MBA Curriculum
Learn more about our MBA curriculum as well as any MBA prerequisites that may be required.
First, choose your program:
100% Online MBA
- Restricted to taking online MBA courses only. Given registration priority in MBA classes online.
Flexible MBA
- Featuring a typical MBA curriculum, this program also offers a mix of face-to-face and online course options.
Choose from 5 MBA concentrations:
- Accounting
- General
- Business Analytics
- Finance
- Healthcare Administration
- Background Prerequisite
Business Statistics - equivalent to undergraduate Introductory Statistics or Business Statistics I with a grade of B or better.
Students admitted to the MBA program who lack academic experience in business statistics are required to complete the online MBA Math: Excel and Statistics program in order to gain needed Excel and statistics competencies. The prerequisites must be successfully completed before registering for more than six hours of MBA courses and must be completed before registering for any courses for which statistics is a prerequisite. Students are strongly encouraged to complete this prerequisite before taking coursework to allow for sufficient time to learn the Excel and statistics material. MBA Math: Excel and Statistics is designed to take an average of 8-12 hours to complete. For successful completion of MBA Math: Excel and Statistics, students must earn a minimum score of 80% on either every pre-quiz or post-quiz; currently, there are 8 pre/post quizzes. MBA Math: Excel and Statistics is not for academic credit and not covered by financial aid. Students will pay $154 via credit card to MBA Math and access to MBA Math is good for one year. After completing MBA Math: Excel and Statistics, student may return to it for review as long as their purchase year has not expired. Once admitted, students will be provided information on how to access MBA Math. Admitted students who meet the statistics background prerequisite but would like a statistics refresher are welcome to contact the program director for instructions on how to purchase access to MBA Math.
- Program Coursework: Required Core Courses
(24 hours total: 8 total courses, each 3 credit hours):
ECON 5015 (Economics for Managers)
Economics for Managers uses real-world issues and examples to illustrate how economic principles impact business decisions. Emphases on agency and contract theory, managerial behavioral economics, game theory, and pricing are especially valuable to decision making by managers. In this course, cases use actual data to illustrate the use of basic economic models to solve managerial and economic problems.
MGT 5250 (Organizational Behavior and Leadership)
An examination of the theoretical and research foundations that explain behavior within the context of organizations. The focus will be on how organizational behavior theory is translated into practice such that students will acquire the knowledge and skills necessary to become an effective manager.
DATA 5810 (Information Technology for Business)
This is an introductory course designed to familiarize students with role of information technology (IT) in business organizations. The course provides a balance between managerial and technical aspects of information technology. Managerial aspects include topics such as using IT as a strategic source for competitive advantage, enterprise resource planning, electronic commerce, supply chain management, and role of data analytics in modern businesses. Technical topics include hardware, software, databases, Internet of things (IoT), developing and acquiring IT, and IT security.
FIN 5820 (Financial Management)
The goal of this course is to acquaint all business students with the primary concepts and techniques of financial analysis. The course will build upon the skills obtained in accounting and economics and use those skills for making decisions regarding a firm’s use of capital toward the goal of maximizing the value of the firm. It is assumed that all students are familiar with financial statements and basic statistical and economic principles. The first part of the course will develop the tools used in modern financial analysis, including financial statement analysis and valuation techniques. Latter portions will apply these tools to decision-making for long-term (capital budgeting and cost of capital) financial management for both large and small firms. Prerequisite: grade of C or better in undergraduate Statistics I course or 80% score in final exam of Statistics Module.
DATA 5120 (Descriptive Analytics)
This course introduces students to descriptive analytics, a vital component of business analytics that focuses on summarizing, exploring, and understanding business data. Students will learn how to use statistical methods and techniques to analyze business challenges and derive actionable insights. The course will cover techniques such as data summarization, correlation, regression analysis, and time series analysis. Prerequisite: grade of C or better in undergraduate Statistics I course or 80% score in final exam of Statistics Module.ACC 5855 (Accounting for Managers)
The purpose of this course is to provide students with a thorough exposure to the basic elements of financial and managerial accounting from a manager’s perspective. Emphasis is placed on the application of accounting information both from an external user’s perspective and for internal decision making. Contemporary topics that might affect the use of accounting information are surveyed, including in depth discussion of current events in business and financial news. The course draws upon the collective business experiences of the participants during classroom discussions that demonstrate the application of key concepts.
