MA IN FINANCIAL ECONOMICS ARISON SCHOOL OF BUSINESS TIOMKIN SCHOOL OF ECONOMICS 2020-2021 WELCOME FROM THE HEADS OF THE PROGRAM 4 PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS 5 IDC FACTS 6 CURRICULUM 8 ALUMNI 9 ADVANCING YOUR CAREER 10 FACULTY 12 APPLICATION, ADMISSION, TUITION 14 CONTENTS FINANCIAL AID 15 WHY IDC? 16 HEALTH INSURANCE, VISA STATUS, CAREER CENTER 17 RRIS GLOBAL VILLAGE 18 ACADEMIC CALENDAR 19 IDC Herzliya was founded with the aim of nurturing future leaders. In just twenty-five years, we have created a pioneering and innovative academic center. Our students are imbued with a commitment to excellence and original thinking. ‘The university of the future,’ as we see it, has to prepare its students for a constantly changing world by being able to innovate skillfully, to dare, and to initiate. We believe that the knowledge and tools acquired at IDC support personal and professional goal fulfillment and enable our graduates to tackle the challenges of our global reality.” Prof. Uriel Reichman President and Founder, IDC Herzliya WELCOME FROM THE HEADS OF THE THE PROGRAM HAS AN INNOVATIVE CURRICULUM THAT INCLUDES RIGOROUS PROGRAM ECONOMICS, FINANCE FOUNDATIONS, ADVANCED PRACTICAL CONTENT THAT PROVIDES CUTTING-EDGE BUSINESS PRACTICES, AND TOP-NOTCH LECTURERS - MANY OF WHOM HAVE TAUGHT AT The MA in Financial Economics is an integral part of the academic and research development at IDC Herzliya. The THE BEST UNIVERSITIES IN THE WORLD. program is coordinated in conjunction with the Arison School of Business and the Tiomkin School of Economics, IN ADDITION WE OFFER A RESEARCH- two centers of excellence that perceive the combination of research and teaching as beneficial to society. ORIENTED FOCUS, WITH A THESIS FOR The MA in Financial Economics is designed to provide GRADUATES WHO WISH TO CONTINUE IN students with tools and in-depth knowledge in finance and economics, which will enable them to cope with the ACADEMIA.” issues and challenges of the global business-economic environment. Our graduates hold a diverse array of positions, such as Economic consultants Bankers Financial analysts and investment managers in financial institutions Finance professionals in industrial firms Analysts in governmental offices Innovators in the fintech industry Doctoral students PROF. ZVI ECKSTEIN PROF. YANIV GRINSTEIN DEAN, FINANCE PROFESSOR, TIOMKIN SCHOOL OF ARISON SCHOOL OF ECONOMICS BUSINESS 4 PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS The program is designed for candidates from Israel and The curriculum is divided into foundation courses, abroad who have strong analytical and quantitative skills and specializations, and a final project/ thesis. who are interested in becoming top financial economists. Suitable candidates include outstanding graduates from Foundation Courses economics and business programs as well as engineers, Analytical Tools computer science majors, and graduates of exact science disciplines who have strong quantitative skills. Economics and Finance Foundations In the full-time program (14 months), classes are held on Specializations Monday and Thursday afternoons and Friday mornings. There Banking and Monetary Policy are 6 mini semesters of 6 weeks each, with two-week exam periods in between. Each mini semester includes between Financial Markets 4-5 courses. Refer to the academic calendar on page 19 for Corporate Finance additional information. Fintech and Data Analytics Students can choose to study in a part-time format, and spread out their studies over a two-year period (26 months). Final Project/Thesis In the part-time program each mini semester includes between 2-3 courses. 5 On the way to becoming Israel’s first IDC private university HERZLIYA FAST FACTS Over 30 research institutes at IDC www.idc.ac.il/research-institutes The Career Center aims to assist alumni in integrating into the professional Over market, as well as to 27,000 assist employers who graduates are seeking to recruit worldwide suitable candidates The Israel Council for Over Higher Education granted Raphael2,000 Recanati International IDC permission to confer School students from over doctoral degrees countries make up 90 1/3 of the IDC student body 6 IDC: THE MOST INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY IN ISRAEL IDC has created new, academic interdisciplinary Over 300 Lone Soldiers concepts in the fields of studying for full degrees entrepreneurship, counter-terrorism and sustainability - models that are being implemented around the world IDC’s Alumni Association with over 27,000 graduates, forms a professional and social alumni community that promotes Ranked no.1in Israel for our treatment of networking from different countries, and strengthens the pride and IDF reservists belonging to IDC and the alumni 7 SPECIALIZATIONS (Choice of 10 