MBA Curriculum
Providence College MBA Program is a high-quality, management-focused program designed to create a comprehensive understanding of business organizations with an emphasis on critical thinking, problem-solving skills, data analysis, and knowledge across a breadth of business disciplines. The curriculum is structured to incorporate a deep quantitative focus and an emphasis on data-driven, strategic decision-making.
The MBA Program offers four options: Part-Time MBA, Full-Time MBA, 4 + 1 MBA Program, and the Accounting Cohort. Each MBA Program requires 12 to 21 courses: eight prerequisite courses, nine MBA core courses, and three to four electives.
MBA Course Schedule & Academic Calendar
The PC MBA Program is dedicated to providing students with maximum flexibility by offering MBA courses throughout the year — fall, winter, spring, and summer semesters, as well as accelerated courses taught in weekend and week-long programs. Information regarding the MBA schedule can be found on CyberFriar.
Both MBA core and elective courses are offered fall, spring, and summer sessions. In addition, electives are also offered during winter session. The MBA Program offers week and weekend-long accelerated courses throughout the year and always during winter intersession.
For more details regarding academic dates, please see the Graduate Academic Calendar.
Prerequisites & Foundational Requirements
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Prerequisites & Foundational Requirements
MBA Prerequisite Courses
The MBA Program requires each student to complete nine prerequisite courses. These courses provide a basic foundation for the MBA Program and are prerequisites for MBA core courses:
- Financial Accounting
- Managerial Accounting
- Managerial Finance I
- Principles of Marketing
- Microeconomics
- Macroeconomics
- Mathematics for Business Analytics/Business Calculus
- Statistical Analysis
A complete list of core and prerequisite courses can be found in the 4 + 1 Plan of Study, the Full-Time Plan of Study, Part-Time Plan of Study, and the Accounting Cohort Plan of Study.
These courses are not required to begin the MBA Program. However, students may complete all, some, or none of these courses before applying and beginning the program. It is recommended students apply to the MBA Program prior to taking prerequisite classes. Students who need to fulfill any of the prerequisite/foundation courses can take these courses at any accredited institution or through the PC School of Continuing Education (SCE). Students interested in taking a course with SCE as a prerequisite should contact the SCE Office at 401-865-2487 or sce@providence.edu.
MBA Prerequisite | Prerequisite MBA Course Equivalent | Semester Offered |
---|---|---|
Financial and Managerial Accounting | MBA 548 – Introduction to Accounting Concepts | Fall |
Principles of Microeconomics and Principles of Macroeconomics | MBA 533 – Introduction to Economic Concepts | Fall |
Managerial Finance I | MBA 532 – Introduction to Financial Concepts | Spring |
MBA Foundational Requirements
In addition to all undergraduate prerequisites for the MBA Program, and to ensure students succeed in the new MBA curriculum, all students must complete MBA 502: Foundations of Business, a zero-credit-hour, pass/fail course. This course should be completed by the dates noted below and is required for graduation. Delays in completion of MBA 502 may result in course withdrawal, which could postpone sequencing of courses and graduation.
MBA 502 has three requirements designed to prepare students for quantitative MBA coursework:
MBA Math (Online)
All sections of MBA Math, which consists of: Spreadsheets, Accounting, Economics, Finance, and Statistics, must be completed with at least an 85% to satisfy MBA 502 and to graduate from the MBA Program. MBA Math is paid for via your enrollment deposit. Access to MBA Math will be provided to students shortly after the reply to offer of admission and enrollment deposit are received.
Undergraduate business majors should have most, if not all, prerequisites coming into the program and should complete MBA Math prior to attending the New Student Orientation.
Students who do not have all prerequisites will complete the Spreadsheets section of MBA Math prior to attending the New Student Orientation. These students will then have one year from the start of the program to complete the foundational prerequisites and remaining MBA Math sections. NOTE: The MTH/FIN 217 pre-requisite must be satisfied prior to the Statistics section of MBA Math and the Statistics section must be completed prior to registering for MBA 687.
Students who do not complete MBA Math sections by specified deadlines will be withdrawn from section-aligned courses the week before classes begin, which may delay graduation.
Students will upload a copy of their MBA Math transcript, MS Excel Certificate and Orientation Attendance Form, when completed with each.
Excel Proficiency
Students must demonstrate Microsoft Excel proficiency in preparation for MBA 687 and MBA 690. Additional details on Microsoft Excel proficiency options will be available in the weeks after a reply to offer of admission and enrollment deposit are received. Coupled with the MBA Math Spreadsheets section, additional preparation may include an exam or a Microsoft Excel Certification, which can be completed online or in-person with a program of the student’s choice. Students who do not demonstrate Microsoft Excel proficiency prior to beginning MBA 687 will be withdrawn from the course, which may delay completion of the MBA Program.
