Courses

Which MBA courses are best for me? Customize your MBA experience with contemporary specializations, core courses, and electives.

UCONN MBA programs courses

The University of Connecticut Master of Business Administration (UConn MBA) programs feature the most current, industry-relevant courses for students to gain a solid understanding of key business functions, including management, operations, finance, accounting and marketing.

Curriculum

The UConn MBA prepares you for a career across a wide array of new and established industries. The vibrant curriculum is formatted to engage and teach students hailing from various professional backgrounds, including those typically considered outside of the field of business. From technical theory to practical application, the concentration you choose will help you develop specialized skills.

UCONN MBA programs courses

Class Format

The UConn FLEX MBA requires 42 credits, or 14 graduate-level courses, comprising 9 core classes and 5 electives.
MBA courses are available in the following modalities:

1. In-person

Hartford
Stamford

2. Online Self-paced

Synchronous – self-paced with live weekly online sessions
Asynchronous - self-paced with pre-recorded faculty lectures and other content

3. Hybrid

The utmost in flexibility to suit your lifestyle, a hybrid schedule combines both online and in-person options.

4. Online Cohort

Complete core courses together as a group in two years of the program.

5. EMBA Cohort

Executive MBA courses are designed specifically to be completed in a highly interactive in-person cohort model on a fixed, synchronous schedule.

    Online and FLEX MBA Core Courses & Descriptions

    ACCT 5121 – Financial Accounting and Reporting 

    Introduces students to accounting concepts essential to the preparation and interpretation of financial statements issued to management and to external users such as stockholders and creditors. While appropriate consideration is given to procedural aspects of accounting, more emphasis is placed on understanding the conceptual bases of generally accepted accounting principles and the effects of using alternative accounting methods on financial statements.

    BLAW 5175 – Business, Law, and Ethics in Modern Society 

    The formulation, interpretation, and application of law to business. Incorporates the study of ethical issues that arise in contemporary business settings, including professional conduct and corporate social responsibility. Major areas of legal regulation to which businesses are subject, including tort liability, contract law, partnership and corporate law, employment and labor law, intellectual property law, environmental regulation and sustainability, and financial regulation. Emphasis on active, experiential application of legal reasoning and analysis and on the global and comparative dimensions of legal and ethical issues.

    FNCE 5101 – Financial Management (ACCT 5121) 

    Overview of techniques for effectively studying financial decisions and their impact on the company. Covers the basic concepts and tools necessary to understand the financial decision-making process. The fundamental issues of timing and uncertainty are integrated into the problem of asset valuation. Financial analysis models for determining appropriate sources of capital and effective use of long term and short-term assets are discussed.

    FNCE 5151 – Introduction to Economic Markets 

    Provides a foundation in the economics of markets, with particular application to financial markets and the role of information. Specific topics include the following: (1) the basic principles of supply, demand, profit maximization, price determination, international trade, and exchange rates; (2) the basic structure of modern, global financial markets, as an application of the basic economic principles; (3) the use of information and information technology in financial markets, including use of the internet, Bloomberg, Dow Jones and other computerized sources of information; and (4) a review of the "efficient market hypothesis."

    MENT 5138 – Managing Organizations 

    Today's business climate demands that organizations and their managers be innovative, flexible, adaptive, and capable of maximizing the contributions of all their members. In addition, effective managers must possess the leadership and team skills necessary to manage an increasingly diverse work force. This course examines topics such as leadership, motivation, team dynamics, organization structure, design and culture, conflict, power and politics.

    MENT 5800 – Strategy, Policy, and Planning

    Course dealing with the two major aspects of strategy: formulation and implementation. Strategy formulation examines such issues as environmental threats and opportunities, the values and priorities of management and societal stakeholders, and the strengths of company resources and competencies relative to principal competitors. Strategy implementation covers such topics as strategic leadership, organizational structure, resource allocation, and building a strategy-supportive culture. Uses cases and readings to develop the knowledge and skills necessary to prepare students to deal with strategic issues.

