them to specialist professional practitioners, like conductors, singers and set designers, to allow them to understand the art form through the lens of the collaborators the opera director works with.
This course will teach students how to construct investment portfolios for various asset allocation purposes (family offices, endowments, foundations, etc.). The course will teach the history and evolution of the asset allocation industry and its varying schools of thought. The professors will draw on their own insights and frameworks developed at East Rock Capital and several industry practitioner guest speakers. Students will learn how to identify high-conviction investment opportunities in established and emerging managers and direct investment opportunities and how to construct diversified portfolios focused on long-term wealth creation rather than short-term performance. By the end of the class the students will have a strong foundation to start their careers in asset allocation.
The course will focus on identifying specialized managers. Students will analyze case studies of both direct and indirect investments and learn strategies for conducting thorough due diligence. A significant component of the course will involve portfolio construction techniques. Students will learn how to categorize holdings into appropriate buckets (e.g., "Generational Assets," "Liquid Assets," and "Family-Directed Assets") to balance risk, return, and investment goals.
The objective is to equip students with practical frameworks for sophisticated wealth management tailored to multi-generational family investors.
The course will meet weekly, and preparation for each class is critical. We will have several outside speakers to research each week and weekly reading assignments based on that week’s module. The final exam will be a semester-long project to put everything we have learned all semester to work.
This course is most relevant for students interested in asset allocation, wealth management, running a family office, and investing. It is an application-based course that is not open to the bidding process.
Climate change may be today’s most serious challenge to the future of humanity. Scientists have concluded that avoiding catastrophic climate change will require a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions to zero by 2050 or shortly thereafter, a dramatic reversal after several hundred years of industrial growth. This will require a rapid transformation of the global economy, requiring trillions of dollars in capital and creating new and risks and opportunities for investors to finance the transition. This course builds on the lessons learned in B8705 Business and Climate Change. The course begins with an introduction to climate finance and the topic of carbon markets, followed by classes on project finance to finance renewable energy, venture and growth capital to finance emerging climate technologies, and public equity strategies including divestment and ESG investing. Financial products in the fixed income and insurance markets are examined for climate impact, followed by a class session on development finance to understand the unique challenges and solutions to investing in climate solutions in emerging markets. The course wraps-up with a class session on the strategies used by banks and investment firms for the transition to net zero, concluding with a discussion of the impact of the climate crisis on opportunities and careers in finance.
No business and no government can ignore China. The Peoples Republic of China is the second largest economy in the world and is on course to overtake the US economy sometime in the future. China represents huge opportunities for businesses and public policies but it also presents a set of tough challenges. This course is designed to provide a framework for understanding these issues. As several other emerging market economies hope to follow Chinas footsteps, the conceptual framework in the course should help one to better appreciate risks and rewards in these economies as well. In this course, we will discuss what motivates the Chinese as savers, consumers, workers, and entrepreneurs. We will explore both the people factor and the government factor underlying Chinas growth story. We will not be satisfied with simply repeating the conventional wisdoms, but will probe deeper than what we often read or hear. We will also combine conceptual knowledge with practical insight by inviting distinguished speakers with rich business or government experience to share their perspectives on Chinas business environment and other related topics.
In the dynamic real world of corporate finance, the difference between success and failure often hinges on strategic decisions made at the Board or C-suite level. "Topics in Strategic Corporate Finance" is an elective course designed for students who want to familiarize themselves with the key strategic financial decisions that firms are likely to face over their lifetime. These decisions can shape the future of corporations.
The course explores pivotal corporate finance events or decisions a firm is likely to encounter across its lifecycle (Figure 1). Topics covered include various forms of private equity such as venture capital, growth equity, and leveraged buyouts, as well as mergers & acquisitions, corporate restructurings, initial public offerings, public and private debt financing, and distressed situations. Additionally, the course delves into critical decisions surrounding capital structure optimization and payout policies. It's not just about learning the theory; it's about applying it in real-world contexts where the stakes are high and the outcomes are transformative.
Building upon the theoretical tools developed in the core Columbia Business School "Corporate Finance" course, this course aims to provide students with direct, firsthand insights into the mechanics of real corporate finance transactions and deal-making. This includes understanding the parties and decisions involved, the regulatory framework, the application of theoretical corporate finance principles and tools, tactics and processes, as well as engagement with shareholders and other stakeholders.
Lectures are supplemented by experience-based discussions drawing from real-world corporate finance transactions. The course also includes guest contributions by active C-suite executives, senior professionals, and corporate finance practitioners who have led or advised on such transactions. The culmination of this course is an end-of-term small group project. Working in teams, students will apply the concepts and strategies discussed throughout the course to present a novel corporate finance idea. The project provides an opportunity to experience the collaborative and strategic decision-making process that defines successful corporate finance professionals. While most students tend to choose a public M&A idea, they can select from a wide array of transactions discussed during the course.