New Student Orientation(s)
All new students must attend the mandatory New Student Orientation Workshop(s). Orientation is designed to prepare students for the MBA Program on topics such as: skills and professional development, business communications, and leadership. Students will also network with peers, professors, and MBA staff. Orientation dates are listed on acceptance letters.
Core Courses
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Core Courses
The MBA Core consists of 12 courses – providing students with exposure to a broad range of business topics and helping them to gain an understanding of business. The core curriculum listed below is designed to provide students an in-depth mastery of the academic discipline and functional areas needed for today’s business leaders.
Core Course Number | Core Course Title | Credit Hours |
---|---|---|
MBA 603 | Accounting and Decision Making in Organizations | 3 credits |
MBA 626 | Financial Management for Corporations | 3 credits |
MBA 651 | Marketing Management in Competitive Environments | 3 credits |
MBA 676 | Organizational Effectiveness Through People and Teams | 3 credits |
MBA 677/611 | Professional Ethics and Responsibility/Accounting Ethics | 3 credits |
MBA 687 | Statistics for Business Analytics | 3 credits |
MBA 689 | Managing Information Resources | 3 credits |
MBA 690 | Analytics in Operations Management | 3 credits |
MBA 700 | Strategic Management in a Global Business Environment | 3 credits |
Real-World Experience Requirement
The MBA Program requires work experience. To satisfy this requirement students may:
- complete a 300-hour business-related internship
- take the MBA 699: Real-World Experience: Business Internships course for credit
- complete a PCSB real-world consulting class for credit
- demonstrate significant prior business work experience.
More details on these options can be viewed on the School of Business Graduate Programs Advising page. Students who do not take MBA 699 substitute it with an elective.
MBA Core Course Waivers
Students are able to waive select core courses based on previous academic work. Please see the Graduate Programs advising page for more information about MBA core course waivers.
Electives
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Electives
MBA students must complete between three and four electives to obtain an MBA degree. Sample electives include:
- Accounting Frauds, Scandals and Scams
- Accounting for Government and Non-Profits
- Fixed Income Securities
- Portfolio Management
- Brand Marketing
- International Marketing
- Social Media in the Business Environment
- Leadership Coaching
Certificates & Concentrations
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Certificates & Concentrations
Certificates
Consisting of credit-bearing, graduate-level courses, the Providence College School of Business graduate certificate programs demonstrate advanced studies in specific fields without requiring you to enroll in a degree program. After completing a PCSB graduate certificate, you may apply these credits to a PC MBA, should you choose to pursue one. Students already accepted into a PC MBA program may choose to use their electives to pursue a graduate certificate in addition to their degree.
See below for certificate requirements and learn more about our three graduate certificates.
A certificate is not required to complete the MBA.
Business Analytics
The Business Analytics Graduate Certificate Program is a 3-course, 9-credit hour program consisting of two required electives and one capstone, consulting project course.
Required Courses
The Business Analytics Graduate Certificate Program is a 3-course, 9-credit hour program consisting of two required electives and one capstone, consulting project course.
MBA 687 Statistics for Business Analytics
Many managerial decisions—regardless of their functional orientation—are increasingly relying on data and business analytics. The abundance of available data has dramatically changed the way businesses operate in a wide range of disciplines and industries. This course provides students an opportunity to enhance their knowledge of statistical techniques commonly used in business analytics. Unlike many traditional statistics courses, this course is very practice- and data-driven with the primary objective of increasing students’ ability to solve business problems with data using a variety of statistical techniques. Offered in the fall semester.
MBA 688 Data Exploration and Visualization
Business analytics provides techniques for collecting and examining data, as well as the methods for turning that data into actionable knowledge. The course will explore analytical techniques to: describe what has happened (descriptive data mining), use the past to predict the future (predictive analytics), and identify what is the best action to take (predictive data mining). The course also examines data visualizations and querying database sources. Offered over winter session.
MBA 691 Business Analytics Consulting Project
Many managerial decisions—regardless of their functional orientation—are increasingly relying on data and business analytics. The abundance of available data has dramatically changed the way businesses operate in manufacturing, service operations, marketing, and finance. This course provides an opportunity for students to integrate and apply the analytical skills and knowledge learned in previous courses to a real-world analytics project. Offered in the spring semester.
Digital Marketing
The PC Digital Marketing Graduate Certificate is a 3-course, 9-credit hour program consisting of the following three courses.