    MKTG 5115 – Marketing Management 

    A strategic and analytical approach to marketing decisions. Students will develop basic proficiency with key marketing concepts and skills including: identifying opportunities and threats in the market environment; forecasting market growth; evaluating customers and competitors; segmenting, targeting, and positioning; determining product, price, place and promotion components of marketing strategies; and assessing marketing performance.

    OPIM 5110 – Operations Management

    An operations manager is concerned with designing, operating and controlling a system for producing goods and services. Design decisions include selecting a process technology, organizing jobs, selecting vendors, and developing the location and layout of facilities. Operating the system involves planning and scheduling work and material flow, controlling quality, and managing inventories. General systems concepts and models are developed and applied. Topics include process flow analysis, inventory systems, waiting line analysis, quality design, capacity resource planning, project management, and integrating operations with the firm's strategic plans.

    OPIM 5185 – Introduction to Data Analytics and Management Information Systems

    Introduction to key issues and concepts in data analytics. Delineates differences between standard statistical analysis, including model estimation and evaluation, and the data driven approach of data analytics. Emphasis on critical issues underlying almost all data analytics projects, including data quality (accuracy, objectivity, and reliability), missing values, outliers, and data standardization. Introduction to basic analytics techniques and processes. Prepares students to execute IT-related responsibilities effectively, and to be able to do so even as the set of available technologies changes over time. Presents students with frameworks that let them analyze business situations involving IT in a structured way. Students will develop sophisticated understanding of the links between IT, business strategy, and business process. Students will also gain an appreciation of the organizational and management practices that complement IT investments.

    Executive MBA Courses & Descriptions

    5111 – Core Financial Statements 

    1.5 credits. Prerequisite: Open only to Business Administration Executive MBA students. 

    Analysis and interpretation of the financial statements prepared under generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) in the United States; financial statements prepared under other international standards, particularly international financial reporting standards (IFRS), will be addressed. Students are exposed to the theories, concepts, and mechanics used to prepare the core financial statements of the enterprise, specifically the Statement of Financial Position, Statement of Net Income, Cash Flow Statement, Statement of Changes in Owners’ Equity and Statement of Comprehensive Income. 

    5161 – Customer Insights

    1.5 credits. Prerequisite: Open only to Business Administration Executive MBA students. 

    Focus on the customer as the individual decision maker to understand why and how customers make consumption decisions. Students explore qualitative and quantitative methods for understanding customer’s consumption practices with attention to understanding the extent to which consumers value product benefits and the emotional aspects of consumption. Students learn the process of segmenting consumers with similar needs and desires into target groups, and examine how markets change as groups of customers collectively adopt new ways of satisfying their needs. 

    5191 – Value Creation and Competition 

    1.5 credits. Prerequisite: Open only to Business Administration Executive MBA students. 

    Students analyze the challenges inherent in navigating competitive markets with the objective of adopting strategies to achieve value creation, and assess the fit between internal capabilities and the competitive landscape to identify and plan for potential threats and opportunities from environmental change. 

    5212 – Financial Statement Analysis 

    1.5 credits. Prerequisite: Open only to Business Administration Executive MBA students. 

    Students gain in-depth knowledge of accounting principles used to record assets, liabilities, and owner’s equity and the effects of these accounting principles on the analysis of the enterprise. Students construct and interpret the major metrics that are used in financial statement analysis and apply the techniques to create pro-forma financial statements. 

    5231 – Fundamentals of Financial Management

    1.5 credits. Prerequisite: Open only to Business Administration Executive MBA students. 

    Students gain tools and frameworks to analyze financial decisions based on principles of modern financial theory. Covers concepts such as discounted cash flow techniques, and its applications to valuation of common stock and bonds and lease vs. buy decisions. The time value of money is examined for both personal financial planning and business applications, and is used to value financial instruments, including common stock and bonds. 

    5281 – Leadership 

    1.5 credits. Prerequisite: Open only to Business Administration Executive MBA students. 

    The characteristics and practice of effective leadership can vary in times of change or crisis and in different contexts. Students examine and assess leadership in the context of teams, small and medium-sized enterprises, and multinational corporations. 

    5301 – Using Statistics in Business 

    1.5 credits. Prerequisite: Open only to Business Administration Executive MBA students. 

