Program Overview

MBA--Interdisciplinary (MBA)

The Master of Business Administration (MBA) with an interdisciplinary focus is a comprehensive program designed to equip students with the knowledge, skills, and strategic thinking necessary to succeed in today's complex business environment.

Program Overview

The MBA program is offered by the School of Business at George Mason University and is designed to provide students with a broad understanding of business principles and practices, as well as the ability to specialize in a particular area of interest.

Course Schedule

The program consists of a variety of courses, including:

• MBA 601: Online MBA Orientation (0 credits)
  • The main objective of this course is to help students understand program expectations and time commitment and prepare themselves for online communication and technology requirements necessary to successfully complete their online MBA degree.
• MBA 603: Managerial Economics and Decisions of the Firm (3 credits)
  • Provides fundamental understanding of applying microeconomics concepts to managerial decision making.
• MBA 612: Managing Costs and Evaluating Performance (3 credits)
  • Foundational overview to managerial accounting.
• MBA 613: Financial Reporting and Decision Making (3 credits)
  • Foundation course focusing on economics and analysis of business transactions and related financial reporting issues.
• MBA 623: Marketing Management (3 credits)
  • Develops market-based knowledge and skills for effective marketing decision making, strategy design, implementation, and evaluation.
• MBA 633: Statistics for Business Decision Making (3 credits)
  • Uses statistical methods as analytical tools for understanding and solving business problems and supporting business decision making.
• MBA 638: Operations Management (3 credits)
  • Focuses on design, planning, and control activities to produce and deliver goods and services in modern organizations.
• MBA 643: Managerial Finance (3 credits)
  • Introduces theory and practice of finance within corporations.
• MBA 653: Organizational Behavior (3 credits)
  • Emphasizes development of conceptual tools for understanding and analyzing individual and group behavior in organizations and organizational processes.
• MBA 662: Management of Information Technology (3 credits)
  • The strategic, economic and managerial aspects of managing an organization's IT assets are covered.
• MBA 678: Strategic Management (3 credits)
  • Capstone course focusing on strategy development at business unit and corporate level.
• MBA 701: Business Valuation (0-3 credits)
  • Develops framework for business analysis and valuation using financial statement data.
• MBA 702: Corporate Financial Policy (3 credits)
  • Applies theories and methods of corporate financial management to series of complex cases.
• MBA 703: Financial Markets (3 credits)
  • Explores relationship among financial markets including global equity markets, U.S. Treasury securities, and exchange-traded and over-the-counter financial derivative instruments.
• MBA 705: Venture Capital and Private Finance (0-3 credits)
  • Considers market microstructure of venture capital and private finance.
• MBA 706: Investment Analysis (3 credits)
  • Focuses on analyzing equity securities and debt instruments given implications of efficient market hypothesis and modern capital market theory.
• MBA 707: Futures, Options and Other Derivatives (3 credits)
  • This course focuses on the mechanics of derivatives markets, with a strong emphasis on identifying and managing risks in financial products.
• MBA 708: Taxes and Business Strategy (0-3 credits)
  • Provides framework for making managerial decisions in global tax environment.
• MBA 709: Risk and Portfolio Management (3 credits)
  • This course is focused on asset allocation and portfolio construction, with a strong emphasis on measuring performance and managing risk.
• MBA 711: Entrepreneurship (3 credits)
  • Considers fundamental aspects of entrepreneurship and process of new venture creation.
• MBA 712: Project Management (3 credits)
  • Focuses on designing, planning, monitoring, and controlling projects.
• MBA 713: Managing Human Capital (0-3 credits)
  • Effective management of human capital drives values for the firm and, in today's business environment, is a source of competitive advantage.
• MBA 715: Advanced Project and Program Management (0-3 credits)
  • Examines advanced topics in project and program management with specific attention to issues and skills that managers needs to effectively manage multiple projects and programs.
• MBA 716: International Business Strategy (3 credits)
  • Focuses on the globalization of business activities, the strategic challenges faced by companies in global competition, and how companies strategically respond to these new competitive challenges.
• MBA 717: International Finance (0-3 credits)
  • Advanced analysis of managing firm's international financial operations.
• MBA 718: International Marketing (0-3 credits)
  • Addresses marketing process for products and services within major international markets.
• MBA 720: Marketing Analytics (3 credits)
  • Marketing analytics is a systematic approach to harnessing data/information to drive effective marketing decision making.
• MBA 721: Marketing Research (3 credits)
  • Develops skills to plan and implement effective marketing research studies.
• MBA 722: Consumer Behavior (0-3 credits)
  • An integrated analysis of internal and external influences on consumer decision making, purchase, and consumption behaviors with attention to marketing strategy implications.
• MBA 723: Supply Chain Management (0-3 credits)
  • Examines logistics of supply chain systems, including inventory management, distribution channels, and information systems.
• MBA 724: Marketing Communications (0-3 credits)
  • Examines all forms of communication and sources of brand or company contacts as potential message channels in building relationship with customers.
• MBA 725: Leadership and Motivation (3 credits)
  • Overview of major conceptualizations of leadership and motivation in organizations.
• MBA 726: Negotiation (3 credits)
  • Focuses on theory, processes, and practice of negotiation within and across organizations, including attention to ethical issues.
• MBA 727: Management Consulting (3 credits)
  • Management Consulting is a practice-based course designed to provide a fundamental background in consulting, both from the perspective of the outside management consultant, and the inside (in-house) corporate consultant.
• MBA 728: Organizational Change (3 credits)
  • Organizational Change Management presents a systems view of organizational change that includes intervention strategies, data collection, diagnosis, and the integration and management of system-wide organizational change.
• MBA 729: Business Issues in Government Contracting (3 credits)
  • The course focuses on strategic and business issues in the government contracting (GovCon) industry.
• MBA 730: Management of Technology and Innovation Processes (0-3 credits)
  • Students will develop a strong conceptual foundation for managing technological innovation.
• MBA 736: Environmentally Sustainable Business Models and Strategies (3 credits)
  • This course explores the dynamic interaction between operations, business strategies, and the environment.
• MBA 738: Data Mining for Business Analytics (3 credits)
  • Examines data driven decision making.
• MBA 739: Advanced Data Mining for Business Analytics (3 credits)
  • This course covers business analytics using advanced data mining methods for the purposes of developing predictive models and forecasting.
• MBA 740: People Analytics (3 credits)
  • This course seeks to develop business leaders who understand how people data can be leveraged to improve firm performance.
• MBA 742: Governance and Ethics (0-3 credits)
  • Focuses on developing understanding of corporate governance issues and ethical decision-making.
• MBA 744: Fraud Examination (0-3 credits)
  • Introduces strategies and techniques for fraud prevention and detection.
• MBA 746: Real Estate Analysis and Valuation (0-3 credits)
  • Overview of real estate assets, markets, and decisions.
• MBA 752: Turning Ideas into Successful Companies (0-3 credits)
  • An advanced course in entrepreneurship focused on discovery and development of an achievable business concept.
• MBA 795: Global Business Perspectives (3 credits)
  • Applies MBA core courses to global business enterprise through site visits to facilities located outside the United States.
• MBA 796: Directed Studies in Business Administration (1-3 credits)
  • Approval by faculty member and MBA program director required prior to registration.
• MBA 797: Special Topics in Business (1-3 credits)
  • Sections established as necessary to focus on various topical issues that emerge in practice of business administration.