Required Courses
MBA 651 Marketing Management in Competitive Environments
This course examines marketing management with a strategic emphasis. Such controllable variables as product, price, promotion, and distribution are treated as decision-making areas and studied in depth. The interaction of these variables with each other, with other business functions, and external factors that affect the marketing environment are also explored. Prerequisite: an undergraduate course in marketing. Offered in the fall semester.
MBA 663 Digital Marketing
Building a competitive marketing strategy that drives value is a necessary challenge. This course will examine the strengths and weaknesses of digital brand campaigns, with an emphasis on optimized content creation. Paid, owned, and earned marketing tactics will be presented with emphasis on the unified customer experience. Marketing acquisition and retention strategies will be reviewed and evaluated. Offered over winter session.
MBA 664 Digital Marketing Consulting Project
Many digital marketing and managerial decisions—regardless of their functional orientation—are increasingly relying on data and business analytics. This course provides an opportunity for students to integrate and apply the analytical skills and knowledge learned in previous courses in marketing and digital marketing to a real-world business project in marketing. Offered in the spring semester.
Sports Management
The Graduate Certificate in Sports Management program is a 3-course, 9-credit hour program consisting of a required sports-related internship and two electives. The internship may be replaced with an additional elective based on relevant work experience.
Requirements
MBA Internship: Sports Internship
Internships often are completed over the summer. More information will be provided once you are accepted into the program. Students have the option to take MBA 699, for credit. The internship may be replaced with an additional elective based on relevant work experience. Please contact the MBA Office for more information.
Electives (Choose 2):
MBA 692: The Business of Collegiate Sports
This course prepares provides a foundational preparation for those students who aspire to a leadership position within intercollegiate athletics. The course explores the relationship between leadership and organizational climate in intercollegiate athletics and develops a comprehensive in-depth understanding and strategic skill-set to thrive in intercollegiate athletics. The course focuses on sport governance, sport compliance, legal aspects of equity in intercollegiate athletics, human resource strategies in intercollegiate athletics, sport finance, ethics, marketing, public relations, facilities and event management, and much more with the inclusion of leaders in the industry as guest speakers. Offered in the fall semester.
MBA 693: The Business of Professional Sports
The estimated size of the sports industry in the United States in 2018 was $539.7 billion dollars.* Various factors – teams, leagues, broadcasters, sponsors, players’ unions, facilities – all play a critical role within the sports ecosystem. This course will help students gain a better understanding of the business of sports as well as the opportunities and challenges that the industry faces in years to come. *Source: Plunkett Research Ltd. Offered in the spring semester.
MBA 692: Sports Sponsorship and Activation
This course focuses on the overall sport sponsorship industry; including how to generate and analyze sponsorship opportunities from the perspective of property, brand, agency and how to determine return on investment. Addressing the corporate sponsorship process, emerging markets, and growth, as well as international opportunities.
MBA 770: Special Topics
Other electives will be offered based on industry changes and developments. Previous offerings have included:
- The Marketing & Analytics of Sports
Concentrations
While the core of the MBA curriculum provides breadth of knowledge, students can develop depth of knowledge in a particular area by completing an elective concentration. concentrations are offered in Finance and Management.
Three electives in the same subject can be used toward a concentration. For more information about concentrations, please open the menus below to see selected electives.
A concentration is not required to complete the MBA.
Finance
Selected Electives*
- MBA 635: International Finance
- Prerequisite: MBA 533 or ECN 101/102
- MBA 640: Investment Analysis
- Prerequisite: MBA 532 or FIN 207
- Cannot be take if an undergraduate investment class has been taken
- MBA 642: Management of Financial Institutions
- Prerequisite: MBA 533 or permission from the instructor
- MBA 645: Portfolio Management
- Prerequisite: FIN 217 or MTH 217
- MBA 770: Special Topics in Finance
- Prerequisites will vary
This list is not comprehensive and offerings may vary.
*May not be offered every semester or year
Management
Selected Electives*
- MBA 681: Leadership Coaching
- MBA 682: Social Entrepreneurship
- MBA 685: Digital and Social Media in the Business Environment
- MBA 770: Special Topics in Management
- Prerequisites will vary
This list is not comprehensive and offerings may vary.
*May not be offered every semester or year
Providence College School of Business Graduate Programs
Office Hours: Mon.-Fri. 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Evening appointments available.
Ryan Center for Business Studies Room 135
401.865.2294
pcsb-grad@providence.edu
The Providence College School of Business is accredited by AACSB International, a distinction held by only 5 percent of business schools worldwide.