The course’s objective is to present a rational investment philosophy and process for equity security analysis and capital allocation. The course has three sections:
(1) Investment Philosophy and Capital Markets
What is the objective of security analysis and investing?
Why does a value-based methodology win over time?
Does Modern Portfolio Theory explain empirical evidence?
What is more instructive for investment analysis – determining value or expected return?
What is the difference between “cheap” and “mis-priced”?
(2) Investment Process – Valuation and Competitive Strategy
What is the difference between a great business, a good business and a bad business?
How can we evaluate when a business and/or an industry’s mid-long term economics change?
How can we evaluate company specific structural mis-pricings that exist?
How can we categorize investment opportunities to improve how we value and define them?
How can we define a process to source mis-pricings into investment categories?
What are the commonly used valuation methodologies and which are most instructive for certain situations?
What is the most effective framework for modeling a business and what are the pitfalls?
How can we evaluate management’s history of capital allocation? How important is it and how do we factor this into valuation?
(3) Capital Allocation and Global Macro
What top-down inputs are instructive for a security analyst?
What lessons have we learned from previous bubbles?
Can computing and evaluating asset class expected returns help source where a security analyst might find mis-pricings and compounding opportunities?
How do we evaluate secular headwinds or tailwinds for industries and businesses?
What are the pitfalls of consensus thinking and is there a benefit to seeking the edge of the crowd?
What are the key economic data points that truly inform the analyst where we are in certain cycles?
The curriculum will seek to answer these questions by first reviewing investing principals and concepts. Thereafter we will bring in company executives and investment practitioners to provide real world evidence of these principles in action and allow for students to participate in a
thoughtful, factual dialogue.
Geographic Information Systems (GIS) has emerged as an essential tool for public health researchers and practitioners. The GIS for Public Health course will offer students an opportunity to gain skills in using GIS software to apply spatial analysis techniques to public health research questions. The laboratory section of the course will give students the opportunity for hands-on learning in how to use GIS systems to analyze data and produce maps and reports. These laboratory exercises will be designed to increasingly challenge the students to incorporate the analytic skills and techniques they have learned in other courses with the geospatial and spatial statistics techniques commonly used in GIS. Guest speakers will be invited to share their real-world examples of GIS in Public Health research and practice. These speakers will include Columbia researchers and staff from government agencies or non-profit organizations.
This course combines the methods and teachings of security analysis with practical buy-side methodologies to identify and research attractive value investments. Emphasis will be placed on the development and implementation of a sound and repeatable research process. Both long and short methodologies will be covered during the semester.
This course will leverage your theoretical learning in security analysis plus require you to develop business acumen and industry expertise. A combination of fundamental analysis and assessment of intrinsic value will be balanced with thematic thinking and business judgment. The course should arm you with the tools to identify attractive value investments through a variety of methodologies for several alternative fund strategies. Throughout the semester, students will prepare five full investment memoranda on assigned stock securities. After the first name, which will be assigned to the entire class, subsequent stocks will be assigned to small groups of students. Certain students will be required to develop the long thesis while others develop the short thesis. Ultimately each student will select one of their ideas to further develop (long or short) for a final presentation to the class and outside fund managers. The class will be kept small to take advantage of the instructional method. Class discussions will be complemented by guest discussions from highly regarded investment professionals from the long only and hedge fund community.
This is a Law School course. For more detailed course information, please go to the Law School Curriculum Guide at: http://www.law.columbia.edu/courses/search
This will be a demanding class meant for the student intent on entering the investment management industry post-graduation. As such, only students who demonstrate a compelling interest in professional investment management will be admitted, and admission will be limited to 10 students to ensure quality of experience for all involved. This seminar is not open to the bidding process and no auditors will be allowed. The purpose of this section of Advanced Investment Research is to help students learn how to rip apart" a company and draw thoughtful conclusions about whether it might make for a good investment opportunity. Topics will include stock selection, identifying the key investment factors, developing a variant view, and networking with industry contacts to help confirm or refute one's thesis. The class will culminate with students delivering a detailed research recommendation on a single investment idea to a panel of judges. The goal is for students to leave class with an actionable investment idea and a framework for how to develop and research ideas in the future.
This class will be demanding and potentially overwhelming if you are not prepared to dedicate significant time and energy to it. Students should expect 20-25 hours of work per week outside of class, and the work load may be higher if you have not previously done detailed fundamental investment research. We recommend that you do not take this class if you are unable to put in this amount of time because you will not be able to keep up, and you will not be happy with your final grade.
