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Curriculum

To complete the Professional MBA (PMBA) Online program, students must complete the twelve (12) core courses and two (2) specialization courses (total of 14 courses/42 credit hours), along with three Professional Development Seminars.

This MBA curriculum has been carefully curated to prepare you to excel in the most diverse and competitive business environments. Beyond covering all aspects of business, it focuses on "soft skills" like communication, team building, time management, leadership, and more. Through elective courses, you’ll be able to meet your individual career objectives.

Sample textbook list.

Program Development

Three Professional Development seminars (PDS) are required in the first 8-week term of the program. Students cannot continue in the program without meeting the PDS requirement.

  • Professional Development I - Presentation Skills Seminar (PDS 1002)

    Being a good public speaker has a tremendous influence on your visibility, profitability, and industry leadership. In this seminar, you'll develop your presentation skills and learn how to present your ideas with conviction, control and poise - and without fear. You'll gain the specific presentation skills and direction you need to become comfortable with your own style. And you'll receive expert advice on how to handle especially challenging situations. Most importantly, you'll gain presentation skills by making actual presentations.

  • Professional Development II – Collaboration in the Virtual Age

    The world of business is changing. Remote work and collaboration with people you may never shake hands with is the new norm. Fubini's Law states: 1) People initially use technology to do what they do now—but faster. 2) Then they gradually begin to use technology to do new things. 3) The new technology changes how we live and how we work. 4) These changes to how we live and work ultimately change society—and eventually change technology. Therefore, the Professional MBA Online focuses on providing training in the tools and methods for virtual collaboration. This seminar will be broken into two, two-hour sessions over the two-week break. It will discuss how you in your teams can learn to collaborate well. That you may be prepared for the world of work that awaits you upon graduation. You will be comfortable with the tools and the practices that distinguish good virtual managers.

    Important Note: Students are required to attend both sessions of this required seminar. But please know, attendance alone will not grant you completion credit. All students are expected to not only attend both sessions but also contribute equally to their assigned team activity to gain credit for participation as well as completion of the required survey at the end of session 2.

  • Professional Development III

    Student's pick from one of the following options:

    • Lean Six Sigma (LSS) Yellow Belt (8 hours): Lean Six Sigma combines Lean Manufacturing (originally developed by Toyota) and Six Sigma(originally developed by Motorola). The application of Lean Six Sigma allows quality and efficiency improvements to be effectively realized. The focus of Lean is speed, efficiency, and taking waste out of a process. Six Sigma focuses on the effectiveness and removal of errors. When combined it can be a powerful management tool that can greatly improve an organization’s performance, by providing a structured approach to resolving problems. The methodology applies in a manufacturing or service-based context.
    • Personal Branding & Career Readiness (2 hours): In this hands-on personal brand workshop, students will learn how to make a better, more enduring impression within their industry online in search results, through LinkedIn and other social channels, as well as in-person at conferences and networking events. This seminar highlights how these principles can be leveraged broadly across an organization to create effective advocates for the company brand. Applied training skills covered: the art of storytelling, career readiness, conflict resolution, and the importance of networks.
    • Data Visualization (2 hours): Data does not make an impact without a presentation that makes the data come alive. An effective presentation turns dry data into a dynamic story that creates a pathway for change. This seminar will introduce graphic and graphing techniques that business professionals use to explain and persuade. It will specifically focus on connecting and blending data from multiple sources, cleansing and preparing data to find new insights and persuade audiences with powerful visualizations.

Core Courses

  • Competitive Strategy - FIN6446

    Provision of tools for managerial decision-making in a variety of competitive environments including demand analysis, short- and long-run costs of production, demand for factors, market structure and competitive strategy.

  • Accounting for Managers - ACG6026

    Presentation of the nature, techniques and uses of accounting from the perspective of people who manage businesses and investments in businesses. Covers both financial and management accounting.

  • Corporate Finance - FIN6406

    In-depth examination of asset, liability and capital structure management, with emphasis on valuation capital budgeting techniques; risk evaluation; working capital management; and methods of short-term, intermediate and long-term financing. Prerequisite: ACG 6026.

  • Business Analysis for Decision Making - QMB6357

    Review of the relevant quantitative techniques required for business analysis and decision making, including decision models, mathematical programming, statistics and forecasting. This is an Excel based course. Prerequisites: College Algebra, computer literacy and working knowledge of Excel.

  • Marketing Management in the Global Environment - MAR 6805

    Analysis and application of theory and problem solving for marketing management in the global environment. Emphasis will be on the role of marketing in the organization; planning the marketing effort; management of the marketing organization; control of marketing operations; and evaluation of the marketing contribution.

