Master of Business Administration

Program Description/Overview

The MBA program provides skills in advanced analytics, management and business and extensive practical experience in applying and integrating these skills through application, projects, case studies, and presentations. The program delivery format was developed to serve professional students who want to study and earn their degrees in a format that would make it possible to gain practice and training in applied settings at work sites while achieving the outcomes of the program.

The program follows a teaching and learning model with all students taking courses to build foundational and core skills in the curriculum as well as concentration courses to build deep expertise in an area of interest during their program of study.

Emphasis/Concentration/Tracks

Tracks

Students who start the MBA program have two tracks to choose from:

1. Professional MBA
2. Practical Training MBA

Both tracks have the same courses to be completed in the curriculum totaling to 36 credit units for completion. The courses are offered in an academic calendar of 8-week Terms with a program completion time of 18 months.

Both tracks are designed to train students for success in professional workplaces by enhancing their skills for state-of-the-art employment environments and educating them for excelling in handling new professional challenges.

Professional MBA Track

Professional MBA program is designed to accommodate students who do not have significant prior business leadership experience. Students in the Professional MBA will attend classes on ground every week. The classes are scheduled during the evenings. Students in this track will take three Professional Practicum courses for a total of 3 units as part of their experiential learning within the program. Students must complete a minimum total of 45 hours of professional practice activities to receive credit in this course. Students can complete the required professional practice hours by working on either a practical project, a client project or in an internship. 

Class schedule: For each course, students attend ground classes once a week in the evening. Each course duration is 8-weeks.  

Practical Training MBA Track

Practical training is defined as an approved work experience which is an integral part of an established curriculum and is directly related to the student’s major area of study. Students in the intensive practice track attend ground classes on one weekend a month. This schedule is repeated throughout the entire program. Practical training can be part time (less than 20 hours a week) or full time (more than 20 hours a week), paid or unpaid. International students should see guidelines from International Office regarding details of FT and PT practical training (see Curricular Practical Training  section). If a student loses a practical training site during the program, they will have four weeks to secure another site which aligns with the program requirements. If unable to do so, the student will join the main MBA track of study.

Approval of practical training sites: The course instructors and Program Director will have final approval which is required each term. Detailed procedures for approval of a practical training site and the training details will be provided by the program. International students will meet the International Office and the PDSO for guidance and approval.

Class schedule: For each course, students attend ground classes on one weekend (Saturday and Sunday) each month. Each course duration is 8-weeks.

Concentrations

Corporate Finance (available for Professional MBA Track only)

This concentration targets the expertise required in current financial environments and provides a clear understanding of practical financial decision-making. Students will gain an understanding of the way money and accounting affect businesses. The corporate finance concentration instills essential set skills sets in financial modeling, debt and equity issues, valuation, mergers and acquisitions, financial planning, risk management, financial reporting and analysis, and taxation necessary in corporate finance positions and in other related careers. Potential career opportunities for students with a corporate finance concentration includes work in investment and merchant banks, insurance and pension funds, and for governments and multinational companies, a CFO, corporate treasurer, controller, director of finance, financial analyst, credit manager or cash manager.

Hospitality Management (available for Professional MBA Track only)

This concentration is designed to provide an opportunity for students to meet the needs of the growing and fast-paced hospitality industry. It will prepare students for careers in the large hospitality segment focusing on the hotels industry but also including the travel and tourism segments. The courses provide an understanding of emerging aspects in these segments which include a number of highly profitable markets which are also poised to grow with innovation and technology. Employers and market trends confirm that careers in these fields are coveted, well-paid with a well-defined progress path. Students should also note that demand for professionals in the hospitality industry is internationally growing.

Information and Technology Management (available for Professional MBA Track and Practical Training MBA Track)

This concentration gives students specialized knowledge in enterprise business process integration, enterprise system analysis, enterprise data management and utilization of business intelligence, as well as information systems for small and medium enterprises. SAP software is utilized for a large part of the hands-in instruction, making this concentration very practical for the real0work IT areas. The concentration provides expert training on the full range of SAP products from SAP Netweaver and SAP ERP through SAP Business Suite or SAP Business Objects Solutions. For further details, refer to the detailed SAP instruction sheet.

