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 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. 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 California School of Management Leadership (CSML) graduate programs at Alliant International University require practical training from the first term until graduation.

Students in the ground program are required to participate in curricular practical training as part of their experiential learning throughout the program. Practical training is intended to develop professional and applied practice related skills and expertise in the student’s program through a variety of work and learning experiences which could involve supervised practical training and/or applied client projects. This is required throughout the academic program from start on Day 1 to program completion.

Domestic students can contact the CSML Professional Development (CPD) Coordinator directly for guidance. International students must apply for authorization for Curricular Practical Training to the Designated School Official (DSO) and schedule an appointment at least two weeks prior to the beginning of the Curricular Practical Training. Please email ISSO@alliant.edu to schedule an appointment. Note that an international students may begin curricular practical training ONLY after receiving their Form I-20 with the DSO endorsement. To be considered Curricular Practical Training, the work must be related to your major field of study. Please view CSML CPT Application Process for International Students  for application information.

Alignment with Certificates and Certifications: the program is a graduate academic degree program which is geared to graduating students in a job-ready state. The courses in the MBA curriculum have been designed to give students the skills required to excel in careers in the data and analytics arena in a wide range of industries. The program has been designed with the additional advantage to students of encouraging them to prepare and successfully test for industry recognized and sought-after certifications (e.g., MCSA’s SQL Database Development). Students will be introduced to certifications’ requirements and encouraged to apply to and successfully pass their exams. The tests are external to Alliant and administered by independent referent disciplines. Most job postings in the subject area require one or more of these certifications.

Specific courses in the curriculum of the program are aligned with appropriate certifications. In addition to discussing the requirements of the externally administered certifications, selective material will be covered in the classroom to encourage and guide the student for the certification test. The main preparation for the certification exam will require self-study and self-preparation by the students. The aim is to encourage students to strengthen their resumes with a graduate MBA degree as well as industry relevant certifications which together make them a strong candidate with a competitive advantage.

Emphasis/Concentration/Tracks

Tracks

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

1. Evening/Weekday MBA Track

2. Practical Training/Executive Weekend MBA Track

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.

Evening/Weekday MBA Track

This MBA track is designed to accommodate students who do not have significant prior business leadership experience. Students in the Evening/Weekday MBA Track 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/Executive Weekend MBA Track

Alliant is approved to offer practical training throughout the MBA program to all domestic and international students. 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 practical training track attend ground classes on one weekend a month. This schedule is repeated throughout the entire program. Students in this track also engage in practical training throughout their 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).

A student will have eight weeks (one term) to secure a practical training site once they start the MBA Practical Training Track. If a student loses their practical training during the program, they will have eight weeks (one term) to secure another practical training site which aligns with the program requirements. If unable to do so, the student will join the evening/weekday MBA track of study.

Approval of practical training sites: Program Director or Faculty Internship/Project Coordinator 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 (Friday evening, Saturday and Sunday morning) each month. Each course duration is 8-weeks.

Concentrations

Hospitality Management

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

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

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

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

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

Students who are in good academic standing (3.0 GPA) are eligible to participate in the Fast Track program for the DBA and PhD Leadership programs. Students whose GPA is lower than 3.0 and interested in the Fast Track option will be interviewed by the PD.

MBA students who are interested in the Fast Track opportunity to doctoral programs will write an application essay which will be evaluated by a faculty committee. Those students who are approved by the committee will be allowed to take Fast Track courses.

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 in the ground program are required to participate in practical training as part of their experiential learning throughout the program. This is a non-credit graduation requirement for students in the MBA program. Practical training is intended to develop professional and applied practice related skills and expertise in the student’s program through a variety of work and learning experiences which could involve supervised practical training and/or applied client projects. This is required throughout the academic program from start on Day 1 to completion. In addition to classroom instruction, all students are required to get real-world practical training experience in an approved organizational setting for a minimum of 45 hours in every academic term throughout the program. If a student is unable to secure a practical training site, an applied project may be made available to ensure students in the ground program meet the practicum requirements. International students should check with the International Students Office for more details.

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.

Degree Requirements

In addition to classroom instruction, all students in the on-ground program are required to get practical training experience in an approved setting for a minimum of 45 hours in every academic term throughout the program.

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.