  • Financial Reporting and Analysis - ACG6175

    Comprehensive treatment of analysis of financial statements as aid for decision making; looks at current state of financial reporting practices and impact of published statements on economic systems. Prerequisites: ACG 6026 and FIN 6406.

  • Management of Information Systems - ISM 6021

    Introduction to information systems and their role in organizations from a user’s viewpoint. Survey and application of the basic concepts necessary for understanding information systems. Study of the main activities in the development cycle used to acquire information systems capability.

  • Organizational Behavior - MAN 6245

    Individual, interpersonal, and small group behavior in complex organizations. Focus on behavior, its causes, and management interventions to improve organizational effectiveness. Research methods to study organizational behavior.

  • Strategic Management - MAN 6726

    The use of cases, guest lectures, and gaming to integrate the analysis and measurement tools, the functional areas and public policy issues. The objective is to develop skill in broad areas of rational decision-making in an administrative context of uncertainty.

  • One business law course

    Examines current legal, regulatory, ethical, and political issues within the context of public law. Topics include employment, antitrust, administrative, cyberlaw, and contracts and tort.

  • One international business course
  • One analytical & quantitative analysis course

Credits Transfer

Professional MBA Online applicants may transfer up to six (6) graduate-level credits earned at an accredited institution. Credits submitted for transfer will be evaluated during the application process.

Specializations

Each of the specializations consists of two (2) courses (out of the 14 total in the program). We currently offer ten (10) specializations:

  • Business Data Analytics

    Business Data Analytics (course offered every Spring): Learn how to conduct both pattern discovery and predictive modeling, as well as studying the recent developments in the MIS field.

    ISM 6136: Business Analytics Application
    Duration: 8 weeks | Credit Hours: 3
    This course covers business analytics skills required to conduct both pattern discovery (e.g., segmentation and association) and predictive modeling (e.g., decision trees and neural network mining). Prerequisite: introductory statistics.

    ISM6404: Business Data Visualization & Reporting
    Duration: 8 weeks | Credit Hours: 3
    This course will cover Business Data Visualization. To study the recent developments in the MIS field not otherwise offered in the curriculum, such as office automation, computer graphics, etc.
    Professional Development

    Three Professional Development seminars (PDS) are required in the first quarter of the program. Students cannot graduate from the program without meeting the PDS requirements.

  • Business Law

    BUL6890: Special Topics: Corporate Governance & Regulation
    Duration: 8 weeks | Credit Hours: 3
    The system by which companies are directed and controlled. Corporate Governance and Regulation examines legal governance principles including the fiduciary duties of board members and auditors, the evolution of U.S. corporate governance models, the distinction between corporate governance and corporate management, compliance, assessing internal risk and risk controls applying ERM and COSO frameworks, how corporate governance matters are addressed by a myriad of stakeholders including the corporate board of directors, regulators, investors, and other externalities, and much more. The primary focus is on U.S. for-profit companies and laws that relate to them and briefly explores global corporate governance matters.

    BUL6656C: Business Law for Entrepreneurs
    Duration: 8 weeks | Credit Hours: 3
    This course provides an in depth study of current legal issues for entrepreneurs and small business owners. Topics: forming and operating a business; raising capital; negotiating contracts; hiring.

  • Entrepreneurship and Innovation

    Entrepreneurship and Innovation (courses offered every Fall): Learn best practices of entrepreneurship, based on theories and concepts, and how to apply them through an emphasis on case studies and group projects. Plus, gain insights into creatively managing the challenges of change and product innovation.

    MAN 6805: Entrepreneurship
    Duration: 8 weeks | Credit Hours: 3
    A discussion of the general theories, principles, concepts and practices of entrepreneurship. Heavy emphasis is placed on lecture, readings, case studies and group projects.

    MAN 6057: Managing Innovation
    Duration: 8 weeks | Credit Hours: 3
    This course explores the process of managing innovation. In today's global marketplace, competition from all over the world forces firms to continuously upgrade their product offerings and ways of doing business. This course discusses how to be more creative, how to manage creatively, and how to implement innovation.

  • Finance

    Finance (courses offered every Spring): Focus on commercial banking and financial markets and gain an understanding of asset and liability management and money market and capital market assets, as well as the functions of financial institutions in the marketplace.

    FIN 6326: Commercial Banking
    Duration: 8 weeks | Credit Hours: 3
    The objectives, constraints, and policies applicable to the management of commercial banks. Emphasis will be given to asset and liability management, marketing of services and other banking functions. Prerequisite: FIN 6406.

    FIN 6246 Financial Markets and Institutions
    Duration: 8 weeks | Credit Hours: 3
    Analysis of the characteristics and efficiency of the money markets and capital markets. Types of money market and capital market instruments, and the role of financial institutions in these markets. Prerequisite: FIN 6406.

