The Certificate in Municipal Finance is a one-of-a-kind offering through the Center for Municipal Finance that prepares Harris students for careers in local and state governments, as well as private-sector financial and consulting firms. 

Gain in-depth expertise in the process, politics, and economics of public revenue and expenditure decisions. Learn the practices and techniques of modern financial administration, and the operation of the municipal securities market.

Such policy expertise is essential for raising, spending, and borrowing money to provide basic local government services, as well as for tackling many pressing municipal problems that are dependent on resources provided by the budget, such as funding public pensions and health care.

Declaration Process

• Students interested in completing the certificate must declare their intentions to Mike Belsky in the fall of their second year.  This letter of intent will include a course plan for the fall, winter, and spring quarters, listing the planned coursework for the certificate.  Details will be shared before the start of the fall quarter.

Certificate Requirements

Please note that certificate requirements and/or course offerings for 2017-18 still subject to change.

• To earn the certificate students must complete three courses, including:

  • Two courses from this list:

    • PPHA 32100 State and Local Finance (may not be offered 2017-18)

    • PPHA 35801 Political Economy of Cities (not offered in 2017-18)

    • PPHA 36050 Public Budgeting and Financial Planning

    • PPHA 39403 Practicum on Inequality, Household Finance, and Tax Policy (formerly titled Taxes, Transfers, and Nonprofits)

    •  PPHA 42510 Applied Financial Management

    •  BUS 30116 Accounting and Financial Analysis

  • And PPHA 32530 Fundamentals of Municipal Bonds (should be taken in the spring on second year)

• Students must earn at least a B- in each of the courses to earn the certificate

• No course in the track may be taken as pass/fail

• Participation in the co-curricular activities, which may include:

  • the annual CFO Forum

  • two alumni networking events

  • conferences in the spring and fall on topics to be decided

Recommended Policy Labs

• Metropolitan Planning Council: Local Government Consolidation

• Metropolitan Planning Council: Metra Electric Modernization

• “Client X”: Property Valuation and Assessment