Class record · MFIN · CSOM

MFIN 8890

Ph.D. Seminar: Advanced Topics in Capital Markets · 1 instructor on record · 5 sections

What the course score is made of

100BC evaluations5 records · weight ×1.0 · Fall 2021 – Fall 2025

—Student reviewsno reviews — does not contribute

—RateMyProfessorsno ratings — does not contribute

That is the class itself, averaged across everyone who taught it. Who taught it, and how each of them scored, is the board below — that is what a student picking a section is actually choosing between.

What the challenge rank is made of

74thMore challenging than 74% of BC classesranked against every one we hold

94BC — “Intellectually Challenging”5 records · raw score out of 100

Boston College's own “intellectually challenging” question for this class only — students answer it positively about courses that stretched them, so it measures intellectual challenge and NOT grading, workload or quality. Almost every BC class scores high on it, which is why it is shown as a rank rather than a score.

What the workload rank is made of

87thMore work than 87% of BC classesranked against every one we hold

73BC — “Workload”5 records · raw score out of 100

Boston College reports workload for this class only as one of five bands, not as a number of hours, and it does not publish what the bands mean — so this site will not translate it into hours. Higher means more work, which is not the same as worse.

This course focuses on continuous time models in capital market theory. Topics covered include capital market equilibrium, option pricing, and the term structure of interest rates. The mathematics necessary to analyze these problems are also presented, including stochastic (Ito) calculus, stachastic differential equations, and optimal control.

The only instructor on record

5 sections · nobody else has taught itFull record

Instructor	Overall	Workload	Challenge
Alan MarcusMario J. Gabelli Endowed Professor in the Carroll School of Management · Finance	1005 records	87th	74th

There is no ranking to read here: Alan Marcus is the only instructor with evaluation records for MFIN 8890, so the number is a record, not a position.

Also taught by Alan Marcus

1 other class

Class	Instructors	Course score
MFIN 8860Derivatives and Risk Analytics	416 records	86

Other MFIN classes

All of them

Class	Instructors	Course score
MFIN 1021Fundamentals of Finance	1297 records	83
MFIN 1127Corporate Finance	983 records	80
MFIN 1151Investments	1172 records	82
MFIN 8801Investments	627 records	84
MFIN 2270Data Analytics in Finance	325 records	81
MFIN 8807Corporate Finance	1022 records	85

The line

All 13 items · means across 5 records

The Professor4 items

Clearly Explains MaterialThe instructor was effective at creating an understanding of difficult subject matter.

100100th pctl

Available Outside of ClassThe instructor was available for help outside of class.

9988th pctl

Brings Out Your Best WorkThe instructor motivated me to do my best work.

100100th pctl

Sparked My InterestThe course stimulated my interest in the subject matter.

100100th pctl

The Course3 items

Well-Organized CourseThe course was well organized.

9992nd pctl

Clear Learning GoalsThe learning objectives for the course were clear.

9993rd pctl

Useful Beyond the CourseWhat I learned is applicable beyond this course.

9886th pctl

Assignments & Feedback3 items

Assignments Help You LearnAssignments and exams contributed to my learning.

100100th pctl

Gives Feedback PromptlyI received feedback on my work in a timely manner.

9887th pctl

Meaningful FeedbackThe feedback I received on my work was meaningful.

9990th pctl

Workload, difficulty & attendanceNot ratings

WorkloadHow much work the course took outside class, on Boston College's five-band scale — the band boundaries are not published, so this is not a number of hours.

7387th pctl

Intellectually ChallengingThe course was intellectually challenging.

9474th pctl

Attendance MattersAttending class was necessary to do well in this course.

100100th pctl

Bar length is the rank against every comparable record we hold, not the raw score: BC's questions all have a median around 4.5, so a raw-scale bar would be nearly full on every row and would tell you nothing. Every bar is one ink colour — nothing here is graded green or red. The hatched bars are not ratings at all: a higher number on either describes a different course, not a better one.

Game log

5 sections · newest first

Instructor	Term	Sec	Instr	Course	Work
Alan Marcus	Fall 2025	01	100	100	60
Alan Marcus	Fall 2024	01	100	100	—
Alan Marcus	Fall 2023	01	98	98	—
Alan Marcus	Fall 2022	01	100	100	60
Alan Marcus	Fall 2021	01	100	100	100

How to read this boardInstructors are ranked on their record in this class only, never on their average across everything they teach. Scores are out of 100 — Boston College's 1–5 agreement scale, ×20, the way these numbers were printed for years. Workload is BC's own five-band figure, not a number of hours, and is shown as a rank. A dash means the question was not reported, and is never a zero.