  • International Business

    International Business (courses offered every Fall): Develop an understanding of business management in the global arena that encompasses financial strategy, international trade, international management practices and international operations.

    MAN6608: International Business
    Duration: 8 weeks | Credit Hours: 3
    This course examines the environmental variables affecting international operations, trade and investment theories, international institutions, and regional economic groups. It also focuses on international finance, international accounting, international marketing, and international management problems and issues.

    MAN6678: Global Start-ups
    Duration: 8 weeks | Credit Hours: 3
    This course will analyze strategies for starting and growing a new global venture. The emphasis is on rapid expansion and matching new business models to various factors.

  • Leadership

    Leadership (courses offered every Fall) - Develop an understanding of how the leadership function contributes to the strategic management of people and organizations within a global environment. Equips students with skills to lead subordinates, peers, and upper level executives, and conduct international negotiations with important stakeholders on behalf of their organization.

    MAN 6446: Negotiations
    Duration: 8 weeks | Credit Hours: 3
    Negotiations are the processes of creating agreements between two or more parties. This course will introduce students to the art of negotiations in business transactions. The class will include a wide variety of negotiation cases.

    MAN 6167: Leadership in a Global Environment
    Duration: 8 weeks | Credit Hours: 3
    The course is designed to provide the student with a clear understanding of current thinking in the area of leadership. It focuses on the holistic nature of leadership and the impact leaders have on individuals, groups, and organizations.

  • Marketing Channel Strategy

    Marketing Channel Strategy (courses offered every Fall): Learn the processes that guide successful omni-channel marketing planning and deployment, as well as how to apply communication and distribution strategies profitably.

    MAR 6205: Omni-Channels Marketing and Distribution Systems
    Duration: 8 weeks | Credit Hours: 3
    Creating, designing, and managing multiple online and offline marketing channels, with a focus on omni-channel marketing. Using communication and distribution strategies to integrate digital and physical flows of information and product innovation.

    SCM 6016: Supply Chain Management
    Duration: 8 weeks | Credit Hours: 3
    Examining, coordinating, integrating, and improving processes for the effective and efficient movement of materials, information, people, finances, etc. while considering the interactions of digital, physical, and human elements in order to facilitate profitable returns.

  • Real Estate

    Real Estate (courses offered every Spring): Gain a mastery of real estate fundamentals and real-world knowledge in the areas of valuation & investment analysis.

    REE 6045: Real Estate Markets, Institutions, and Practices
    Duration: 8 weeks | Credit Hours: 3
    A general survey of the legal, economic, institutional, quantitative and strategic elements of real estate markets, institutions and practices. This course studies the ownership, transfer, and use of real estate. Issues addressed include, but are not limited to, valuation, brokerage, risk management, property management, diversification, investment and sources of capital. The course is both descriptive and analytical in nature with the goal of developing a body of theoretical and applied knowledge. Selected examples are employed to demonstrate traditional U.S. practices and procedure for comparative purposes.

    REE 6306C: Corporate Real Estate Management
    Duration: 8 weeks | Credit Hours: 3
    This course introduces students to the end-user perspective of non-real estate companies' use of real estate. Focus is on decision-making tools and strategies to optimize performance.

    The real estate courses will be taken with the Masters in International Real Estate program (MSIRE). The MSIRE program utilizes live streaming technology for their courses. Therefore, students can attend live virtually or view the recorded class lecture (4 hours) at a later time. MSIRE course dates may not align with the PMBAO courses. Students will be informed of the dates prior to the start of the term for those courses.

  • Sports Management

    Sports management

  • Strategic Negotiations

    Strategic Negotiations (course offered every Spring): Learn how to plan and control sales operations via detailed case studies and become acquainted with the art of business negotiating.

    MAR 6406: Sales Management
    Duration: 8 weeks | Credit Hours: 3
    Analysis of personal selling's roles in marketing strategy using detailed case studies on field sales management, working with channel organization, and planning and controlling sales operations. Prerequisite: MAR 6805.

    MAR 6446: Negotiations
    Duration: 8 weeks | Credit Hours: 3
    Negotiation is the art and science of creating agreements between two or more parties. In this course, we will present and evaluate evidence-based theories and methods for effective negotiations. In addition, students will develop and sharpen their skills by negotiating with other students in realistic simulation cases.

Students’ program schedules (course sequencing and graduation timelines) may depend on the specialization and track they select. As part of the application process, our recruitment team are available to assist those interested in selecting a specialization that fits their background, graduation timelines, and/or interests. Students may choose to do an additional specialization; however, it will be an additional cost and may affect their timelines for graduation.