MBA.BUAD - Master of Business Administration

MBA ADMISSIONS

To be granted full admission for any graduate degree program, applicants must meet the requirements for Full Admission to the Graduate School along with any additional requirements for a specific degree. Applications for admission to a master's program are processed by the Graduate Admissions Office in conjunction with the relevant Program Director.

Some degree programs may include additional requirements for admission that are supplemental to the Graduate School's requirements. Admission to one graduate program does not guarantee admission to another.

Full Admission

• Applicants who meet all of the criteria listed below may be granted full admission to the Graduate School. 

• A Bachelor's degree from a regionally accredited institution.

• Evidence of sound moral character and compatibility with DBU's mission.

• A likelihood of academic success as demonstrated by a GPA of 3.0 or higher on a 4.0 scale in all previous course work.

• Two letters of recommendation from non-family members.

• A current, professional résumé. 

Applicants seeking admission will be required to submit the following:

• A formal Application for Admission to pursue a specified master's degree program.  The application will ask applicants for a Statement of Purpose outlining reasons for seeking admission and showing compatibility with DBU's mission.

• Official transcripts from each institution attended as an undergraduate, post-baccalaureate, or graduate student.

• Two letters of recommendation from non-family members.

• A current, professional résumé.

• Any additional requirements requested by a specific degree program. 

Provisional Admission

Applicants admitted under Provisional Admission must fulfill the conditions of this status as identified by the Master's Degrees Admission Committee in order to continue in the program past 12 hours. Students under Provisional Admission must maintain a 3.0 GPA and receive no grades below "B." Students admitted under Provisional Admission will be granted Full Admission upon successful completion of 12 credit hours and fulfillment of the conditions of their admission as determined by the Master's Degrees Admission Committee. 

In addition, the Master's Degrees Admission Committee will review the following criteria as it strives to take a holistic view of the applicant in order to determine the likelihood of success in the MAM program:  

• A likelihood for academic success as demonstrated by a GPA of 3.0 or higher. (The Master's Degrees Admission Committee may take into consideration the student's trend performance across 60 hours of undergraduate coursework as it reviews undergraduate performance for students with a GPA of less than 3.0.) Therefore, students with a GPA lower that 3.0 are eligible for provisional admission only.

• Five or more years of significant, substantive managerial/leadership experience that may be evidenced through a combination of résumé review, applicant interview, work portfolio, employer recommendations, and a professional certification.

• 12 hours of graduate work from an accredited institution with a grade point average of 3.0 or higher. 

CURRICULUM OVERVIEW - MBA students must complete 42 credit-hours: a standard core track of 30 credit hours and 12 hours within a chosen concentration.

To satisfy minimum degree requirements, all single concentrations require a minimum of 39 credit hours, and dual concentrations require a minimum of 63 credit hours. Students are responsible for not repeating courses waived, transferred, or previously taken.

MBA REQUIRED CORE CURRICULUM

BUAD 5303 – Essentials for Business Analysis and Leadership (Must be taken in the first semester)
ACCT 5321 - Managerial Accounting
FINA 5301 - Corporate Finance
MANA 5300 - Career and Professional Development
MANA 5302 - Quantitative Analysis and Modeling for Decision-Making
MANA 5303 - Technology, Innovation, and the Entrepreneurial Mindset
MANA 5310 - Ethical Leadership
MANA 5333 - Operations and Quality Management
MANA 6341 - Strategic Management Decisions (S-L) (Course can only be taken in or after the last core semester in the program)
MRKT 5301 - Advanced Marketing Strategies (S-L)

Total MBA Core Credit Hours       30
Elective Credit Hours       12
Total MBA Program Credit Hours    42

MBA CONCENTRATIONS

The prerequisite for beginning the concentrations is completion of the core MBA program with an aggregate GPA of 3.0 or higher. Nine credit hours in a concentration are required to have the concentration notated on the transcript. There are usually 12 credit hours available to choose from in a concentration.

A total of 12 credit hours are required from the elective portion of the MBA program. The concentrations are classified as either non-STEM or STEM. STEM concentrations are indicated below with an asterisk (*). Before starting the concentrations, it is possible to change program registration from non-STEM to STEM or vice versa, depending on concentration and program designation preference.

BUAD 5302 Graduate Internship (S-L) can be substituted for one course in any concentration with the Program Director’s approval.

MBA CONCENTRATIONS
Human Resource Management
Management
Marketing
Business Analytics*
Finance*
Information Technology*
Marketing Analytics*
Project Management*
Supply Chain Management*

HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT CONCENTRATION

Ultimately organizational performance is a reflection of the leadership, quality, motivation, and competencies of the people who are invested in the firm. This concentration focuses on the development of skills in the design, motivation, structure, and rewards of an organization. 