credits) • Practicum BANKING MACROECONOMICS AND MONETARY POLICY • Economic Growth • Risk Management in Financial Institutions • Stress Testing in Banks • Research Workshop in Monetary Economics FINANCIAL MARKETS • Advanced Bond Markets • Topics in Global Economics • Active Portfolio Management * • Research Workshop - Theoretical Asset Pricing CURRICULUM • Research Workshop - Empirical Asset Pricing CORPORATE FINANCE • Valuation • Topics in Corporate Finance Students are required to take 51 credits and to submit a final project; 41 credits are required courses and 10 credits are elective • Financial Statement Analysis * courses. Courses are generally 2 credits each. FINTECH • Fintech - Finance, Business and Technology FOUNDATIONS • Programming in Python * • Business Analytics * ANALYTICAL TOOLS (REQUIRED) • Fintech Project * 1 • Mathematics for Financial Economists 1 Students with a strong background in mathematics can be exempt • R - Online Course and Statistical Software Workshop from the course. The course is offered from August to September. • Econometrics 1, 2 2 Students who did not major in Economics in their undergraduate degree are required to take these courses. The courses are offered in October. • Empirical Research Strategies * Jointly taught with other graduate programs. Scheduling may not coincide with the MAFE schedule. Some restrictions may apply. ECONOMICS AND FINANCE FOUNDATIONS (REQUIRED) * Tentative curriculum. Subject to changes. • Microeconomics and Macroeconomics Foundations2 RESEARCH FOCUS • Micro 1: Introduction to General Equilibrium Under Uncertainty Students who are interested in a research focus can choose to do • Micro 2: Games with Incomplete Information a thesis instead of a final project. Students who do a thesis are • Dynamic Macro and Monetary Economics required to take only 47 credits. In addition they are encouraged • Central Bank Policy: The Fed, ECB and BOI to take the following research workshops as electives • Mergers and Competition Policy: Economic Perspective • Research Workshop in Theoretical Asset Pricing • Finance 1: Foundations and Capital Markets • Research Workshop in Empirical Asset Pricing • Finance 2: Corporate Finance • Research Workshop in Monetary Economics • Financial Accounting 1 • Academic Workshop • Financial Accounting 2 The procedure for doing a thesis involves the submission of a • Investments thesis proposal by September of the last year of studies. • Options and Futures Once the proposal is approved the student will work on the • Bond Markets thesis and can complete it after the completion of the courses. • International Finance IDC Herzliya reserves the right to cancel, alter, or expand the academic • Final Project / Thesis (required) programs offered • Final Project/Thesis Workshop (required) 8 ALUMNI Noa Drezner Business Development Manager, Paypal Israel Matan Malka Investment Banker, Ernst and Young Israel Shani Breslauer Analyst, Agribusiness Banking Department, EBRD Israel Zsofia Boros Analyst, YL Ventures Hungary Felipe Sichel Strategist, Banco Modal Brazil Ido Spector PhD Candidate, Stanford University Israel 9 ADVANCING YOUR CAREER The MAFE program helps students with their PRACTICUM career development. We pride ourselves on Students are encouraged to take the Practicum elective course. positioning our students in excellent placements Headed by Prof. Ronen Israel, this course introduces students both in Israel and abroad. to the financial industry. The practicum includes visits to banks, investment houses, and financial divisions of large industrial Our graduates work in organizations such as Citi, firms, as well as a study trip to London. Bank Leumi, Bloomberg, Deloitt, Barak Capital, Modal Capital, Strauss, Elbit, Psagot, BDO, the Antitrust Authority, the Ministry of Finance, and others. Several of our graduates have gone on to pursue their PhD degrees in universities such as Stanford and UCLA. 10 STUDY TRIP TO LONDON STUDENT EXCHANGE PROGRAM As part of the Practicum, students visit London’s financial The MA in Financial Economics program has an exchange center. The visit is scheduled between mini semester 5 and mini agreement with the MA program in Quantitative Finance at the semester 6, and it includes visits to financial institutions such University of Washington, St. Louis. Students who participate as Goldman Sachs, Bloomberg, Citi, BlackRock, Merrill Lynch, in the exchange program study in St. Louis from August to and others. The visits consist of lectures by top executives and December, towards the end of their studies. presentations by students. This trip also provides an opportunity for students to network and for the companies to provide information regarding career opportunities abroad. Costs of the trip are not included in the tuition. INTERNSHIPS The program offers internship opportunities