    Aims to improve the student’s sophistication at interpreting data and their ability to use data as evidence in support of strategic decisions. Students will learn to ask probing questions about the specifics of data and statistical techniques, to understand the conditions for drawing reliable inferences, to assess the validity of statistical evidence, to master fundamental quantitative computations, and to draw logical data-driven conclusions. 

    5321 – Domestic and International Legal Structures

    1.5 credits. Prerequisite: Open only to Business Administration Executive MBA students. 

    Introduction to rules of contract formation and contract performance, and remedies if contract promises are not fulfilled. Students examine issues of business negligence and compliance to standards and assess how firms can effectively comply with domestic and global intellectual property rules and defend intellectual assets. Legal and regulatory issues related to internet commerce, data protection, and business development are explored. 

    5332 – Capital Budgeting and Corporate Financial Policy

    1.5 credits. Prerequisite: Open only to Business Administration Executive MBA students. 

    Students apply the tools and techniques of the time value of money framework to capital budgeting issues and corporate financial policy. They focus on corporate capital budgeting and valuation, investment decisions under uncertainty, market efficiency, and corporate financial policy including financing and dividend decisions. Students evaluate capital investments with a focus on how companies analyze the risk associated with future cash flows and how that risk is incorporated in the required rates of return, as well as how financing choices (stocks and bond issues) and payout policy affect the cost of capital of large projects. Students apply two widely used models, the Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM) and the Weighted Average Cost of Capital (WACC) to capital budgeting

    5413 – Financial Controls

    1.5 credits. Prerequisite: Open only to Business Administration Executive MBA students. 

    Students take a macro perspective applying cost concepts to real-world managerial problems and make logical decisions. At a micro level, students come to understand the nature and behavior of cost and how cost is directly affected by resource (people, materials and capital) acquisition and allocation decisions. Students explore how management solves the interrelated problems of capacity, efficiency, productivity, sourcing, pricing, and profitability. 

    5462 – Driving Market Demand

    1.5 credits. Prerequisite: Open only to Business Administration Executive MBA students. 

    Focus on developing a competitive value proposition and marketing strategies to drive organic growth, including attracting new customers, expanding the number and value of transactions that customers make, and retaining customers for longer periods of time. Students examine customer satisfaction and profitable growth and use customer equity as a modeling framework in which to translate market analysis, customer insight and chosen targeting and positioning into financial projections for growth. 

    5471 – Operational Analytics and Improvement

    1.5 credits. Prerequisite: Open only to Business Administration Executive MBA students. 

    The management of the transformation of inputs, including labor, materials, and information, into the outputs of goods and services. Students use quantitative tools and qualitative knowledge to make decisions regarding capacity management, inventory management, planning of operations, and quality control. 

    5514 – Performance Evaluation

    1.5 credits. Prerequisite: Open only to Business Administration Executive MBA students. 

    How world-class companies excel at execution and how their control systems enable their employees to execute effective strategies. Students consider the environment and the processes that companies use to maintain control of enterprise performance, the use and effects of accounting related controls in relation to choices of responsibility structures, performance measures, standards, and the internal controls that help ensure measurement reliability. 

    5582 – Managing Teams and Organization Culture

    1.5 credits. Prerequisite: Open only to Business Administration Executive MBA students. 

    Students explore how to foster a culture that enables maximum benefit from organizational teams. Specific topics include team creation and dynamics, motivation, organization structure, conflict, empowerment, and politics. Emphasis is placed on the unique challenges presented by cross-cultural teams. 

    5602 – Modeling Statistical and Qualitative Uncertainty

    1.5 credits. Prerequisite: Open only to Business Administration Executive MBA students. 

    Students will gain an understanding of how to leverage quantitative and qualitative data when making business decisions. Students will examine uncertainty inherent in future-oriented decisions based on traditional and Bayesian statistical analysis, as well as the behavioral tendencies of customers, suppliers, and employees. In addition, students will learn to recognize common decision biases and develop techniques for countering them. 

    5603 – Global Business Issues

    1-4.5 credits. Prerequisite: Open only to Business Administration Executive MBA students. May be repeated for a total of five credits. 