MBA Required Core Curriculum (30 hours)

Human Resource Management Concentration Courses (12 hours)
MANA 6305 - Talent Acquisition and Development
MANA 6306 - Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in the Workplace
MANA 6314 - Organizational Change and Development
MANA 6323 - Human Resource Strategy (S-L)

MANAGEMENT CONCENTRATION 

The human element is vital to the effective and efficient operation of any organization. The Management Concentration covers concepts and theories for understanding and resolving human problems in organizational settings. The Management Concentration covers a wide range of current business topics, including interpersonal group behavior, leadership styles, the motivation of employees, recruitment, evaluation, training, compensation, affirmative action, and continuous improvement.  

This concentration offers students the opportunity to select any 4 courses from other concentrations (taking cognizance of possible prerequisites) and with regard to the scheduling of these courses, develop a management concentration that specifically meets their needs where alternative concentrations would be less effective.    

MBA Required Core Curriculum (30 hours) 

Management Concentration Courses (12 hours) 
Select four:
FINA 5302 - Capital Markets and Institutions (Requisite: FINA 5301) 
FINA 5321 - International Finance (Requisite: FINA 5301) 
MANA 6305 - Talent Acquisition and Development 
MANA 6314 - Organizational Change and Development 
MANA 6320 - Business Ethics 
MANA 6358 - Business Negotiation and Conflict Resolution 
MANA 6372 - Managing Organizations and Teams (S-L)
MSITM 5342 - Database Management
MSITM 6331 – AI Revolution: Transforming the Digital Landscape
MRKT 5306 – Digital Marketing Principles (Requisite: MRKT 5301)
MRKT 5345 - Consumer and Buyer Behavior  (Requisite: MRKT 5301) 
PROJ 5301 - Organizing Projects and Its Components
PROJ 6303 - Project Approaches and Strategy (Requisite: PROJ 5301) 
SCM 6320 - Logistics Management
SCM 6325 - Warehouse Management

MARKETING CONCENTRATION 

The Marketing Concentration focuses on the various strategies, processes, and practical applications involved in meeting market demands and satisfying customer needs. Students practice skills in various industries from both domestic and multinational perspectives. Areas of study and marketing applications include marketing strategy formulation and implementation issues, distribution channels management, outcome-based marketing systems, consumer and buyer behavior, and integrated marketing communication.   

MBA Required Core Curriculum (30 hours) 

Marketing Concentration Courses (12 hours) 
Choose four:
MRKT 5306 – Digital Marketing Principles (Requisite: MRKT 5301)
MRKT 5307 – Social Media in Business (Requisite: MRKT 5301)
MRKT 5345 – Consumer and Buyer Behavior (Requisite: MRKT 5301)
MRKT 6321 – International Marketing (Requisite: MRKT 5301)
MRKT 6331 – Marketing Analysis (Requisite: MRKT 5301)
MRKT 6357 – Digital Storytelling and Branding (Requisite: MRKT 5301)

BUSINESS ANALYTICS CONCENTRATION*

The MBA in Business Analytics STEM concentration equips students with the ability to provide data-driven insight in order to optimize all aspects of a business’ performance. Students have the opportunity to build data analytics skills in marketing, risk management, project management, finance and accounting, and economics. MBA Business Analytics students can also learn fundamental skills in organizing and analyzing data through courses in database management, data warehousing and mining, and data visualization.

MBA Required Core Curriculum (30 hours) 

Business Analytics Concentration Courses (12 hours)
ACCT 6335 – Financial Statement Analysis
ECON 6305 – Economic Analysis
MANA 6307 – Managing Risk
MRKT 6331 – Marketing Analysis (Requisite: MRKT 5301)
MRKT 6356 – Predictive and Prescriptive Analytics
MSITM 5342 - Database Management Analysis
MSITM 6302 - Business Intelligence and Data Mining (Requisites: MANA 5302 and MSITM 6341 or MSITM 5342)
MSITM 6303- Data Visualization (Requisite: MSITM 5342)
MSITM 6331 – AI Revolution: Transforming the Digital Landscape
PROJ 5301 – Organizing the Project and Its Components

FINANCE CONCENTRATION*

The STEM Finance Concentration is designed to provide the MBA graduate with a broad understanding of financial management, financial institutions, and investment strategies. The Finance Concentration includes advanced mathematical study and application in budgeting and control procedures, international financial markets, portfolio theory, portfolio management strategies, risk management, working capital management, and mergers and acquisitions. This knowledge is essential in a variety of corporate, institutional, banking, and real estate professions.  

