QTM9515 Introduction to Data Science
(Formerly Introduction to Data Science and Business Analytics)
1.5 Intensive Elective CreditsThis course is an introduction to data science - the science of iterative exploration of data that can be used to gain insights and optimize business processes. The course is set up as a journey through the data analytics lifecycle of a project based on an actual company and introduces predictive analytics techniques in the context of real-world applications from diverse business areas. A map of applications and an overview is provided for advanced methods for data visualization, logistic regression, decision tree learning methods, clustering, and association rules. The course utilizes the advanced visualization software Tableau, the free open-source statistical modeling language R, and various other tools like cloud computing to gain insights from data. The case studies include data sets from a variety of industries and companies, including financial planning startups, online retailers, telecommunications companies, and healthcare organizations.

Prerequisites: QTM7200 or QTM7800

ART1201 Introduction to Digital Arts and Design

4 Free Elective Credits

Students develop technical, conceptual, and aesthetic experience pertaining to the creation of two-dimensional digital artworks as well as artworks that engage with the fourth dimension of art: space and time. Students gain an introductory knowledge of several art and design software programs. Included topics in the course are digital drawing, designing digital collages, and time-based digital media. Note: Babson Photography program has digital and lenses to check out but only a limited number of digital fully manual cameras are on reserve.

Prerequisites: None

ACC1000 Introduction To Financial Accounting
Foundation Management

4 CreditsACC1000 will provide you with an introduction to the construction, analysis and forecasting of financial statements. These financial statements consist of the income statement, the balance sheet and the statement of cash flows as well as the associated explanatory statement footnotes. Using actual entrepreneurial companies as well as publicly traded companies you will learn how to prepare, analyze, interpret and forecast financial statements. By the conclusion of the course, you will be able to forecast and analyze financial statements for investment decisions as well as to model and analyze the financial effects of different strategic directions as an owner of the company. These skills will benefit you in whatever career path you choose.

FIN7200 Introduction to Financial Management

2 CreditsThis course introduces the managerial finance skills required of effective business managers operating in all functional areas of an organization as they seek to create shareholder value. Covers basic corporate finance topics including financial analysis, construction of pro forma financial statements and forecasting cash flows, the relationship between risk and return, the cost of capital, discounting future cash flows, assessing the viability of projects and capital budgeting, financing and capital structure issues, and the valuation of stock, bonds, firms and other entities.

CSP2013 Introduction to Sustainability
4 CreditsThis case-based course introduces students to the basic concepts and tools that the liberal arts (science, social science, and the humanities) bring to a consideration of sustainability. Students develop the cross-disciplinary awareness and collaboration skills needed to approach environmental issues holistically.

Prerequisites: (RHT and AHS) or (FCI and WRT 1001)

EPS1110 Introduction to the Entrepreneurial Experience

4 Credits

The Online Babson Summer Study program is designed to help high school students (primarily rising juniors and seniors in high school), like you, cultivate core career skills and a sharp entrepreneurial mindset for overcoming challenges in any setting, in any role. You will participate in interactive online sessions with Babson faculty, entrepreneurship experts, and Babson near-peer students, work on team-based projects with peers from around the world, learn how to apply Entrepreneurial Thought and Action , and understand the competencies needed to start your own venture.

FIN7573 Investment Banking and Financial Modeling
(Formerly Investment Banking and Financial Advisory)
3 Elective CreditsThe course will provide students with the opportunity to develop a practical understanding of investment banking and the activities performed by various professionals within the industry. The course will explore the history and evolution of the investment banking industry and the role played by investment banks in the broader capital markets and economy. The course will also examine the organizational structure of investment banks and the characteristics and focus of different functional areas within a firm.

The course focuses on the practical application of corporate finance concepts to "real world" situations and activities commonly performed by investment banks on behalf of clients. A heavy emphasis will be placed on the role played by an associate in building complex financial models to help analyze and execute common investment banking transactions such as: Initial Public Offerings, Fairness Opinions, Valuations, Mergers & Acquisitions Advisory, and Leveraged Buy-Outs. As such, the class will utilize case studies involving real companies and there will be a heavy emphasis on the practical financial research and Excel skills necessary to develop and customize such models. LAPTOPS ARE REQUIRED FOR EACH CLASS.

This course is designed for students interested in careers in investment banking, private equity, sell-side equity research or corporate finance.

