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MBA Required Core Subjects
Top 5 Ranked Online MBA Universities. Get information and free reports below. Compare and find out which curriculum suits your interests the best.
- University of Phoenix
- Walden University
- Post University
- Kaplan University
- Keller Graduate School of Management of DeVry University
So you have chosen a Masters of Business Administration program and want to know what are the required core subjects that lie ahead?
Focusing on business fundamentals, MBA core subjects will go over the regular courses offered by most programs. In addition to the required courses many will also focus on adding optional areas of study through internships, electives and projects that seek to broaden the knowledge first gained from the core curriculum.
The goal of MBA core subjects will be to familiarize the student with the general concepts of business fundamentals. Although drawing from a variety of specializations such as accounting, finance and organizational theory, the main subjects will provide a broad knowledge base. From there a student can go on to chose electives, usually after the first year depending on the type of MBA degree studied.
Classes will first include course work in financial accounting, management accounting, corporate finance, and macro- & microeconomics. These are all courses that will give a prospective manager an understanding of some of the fundamentals of business. They will also be important to refer back to in later courses as the rules you learn in these courses will need to be kept in mind in more advanced subjects.
Ethics will likely be taught along with business law in order to have a firm grasp of the greater legal issues that should inform a manager’s choices. Marketing will give a student a grasp of how to markets are analyzed and customers groups segmented. Courses will also have some Operations or Process Management with can discuss supply chain issues and efficiency measures such as platforming. Risk analysis and Statistics along with Information Technology classes will provide an understanding of the metrics used for evaluating a firm or industry’s economic standing.
Finally, the first year will also include courses in strategy and organization management. These courses can be very theoretical but also include frameworks for applying the ideas in a real business setting. Simulation scenarios are helpful during this point in the course. You can think of it as about dealing with “people skills” both inside and outside of the organization, as well as individuals and groups. Inevitably the question of whether leadership can be taught as a separate discipline from management will arise. Although not definitively offering a solution to that dilemma, tools to distinguish the two skills will help in knowing the difference.
Once the core curriculum is completed the MBA student will have a more thorough understanding of the business process. Further course work should then provide refinements of this understanding, eventually resulting in a business graduate who is ready to lead workers in a management position or to advise clients as a consultant.
The business world is becoming increasingly complex so really one’s work will never truly be complete when it comes to learning about business, but it can become more and more specialized. A broad knowledge of business provided by core classes will not only offer the student a springboard for considering more advanced courses, but also allow for more informed choices in electives. The summer will be an chance to explore internships which can provide valuable practical experience. The second year of an MBA program will leave more room for additional courses, and often a project of some kind steer the graduate further along into deeper subject areas regarding the business process.
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