FIN380.5 Corporate Finance (Tsinghua U)

FIN380.5 Corporate Finance (Tsinghua U)

Taught in English. Firms compete in Consumer & Business Markets to sell their products and services, and they also compete in Capital Markets for the resources required to operate their business. Investors provide the capital (resources) to companies with the expectation that they will earn a competitive return on their capital and compensate them for risk. A consumer or business manager is continuously faced with financial choices and meeting the demands of both of these arenas of competition.

For the consumer these choices include, among others, financing a purchase, saving for retirement and evaluating investment products. For a business manager, the choices include deciding which projects to pursue and alternative approaches to provide funds for these projects. Finance is the study of a framework that can be used to evaluate these choices consistent with the necessity of competing for investor capital. Regardless of your ultimate career, a solid understanding of the fundamentals of finance will serve you well. 

The course will provide an analytical framework that can be consistently applied to evaluate financial decisions. By the end of this course you should be able to:

  • Use discounted cash flow analysis to determine the value added of business decisions or the fair market value of investment securities.
  • Understand the basic types of financial instruments used by firms.
  • Understand the basic principles of no arbitrage, efficient markets, risk and return and capital structure.
  • Develop cash flow projections from accounting data.
  • Perform basic financial statement analysis.

(TU #30511053)

Class taught by Tsinghua University and may not be available every semester. Tsinghua’s exam schedule for this course may require students to stay beyond the regular Syracuse Beijing program end-date.

Registration restriction: Closed to SU Management School majors and minors.

EAR105 Earth Science (Fall, Spring)

In this course, you’ll learn about the the systems the Earth contains, from deep in the interior of the Earth to the living organisms that inhabit the surface. We will dive deep to explore the processes that shape Earth, understand why the oceans and the continents are where they are, and we will analyze what organisms can live where.

Throughout the semester we will also analyze and discuss how humans have shaped the Earth’s systems, how our acts are reaching (and in some cases, going beyond) the planetary boundaries, and how with our actions we can regenerate what has been degraded.

Your goal in this course is to gain a basic appreciation of the structure and composition of our planet, the physical and chemical processes that have shaped and continue to shape Earth’s surface over its long history, and the ways that humans interact with the Earth’s systems—for better or worse. The course focuses on how these dynamic interactions result in global-scale changes in Earth’s climate and biogeochemical cycles at different time scales, ranging from tectonic (millions of years) to human (years to centuries). Topics covered in the course include, but aren’t limited to:

  • The role of internal earth geodynamics in shaping the planet and creating a habitat for life’s emergence,
  • The role of life in transforming the Earth’s surface environment,
  • The role of the Oceans and the atmosphere as regulators of the Earth’s climate, and
  • The role of the cryosphere in modulating this climate through dynamic feedback.

Students will investigate the formation of the universe during a field trip to the Madrid Planetarium. At Spain’s National Museum of Natural Sciences, you’ll discuss the threat of species extinction and the importance of biodiversity with one of the museum curators.

In EAR104, the accompanying lab course, a field trip to the geologically and biologically unique Sierra de Guadarrama National Park gives you the chance to hike the mountain range of Guadarrama and explore its most important geological structures, including Peñalara, the highest peak in the range.

Matriculated Syracuse students: EAR105 meets a natural science divisional requirement. If taken with EAR104, this course meets the natural science laboratory requirement. You may not receive credit for both EAR105 and EAR110.

Corequisite: To fulfill a laboratory science requirement, matriculated Syracuse students must also register for EAR104 (1 credit).

PSC408 Politics of Immigration in Europe (Fall, Spring)

Analyze immigration policy in the European Union and its individual member states with attention to its residual socioeconomic and political implications. Special focus on gender, ethnic, and religious identities as they relate to immigration policy. In a globalized world, immigration transforms the fabric of our societies and poses new challenges to democratic politics. All over Europe, the migratory phenomenon has triggered new forms of identity conflict, which are shaping the political life of every country. In 2015, at least one million people sought refuge on European shores. The refugee crisis throws new light on European politics, revamping the urgency of a series of deep-set problems: conceptions and practices of citizenship, identity, multiculturalism, and secularization. Xenophobia is now a major component of public discourses in many European countries. These issues not only dominate domestic political debates in many countries but also seem to jeopardize the very future of the European Union, as clearly indicated by the recent history of Brexit. For this reason, the course will focus on Europe: however, it will adopt a comparative perspective, taking into consideration the U.S. situation as well as other relevant examples.

Counts as an IDEA course requirement for Syracuse students. 

This course has an associated course fee. See the Course Fees webpage for more information.