Note: this class will also include a substantial pre-class assignment which will be a material part of the final grade.
Please note that this course was open to Value Investing applicants only, and is not biddable. The roster has been set, and the course is now closed. This course will help students learn the process of performing investment case studies. Investors use case studies to build a library of mental models and real-world analogies to facilitate pattern recognition in order to make superior investment decisions, refine search filters, identify key investment factors, assess how investments are likely to play out, develop and monetize their circle of competence, and to understand the life cycle of investments and where we stand today in that cycle. This class is complementary to the Value Investing Program.
Successful investing in equities markets requires more than just picking stocks given the wide array of equity products at a portfolio managers disposal. This course is intended to explain how derivative products like options, futures, ETFs, structured notes, portfolio trades, credit default swaps and convertible bonds are structured, valued and used by all types of investors globally.The course is designed from both the perspective of the trader who has to account for the real-world costs of hedging derivatives and the investor who cares primarily how the derivative can improve the return or reduce the risk of his/her portfolio. It should complement other classes you have had on derivatives.My course notes have been, developed from the experiences I have had working with institutional and private clients for 18 years at Goldman Sachs.The course is broken into three sections:Indices, Exchange Traded Funds, Futures, Swaps and Portfolio Trading The course starts with a discussion of "Delta 1" equity derivatives, or products that move one for one with the underlying security.Equity Options, Credit Derivatives and Convertibles and Structured Notes Drawing on what youve already learned in other options classes, we explore options based equity and credit products, like equity options, structured notes, credit default swaps and convertible bonds. The goal of this portion of the course is to focus on what real-world factors influence trading in these products and show how they are linked to one another.Strategies A large component of this course involves exploring how investors use these products. Some investors, like pension, mutual and hedge funds, are driven by economic and risk management needs solely in their use of equity derivatives. Corporations, individuals and insurance companies worry about accounting, legal and tax considerations, so any discussion of how they use derivatives requires we cover those issues.Investors outside the United States have unique strategies because of the way the markets developed in Europe and Asia. We discuss these strategies in the last few classes.The material will be delivered through a combination of lectures, guest speakers, case studies and readings. Guest speakers include trading and research business leaders at investment banks and pension funds, as well as investment management institutions."
The course is designed for individuals who wish to learn more about the investment strategies employed by hedge funds. Students range from those considering a career switch out of a very broad range of activities to this style of asset management to those who are interested in affiliated activities, from marketing hedge funds to selling to them. The course is outlined in more detail in the attached syllabus, or in the brief video.
This class will focus on an increasingly important (yet academically underdeveloped) area of intersection in law and finance: Legal-Financial Arbitrage (LFA). This field is a subset of financial arbitrage, a well-known practice of spotting hard-to-justify price differences among two (or more) identical (or highly correlated) investments and then capitalizing on those differences in a riskless (or nearly riskless) way. LFA is a subset of financial arbitrage, but LFA focuses on pricing differences occasioned by legal/regulatory uncertainties or anomalies (e.g., contract interpretation and enforceability, regulatory status and enforcement, etc.), capitalizing on those differences using the tools of arbitrage trading.
LFA is a true cross-profession enterprise. Although financial arbitrage is nothing new in financial markets, and assessing legal risks is the stock-in-trade for attorneys, the two skill sets have started to intersect meaningfully in LFA, as so-called “strategic situation” and “merger arbitrage” traders have increasingly focused their attention on legal matters that may not be fully appreciated by other market participants, either because they are less attentive to legal and regulatory situations or because the trade rests on unique judgments about how legal matters will unfold.
The most commonly employed LFA trading strategies concern announced M&A transactions (which provide a natural setting where the value of an M&A target’s stock should home in on a known value at a future time if a deal closes). We will focus much of our attention on M&A transactions. But like LFA trading generally, we will not be so limited. LFA opportunities exist in many other law-relevant domains, such as corporate governance and board control fights, bankruptcies, commercial/IP litigation, and mass tort claims. What will link all the situations we study, however, is the central importance of combining sound legal assessments to generate (probabilistic) forecasts of the outcomes of these situations, to assess how these outcomes will affect prices of the firms’ traded securities. We will discuss how biased beliefs and the risks faced by market participants can lead to investment opportunities. Finally, we will discuss the implementation of optimal arbitrage positions. Accordingly, we hope to facilitate dialogues and innovative idea generation
between
JD and MBA students (working in teams).
The purpose of this course is to provide practical experience in analyzing epidemiologic data. The goal is to familiarize you with various analytic methods and their uses to answer specific epidemiologic research questions. Brief reviews of relevant statistical methods, their applications in epidemiologic research and interpretation of results will be covered step by step in this course. You will be provided with several data sets from epidemiologic (case-control and cohort) studies and will be asked to conduct analyses of these data.
TBD
There’s an old Wall Street adage: “Don’t short valuation.” So, is everything else fair game? What about frauds, are those sure things? The purpose of this class is to answer these questions and equip students to profitably employ short-selling investment strategies. We will introduce students to all aspects of short-selling. However, we will assume that students have prior knowledge of the basics mechanics of shorting a stock, as well as various accounting tricks and “shenanigans” that companies employ to mask weaknesses in their business. To that end, we will provide some materials that should be reviewed before the start of class to review these concepts.
In class, we will first dig into the academic literature behind short selling. We will discuss what has worked historically, and whether or not it has been successful as of late. We will then read and discuss case studies on “famous” shorts and frauds. We will, with the benefit of hindsight, try to identify inflection points in the arc of each company. The students will also become familiar with the risks of shorting frauds too early. We will examine various short selling strategies, including “activist shorting”, that are currently being employed in the markets. We will evaluate what elements make for a compelling short “pitch.” Additionally, students will learn about idea sourcing, portfolio management, risk management, and compliance.
While the title and focus of the class is “Short Selling,” it is important to note that the techniques and investment approaches we will discuss are highly applicable to long-focused investing as well. Deciding not to own a security that is included in a tracking index is functionally the same as shorting the security, and understanding a company’s true profitability (and not the version that it promotes through its accounting decisions) is highly important for valuation efforts. A deep and skeptical research approach should assist fundamental analysts in all fields. We will approach this topic from both theoretical and practical perspectives, drawing heavily on the academic literature around short selling as well as highly-experienced practitioners. We will examine what makes a profitable short, and pay particular attention to unsuccessful shorts and
how to avoid them. The mosaic of analysis will include accounting, market microstructure, fundamental factors, behavioral finance, value-added research, and various v
Cities are dynamic centers of human achievement where new ideas are generated, industries flourish, and cultures intertwine. Highly skilled workers, creatives, entrepreneurs, and scientists have long been drawn to these dense urban environments due to social and professional networks, industry clustering and the myriad of cultural and public resources cities offer. However, the Covid-19 pandemic disrupted the trend towards increasing urbanization as workers emptied urban downtowns and worked remotely. These disruptions have important consequences for city economies and urban and suburban real estate valuations. Cities are now forced to transform once again and re-imagine their future in a world of hybrid work, AI, and climate change. This course will explore how urban centers are adapting to these seismic challenges and how leaders must reconcile future growth with social and environmental stewardship. This course will explore the process of disruption and transformation using cities as the unit of analysis. It will combine conceptual analysis with real-world strategies pursued by cities such as New York City to effectuate urban regeneration. This includes critical infrastructure underpinning urban mobility, clean energy, and real estate investments in housing, office, industrial and entertainment assets, often through public-private partnerships. This course is meant for MBA students seeking a bigger-picture perspective on the intersection of business and government in the realm of real estate, innovation and infrastructure.
This is a semester-long course that addresses issues in adult psychiatric epidemiology. The course begins with a review of the origins of psychiatric epidemiology in several classic studies. It also describes major recent studies, presents evidence concerning the reliability and validity of psychiatric diagnosis in community studies and summarizes evidence derived from epidemiological studies that is relevant to issues of etiology. The course also covers selection into treatment, treatment effectiveness, the distribution of treatment, and social factors affecting course and role functioning.
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A study of the theoretical and practical aspects of ethnomusicological fieldwork, using the New York area as a setting for exercises and individual projects.
Methods used in cancer epidemiology are critically examined through weekly assigned readings, lectures and class discussion. Topics covered in this course include molecular and cellular biology of cancer, basic mechanisms of carcinogenesis, and the roles of chemical, viral, hormonal, genetic and nutritional factors in human cancer. The natural history of cancer analysis of time trends in cancer incidence, mortality, survival and geographic distribution are also examined. Screening and treatment issues will be discussed.
The course "Private Equity" focuses on the essential aspects of corporate finance relevant to the private equity industry. The course follows the "private equity cycle" of selection, valuation, and harvesting. Initially, students learn to evaluate a target company from the perspective of a private equity firm, keeping in mind the needs of investors and management. The course then delves into financial modeling, deal structuring, PE fund raising and private equity investment management. We will cover the basic LBO model used throughout the industry to structure and value deals.
