Courses
Delivering World-Class Education through Innovative Courses
NDIGI partners with the Mendoza College of Business Department of Finance to offer academic courses and programs that are designed to give students real-world investment experience. NDIGI courses allow students to learn from active investment professionals and world-class investing guest lecturers. The courses are offered through an application process, as class size is typically limited to 20-25 students.
Students who are interested in pursuing careers in investment management should consider following the course sequencing outlined on the "Recommended Course Sequence" page.
Applied Investment Management (AIM) - FIN 40640
The AIM course, created in 1995, gives students the opportunity to participate in managing a live portfolio now worth over $25 million, while developing their financial analysis skills through rigorous research. AIM is comprised of 25-30 students selectively chosen from a competitive applicant pool. For more information on the class, please visit the AIM website.
Applied Private Equity Projects (APEP) - FIN 40685
APEP, offered in the fall semester, provides an opportunity for students to practice private equity in a setting as close to real as possible. The course combines lectures that introduce core concepts with investment projects that emphasize practical application. Through the project work, students have the opportunity to work directly with private equity firms on a feasible yet challenging investment assignment. Guests lecturers are an important part of the classroom discussion and the class is designed to mimic the natural business interaction that occurs between senior and junior investment professionals. The course is application only and limited to 20-25 students. To learn more about this course, please visit this article: Students participate in Applied Private Equity Projects course
The Art of Investing (AOI) - FIN 40521
AOI is an advanced, capstone course aimed at weaving together wisdom from across the liberal arts and other disciplines in the pursuit of mastery as an investor. Our guides will include both faculty and practitioners, the latter spanning from CEOs to some of the best investors in the world to other leaders from various fields. The objective of the course is to present a broader perspective on the craft of investing that goes beyond the current conventions. The focus will be analyzing investments from a more well-rounded perspective, incorporating aspects of sustainability, capital allocation, firm culture, and leadership into security analysis. In doing so, we will canvass various mental models and frameworks that can be applied to investing as well as to many other aspects of life. Thus, the students will come from various backgrounds and majors and be expected to bring their insights to bear on case studies and readings for each class session. An important requisite for this course is the willingness to participate in discussions and a desire to probe more deeply the most important topics and questions facing companies, our society and the human condition.
Emerging Markets Investing (EMI) - FIN 44530
EMI is taught to junior finance majors studying abroad in London. This course introduces students to emerging markets investing and provide them with both the conceptual framework and practical knowledge necessary to understand emerging economies. EMI uses case studies and lectures to provide an in-depth look at emerging markets and global investing. Dynamic classroom experience focused on analyzing real-time geopolitical and economic developments. It is taught by a leading London based investment professional. Course pre-reqs or concurrent requirements are: Advanced Corporate Finance (FIN 30400) and Investment Theory (FIN 30600).
International Portfolio Management (IPM) - FIN 35520
This one-credit course, which is offered during spring break, offers a small group of students an intensive week of real-world interaction and case study with a leading investment management firm. The investment manager meets with the students at the beginning of the week to outline the case. During the week, students attend additional lectures and work in teams to analyze the case, which is presented to the investment manager at the end of the week. The learning objectives of the course include gaining a real-world perspective on investment management, understanding investing from a global vantage point, and contributing investment solutions in a collaborative setting. As part of this course, students travel with faculty coordinators to and from a global financial center as a group. To read about the 2017 Spring course, please visit this article: International Portfolio Management Course Launches in London