Curriculum

The Professional MBA (PMBA) Downtown program at the Chapman Graduate School of Business assures you the same outstanding faculty and comprehensive foundation in business processes and strategic management as our other acclaimed MBA programs.

You will be immersed in realistic, stimulating business discussions, projects, and studies that deepen your understanding of the key functional areas of management. Our educational approach addresses the personnel, information technology, ethical, regulatory, and competitive issues affecting most firms today. You will emerge better equipped to contribute to your organization’s growth as a strategic thinker and to assume increased responsibility.

Program Residencies

All students are required to complete Professional Development Residencies (PDR) 1, 2, 3 and 4. Professional Development Residencies focus on propelling students’ careers in a competitive job market.

PDRs are offered in an on-campus format. The sessions include training in the areas of business communication, career management, technical skills, and leadership. PDRs also provide students the space to network with fellow classmates, MBA faculty and staff.

Attendance is mandatory for all students.

  • PDR 1 – Business Communication

    PDR 1 serves as an orientation before the first week of class. It allows students to refresh concepts or gain new exposure to them, prior to their first class.

    PDR 1 will take place over the course of three days, which includes one business day (Friday – Sunday). You must request appropriate time off from personal and professional commitments that Friday.

    Topics covered include:

    • Presentation Skills
    • Business Communication
  • PDR 2 – Career Management Services

    Topics covered include:

    • Personality Assessment
    • Personal Branding
  • PDR 3 - Technical Skills

    Topics covered include:

    • Data Visualization
    • Financial Well Being
    • Spreadsheet Modeling
  • PDR 4 - Leadership Development

    Topics covered include:

    • Team Building
    • Community Service

Foundation Courses

In order to further help students succeed in the program, all are required to virtually complete pre-coursework via LinkedIn Learning. The two online mandatory courses introduce basic accounting and excel concepts that will serve as preparation for the first quantitative courses, which will be completed in the first half of the curriculum.

Core Courses

  • 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.

  • Business Statistical Analysis - QMB6357

    Review of quantitative methods and techniques required for business analysis and decision making. Includes decision models, mathematical programming, statistics and forecasting.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • Marketing Management - MAR6805

    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.

  • Organizational Behavior - MAN6245

    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.

  • Organization Info Systems - ISM6021

    Review of foundations and methodologies for analysis of existing and proposed systems, to include, feasibility assessment, design, development, and implementation.

  • Special Topics in Business Law - BUL6890

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

  • Strategic Management - MAN6726

    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.

Specializations

Each of the specializations consists of two (2) courses (out of the 14 total in the program). We currently offer nine (9) specializations:

  • 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.

    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.

    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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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: Information Systems Management
    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.

  • 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.

  • Leadership

    Leadership (courses offered every Fall)

    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.

  • 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.

    BUL6890: Special Topics: 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 in an engaging and exciting environment. Topics include: forming and operating a business; raising capital; negotiating contracts; and hiring and managing employees.

Students' program schedules (course sequencing and graduation timelines) may depend on the specialization and track they select. As part of the application process, our MBA Recruitment team is 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.