Marketing and Digital Trends (available for Professional MBA Track and Practical Training MBA Track)

In this concentration, students learn important principles and applications of branding and brand management, how to develop and articulate marketing plan and sales strategy, how to conduct market research, collect and analyze data, and gain in-depth understanding of consumer behaviors in the global context and the impacts of national and geographic cultures.

This concentration also provides the technical skillsets necessary to function in the rapidly advancing digital marketing era. As marketing continues to develop alongside a range of new technological advancements, the need for professionals who understand the changing digital environment is greater than ever. Digital marketing skills are in serious demand and the digital skills gap is set to widen, the job market is growing and companies are putting more efforts into digital marketing than ever before.

Management and Leadership (available for Professional MBA Track and Practical Training MBA Track)

This concentration is designed to provide students with theoretical and practical management knowledge and to prepare them to become skilled and effective in managing and leading any type of organization. Among the many benefits of this concentration is that students will become aware about their own leadership style and gained skills for developing leadership skills in others.

Students may choose their career paths from a variety of areas, including Retail, General Management, Sustainable Management and Development, Human Resources, Marketing and Public Relations, Organizational management, International Business Relations, or Entrepreneurship.

No Concentration Option (available for Professional MBA Track and Practical Training MBA Track)

Students sometimes have career goals which align with more than one functional concentration or more than one industry segment. Employers support this graduate preparation in roles such as individual contributors or business overview positions involving a broad expertise in operations, execution or strategy. In such cases, students can discuss with their academic advisor and/or the program director to complete the program with a diverse set of concentration courses applicable to their track. If approved, they may complete 9 units from amongst the courses offered for the other MBA concentrations with approval from their Academic Advisor. Students who choose this option will not have a specific concentration noted on their record upon graduation.

Fast Track Program

In the Fast Track program, MBA students can take up to three (9 units) of doctoral level bridge courses from Alliant’s Doctorate of Business Administration (DBA) program or PhD in Leadership program. If students complete the bridge courses with a B or above grade, they can transfer these courses into these doctoral programs if they enroll in them at Alliant International University upon completing their MBA program.

The following Fast Tracks are available for this program:

1. DBA
2. PhD in Leadership

Program Learning Outcomes/Goals

PLO1: Demonstrate an understanding of core knowledge in the general business and management fields.                                      

PLO2:  Demonstrate an understanding of specialized knowledge in the area of student’s concentration of study

PLO3: Apply professional business skills, knowledge and critical thinking in the context of the business workplace

PLO4: Demonstrate a positive and non-judgmental attitude in interpersonal and professional interactions within diverse teams and multicultural environments.

PLO5: Demonstrate competence in oral and written business communication

PLO6: Apply technical tools and methods to collect, analyze, and evaluate data and information to make sound business decisions and develop appropriate strategies.

PLO7: Be able to make ethical and socially responsible decisions in business scenarios

Programmatic Accreditation

The MBA program is accredited by Accreditation Council for Business Schools and Programs (ACBSP), which is a globally recognized accreditation body for business and management area programs.

Internship, Practicum, and/or Dissertation Information

Students are required to participate in the internship series as part of their experiential learning within the program. The internship is designed to develop professional practice related skills in student’s program expertise through a variety of work experiences which could involve independently conducted professional projects or an internship. This is designed to provide students with in-depth, supervised practical learning experiences. The internship required may be prior to one academic year in the program. As a result, international students completing the internship series prior to one (1) academic year should contact the International Students Office for details and specialized requirements.

Credit Units

Total Credit Units: 36

Total Core Credit Units: 27*

Total Elective Credit Units: N/A

Total Concentration Credit Units: 9*

*Includes 3 units of fast track courses in core units and up to 6 units of fast track courses in concentration units.

Prerequisite Courses

The following one (1) prerequisite course is required for students without a business major in their Bachelor’s degree:

• BUS50010 - Business Foundations (3 units)  

Emphasis/Concentration/Track Requirements

Curriculum Plan

The following curriculum plan is a sample and serves only as a general guide. Curriculum plans and course sequence are subject to variation depending on a student’s start term. Students must complete all coursework required for their program as set forth in their individual master plan of study.