CSPL 150 – Demystifying Finance

Finance is a widely spoken language, be it in newspapers, nonprofit boardrooms, investment banking, or personal finance. It sounds complicated, but many of the concepts are easily graspable. In this class, we will be exploring the following questions: What is finance? How do companies make money? What do “equity” and “debt” mean, and how do companies use them? What do investment banks actually do? What makes companies increase or decrease in value, and what determines the price of stocks? This course is designed to be a basic introductory course, and no prior knowledge of financial concepts is required. Guest lecturers will help bring financial concepts to life. Women, first generation low income students, and students of color are encouraged to take this course.