MKT 5860 (Marketing Management)
The goal of this course is to provide a decision-oriented overview of marketing management. This course focuses on the management challenge of designing and implementing marketing strategies that maximize customer satisfaction and firm profitability.
ETR 5890 (Global Social Entrepreneurship & Business Ethics)*
This course will explore the theoretical and conceptual underpinnings of the social entrepreneurship field, its ethical implications, and its practice. International case studies and examples from practice will be used to illustrate the principles of the practice of business in the global context and stimulate discussion. The aim is to provide the student with a complete understanding of social entrepreneurship – both its positive side and its dark side – in the global milieu.
*For catalog years prior to 2023-24, ETR 5890 will replace ETR 5885.
- Required Capstone Course
(1 total course; 3 credit hours):
MGT 5870 (Strategic Management)
This course will provide a realistic hands-on experience that will synthesize the information from previous courses in crafting business strategy, making business decisions, and being responsible for the financial performance of a simulated business entity. In addition, this course is designed to investigate strategy and its integrative role in management. Concepts, models, and skills for developing strategies will be covered with a focus on how to create and sustain competitive advantage in a dynamic and global environment. The business environment created by the computer simulation will allow the student to apply skills in running a company in head-to-head competition with other student run companies. Prerequisites: A grade of C or better in all required core classes except ETR 5890. Prerequisite or Corequisite: MGT/DATA 5810.
Elective Courses
(3 total courses; 9 credit hours total required)
Three total courses should be chosen, either by selecting a single concentration or choosing three elective courses. Each course is 3 credit hours and electives must be approved by the student's advisor.
Elective Course Options:
- General MBA
Nine (9) hours of advisor-approved graduate-level elective credit hours from any graduate discipline within the UTC College of Business. Select from courses offered in the areas of Ethics, Finance, Healthcare Administration, Human Resources, Innovation, Leadership, Marketing, etc., subject to course availability. (This course list is not exhaustive and course offerings are subject to change.)
- Accounting Concentration
NOTE THESE RESTRICTIONS BEFORE APPLYING TO THIS CONCENTRATION: Usually, only students with undergraduate Accounting degrees will meet the prerequisites for the MBA with an accounting concentration courses which build upon content taught in undergraduate accounting courses. Applicants to the accounting concentration should have taken the following undergraduate courses (this list is not exhaustive and is meant as a general guideline for applying): Intermediate Accounting I, II and III; Managerial Accounting; and, Auditing. Applicants to this concentration will have their transcripts reviewed to ensure they meet the prerequisites for the MBA courses in the accounting concentration. If they do not, they will be contacted to discuss their options. Applicants should not apply to this concentration if they have not successfully completed the previously listed undergraduate courses.
Three (3) courses from the following list (at 3-credit hours each for a total of 9 credit hours of approved accounting electives) are required in order to fulfill the Accounting concentration:
- ACC 5010 Advanced Accounting
- ACC 5040 Accounting Analytics
- ACC 5060 Advanced Managerial Accounting and Analytics
- ACC 5070 Government and Non-Profit Accounting
- ACC 5110 Taxation of Corporations and Partnerships
- ACC 5120 Taxation of Estates, Gifts & Trusts
- ACC 5210 Emerging Technologies: Applications, Governance, and Ethics
- ACC 5360 Advanced Accounting Information Systems
- ACC 5470 Financial Accounting Issues and Analysis
- ACC 5520 Advanced Auditing
- ACC 5521 Forensic Accounting and Fraud Examination
Current MBA course descriptions, prerequisites and restrictions can be found in the UTC Graduate Catalog.
