Undergraduate Corporate Finance: Free Course

About this course

A coherent finance education connects the purpose of a business with the decisions that determine its future. This free undergraduate classroom course with Aswath Damodaran develops those connections across investment, financing, dividends and valuation. Its full lecture sequence supports learners who want sustained explanations and a structured path through corporate finance.

Course at a glance

What you’ll learn

• Explain the links between corporate objectives, governance and financial decisions.
• Interpret risk inputs and their role in required returns.
• Distinguish earnings from the cash flows relevant to an investment decision.
• Connect financing, dividends and valuation within a single framework.

Skills you’ll gain

• Corporate finance foundations
• Cash-flow analysis
• Investment evaluation
• Financial policy reasoning

Course Overview

The course begins with business objectives, governance and conflicts of interest before introducing risk and required returns. It moves from earnings to investment cash flows, then considers financing trade-offs, debt design and cash distributions. Valuation brings the sequence together, and the playlist includes the source final-exam review. The undergraduate track is retained separately from the MBA and executive recordings because it is a distinct teaching sequence.

How the course develops

• Objectives and required returns: work through governance, risk models, premiums, betas and the cost of debt.
• Project and financing choices: examine incremental cash flows, investment measures and alternative approaches to the financing mix.
• Cash distributions and value: relate dividends, cash balances and valuation, then use the final review to revisit difficult topics.

The classroom retains every entry from the selected source playlist, including introductory or review videos when present. Follow the lesson sequence, or use the lesson search to return to a specific explanation. The source lesson titles are preserved so that you can match your place with the instructor’s materials.

Who is this for?

Undergraduate students and independent learners who want a full semester-style corporate finance sequence with an accompanying final review.

Before you start

Basic accounting, algebra and the time value of money are useful prerequisites. Beginners can prepare with Accounting for Finance and Foundations of Finance.

Put the lessons into practice

Keep a running analysis of one company as you progress. Start with its objective and governance, add your interpretation of risk and investment needs, and finish with financing and cash distribution choices. Use the final review to identify gaps in your explanation. Distinguish what the public evidence shows from assumptions you have introduced.

This optional activity is provided by WikiFree for independent study. It is not a graded assignment from the instructor. Keep your working notes and separate evidence from assumptions so that you can review your reasoning as you progress.

Certificate / Assessment

The public YouTube videos are free to watch. Viewing them through WikiFree does not include a certificate, academic credit, an NYU degree, instructor feedback or admission to a university program. Separate enrolled or certificate programs can have different requirements and fees.

Mark complete records your study progress; it does not assess your work or award a qualification. Examples and figures belong to the source recordings. Use the lessons to learn the analytical methods and verify current inputs before applying them to a real decision.

Frequently asked questions

Provider: Aswath Damodaran. Videos play from the Aswath Damodaran channel on YouTube.