    Students become better versed in international business challenges, understand issues related to transnational and cross-cultural management, and examine global issues relative to their company. Students participate in an international trip to gain first-hand experience in the dynamics of international business management, engage with in-country business executives across multiple industries and functional areas, and execute a business challenge project in a foreign country. 

    5651 – Managing Information Technology

    1.5 credits. Prerequisite: Open only to Business Administration Executive MBA students. 

    IT-related issues internal to the organization, and analyze challenges inherent in managing a company’s IT, including evaluating information technology investment decisions, designing business processes, selecting information technologies to support such processes, implementing technology solutions, managing information technology vendors, and securing information technologies. 

    5722 – Employment Law

    1.5 credits. Prerequisite: Open only to Business Administration Executive MBA students. 

    Critical components of employment law and how management practices can generate a workplace regulatory environment that is not only compliant, but also a source of value for the firm. Regulatory issues related hiring, firing, and evaluating employees, illegal discrimination, and the rights of and obligations toward vulnerable populations. Additional emphasis is placed on interactions with administrative agencies, protecting firm knowledge from competition, developing employer-employee relationships, managing workplace safety, and resolving disputes. 

    5792 – Strategic Fit and Coordination

    1.5 credits. Prerequisite: Open only to Business Administration Executive MBA students. 

    Focus on the needs of key organizational stakeholders and understanding the impact of decisions by individual functional areas on the entire organization. Students will draw upon knowledge from multiple academic disciplines to develop organizational strategies, designs, and resource allocations that can improve firm performance from a holistic perspective. 

    5842 – Microeconomic Incentives

    1.5 credits. Prerequisite: Open only to Business Administration Executive MBA students. 

    How key economic principles affect business decision making. Students consider how incentives play a role in the decisions. The effects of organizational and capital structure on decision making and employee efforts are examined. 

    5852 – Leveraging Digital Technologies

    1.5 credits. Prerequisite: Open only to Business Administration Executive MBA students. 

    Assessing the strategic uses and implications of digital technologies, with a focus on harnessing and managing information technologies in inter-organizational and market-related contexts for competitive advantage. 

    5863 – Managing Brand Value

    1.5 credits. Prerequisite: Open only to Business Administration Executive MBA students. 

    Focus on implementing the value proposition targeted to specific customers. Students use the marketing mix as a conceptual tool to structure thinking and make decisions around comprehensive strategy implementation related to product and service attributes and benefits, pricing, channels of distribution, and integrated communications platforms. 

    5901 – Executive Project

    Variable (1.5-3) credits. Prerequisite: Open only to Business Administration Executive MBA students. May be repeated for a total of three credits. 

    Students engage in a new business development opportunity. Students focus on idea inception, conduct a feasibility analysis using a comprehensive assessment framework, and develop implementation strategies. 

    5933 – Alternative Investments and Risk Management

    1.5 credits. Prerequisite: Open only to Business Administration Executive MBA students. 

    Concepts of risk management with specific attention to the structure of risk management, identifying risk types, assessing risk, mitigating risk, and capital adequacy. Students focus on the key investment strategies used in alternative investments markets, i.e., hedge funds and private equity, and assess derivatives (puts and calls), forward and futures contracts, and swaps. They examine how these strategies can be used to speculate or hedge particular risks. 

    5993 – Sustainable Competitive Strategy

    1.5 credits. Prerequisite: Open only to Business Administration Executive MBA students. 

    How to defend businesses against competitive challenges and environmental change while maintaining high ethical standards. Students focus on game theory, sustainability, and temporal tradeoffs to understand the effects of managerial choices on competitors, internal stakeholders, society and the future performance of the firm. 

    Concentrations

    UConn Online and FLEX MBA students may choose any one of our seven concentrations: 

      The 42-credit Executive MBA is delivered with a comprehensive, fixed plan of study, running on scheduled weekends for over 20 months. Executive MBA students may return to UConn post-graduation to complete a graduate certificate in a specialized topic of their choosing, at no extra cost. A list of business graduate certificates can be found here.  

      Current FLEX Courses

      UConn FLEX MBA students may take courses in Hartford, Stamford, CT or online. View our current course schedules. 

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