PHI380.24 Environmental Ethics and Justice

Taught in Spanish. This course introduces some of the most important current debates and issues associated with nature and the environment. Students will study some of the most influential ethical theories and principles in order to consider, on the one hand, the space occupied by humans in relation to nonhuman nature, and on the other, the character of the duties and obligations of humans towards nature. Likewise, the course considers the potential role of justice applied to environmental issues, specifically in terms of the relationship that must exist, firstly, between human beings, and secondly, between these and nonhuman nature. Students successfully completing this course will be able to

  • Know and understand different issues and debates associated with the environment and nature from the perspective of political ethics and philosophy.
  • Apply fundamental concepts and tools used in philosophical–regulatory analysis to issues related to the environment, nature, and the relationship between these and humans.
  • Critically assess, both orally and in writing, different regulatory theories and positions associated with nature, the environment, and the relationship between these and human beings.

(#ICP0208)

This course is taught at the Pontificia Universidad Católica and may not be offered every semester. It may also be registered as PSC 380.24.

PSC380.23 Borders in Latin America: Globalization and Spatial Restructuring

Taught in Spanish. The course will examine the different border situations that characterize the landscapes of contemporary Latin American societies. We will study both the emergence of internal borders as a consequence of the socio-spatial fragmentation that takes place, as well as the processes of re-functionalization of international border regimes and the emergence of cross-border regions. In this sense, the course goes beyond the geopolitical view of borders as lines of separation and emphasizes them as complex social spaces from which a methodology of sociological and political analysis of value is derived. Students successfully completing the class will:

  • Evaluate the influence of globalization on changing socio-spatial organization and on the configuration of new borders as critical data for contemporary sociology and political science.
  • Become familiar with specifics of border situations in contemporary societies and their uses as a methodological resource for the analysis of social situations.
  • Understand the complexities of contemporary international borders and the formation of cross-border spaces and transnational urban complexes as distinctive spaces of international relations.
  • Analyze, compare, and evaluate international experiences in establishing and managing borders with respect to the European Union, NAFTA, and Latin America in particular, based on a series of relevant variables such as the socio-historical fabric, environment, security, trade, migration, institutionalism, etc.
  • Understand Chile’s border situations and evaluate the opportunities and risks they present.

(ICP0339)

This course is taught at the Pontificia Universidad Católica and may not be offered every semester.

EDU 380.1 Diversity and Inclusion in Education

Taught in Spanish. This theoretical and practical course focuses on training education professionals to design and implement pedagogical contexts that facilitate the learning of all students, considering their heterogeneity in terms of culture, ethnicity, gender and disability, and how all these aspects interact. In addition, it offers the student a space for critical analysis of cultural assumptions ascribed to diversity.

Students who complete this course will be able to

  • Demonstrate an understanding of the importance of actions and speech in the construction of “otherness”: subjectivities and exclusion.
  • Recognize cultural assumptions related to the concept of diversity: disability, ethnicity, gender and nationality and their relation to the exclusion of quality learning situations.
  • Analyze the ever-changing concepts of diversity, integration, and inclusion from an educational perspective.
  • Design, use, and evaluate pedagogical practices that facilitate inclusive education.

(EDU0317)

This course is taught at the Pontificia Universidad Católica and may not be offered every semester.

PSC380.22 Political Struggle and Indigenous Resistance in Latin America

Taught in Spanish. This course explores and compares the ways in which contemporary indigenous peoples in Latin American organize politically. We’ll examine the effects of this political activity on the democratic systems of the states of Latin America, which had been accustomed to a marginalized role for “Indians” among the electorate. The goals of the course include:

  • To compare the political development of contemporary in Latin American indigenous movements who use ethnicity and ethnic identity as an organizing principle.
  • To study the relationships of these movements with the respective states and their central policies.
  • To study literature on indigenous movements in Latin America.
  • To develop a critical understanding of the political perspectives of indigenous peoples.

(ICP0133)

This course is taught at the Pontificia Universidad Católica and may not be offered every semester. It may also be registered as ANT 380.22.

GEO300.1 Urban Geography of Hong Kong (Fall, Spring – MAY NOT BE OFFERED FALL 2020)

An introduction to key concepts in urban studies and historical geography through the urban environment, social life, history and geography of Hong Kong. This class combines field study to historic and diversified sites in Hong Kong with lectures, case studies, group discussions and presentations. You will explore and discuss key concepts in urban studies and historical geography; Hong Kong’s history with human and social geography and the urban environment; and areas and topics of special interests and importance including immigrants, squatters and public housing, the vertical city and urban sprawl, and urban division and segregation.