Intensive Online Finance Subjects
Melbourne Business School offers one intensive online finance subject for high achieving students applying for the Master of Finance or Master of Finance (Enhanced) who do not meet the subject prerequisites to meet the course entry requirements.
The subject is only available to applicants who have had their course application assessed and have been recommended to undertake the subject to meet their offer conditions. Eligible applicants will be invited to register for the subject and should not register prior to receiving their conditional course offer.
To be competitive to be selected for the subject, students need to be high achieving and typically have completed a minimum of two finance subjects throughout their undergraduate degree. Historically applicants with a WAM of 75% and above have been competitive for entry into the program.
The intensive subject will be completed prior to the start of the course.
NOTE: Completion of the subject does not guarantee entry into the Master of Finance or Master of Finance (Enhanced). The subject will not count for credit towards any degree program offered by The University of Melbourne (UoM) and cannot be used to meet prerequisites for other UoM subjects.
Overview
Intensive Derivative Securities (Online)
Equivalent to the Derivatives (level 3) entry requirement
This subject focuses on the application and valuation of derivative securities, such as forwards, futures, swaps and options. The emphasis will be on arbitrage relations, valuation, and hedging with derivatives. The topics covered include: (1) Forwards and futures: the mechanics of trading, price determination, and hedging strategies; (2) Swaps: definition and valuation; (3) Options: payoffs, arbitrage bounds, trading strategies, the binomial model, the Black-Scholes model and its relationship to the binomial, hedging, American options and dividends, options on futures, limitations of the binomial and Black-Scholes Models.
Annual Intakes
Summer Semester
January – February
6 weeks comprised: weeks 1-4 subject content, week 5 study, week 6 exam
Winter Semester
June - July
6 weeks comprised: weeks 1-4 subject content, week 5 study, week 6 exam
Key dates
Dates for the 2024 Summer Semester offering:
- Tuesday 2 January 2024
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Summer subject commences (Subject runs for four weeks)
- Sunday 28 January 2024
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Summer subject finishes
- 29 January - 4 February 2024
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Study week
- Monday 5 February 2024
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Exam
- Friday 9 February 2024
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Results released
Fee information
Intensive Derivative Securities (Online): $930 (incl GST)
Note:
- Payment can only be made using the booking link below, and must be paid in full up-front.
- No discounts or payment plans are available. In particular, subject fees are not covered by Australian HECS - the full fee is payable on registration.
- Registrants who withdraw from the subject before the commencement date will receive a refund of fees less 10% for administration.
- Registrants who withdraw from the subject before the end of week 1 will receive a refund of fees less 20% for administration.
- After the end of week 1, no refund of fees is available.
- Registrants who successfully complete the subject and accept their Master of Finance offer will be eligible for a full fee remission. Students must be enrolled in the Master of Finance to be granted a remission. Remissions will be processed after the University's semester census date.
- Refunds will be made to the credit/debit card used for payment.
- Purchase of a textbook may be required in addition to the subject fee. Confirmation of any text requirements will be provided upon registration.
Entry requirements
The online subject is open only to invited applicants of the Master of Finance or Master of Finance (Enhanced), and they have no formal prerequisites. However, they assume knowledge equivalent to the UoM subjects as outlined below. You are strongly recommended to have completed the equivalent prerequisite content before attempting these subjects. It is the responsibility of each student, with advice from the Program Director of the Master of Finance and Master of Finance (Enhanced), to determine if their prior study meets these requirements.
Prerequisite knowledge equivalent to FNCE20005 Corporate Financial Decision Making
The expected background for this subject includes the topics:
- Foundational finance (time-value-of-money, present value)
- Fundamentals of corporate finance (capital budgeting, leverage, types, and sources of financing)
- Fundamentals of investments (risk and return, diversification, capital asset pricing model)
- Fundamentals of derivative securities (risk management)
Delivery mode
The subject is fully online. Participation in the subject requires access to the internet using a device with a Windows or Mac operating system. The subject is delivered through the UoM’s Learning Management System (LMS) that students will be granted access to when they are enrolled in the subject.
The subject also uses Zoom (download here) for conducting online consultations, which requires a video and audio connection and is most effective through a laptop or PC. Further information will be provided to students prior to the first session.
Subject Details and Process
Once you have been invited to register and upon registration, you will receive a confirmation email detailing the date you will be given access to the University of Melbourne Learning Management System (LMS) subject site.
The subject content is covered over four weeks. Students will need to work through four modules of subject content. A study week will take place in week 5 and the exam will be held in week 6.
For each of the modules, students may need to:
- Watch lecture videos and take appropriate notes (depending on their experience with the topic).
- Complete practice questions.
- Check their answers and watch solution videos.
- Complete extra follow up questions from the additional material if extra practice is required.
- Attend the weekly online session via Zoom.
- Complete the weekly assignments.
It is estimated that each subject will require approximately 12 to 15 hours’ time commitment per week, including watching all the videos and doing problems.
There is one piece of assessment for each subject in the form of a final exam which will be held during the examination week (week 6) and will constitute 100% of the final mark. The exam will need to be completed by hand and submitted via the LMS. You will need to either save your work as a single pdf or scan it as a pdf in order to submit it. There are strict deadlines for the submission of the exam.
Students will receive notification of their grades for the subject once the examination has been marked and will be issued with a certificate indicating their grade by the Department of Finance. Successful completion of the subject with a mark of at least 75% will be required for the subject to count as an equivalent prerequisite to meet the entry requirement for the Master of Finance or Master of Finance (Enhanced). Students who do not receive a score of 75% or more, and who wish to re-enrol in the subject, should contact the department via the contact details outlined below.
Contact details
Office hours are Monday-Friday, 9am-5pm Melbourne (Australia) time
Email: finance-intensives@unimelb.edu.au