Master of Business Administration Degree Plan

The MBA curriculum below shows the courses required for the 49 credit program.

Required Course Descriptions

BUSMBA 500 Introduction and Business Foundations

Provides self-paced initial foundation or refresher in basic financial accounting, micro-economics, statistics, and spreadsheets. Also includes an introduction to the online learning environment, the learning management system used by the students, and Boise State University academic policies and resources.

BUSMBA 501 Design Thinking and Strategic Management

Examines collaborative innovation processes that are transforming business and driving industry life cycles. Includes a first exposure to the creation of functional, business-level, and corporate-level strategies. Special consideration of organizational design, diversification, mergers and acquisitions, and measures of strategic performance including use of Balanced Scorecards. Interpersonal skills enhanced via online collaboration with classmates.

BUSMBA 505 Marketing Strategy

Focuses on revenue-generating opportunities with special attention to evaluating market opportunities for new products or services. Examines methods to segment markets, target customers and position products or services in the marketplace. Considers managerial decisions of product, price, promotion, and distribution.

BUSMBA 510 People and Organizations

Emphasizes integrated manager-employee relations in an organization. Includes HR planning, employee recruitment, selection, performance appraisal, discipline, coaching, compensation, and termination issues. Also focuses on collaboration, group dynamics, motivation, leadership, problem-solving, negotiation, and self-management. Interpersonal skills enhanced via online collaboration with classmates.

BUSMBA 515 Corporate Finance

Examines the three major decisions in corporate finance affecting value of the firm: investment, financing and cash distribution. Includes the methods used to measure corporate value and evaluate financial performance. Issues in each of the three decision areas are examined within the context of their impact on the valuation model and financial performance metrics. Includes financial modeling project in industry sector of student’s choosing.

BUSMBA 520 Global Economics: Policy and Trade

Reviews how economies work, the differences between economic systems, factors that influence international trade, exchange rates, labor economics and government polices related to trade. Includes a survey on the economies of the world, current topics in global economics, data sources for international economic trends and an introduction to major international trade agencies/associations. Includes application project in industry sector of student’s choosing.

BUSMBA 525 Managerial Accounting

Examines various cost-based accounting concepts and practices. Particular emphasis on the challenges involved in using them to evaluate past performance and plan future deployment of firm resources. Interpersonal skills enhanced via online collaboration with classmates to solve managerial accounting problems.

BUSMBA 545 Business Law and Ethics

Introduces managers to major legal and ethical issues in the business environment. Covers legal and ethical reasoning, the legal system, government regulation of business, torts, contracts, product liability, intellectual property, business organizations, agency, and employment law. Includes application project in industry sector of student’s choosing.

BUSMBA 550 Operations and Supply Chain Management

Introduces product and service movement within the firm and between the firm and its partners up and down the supply chain. Focus on logistics management, supplier relationships and creating operational excellence within the firm. Includes operations modeling project in industry sector of student’s choosing.

BUSMBA 555 Integrated Capstone

Integrates previous coursework via the development of a business plan for a publicly traded organization, providing recommendations for strategic decisions and associated implications for the organization.

For the most recent version of these course descriptions, please view the graduate catalog.

Elective Course Descriptions

BUSMBA 530 Leadership and Communication

In-depth discussion of management and leadership strategies as they apply to varied business environments. Emphasis on oral and written communication, change management, organizational culture, and staff development. Topics include interpersonal relationships, team leadership, stakeholder analysis, and ethics as they relate to managerial decision making.

BUSMBA 535 Information Technology and Business Alignment

Examines the role of information technology in business process integration, strategic alignment and business analytics. Includes application project in industry sector of student’s choosing.

BUSMBA 540 Managing Successful Projects

Introduces and provides experience in the front-end issues of project management such as team formation, communication strategies, conflict management, project constraints and risk analysis. Includes use of the project management tools: PERT/Critical Path, resource utilization, project monitoring and tracking and critical chain analysis. Includes application project in industry sector of student’s choosing.

BUSMBA 531 Leadership for Health Professionals

In-depth discussion of management and leadership strategies as they apply to healthcare. Emphasis on oral and written communication in the healthcare field, change management, program planning organization and staff development. Examination of data management, compliance and ethics as they relate to management decision making.

BUSMBA 532 Healthcare Systems and Delivery

Explores health care economics, delivery, and payment systems from the perspective of key stakeholders. Discussion of current issues in health policy and the impact to cost, quality, and access of care. Analysis of various healthcare delivery models including accountable care and fee for service.

BUSMBA 533 Healthcare Operations and Financial Management

Discussion of technology and practices for defining, measuring and improving quality in healthcare. Exploration of financial decisions in a changing landscape with topics including revenue cycles, risk sharing, portfolio management and budgeting. Focus on data collection and analysis as tools for operational decision-making.

BUSMBA 521 Leadership in Architecture, Engineering and Construction

Focus on management and leadership strategies as they apply to the architecture, engineering and construction industries. Topics include decision-making, effective communication and negotiating skills, change and conflict management, team building, leadership and ethics.

BUSMBA 522 Architecture, Engineering and Construction (AEC) Project Management

Topics related to the management of AEC projects including: scope, time, cost, quality, contracts, risk management and sustainability. Includes a focus on project administration and project controls, project scheduling and project cost accounting.

BUSMBA 523 Architecture, Engineering and Construction (AEC) Company Management

Preparation for planning, organizing, staffing, executing and controlling operations for ongoing management of an AEC company. Topics include organizational structures, financial management and accounting, sales and marketing and personnel administration.

BUSMBA 541 Marketing Leadership

Examines the role of the marketing leader in an organization. Presents best practices for brand stewardship, and how to manage the internal and external communications that drive an organization’s reputation with its stakeholders. Prepares students to lead the marketing department, the sales force, and internal innovation processes.

BUSMBA 542 Digital Marketing Management

Covers the tools of digital marketing and how to combine them for maximum effect. Connects those tools to common marketing metrics in order to monitor promotion effectiveness and maximize ROI.

BUSMBA 543 Strategic Product Management

Considers the challenges of simultaneously managing multiple products and services, each of which is at a different stage of the Product Life Cycle. Focuses on value propositions including pricing strategies.

For the most recent version of these course descriptions, please view the graduate catalog.