MBA Curriculum
The program comprises three parts: Foundations of Business courses (0-16 semester units), Required Core courses (24 semester units), and Elective courses (9 semester units), for a total of 49 semester units.
Applicants whose bachelor's degree is in a field other than business administration will be required to complete the Foundations of Business courses. Evaluation of previous course work for waiver of these courses occurs upon admission to the program. Applicants must also demonstrate competence in mathematics and computer literacy, either through prior course work or competency examinations such as the GRE or GMAT exams.
Program Overview
| Foundations of Business (pre-requisites) | 0-16 units | |
| Required Core | 24 units | |
| Electives | 9 units | |
| TOTAL | 33-49 units | |
| Foundations of Business (pre-requisites): | 16 units | |
| BUS 500 | Economics for Managers | 3 units |
| BUS 502 | Quantitative Methods for Decision-Making | 3 units |
| BUS 504 | Introduction to Accounting and Finance | 4 units |
| BUS 506 | Principles of Management and Marketing | 3 units |
| BUS 508 | Business Ethics and Law | 3 units |
| Required Core: | 24 units | |
| BUS 510 | High Performance Management | 3 units |
| BUS 520 | Strategy and Leadership | 3 units |
| BUS 530 | Managing Business Operations | 3 units |
| BUS 540 | Financial Reporting and Analysis | 3 units |
| BUS 550 | The Contemporary Firm | 3 units |
| BUS 560 | The Entrepreneurial Manager | 3 units |
| BUS 570 | Competing in a Global Environment | 6 units |
| Electives: | 9 units | |
Graduate Writing Assessment Requirement
Writing proficiency prior to the awarding of the degree is demonstrated by successful completion of BUS 520 with a grade of B or higher.
Course Descriptions
BUS 500 Economics for Managers (3)
Covers material from both microeconomics and macroeconomics. Topics include market structure, demand analysis, consumer behavior, nature of the firm, measuring economic activity, inflation, unemployment, money and banking, and the role of the government.
BUS 502 Quantitative Methods for Decision-Making (3)
Provides an overview of core quantitative skills for effective managerial decision-making. Topics include statistical principles, regression analysis, forecasting, multi-attribute decision-making, benefit-cost analysis, and spreadsheet modeling of business cases.
BUS 504 Introduction to Accounting and Finance (4)
Presents an overview of the role of accounting and finance in business. The first part of the course focuses on accounting as the language of business. Topics include basic assumptions and principles of accounting, the content and purpose of financial statements, and uses and limitations of the financial statements. The second part of the course focuses on the role of finance in supporting the functional areas of a business. Topics include time value of money, risk, and capital structure.
BUS 506 Principles of Management and Marketing (3)
Presents an overview of the disciplines of management and marketing. Explains the basic elements of good management practices. Describes the key aspects of effective marketing. Combines management and marketing disciplines through cases, role-play simulations, and computer based simulations that are used to model managers’ planning and decision-making processes.
BUS 508 Business Ethics and Law (3)
Presents an overview of the ethical environment for business operations, with a special emphasis on the legal environment. Explores decision-making frameworks for managers in addressing ethical and legal issues that confront modern business organizations.
BUS 510 High Performance Management (3)
Develops the managerial skills that affect individual and group performance in organizations. Topics include managerial communication, team-building, negotiation, conflict resolution, and intercultural management.
BUS 520 Strategy and Leadership (3)
Presents an integrated overview of strategy, strategic planning and strategic management for business leaders. Through the use of complex business cases, analyzes the major elements of strategic management and the interactions among major participants. Special emphasis is given to the role of leadership in the strategic management process.
BUS 530 Managing Business Operations (3)
Builds on previous strategy and leadership courses to develop skills required for managers to operate a business organization. Topics include change management, product design, process selection, quality management, supply chain design, strategy and control. Managing a firm’s business operations involves the design, operation and improvement of systems that create and deliver an organization’s product and services to customers.
Bus 540 Financial Reporting and Analysis (3)
Provides an understanding of the use of financial information in managing an organization. The course focuses on analyzing and interpreting financial statements, applying analytical tools and techniques to financial statements in order to make sound investment and operating decisions, and applying standard corporate financing models in corporate financial management.
BUS 550 The Contemporary Firm (3)
This course emphasizes the strategic and management issues associated with the effective use of information technology. Topics include information systems & control, databases and data mining, systems development, IT infrastructure and strategy.
BUS 560 The Entrepreneurial Manager (3)
Focuses on aspects of starting a new business, with an emphasis on recognizing and creating opportunities. Also develops the managerial skills and perspectives that contribute to innovative and entrepreneurial management in growing and established organizations. Topics include attributes of entrepreneurs and entrepreneurial careers, evaluating opportunities, writing business plans, consumer and market analysis, new product design and development, creativity, innovation, forecasting, resource requirements, financing, and managing new ventures.
BUS 570 Competing in a Global Environment (6)
Acknowledging the global environment in which business operates, this course addresses management concerns for maximum organizational effectiveness in international business. Topics include international market identification, trade practices and policy, legal issues in business, international currency markets, joint ventures, international business strategy, and global management. Intercultural management issues, negotiation, and cross-cultural differences will also be addressed. Students will participate in an international operations simulation (Business Strategy Game) that integrates the functional disciplines of business
Business Strategy Game
Students are encouraged to review both of the following documents prior to enrolling in BUS 570
Overview and Orientation (click to open BSG Presentation) (PPT 1 MB)
Player's Guide (click to open BSG Players Guide pdf) (PDF 436.4 KB)
