National University uses multiple methods to annually evaluate its business programs, says Thomas Green, dean of the School of Business and Management. (photo/lambertphoto.com)

When it comes to the MBA, the fundamentals still apply. However, business schools continuously modify coursework to reflect changes in the work world and make coursework relevant to students. These modifications can result in specialized degrees or elective studies called concentrations, specializations or emphases. Some campuses revise graduate programs.

National University uses multiple methods to annually evaluate programs, says Thomas Green, dean of the School of Business and Management. These include measuring learning outcomes, surveys of graduates and their employers and reviews by industry and corporate advisory boards. “We continually look for emerging business trends; our goal is to graduate students with the knowledge, skills, and experiences to address the needs of businesses over the next several years,” he says.

Green says there is a need for a current, relevant generalist MBA degree that “addresses the most important trends in accounting, finance, management, marketing, economics, and leadership. We also see growth in specializations attached to the MBA, especially in the areas of marketing, human resource management, international business and organizational leadership.”

Another trend is the development of customized programs like National’s executive MBA program. The degree can be taken with a specialization in international business relations, electronic business, marketing and organizational leadership. The university also offers a Spanish-language executive MBA program. The specializations available with the MBA are accountancy, electronic business, financial management, health care administration, human resources management, international business, marketing, organizational leadership and technology management.

The University of San Diego offers the MBA, international MBA (IMBA), master of science in information technology (MSIT) and graduate degrees in accounting and financial management, executive leadership, global leadership, real estate and supply chain management. Joint degrees that pair the graduate business degree with another discipline include the MBA/MSIT and the nursing and real estate graduate degrees. The juris doctor degree can be taken jointly with the MBA and IMBA degrees. Moreover, a dual degree is offered through USD and Tecnologico de Monterrey in Mexico.

USD students earning a traditional MBA can earn an emphasis in an area such as international business or e-commerce, says Ken Marra, director of the MBA/MSIT programs. (photo/lambertphoto.com)

USD students earning a traditional MBA can earn an emphasis in an area such as international business or e-commerce, says Ken Marra, director of the MBA/MSIT programs. He calls the specialized degrees the legacy of former Dean Curtis Cook. The emphasis, says Marra, is on curricula “that are relevant to our time and place.”

At the University of California, San Diego’s Rady School of Management, business professionals in the Flex-MBA program study on an industry-based track, says JoAnne Starr, assistant business school dean. Students are a cohort, a group of people who begin the program at the same time and complete the program together. They follow the life science track for industries such as biotech or the information technology track for people working in fields such as communication. “As we move forward, we’ll add more tracks,” says Starr.

The first Flex-MBA class started in September. This fall, a second cohort begins, and UCSD launches its full-time MBA program. The undergraduate degree features a track in communications and information technology and one in life and health sciences.

At San Diego State University, the Executive MBA is a general graduate business degree for working professionals. State’s sports business management MBA is a customized, cohort-based program. The MS in accountancy features tax, corporate and professional tracks. Furthermore, there are ways to specialize in each of the university’s three graduate business degrees, says Ken Marino, associate dean of the College of Business Administration.

For the MBA, a specialization typically consists of 12 units. Functional specializations range from marketing to information systems. Cross-functional specializations draw on different programs like leadership and international business. A specialization may have an industry focus like health services administration and athletic and fitness management.

“Upward of 90 percent of MBA students choose to specialize,” says Marino. “Students (are) looking for a competitive advantage.”

The MS in business administration, for students with an undergraduate bachelor degree, can be taken with a concentration in an area such as entrepreneurship or human resource management.

Keller Graduate School of DeVry University offers seven graduate business degrees: the MBA and master’s degrees in accounting and financial management, human resource management, information systems management, network and communications management, project management and public administration.

The MBA program consists of 10 core courses and six electives, says Thomas Horstmann, dean of the San Diego campus. Students can study a range of functions or earn a four-course concentration in accounting, electronic-commerce management, finance, general management, health services, information security, information systems management, international business, marketing, network and communications management, project management, public administration and security management.

Horstmann says the university’s undergraduate business administration degree features seven concentrations.