- Business Analytics Concentration
The following 9 hours of electives are required (each course is worth 3-credit hours) in order to fulfill the Business Analytics concentration:
DATA 5140 (Databases and Data Warehouses)
This course provides comprehensive coverage of operational and analytical databases, emphasizing essential database management skills required for business analytics. Topics include conceptual database design using entity-relationship modeling (ERD), logical database design through normalization, and physical database implementation. Students will learn to design data warehouses and data marts using star schema methodology and explore Extract, Transform, and Load (ETL) processes to integrate operational data into analytical platforms. Hands-on sessions with MySQL in a laboratory setting will equip students with practical skills to create, query, update, and retrieve data from SQL databases.DATA 5150 (Data Visualization for Business)
This course covers development of effective visualization to facilitate the understanding of complex organizational data. Topics include human perception & attention, visualization software & toolkits, visualization techniques for spatial data, geospatial data, time oriented data, multivariate data, trees, graphs, networks, maps and text. Evaluate good design practices or visualization. Review cutting-edge research in data visualization.DATA 5250 (Big Data Management & Analysis)
This course covers the core concepts behind big data problems, applications, and systems. It introduces one of the most common frameworks, Hadoop, that has made big data analysis easier and more accessible. Topics include a discussion of the Big Data landscape, examples of the real world big data problems, architectural components and programming models used for structured and unstructured big data analysis, HDFS file system, MapReduce, YARN, PIG, HIVE, NOSQL, and other Big Data programming techniques or platforms. Prerequisite: DATA 5140.- Healthcare Administration Concentration
Three (3) courses from the following list (at 3-credit hours each for a total of 9 credit hours of electives) are required in order to fulfill the Healthcare Administration concentration:
MGT 5050 (Evidence-Based Management & Improvement in Healthcare)
Examine the uses of different improvement techniques in Health Care including: six sigma, lean production, patient and family engagement, and other organizational standards (JCAHO, IHI, ICSI, NCQA, CMS). Select and evaluate referents and benchmarks from literature and improvement efforts. Design a quality/process improvement process to address issues of care delivery. Understand the role of managers in leading change and supporting the improvement efforts of their organizations with special focus on maintaining improvements long term and working with professionals from across the health care environment. Describe the business case for improvement efforts.
MGT 5060 (Healthcare Management)
Healthcare management explores the management of complex healthcare organizations. Students will have opportunities to discuss the challenges associated with managing diverse employee and professional groups. Readings and class discussions focus on the understanding of key management functions such as strategic planning, staffing, communication, change management, and organizational design within constrained environments. The course will examine these functions and current issues faced by hospitals, clinics and other healthcare facilities when balancing corporate missions, regulatory requirements, as well as tight financial margins while meeting the triple aim (patient experience, value, costs). Current events and cases will be used by students to apply concepts discussed in class.
MGT 5070 (Health Informatics Research Methods)
This course is designed to provide students with the knowledge to collect, interpret and analyze data. Students will also examine basic methodologies most often used in health services administration research, quality improvement, and operations. Hands on work with these methods will make up the core of the course deliverables.
NURS 5310 (Advanced Resource Management for Advanced Practice)
This course focuses on the management of human resources in the nursing system and includes the leader’s role in planning, developing, and retaining employees. Creating the workplace of choice and building a culture of quality and safe patient care is explored.
NURS 7050 (Leadership in Complex Health Care Systems)
Examine evidence-based concepts and theories to be an effective leader in complex health care systems.
NURS 7060 (Health Care Policy and Economics)
This course critically examines contextual factors that influence health policy development and leadership strategies essential in engaging in the political and policy-making process.
NURS 7300 (Essentials of Health Systems Administration)
This course explores corporate/administrative responsibility in healthcare administration to include communication and relationship management, leadership, knowledge, and application of business skills and knowledge in the healthcare environment.
- Finance Concentration
Three (3) courses from the following list (at 3-credit hours each for a total of 9 credit hours of electives) are required in order to fulfill the MBA concentration in Finance:
FIN 5181 (Financial Markets and Institutions)
This course is designed to introduce the wide variety of instruments available for financing projects and controlling risk in today’s global economy. Students will become familiar with the operational, regulatory, and transitory characteristics of financial markets and institutions. Topics include the international monetary system; stock, bond, mortgage, futures, and options markets; pension funds; investment firms; commercial banks; insurance companies; and international transactions. Prerequisite: FIN 5820.
FIN 5400 (Advanced Financial Management)
This is a case course that expands on the concepts covered in FIN 5820 – Financial Management. Topics will include capital budgeting; cash flow estimation and risk analysis; real option analysis; and corporate valuation techniques. Prerequisite: FIN 5820.
FIN 5460 (Investments)
This course covers the theory of investments; the efficient market hypothesis; stock analysis; bond valuation; efficient portfolio formation; evaluation of relevant risk; and risk-return analysis. Prerequisite: FIN 5820.
FIN 5760 (International Financial Management)
This course provides the student with a framework for understanding the fundamental financial and economic influences on international businesses. Emphasis is on understanding exchange rate determination, political risk, hedging of foreign exchange risk, financing of international trade, and short and long term financial decision-making. Prerequisite: FIN 5820.
Through the sharing of knowledge, experience, and insight in all of our initiatives, the Rollins College of Business strives to foster progressive innovation and an entrepreneurial spirit. We offer the area's only AACSB accredited graduate degree in business.
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