Online Program Overview

Completed over 36-months, the program is designed to fit around your work schedule and allow you to balance work, school, and personal commitments.  Built around a combination of core business courses and more specialized elective courses, you would complete 20 courses as part of the Online MBA program. 

Program Delivery

Online Asynchronous Courses

Online courses are offered asynchronously and have been specifically designed to maximize learning outcomes.  With course materials and lectures available on demand, you are able to learn on your own schedule from anywhere.  However, you can expect in most cases that assignments and exams will be due at set times over the term. Courses are intended to be completed gradually over the length of the term.

Three Year Schedule

The Online MBA option can be started in either Fall Term (September) or Winter Term (January).  Whichever term you begin, your degree requirements can be completed in three years.  Courses are scheduled so that you'll be completing two courses concurrently in both Fall (September - December) and Winter Term (January - April) and then completing three courses across the Spring & Summer Terms (May - June and July - August)

The cohort nature of the Online MBA program will allow you to build strong relationships with your peers during the program.  However, the program is flexible enough that, if needed, you can take a reduced course load and extend your time in the program.

Core Curriculum

The MBA program is designed to provide a key grounding in the fundamental areas of business.   All students will complete our core courses and then round out their program with a choice of electives:

Core Courses

ACCTG 501: Financial Reporting and Analysis
Accounting information's role in recording and reporting on economic and business events including the primary financial statements: balance sheet, income statement, and cash flow. Concepts and purposes underlying financial reporting. Selection of accounting policies and their informational effects for external users. The course begins to develop students' abilities to evaluate and interpret financial information through basic financial analysis.
ACCTG 523: Accounting Information and Internal Decision Making
Accounting concepts used by managers in planning and decision-making. The course introduces concepts of cost and profit behavior, contribution margin, and activity-based costing, as well as relevant costs and revenues for production, marketing and capital budgeting decisions. The course also introduces students to the management planning and control system and its components - budgets, variance analysis, performance evaluation in centralized and decentralized organizations, and management compensation plans. The importance of designing a system to fit the organizations' strategy is emphasized. Prerequisite: ACCTG 501
BUEC 503: Economic Foundations
This course focuses on economic decision-making at the level of the firm and consumer, utilizing demand and supply analysis to help understand a variety of economic and managerial issues. Formal models of managerial economic problems will be developed and used for purposes of analysis. The course will also deal with public economics, regulatory economics and introduce issues of information economics and strategic behavior. The theory of public choice and public goods will be used to analyze a variety of public economic issues. The course will also cover macroeconomic issues including measuring macroeconomic variables, sources of economic growth, business cycles, interest rates, exchange rates, government debt, and other topics.
BUEC 542: International Business
Provides students with an introduction to the tools they will require to succeed in the increasingly international business world. Serves as a basis for other more advanced courses in International Business, covering such topics as Country Differences, International Trade, Foreign Direct Investment, Regional Economic Integration, The Foreign Exchange Market, and International Business Strategy and Operations. This course will also cover selective topics in international macroeconomics.
BUS 505: Ethics and Corporate Social Responsibility
This course focuses on the application of moral principles and models for ethical decision making to individuals and businesses in the 21st century. Contemporary ethical and social issues will be examined through the use of case studies, class discussions, and presentations. Topics include concepts of individual ethics, workplace issues, corporate compliance, and social and environmental responsibility. While examining ethical issues, emphasis will be placed on improving students' proficiency levels in verbal and written business communication.
FIN 501: Managerial Finance
Fundamental concepts in asset valuation are discussed within the context of simple asset pricing models and efficient financial markets. This course introduces the valuation of financial assets such as bonds and stocks. Further topics include the issuing of financial securities, leverage, dividend policy, cash management, and derivative securities. Credit will not be given for FIN 501 when FIN 503 has been completed. Prerequisites: ACCTG 501, BUEC 503, and MGTSC 501.
MARK 502: Principles of Marketing Management
This course commences with an examination of core marketing concepts, including strategic marketing planning, segmentation, and the marketing mix (product, price, place, and promotion) and the integration of these concepts into a marketing plan. Specific focus is then provided to developing pragmatic skills regarding marketing effectiveness.
MGT SC 501: Data Analysis and Decision Making
This course begins with a survey of graphical and numerical techniques available for studying and describing data. Following an introduction to probability distributions, an overview of statistical inference for means and proportions is provided. Regression, analysis of variance, and decision analysis are then utilized to analyze data and support decision making. Time series models are also briefly discussed. The data and decisions analyzed throughout the course will be representative of those commonly encountered by managers. During the required lab sessions, spreadsheet analysis of data, Monte Carlo simulation and the use of software for statistical analysis will be presented.
OM 502: Operations Management
This course focuses on (1) the competitive advantage that a business unit can derive from innovative and efficient production and delivery of its goods and services and on (2) analytical approaches that are useful in understanding and improving an organization's operations. Specific modules include process diagramming and analysis; measuring and managing flow times; inventory control and optimization; supply chain coordination and operations strategy. Cases will be used to illustrate operational efficiency and its significance to the profitability of a firm. Prerequisite: MGTSC 501.
SEM 500: Managing People
Introduces students to organizational behavior (OB) and human resource management (HRM), and how to generate energy and commitment in employees. Examines options relevant to staffing, performance management, reward systems, leadership, motivation, decision making, communication, labor relations, and current issues in the field of management.
SEM 502: Organizational Strategy
The first part of this course examines the formation of business strategy. It recognizes the complexities and messiness of strategy formation and explores how organizations actually develop strategies. The second part examines the evolution, determinants, and relevance of alternative ways of organizing. Contemporary ideas (e.g. re-engineering, the learning organization, virtual organizations) are critically reviewed. Not open to students who have completed SEM 610. Prerequisite: SEM 500.
SEM 652: Leadership Skills
The purpose of this course is to increase the student's understanding of leadership roles and skills in exercising those roles. These include team building, mentoring, managing conflict, delegating, managing participative decision making, creative problem solving, and time and stress management.

MBA Capstone: Real-World Experience

Apart from our MBA Core Courses, students will be required to take the MBA capstone course, SEM 641: Business Strategy. This course is designed to bring together what you've learned in the program.

Elective Courses

You'll have the chance to round out your program with a choice of seven different elective courses.  These courses are drawn from across our different disciplines and give you the chance to focus your studies in areas that are directly interesting or relevant to you.