Master of Business Administration (MBA)

Program Objective:

The objective of the program is to provide aspiring leaders a broad base of field-proven interdisciplinary business concepts in management, marketing, human resources, finance, analytics, and technology that will enable them to launch their professional careers to the next level. Program graduates will have acquired the flexibility of thought to make wise decisions in today's complex, diverse, multicultural, and global business settings.

MBA Concentrations:

The MBA program offers three concentration choices. Choosing a concentration is not required.

• Marketing Management Concentration: Students who complete their MBA with 12 units or more of Marketing (MKT, SOC) specialization may request the Registrar’s office to have their transcripts and printed diploma marked with "Concentration in Marketing Management."
• Management Concentration: Students who complete their MBA with 12 units or more of Management, Green Business Management, and/or Human Resource Management (MGT, GBM, HRM, SOC) specialization (excluding MGT530 and HRM531 core required courses) may request the Registrar’s office to have their transcripts and printed diploma marked with "Concentration in Management."
• Business Analytics Concentration: Students who complete their MBA with 12 units or more of Business Analytics (BAN, including MGT460/L) specialization may request the Registrar’s office to have their transcripts and printed diploma marked with "Concentration in Business Analytics."

An approved concentration will appear on the student's official transcript and printed diploma. If no concentration is selected the transcript will show MBA without any concentration notation.

Students may have only one formal concentration.

Concentrations are open to both on-campus classroom and distance learning modality students.

Courses counting towards the concentration unit requirement may be taken as either Major or Electives. Required Core courses and the Capstone course do not count towards a concentration.

Students are advised to complete the 12-units applicable to their concentration before meeting with the Registrar's Office to formally request their desired concentration. Due to logistics and diploma printing time requirements spanning multiple months, last minute concentration requests and changes may not be approved at the discretion of the Registrar's Office.

Program Learning Outcomes:

Graduating students are expected to demonstrate the following program learning outcomes –

• Written Communication - In a contextually appropriate manner, write strategic business plans and tactical implementation plans.
• Oral Communication - In a business setting, craft and deliver compelling messages, based on logic and a variety of supporting materials.
• Quantitative Reasoning - Convert relevant information into insightful mathematical portrayals and apply across a wide range of business situations.
• Information Literacy - Determine, acquire, and analyze data needed from multiple sources in order to create recommendations for complex business situations.
• Critical Thinking - Methodically solve multi-criteria business and managerial problems.
• Specialized Knowledge - Synthesize concepts in management, finance, accounting, and marketing to resolve complex business challenges.

Background Recommendations

Students admitted into the MBA degree program are required to have proper background for taking graduate level coursework. English proficiency is required. Refer to the section on “English Proficiency Requirement” in the chapter “Admission Policies” for details.

For students who lack college level mathematics, statistics (preferred), business math, or the equivalent it is recommended that they take SFBU course BAN460G Introduction to Business Analytics (3 units). BAN460G is considered an elective in the MBA program.

For students who lack professional career experience or a career planning course such as P450 or the equivalent, it is recommended that they take SFBU course P450G Career Development (1 unit). P450G is considered an elective in the MBA program.

MBA Curriculum

A minimum of 36 trimester units of graduate study are required for the MBA program. The MBA curriculum includes coursework in the following categories: Core Required Courses, Major Required Courses, Elective Courses, and a Capstone Course. A number of areas of interest are shown in the section of Major Requirements; each is listed with a cluster of courses. Students taking courses in an area of interest will gain in-depth knowledge and skills in the corresponding business professional field. Additionally, taking courses in an area of interest can be beneficial to the student for career planning. The student must meet prerequisite/corequisite requirements when taking any course.

I. Core Required Courses (9 units)

The following required courses provide a knowledge base of interdisciplinary business theories and techniques.

II. Major Courses Selectable from a Pool (12 units)

Beyond Core Requirements, the student is required to take at least 12 units of 500 level business (major) coursework. Although not required, the student has the opportunity to select a concentration or an area of interest and take courses in the chosen area to meet the major requirements. Taking a sufficient number of courses in a concentration or an area of interest is beneficial to the student for entering the corresponding business profession.

Concentrations (Optional)

Management:

Marketing

Business Analytics:

Areas of Interest

Finance:

Accounting:

MBA students who are considering a future career as a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) should; seek additional advising, study the California Board of Accountancy's (CBA – www.dca.ca.gov/cba/) numerous requirements, and from the start of their studies focus where possible all core and elective choices towards meeting the CBA's numerous academic requirements. The CBA requires substantial additional academic education and professional training outside the scope of the MBA program.

Unlike concentrations, areas of interest are informal and are not shown on a student’s transcript or printed diploma.

Note: Emotional Intelligence courses SOC501 (1 unit) Emotional Intelligence Essentials and SOC450G (3 units) Emotional Intelligence are considered major pool courses and are also acceptable to be taken as electives. Emotional Intelligence (EI / EQ) is essential for successfully managing and controlling interpersonal relations, and therefore helpful to those aspiring to management positions.

III. Electives (12 units)

The student may elect any graduate-level courses (courses numbered 4xxG, 5xx) to meet the Electives requirement. Free electives may include courses from the School of Business, the School of Engineering, CPT, Career Development, and courses transferred in.

Curricular Practicum: When applicable, the student may take curricular practicum courses (CPT501 or CPT502) and engage in practical training to work on company projects that are directly related to the student’s course of study. The student must observe the rules required for taking the practicum courses. No more than 6 units of practicum coursework may be counted towards graduation.

Career Development: P450G Career Development (1 unit)
This course is designed for students to take in preparation for becoming working professionals. Topics include effective communication strategies, emotional intelligence, diversity and cultural awareness, professional behavior, and interview skills.

IV. Required Capstone Course (3 units)
(A required subject)

Upon completing most of the coursework for this program, the student is required to take the capstone course and, under the guidance of the course instructor, integrate the knowledge and skills learned from all of the courses taken during the program.

• BUS595 - Business Capstone Course