Curriculum
STEM-designated Curriculum
The Flex MBA curriculum is made up of core courses and electives, and allows flexibility in where and how you attend classes. Take your first-year core coursework online or at the campus you select: Baltimore, Md., Rockville, Md. or Washington, D.C. You may take electives either online or in person at any of our three campuses.
Customize your learning by selecting credits from the following elective areas: Corporate Finance, Marketing, General Management, Innovation & Project Management or Investment Finance
Course Descriptions
The curriculum is offered in a 24-month format. Core courses are offered in sequence as laid out in the curriculum chart. Students take their core courses with their cohort at their home campus. If students wish to expand the selection of course offerings beyond their home campus, they are encouraged to explore the courses offered online or on-site at the Baltimore, Md., Rockville, Md. and Washington, D.C. campuses.
Elective courses are subject to change. Students may focus their electives in the areas of Marketing, Finance (Corporate or Investment), Innovation & Project Management, or General Management. Students may travel to other campuses or take electives online to have the broadest range of elective choices possible. Additionally, students may add a Graduate Certificate in Technology Management and use those courses to fulfill their elective requirements.
Introduction to Financial Accounting
Overview of financial accounting, periodic financial statements and the financial reporting process. Importance of financial statements as information source for creditors and investors and as a means by which managers can communicate information about their firms.
Managerial Accounting
Use of accounting data in corporate planning and control. Cost-volume-profit analysis, budgeting, pricing decisions and cost data, transfer pricing, activity-based management, performance measures, and standard costing.
Digital Transformation in Business
Introduces students to the strategic role of digital transformation within businesses, and provides an overview for how major information technologies may be used to inform and transform the firm's strategic, operational, and tactical decisions. Topics discussed in the course include the strategic use of digital technologies to generate sustainable competitive value; the contributions of new forms of technology infrastructure; the evaluation of new technology investments and the resulting ROI; acquiring, managing and governing technological capabilities within the firm; understanding the role of enterprise systems and social technologies within the firm; and the management of disruptive technologies within and outside the firm.
Data-Driven Analytics
To develop probabilistic and statistical concepts, methods and models through examples motivated by real-life data from business and to stress the role that statistics plays in the managerial decision making process.
Operations Management
Operations management is concerned with efficient and effective design and operation of business processes for delivering products and/or services. Emphasis is given to process analysis and design, capacity management and bottlenecks, waiting lines and the impact of uncertainty in process performance, quality management, lean, six-sigma, and revenue management. .
Corporate Finance I & II
Analysis of major corporate financial decisions using a market-oriented framework. Topics include capital budgeting, security portfolio theory, operation and efficiency of financial markets, options pricing, financing decisions, capital structure, payout policy and international finance.
Marketing Management
This course is an overview of decisions marketing managers make to create and maintain enduring customer-based equity. These decisions involve identifying marketing opportunities, selecting customer targets, effectively positioning products and services, and implementing competitive marketing support programs. Students will learn marketing decision-making models and how to apply them.
Leadership and Teamwork
Examine concepts of team-building and leadership which are critical to managerial success. Topics include: leadership, decision making, communication and conflict, work motivation, building effective teams, and organizational change and culture.
Managerial Economics and Public Policy
Basic microeconomic principles used by firms, including supply and demand, elasticities, costs, productivity, pricing, market structure and competitive implications of alternative market structures. Market failures and government intervention. Public policy processes affecting business operations.
The Global Economic Environment
Relationship between national and international economic environments. Determinants of output, interest rates, prices and exchange rates. Analysis of effect of economic policies (fiscal, monetary, trade, tax) on the firm and the economy.
Strategic Management
Integrative strategic management focusing on strategy formulation and implementation in domestic and global settings. Industry and competitor analysis, industry and firm value chain, leadership, goal setting, organizational structure and culture. Case study approach to top management and organizational problems.
Electives are subject to change. This is an example of elective offerings.
AI in Business Electives
Foundations of AI
AI in Business Strategy
Marketing in the Age of AI
Social Media & Web Analytics
Finance Electives
Applied Equity Analysis
Commercial Bank Management
Corporate Risk Management
Financial Restructuring
Financial Strategy for Corporations
Valuation in Corporate Finance
Information Systems & Business Analytics Electives
Data Mining and Predictive Analytics
Decision Modeling
Managing Digital Businesses and Platforms
Social Media and Web Analytics
Innovation & Project Management Electives
Creativity for Business Managers
Innovation & Product Development
Project Management
Systems & Design Thinking
Marketing Electives
Consumer Behavior
Customer Lifetime Valuation
Digital Promotion & Advertising
Innovation & Product Development
Managing Brands & Products
Marketing in the Age of AI
Marketing Research Methods
Platform Strategy & Transformation
Supply Chain Management Electives
Supply Chain Management
Innovative Solutions to Supply Chain Challenges
Supply Chain Risk Management
General Management Electives
Business Law for Managers
Business Communications Corporate Venturing
Entrepreneurship
Ethical Leadership
Executive Powers and Negotiation
International Business
Global Study
Leading with A Strategic Mindset
Legal Environment for Sustainability
Organizational Change
Sustainability: Economics and Strategy
Curriculum Chart
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SPRING B (March-May) |
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SUMMER A (June-July) |
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Dual Degrees
Dual degrees allow you to combine your MBA studies with graduate coursework in other University of Maryland degree programs to create a unique set of skills and knowledge. It’s just one more way the Flex MBA can help you distinguish yourself in a competitive marketplace.
Requirements for dual degrees vary by program, but students generally take the MBA core courses and then complete the degree requirements for the other graduate program. Separate applications may be required, and some programs may require additional standardized tests prior to admission.
Employers want candidates who know how to analyze big data and think critically to solve business problems. Maryland Smith’s master’s degree programs are designed to give you just that. You’ll develop advanced knowledge of a specialized business area, helping you stand out and make a real impact in the workplace.
Combine your clinical knowledge with business knowledge to increase your flexibility within the medical field. Learn the finance, marketing and management skills you'll need to run your own practice or lead effectively in medical administrative roles.
The dual degree is designed to enhance student leadership skills in preparation for management careers in a diverse range of health care positions, and develop entrepreneurial capabilities for careers in independent and corporate pharmacy and the pharmaceutical industry.
Combining a top JD program and one of the world’s premier MBA programs, students will be exposed to two diverse curricula and faculties. Students will experience life in the Washington-Baltimore corridor, a 40-mile stretch connecting two exceptional cities that share one of the richest concentrations of resources and talent in the nation.
Learn the art of policy and governance, and gain the analytical skills and practical experience to launch a career solving pressing policy challenges.
The combination of real estate development knowledge and business management expertise will offer students the skill and practice to become innovators who will have impactful and unparalleled careers in real estate.
Manage the business of health care as an administrator in a health care system and for senior management-level decision-making on financial, strategic planning, resource management, and governance issues.
In social service agencies, financial and business expertise combined with social work practice, knowledge, and experience is invaluable. The degrees complement each other and provide graduates with a combination of knowledge, experience, and values necessary in business and the human services system.
Make your MBA a Tech MBA by adding the Maryland Smith Graduate Certificate in Technology Management to your electives in your second year. The program prepares public and private sector leaders to identify, transition and leverage emergent technology into and across their organizations and markets.