Prerequisites: FIN7200 or FIN7800

FIN4530 Investments
4 General CreditsThis course is designed for students interested in investment or portfolio management. Students explore the simultaneous management of multiple securities, using statistical and other mathematical tools. Topics covered include: risk and return, allocation of risky assets, setting portfolio objectives and strategy, portfolio optimization, risk crafting, and portfolio performance evaluation. Through case studies, investment tools, projects, and readings, students will explore investment and portfolio theory and practice.

Prerequisites: SME2021 or FIN2000

MOB3540 Israel Start-Up Strategy

4 (Elective Abroad) CreditsProgram fee is paid to Glavin Office - program fee includes: accommodations, breakfast, bus transportation in Israel, program planned meals, and cultural excursions. Not included: tuition, international flight, visa costs, additional meals and personal expenses.

The purpose of this course is to provide students with an opportunity to understand the entrepreneurial ecosystem (EE) of Israel - a country of about seven million people with the highest rate of NASDAQ listings per capita of any nation.

Through direct interaction with entrepreneurs, capital providers, educators, and government officials in Israel, the students should come away with a new perspective on startup's opportunities and challenges and get experience consulting to local startups while applying concepts from two books - Capital Rising: How Capital Flows Are Changing Business Systems All Over the World, co-authored by Peter S. Cohan with Srini Rangan, and Hungry Startup Strategy: Creating New Ventures with Limited Resources and Unlimited Vision (November 2012), by Peter S. Cohan.

Israel's ability to spur entrepreneurial innovation vastly exceeds its size. Israel has 7.1 million people but the number of Israeli companies listed on the NASDAQ far exceeds its relative population. For example, India has three companies listed. Japan has six, Canada has 48, while Israel has 63. Israel has received as much foreign venture capital as the much larger Britain -- $2 billion in foreign venture capital invested there in 2008 alone. And Israel has the highest density of startups in the world 3,850 - the equivalent of one startup for every 1,844 Israelis. Moreover, during the last few decades, Israel's high-tech innovations have spread around the world.[i]

How did Israel accomplish this feat? Israel has historically been geo-politically isolated from its direct neighbors, limiting trade and cooperation. An Arab nation boycott made regional trade impossible and it has very few natural resources. In addition, it has borne the impact of multiple military conflicts, putting pressure on its economy. As a consequence, Israel looks to the spirit of its people to overcome its many limitations. The way Israel has managed its human capital - a critical element of its EE - has allowed Israel to become an innovation hub.

Israel's entrepreneurial success depends on the people it attracts and how it harnesses their skills. Since Israel remains under constant political threat, all its citizens serve in the military which creates social networks and leadership training. Furthermore, Israel's culture of critique, fostered by centuries of Jewish tradition, encourages a spirit of relentless improvement. Moreover, the Right of Return immigration policy for Jews augments Israel's population with people motivated to build new lives and livelihoods. The result is a business climate that embraces risk and spurs the growth of good ideas.

Many examples of Israel's most successful start-ups spring from the application of its human capital to the gap between demand and supply. For example, drip irrigation was invented when a farmer in the Negev desert noticed one of his trees flourishing despite drought conditions. When he discovered a leaky underwater pipe, he had a moment of creative inspiration, developing a technology that spread around the world.

Many of Israel's greatest innovations were in the area of information technology. They include PC anti-virus software, to AOL Instant Messenger, and the Intel Pentium microprocessor chip. Israelis also created medical devices such as radiation-free breast cancer diagnostics and the "Gut Cam," an ingestible pill video camera that diagnoses abnormalities.

Hence one of the goals of the course is to explore how Israel has created such a vital EE and to give students a first-hand look at the Israelis who put the concept of entrepreneurship into practice.

The Israel Startup Strategy Elective Abroad is intended to provide students with the following benefits: to understand how Israel spurs startups, to get a deeper understanding of Israel's business culture, to meet entrepreneurs, business educators, government officials, and capital providers in Israel.

JPN2200 Japanese I
4 CreditsAn introduction to a practical and functional knowledge of Japanese as it is used in contemporary society. Students will learn the fundamental use of the Japanese language by exercising all four language skills: listening, speaking, reading, and writing. Two basic writing systems, hiragana and katakana and some kanji, are taught to promote literacy in Japanese environments. An introduction to Japanese culture, which is inseparable from learning the language, is provided through demonstrations, videos, and films. Students are required to do at least two projects which introduce some aspect of Japanese culture.

Prerequisites: None