MBA Required Core Curriculum (30 hours) 

Finance Concentration Courses (12 hours) 
Choose four:  
FINA 5302 - Capital Markets and Institutions (Requisite: FINA 5301) 
FINA 5321 - International Finance (Requisite: FINA 5301) 
FINA 6331 – Investments (Requisite: FINA 5301)
FINA 6332 - Futures and Options (Requisite: FINA 5301) 
FINA 6341 - Portfolio Management (Requisite: FINA 6331) 

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY CONCENTRATION*

The MBA in Information Technology STEM Concentration provides students with the ability to provide successful, intelligent, and targeted insights from data. Students will learn how to communicate actionable information from data to the management in an interactive way through various software tools to enable better decision-making. Topics include data warehousing, which is a system used for reporting and data analysis, data mining – a process of discovering patterns in large data sets, business intelligence, and analytics concepts like descriptive, predictive, and prescriptive analytics which are the core components of data science. Students will learn to use software like SQL for storing, manipulating, and retrieving data in databases, R/Python – a programming language for data analysis and insights, Tableau and MS Excel Power View to communicate data to management. Students are given an opportunity to showcase their skills in Information Technology through capstone projects within the IT industry.  

MBA Required Core Curriculum (30 hours) 

Information Technology Concentration Courses (12 hours)   
MSITM 6331 – Digital Transformation
Choose three:
MSITM 5342 - Database Management Analysis 
MSITM 6302 - Business Intelligence and Data Mining (Requisites: MANA 5302 and MSITM 6341 or MSITM 5342) 
MSITM 6303- Data Visualization (Requisite: MSITM 5342) 
MSITM 6364 – Generative AI Use Cases: Practical Approaches for Greater Success (S-L)

MARKETING ANALYTICS CONCENTRATION*

The Marketing Analytics STEM Concentration focuses on various quantitative strategies, processes, and practical applications involved in meeting market demands and satisfying customer needs. Students practice skills in various industries from both domestic and multinational perspectives. Areas of study and marketing applications include marketing strategy formulation and implementation issues, distribution channels management, outcome-based marketing systems, consumer and buyer behavior, and integrated marketing communication.   

MBA Required Core Curriculum (30 hours) 

Marketing Analytics Concentration Courses (12 hours)
MRKT 5306 – Digital Marketing Principles (Requisite: MRKT 5301)
MRKT 5307 – Social Media in Business (Requisite: MRKT 5301)
MRKT 5345 – Consumer and Buyer Behavior (Requisite: MRKT 5301)
MRKT 6331 – Marketing Analysis (Requisite: MRKT 5301)
MRKT 6352 - Customer Segmentation and Descriptive Analytics (Requisite: MRKT 5301)
MRKT 6355 - Web Analytics (Requisite: MRKT 5301)
MRKT 6356 - Predictive and Prescriptive Analytics
MRKT 6357 – Digital Storytelling and Branding (Requisite: MRKT 5301)

PROJECT MANAGEMENT CONCENTRATION*

The Project Management STEM Concentration is designed to provide students with both theoretical knowledge and practical quantitative skills to succeed in project management, whether as project team members or project managers. The Project Management Technologies Concentration includes advanced study and applications in the analytic techniques and tools used to define, plan, organize, and manage projects. Content includes practical project execution and control, risk management, earned value, configuration management, budgeting, and project termination and close-out. This course of study will align content/curriculum with project manager certification requirements and with the practical needs in the workplace. It is assumed the student may want to pursue project management certification through the Project Management Institute.   

MBA Required Core Curriculum (30 hours) 

Project Management Concentration Courses (12 hours) 
PROJ 5301 - Organizing the Project and Its Components
PROJ 6302 - Managing Risk
PROJ 6303 - Project Approaches and Strategy 
PROJ 6304 - Planning and Managing Resources Capstone (Requisites: PROJ 5301, PROJ 6302, PROJ 6303)

SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT CONCENTRATION*

The Supply Chain Management STEM Concentration focuses on developing key quantitative skills that directly affect the firm’s ability to create future wealth. Linkages are made in this systems-based concentration between operations and supply chain techniques and their effect on creating customer value and lowering costs. These approaches are contextualized to bring out relative priorities and the opportunities they bring to transforming specific areas of the firm’s income statement and balance sheet.  

MBA Required Core Curriculum (30 hours) 

Supply Chain Management Concentration Courses (12 hours) 
PROJ 5301 - Organizing the Project and Its Components
SCM 6320 - Logistics Management  
SCM 6325 - Warehouse Operations
SCM 6330 – Supply Chain Risk

(S-L)=Course(s) with field-based service-learning component.

COURSE DESCRIPTIONS

Find course descriptions by category under the Graduate Course Descriptions section in the navigation panel.