Point Loma Nazarene University offers a traditional generalist MBA, says Bruce Schooling, dean of the Fermanian School of Business. The school name is linked to the recent opening of the business school building on the Point Loma campus. Graduate classes are held in Mission Valley. Point Loma’s MBA does not include a specialization, but Schooling says that may change in the future.

The MBA at University of Redlands can be earned with a four-course emphasis in global business, information systems, finance and GIS (geographic information systems). Redlands’ MS in informational technology is a targeted degree, so there is no emphasis. The university’s MA in management focuses on qualitative management skills, says Keith Roberts, assistant business school dean. Redlands also monitors business trends and adapts curriculum to make it relevant. “Business is changing constantly, and we’re all in a global environment,” he says.

National Graduate School provides an MS in quality systems management at the U.S. Coast Guard Station.

Locally, Chapman University College offers a master of arts in organizational leadership and a master of science in human resources. Students also can earn graduate certificates in organizational leadership, organizational development and an executive certificate in public and nonprofit leadership. Courses may be taken for a stand-alone certificate or as part of the MA degree, says Mimi Murray, HR program manager.

Alliant International University has an MBA, a master of international business administration and a doctor of business administration (DBA) program. Graduate candidates can earn a concentration in marketing, finance, strategic management, information and technology management, integrated studies, or sustainable management. Concentrations for the DBA degree are strategic management and international business with a finance specialization or a specialization in marketing.

Alliant International University is planning a merger of two of its schools that will result in a business program that combines business skills and people skills, says Ali Abu-Rahma, acing business school dean. (photo/lambertphoto.com)

Alliant is planning a merger of two of its schools that will result in changes to the business program, says Ali Abu-Rahma acting business school dean. He says the merger of the local United States International University College of Business and the California School of Organizational Studies next year will produce a unique business program. It will combine business skills and people skills.

This month, University of Phoenix rolls out a 10-course MBA program that runs for 60 weeks. Students will work in groups to solve problems instead of working on case studies, says Michael Reilly, chair of the College of Graduate Business and Management for the San Diego campus. While cases have a single, tidy solution, “that is not how the real world works,” he says.

The new program is MBA-20; the number designates the version of the program that sees students tackling two problems in each course. “We update the program every three years,” says Reilly. “The world of work changes daily.”

In MBA-20, problems are interdisciplinary. Students may draw on material in that course and other classes so that a marketing problem could involve economic evaluation and strategic management.

Following a nine-step problem-solving process, students tackle problems displayed graphically on their computer screens. The problem may be described in phone transcripts or a note from a CEO about probable cost overruns. It’s almost like a mystery with red herrings, so that the group needs to determine what’s relevant.

Phoenix has a general MBA with local specializations in technology management, health care management and global management. While the MBA focuses on managing the business process of an organization, Phoenix’s master of management has components in finance and project management.

Keith Butler, director of college operations for the College of Business Administration at California State University San Marcos, says the MBA program will expand to a 64-unit degree in 2006. (photo/lambertphoto.com)

In the fall of 2006, the California State University San Marcos’s MBA program for working adults expands to a 64-unit degree that is “rigorous, relevant and value-driven,” says Keith Butler, director of college operations for the College of Business Administration. The expansion reflects the addition of coursework and the change of courses from three units to four. Each MBA course will consist of three units of class time and one unit of independent study. Students earn the additional unit by doing a project based on three to four themes chosen for the cohort.

The additional unit that Butler calls the program’s “distinctive feature” allows students to produce a professional portfolio. They can use the portfolio to demonstrate what they’ve learned to current and prospective employers. Themes under consideration for the first cohort are ethics, technology, the environment and global, says Butler.

Electives will replace the university’s “special topics.” Course themes will be based upon what is relevant each year, says Butler. “The offerings will be voted for by students,” he says. Classes will be held on Saturdays, and the first cohort will finish the program in May 2009.

While coursework is adapted in response to current and future business trends, some things don’t change. Reilly notes that the launch of MBA-18 focused on the difference between e-businesses and brick-and-mortar businesses. “A transaction is a transaction. Accounting hasn’t changed. The difference is in how we deliver the services. The fundamentals remain the same.”