IITM BS Corporate Finance (BSMS3034): Syllabus and Tips

Corporate Finance (BSMS3034) is a 4 credit degree level elective in the IITM BS Data Science programme. It covers how money is valued over time and how firms judge investments. It also covers risk and return, derivatives and currency markets. It has no prerequisite. It is one of the three courses in the Minor in Economics and Finance.

The instructor is Dr. Bikramaditya Datta, Associate Professor in the Department of Economic Sciences at IIT Kanpur. The course page has no written description, only the week list, so the summary below comes from the week titles.

What you learn

The course page lists 12 weeks.

Weeks 1 to 3: Time value of money and project choice

You start with what finance studies. Then you learn present value, annuities (equal payments for a fixed time) and perpetuities (payments that never stop). Week 3 uses these to judge projects with capital budgeting rules. It also brings in rates that change over time, uncertainty, default and risk.

Weeks 4 to 8: Risk, return and asset pricing

This is the core block. You study how investors trade risk against reward, and how to choose when outcomes are uncertain. Then come portfolio theory, the Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM), factor models and arbitrage pricing theory. Week 8 asks how efficient markets really are, and how their flaws affect capital budgeting.

Weeks 9 and 10: Derivatives and options

Two weeks introduce derivative securities and the basic theory of options.

Weeks 11 and 12: The wider financial system

You finish with foreign exchange markets, the international financial system and financial crises.

How it is assessed

The course page does not give its own assessment pattern. It points to the standard structure on the programme's Academics page. Check there for the quiz and end term plan.

Where it counts

• It is a degree level elective tagged HM in the handbook's course table. See the DS electives list.
• It is part of the Minor in Economics and Finance, with Managerial Economics and Game Theory and Strategy. The minor comes only with the BS degree.
• The BS degree level asks for 4 HS/MG credits. HM courses look like a fit, but the handbook does not define its tags, so ask support.
• The March 2026 table marks it as running in September 2026 and January 2027, but not in May 2026.
• The ES handbook lists it (as MS3034) among open electives for Electronic Systems students, with no prerequisite.

Who finds it hard

• Students who are new to finance words. Terms like annuity, default and arbitrage keep coming, week after week.
• Students weak in probability. Portfolio theory and CAPM depend on expected values, variance and covariance.
• Students who try to memorise formulas without doing sums. Finance is learnt by solving many small numerical problems.

How to prepare

• Revise expectation, variance and covariance from Statistics 1 and 2. Our Statistics 1 and 2 guide helps.
• Build a small spreadsheet that discounts a stream of payments. Change the rate and watch the present value move. This makes weeks 2 and 3 click.
• Make one page of formulas as you go, with a worked example next to each.
• The suggested books are Corporate Finance by Ivo Welch, Investment Science by David Luenberger, and The Economics of Money, Banking, and Financial Markets by Frederic Mishkin.

What to take before and after

Nothing is required first. Managerial Economics (BSMS3033) gives useful background on markets and costs, and Dr. Datta also co-teaches Game Theory and Strategy (BSMS4023). Together the three complete the minor. If you like the money side, Financial Forensics is another finance related elective at level 4.

Common questions

Do I need a commerce background for Corporate Finance?

The course page lists no prerequisite and starts with an introduction to finance. A commerce background helps with the words, but steady practice with numbers matters more.

Is Corporate Finance offered every term?

No. The March 2026 table skips May 2026 for this course. Offering also depends on how many students register, so check the registration page each term.

Is this course about stock market trading?

Not directly. It covers valuation, risk and return, and asset pricing models that explain prices in theory. Options and currency markets are included, but no week in the list is about trading.

Can ES students take it?

The ES handbook lists Corporate Finance among the courses from the Data Science programme open to Electronic Systems students as open electives. Confirm availability with support before you register.