Areas of Study
In place of majors, the Katz School offers areas of study in finance, management of information systems, marketing, organizational behavior and human resource management, operations management strategy, and doctoral studies. Students can customize their MBA to suit their career goals by choosing from a wide array of electives in these fields.
Students may also choose to take elective courses through other professional schools at the University including the School of Law, the Swanson School of Engineering, the School of Social Work, the Graduate School of Public and International Affairs, and the School of Information Sciences.
A description of each of the areas of study follows:
Finance
The study of finance is designed to prepare students for managerial careers in corporate finance, investment analysis, financial consulting, and financial institutions. The coursework presents an integrated treatment of the economic foundations of finance, and the functions of capital markets and financial institutions. The courses provide a thorough understanding of how capital and financial markets operate, and how to manage corporate assets and financial claims in the marketplace.
Management of Information Systems
An MBA with a focus in information systems (IS) prepares students to lead and manage by helping them develop their ability to recognize and capitalize on opportunities to use information systems to increase efficiency, support growth, and enable innovation. Though course and project work related to the specification, evaluation, and management of technology-enabled business initiatives, the IS concentrations available within the Katz MBA program prepare student for careers as leaders in both the IS functional area (e.g. CIO, CTO, Director of IT) and in other business areas that rely heavily on information technology for success (e.g. Supply Chain Management, Customer Analytics/Marketing Research, Financial Operation management, etc.).
Students seeking a stronger foundation in the management of IS and greater depth in their MBA specialty should consider the Katz MBA/MS-MIS Dual Degree program. This program combines a full set of MBA courses, a core of IS technical and management courses, and a range of specializations including: IS Management, Supply Chain Management, Customer Analytics, Entrepreneurship/New Venture Creation, and Healthcare and IS.
Marketing
This area of study is designed to prepare students for careers in marketing management. Marketing is a critical decision area not only in commercial (for profit) organizations but also in healthcare, government, educational, and other non-profit institutions. Among the topics discussed are marketing strategy, new product development, marketing research, pricing, distribution, advertising and promotion, brand management, and global marketing.
Organizational Behavior and Human Resources Management
Organizational behavior and human resources management focuses on understanding human behavior at work and developing effective management strategies for maximizing the human capital within organizations. This program examines current issues such as employee involvement, high-performance work systems, and the use of teams within organizations.
Strengths of this area are its interdisciplinary nature that relies on a solid grounding in the behavioral sciences, applied statistics, and economics.
Operations Management, Decision Sciences, and Artificial Intelligence
The “operations” function of a firm deals with the effective production and distribution of goods and services, and thus forms an integral part of the management activity in industries as diverse as banking, financial services, software, telecommunications, electronics, and automobiles. An MBA with a focus in operations prepares students for a line job in such industries as well as for a career in management consulting.
Strategy
Organizations of all sizes and degrees of complexity depend on the planning and implementation skills of their general managers for the attainment of their objectives. The strategic planning and policy field is concerned with the development of frameworks and processes for analyzing and responding to strategic problems and opportunities confronting corporate-level executives and managers of business units.
Ethical Leadership and Public Affairs
This area focuses on the management of public affairs and corporate social policies. Most business firms operate in complex environments where governmental regulations, public policies, social pressure groups, legal and political systems, technological innovations, and ethical standards directly affect managerial decision-making. The strategies and techniques for coping with these environmental forces and for managing a firm’s external social relations are given special attention in a series of advanced courses.
Return to: