2019-2020 Academic Catalog

Dec 04, 2024

2019-2020 Academic Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

Business Administration, MBA

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Overview

Graduate Program

The Clark University M.B.A. program develops competence in basic management functions, skill in managing organizations, and an understanding of the global environment. Each graduate of Clark’s M.B.A. program is able to demonstrate:

competence in the functional areas of management;
in-depth understanding of one of the functional areas of management or global business;
skill in integrating the management functions into an effective organization, and understanding the legal, political, ethical, social, and environmental responsibilities of management;
appreciation of the global context in which most organizations function; and
the leadership and communication skills needed to formulate and implement management decisions.

Graduate Program Requirements

The M.B.A requires 15.5 units of coursework.

Note: Students who have questions about their program requirements should contact their academic advisor.

Required Courses

Experiential Learning Requirement I

Completion of a graduate internship fulfills Experiential Learning Requirement I. It is required for all students except: those who have 3+ years of professional business work experience; those with full-time employment during the length of the program; and those who are participating in an exchange program (ex. Sorbonne, Trier, etc.). It may be possible to waive this requirement. Visit a member of the Stevenish Career Management Center for more information.

Experiential Learning Requirement II

Students choose from several one unit course options to fulfill the Experiential Learning Requirement II. The courses are designed to allow students to combine the skills that they have acquired from other core courses and use those skills to solve real world challenges.

Professional Track

For students who have applied for and been accepted to the Professional Track (worked for three or more years in a professional position with managerial experience), the MBA program differs in the following ways:

Students are waived of completing Experiential Learning Requirement (ELR) I (Internship) and Experiential Learning Requirement II (1 unit ELR course).
Students may be waived of, at most, one unit in MIS, MKT, FIN, ACCT, or OM based on extensive work experience. Waivers are granted by the Graduate Admissions Review Committee.
Instead of taking MGMT 4302 Organizational Leadership, students take MGMT 4200 .
The total unit requirement for the program is 13.5 to 14.5 units, depending on waivers.

Concentration and Free Electives

In addition to the courses listed above, students must take four elective units. At least three of the elective units must be taken in one area of concentration, or the student will automatically default to a Management concentration. Students completing a dual concentration must complete three units in each of the concentration areas, with no overlap. The list of electives that can be taken for each concentration can be found on the M.B.A. advising page of the GSOM website. Students may choose from the following areas of concentration:

Accounting

The accounting concentration gives you a foundation in business with a deep knowledge-base and skill set that are in high demand in today’s highly competitive public accounting firms, as well as in corporate, non-profit and governmental organizations. By tailoring your management studies, you learn accounting skills that are especially valuable because of their staying power and broad applicability; accounting is a crucial part of each and every organization.

Expanded Accounting

The expanded accounting concentration examines complex topics in financial accounting. It satisfies the 150-hour, postsecondary-education requirement for the Certified Public Accountant (CPA) exam. You also have the opportunity to prepare for the Certified Management Accountant (CMA) examination. Students pursuing this option must complete the foundation, functional and general management courses, along with the following accounting electives. Electives will be determined by the Program Director based on prior undergraduate coursework.

, and ACCT 5104 OR

(please consult program director on appropriate elective selection).

Please note: to be in line with the CPA requirements, this concentration requires students to take additional units above and beyond the usual total units for the MBA program.

Finance

With the finance concentration, you master a broad range of both managerial and financial analysis skills essential in companies of all sizes around the world. This concentration is designed to prepare you to take on any number of leadership roles in the global financial services industry.

Information Management and Business Analytics

The Information Management and Business Analytics concentration trains emerging business professionals to gain a competitive advantage through the sound use of data resources. Students are taught not only data management processes such as data collection, validation, organization, and warehousing, but also analytical techniques such as statistics, optimization, predictive modeling, forecasting, and visualization that allow for the improvement of decision-making in a business environment. Courses offer solid grounding in applied statistical methods and emphasize the use of appropriate software tools. Skills and techniques are applied to both general business problems as well as discipline-specific issues. Students are required to take MIS 5501 as part of the Information Management and Business Analytics concentration.

Management

The management concentration gives you an in-depth understanding of the fundamental management, leadership, and economic principles that you can immediately apply in your career. You learn the latest theories and best practices in business and study how to apply them in established business environments, entrepreneurial settings, and non-profits.

Marketing

The marketing concentration gives you an in-depth understanding of branding, advertising, product management, buyer behavior and market research. You learn analytical and leadership techniques that you can immediately apply in your career.

Social Change and Sustainability

The unique Social Change and Sustainability concentration in our M.B.A. program was created for leaders who face environmental, social and economic challenges. We help you utilize your business management and leadership skills to innovatively solve problems and effect positive change.

Program Faculty

Mary-Ellen Boyle, Ph.D.
Keith Coulter, Ph.D.
John Dobson, Ph.D.
Priscilla Elsass, Ph.D.
Donna Gallo, Ph.D.
Laura Graves, Ph.D.
Thomas Murphy, M.B.A.
Steve Ng, M.B.A.
Will O’Brien, J.D., M.B.A.
Sitikantha Parida, Ph.D.
Inshik Seol, Ph.D.
Richard Spurgin, Ph.D.
Zhenyang Tang, Ph.D.
Zhihong Wang, Ph.D.
Da Wu, Ph.D.
Jing Zhang, Ph.D.

Emeriti Faculty

Margarete Arndt, D.B.A.
Robert Bradbury, Ph.D.
Gary Chaison, Ph.D.
Harold T. Moody, Ph.D.
Edward J. Ottensmeyer, Ph.D.
Maurry Tamarkin, Ph.D.

For a full list of GSOM faculty, including visiting and adjunct faculty, please see the faculty page on GSOM’s website.

Courses

All courses are worth one unit, unless otherwise specified.