“Advanced Private Equity” expands on the topics learned in “Private Equity” from a PE investment professional's perspective. The course follows the private equity cycle from sourcing to exit. With the help of guest speakers from the PE industry, students will learn about the early stages of the deal process: sourcing and diligence. The class will build a complex three-statement LBO model, learning about how modern deals are structured with private credit, management rollovers, and non-traditional capital structure decisions. The course shifts to the ownership side of PE deals: value creation. We will cover the strategies used by PE owners to grow and improve their portfolio companies, incorporating initiatives into our models. The course uniquely combines lectures and guest speakers on all topics, where the guest speakers bring applications of all key issues to the classroom.
Spatial epidemiology is the study of geographic distributions and determinants of health in populations. The goal of this class is to introduce students to relevant theory and methods, in order to provide the foundational skills required to understand and critically analyze spatial epidemiologic studies. The course emphasizes spatial epidemiology as a sub-discipline of epidemiology while acknowledging the many scientific disciplines that shape it, including biostatistics, cartography, criminology, demography, economics, geography, psychology, and sociology. We begin by defining spatial epidemiology and exploring these multi-disciplinary roots, with particular regard to the theoretical causal mechanisms that provide a bridge between social and physical environmental conditions and population health. We then provide a basic overview of geographic information systems and their utility for descriptive spatial epidemiology—including data visualization and cluster detection—before demonstrating how to incorporate spatial structures within conventional epidemiologic study designs to examine associational and causational relationships between environmental conditions and health outcomes. Class readings describe advances in theory and methods for spatial epidemiology and related disciplines, as well as concrete examples of applications for communicable disease, non-communicable disease, and injury epidemiology. This course is intended for doctoral and 2ndyear MPH students.
Leveraged Buyout. The term itself has a mystique to many people, but at its core it refers to buying a company (a “buyout”) using leverage (i.e., debt), usually a lot of it. While many types of business owners can utilize borrowings to fund an acquisition, the term is synonymous with private equity firms buying companies using significant amounts of borrowed capital. Leveraged buyouts date back to the 1960s, when the predecessors of the original private equity firms were bootstrapping deals together. While much has changed in the intervening decades—including the development and maturation of the private equity industry—some things have not, including leverage's importance in any buyout. Without one or more lenders or other credit providers, there cannot be a leveraged buyout; therefore, lenders and credit investors are important stakeholders in closing every private equity buyout. In addition, the leverage places certain constraints on the borrower, so the lender or credit provider is a key stakeholder in the ultimate success of the private equity firm’s investment.
By its nature, the financing of leveraged transactions is significantly different from that of large-cap publicly traded or Fortune 500 companies, which often have access to low-cost commercial paper, the investment-grade bond market, global banks, and numerous other parts of the capital markets. While those companies may borrow tens of billions of dollars from banks and other sources, those companies’ debt is typically considered relatively low risk (perhaps having a low debt-to-cap ratio or denoted as “investment grade”). Today, leverage in buyouts is often 40%, 50%, or even 60%+ of the company’s total capitalization. Underwriting for these deals in significantly different than traditional underwriting.
This course will cover the topic of leverage used in private equity buyouts
1
: why leverage is important, various commonly deployed forms of leverage, and trends in the overall marketplace (including the rapid growth of private credit, especially in the middle market). This course will provide:
an understanding of the various forms of leverage commonly deployed by private equity firms (and other business owners) in transactions, including borrowings from banks and private credit firms and through the issuance of high-yield bonds
the experience of acti
This course provides students an in-depth simulation of the private equity deal process. The course leverages a single (real-life) confidential information memorandum (CIM) supplied by a PE firm and works through all the major steps to get to the IC meeting. Students will work in groups to prepare the documents and models required for the final IC memo and have the opportunity to conduct deep diligence through interactions with management and industry experts. Guest speakers will be brought to class to recreate the diligence process, arrange financing, plan value creation, and finalize deal documents.
Prerequisites: the instructors permission. Students will make presentations of original research.
Tech Arts: Advanced Post Production covers advanced techniques for picture and sound editing and the post production workflow process. The goal of the course is to give you the capabilities to excel in the field of post production. We will focus extra attention to concepts and workflows related to long-form projects that can contain a team of technical artists across the post production pipeline. We will cover preparing for a long-form edit, digital script integration, color management and continuity, advanced trimming, and advanced finishing. The hands-on lessons and exercises will be conducted using the industry-standard Non-Linear Editing Systems, Avid Media Composer, and Davinci Resolve.
Each week’s class will consist of hands-on demonstrations and self-paced practice using content created by the students and provided by the program.