Course Descriptions

The Specialized MBA program at CSUSM is designed to equip students with in-depth knowledge and practical skills in key business areas, preparing them for leadership roles across diverse industries. With a comprehensive curriculum that integrates core business fundamentals with specialized coursework, students develop expertise in their chosen field while honing critical thinking, strategic decision-making, and leadership capabilities.

Unlike traditional MBA programs, no prior work experience is required, making this program accessible to students from diverse academic and professional backgrounds. Whether you’re a recent graduate looking to accelerate your career or a professional aiming to transition into a new industry, our program offers the flexibility and support needed for success. Through classroom learning, hands-on projects, and real-world applications, students graduate ready to tackle complex business challenges and drive innovation in their fields.

The 36-unit program is offered over three terms and can be completed in 12 months (full-time) or 24 months (part-time). Classes are held in the evening, allowing students to balance their education with personal and professional commitments. Students who are not employed full-time can complete the program on an accelerated full-time schedule, while those who are working full-time are advised to enroll part-time due to the intensity of the coursework. Additionally, students benefit from the Meet the Leaders Series, an exclusive opportunity to engage with industry leaders and executives in an informal setting. This unique experience allows students to gain insights into contemporary business challenges and leadership strategies from professionals who have been on the frontlines of their organizations.

BA 601 (1): MBA Bridge

Quantitative skills, and business communications. Quantitative skills provides a refresher in basic business calculus and probability used in quantitative courses of the MBA Program. Business communications provides strategies for effective written and oral business communications.

Core Business Knowledge Courses

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BA 602 (2): Statistics for Business Decisions
Statistical inferences emphasizing applications to business decision-making. Include estimation, hypotheses testing, analysis of variance, goodness-of-fit and regression.
MGMT 604 (2): Human Resource Management
Introduction to the principles and practices of human resource management including employment law, HR planning/recruiting, selection, training, performance management and compensation/benefits. Presents theoretical and practical information relating to the “most important asset” in organizations today – people.
MKTG 602 (2): Marketing Management
Application of the basic concepts introduced in MKTG 502 using case studies focused on strategic decision-making. Case analyses focus on decisions related to products and services, pricing, distribution, promotion, and market entry.
MGMT 606 (2): Managing the Sustainable Enterprise
The role of business in building a sustainable world, what sustainability means to business, how it is measured and reported, and how to formulate and implement actionable value-generating strategies. Preparation for thriving in a changing business environment that values innovativeness and adaptability to current global challenges.
OM 602 (2): Operations and Supply Chain Management
The Operations Management course is designed to provide students with a comprehensive understanding of the principles and techniques essential for effective planning, organizing, and controlling of business processes and operations. Through a blend of theoretical concepts and practical applications, students will explore topics such as supply chain management, process design, capacity planning, inventory management, and production planning. Case studies and real-world examples will be utilized to foster critical thinking and problem-solving skills. By the end of the course, students will be equipped with the knowledge and tools to drive sustainable
improvements in operations.
MIS 602 (2): Management Information Systems
How does Information System (IS) add value? How can firms capture this value? This course examines these questions by discussing industry practices in the use of (IS). It introduces latest IS, and discusses its implications for operations, marketing, decision making, and eBusiness activities. It examines the role of technology and its evolution over time, factors that govern the choice of IS applications, and how IS influences business strategy. The course also covers key challenges in managing IS resources, and factors that limit business' ability to exploit the latest technologies.
ACCT 601 (1): Financial Accounting
Includes financial and managerial accounting modules. The financial accounting module introduces how firms prepare financial statements and how firms use financial statements to communicate financial conditions and results of operations to their stakeholders. The managerial accounting module addresses how accountants produce managerial accounting information for internal decision-making. Also includes environment of financial reporting, measurement framework and mechanics of financial accounting, analysis of financial statements, environment of managerial accounting, and use of cost information in management decision making.
FIN 601 (1): Foundation of Finance
Serves as a foundational guide to business finance, catering to both students majoring in the field and those with other focuses, gearing up for advanced finance classes. The central aim is to establish a groundwork encompassing essential frameworks, ideas, and resources used in the process of financial valuation, crucial for making sound decisions. Delves into a variety of subjects, which include Framework for valuation (Time value of money), Valuation of Bond and Stock, and relationship between Risk and return.
BA 675 (2): Strategic Management in Global Environment
How firms make strategic decisions, and how organizational structures, resources and capabilities, and strategic positioning enable firms to achieve competitive advantage in an increasingly dynamic, hypercompetitive and globalized environment. Several aspects of a firm’s strategy are emphasized, including business-level, corporate, international, and cooperative strategies.
FIN 602 (2): Corporate Finance
Provides students with a continuation of their exploration of the basic concepts and analytical techniques utilized in the field of financial management. Focuses on the financing decisions made by firms’ financial managers in their attempt to maximize shareholder wealth. Include advanced real investment proposal analysis, operating leverage, financial leverage, long-term capital structure, dividend policy, and financial engineering fundamentals.
ACCT 602 (2): Accounting for Managers

Includes financial accounting and managerial accounting modules. The financial accounting module discusses advance topics in preparing financial statements of its operating results. The managerial accounting module covers the use of managerial accounting information to make short-term and long-term business decisions. Also includes financial reporting for operating transactions, long-term assets and investments, financial reporting for financing activities, pricing decisions, activity-based costing, capital budgeting and other long-term decisions, budget planning and control, and decentralization and performance evaluation.

*Course is optional for Certificate of Advanced Study in Core Business Knowledge.

Business Analytics Specialization Courses

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OM 612 (2): Business Analytics
Introduction to the tools used extensively in business organizations to solve managerial problems. Such methods generate results that support decision-making at all levels of the organization over various time horizons. Includes deterministic such as linear, integer, and network optimization using Excel Solver, and probabilistic models such as decision analysis and Monte Carlo Simulation using Crystal Ball.
OM 613 (2): Descriptive Analytics
Introduces tools and techniques that create a summary of historical data to generate information and prepare the data for further analysis and gain insight into business applications. Data warehousing, data query, descriptive statistics, data visualization, dashboard design, and descriptive data mining using the software environment R.
Note: This is the first course in a series of three, which includes OM 615 and OM 617.

Prerequisite(s): BA 602 with a grade of C (2.0) or better.
OM 614 (2): Business Forecasting
Methods used to predict the uncertain nature of business trends in an effort to help managers make better decisions and plans. Study and manipulation of historical data in the search for patterns that can be effectively extrapolated to produce forecast. Includes exploring data patterns, moving averages and smoothing methods, regression with time series data, ARIMA methodology, and judgmental forecasting and forecast adjustment.
OM 615 (2): Advanced Predictive Analytics
Introduces building and implementation of models constructed from past data to predict the future or ascertain the impact of one variable on another in various business settings. Classification, clustering, association, artificial neural networks, and an introduction to machine learning using the software environment R.
Note: This is the second course in a series of three, which includes OM 613 and OM 617.

Prerequisite(s): OM 613 with a grade of C (2.0) or better.
OM 690-1 (2): Machine Learning for Business Analytics

This course provides an in-depth introduction to Machine Learning for Business Intelligence, including a range of models and algorithms for prediction, classification, dimension reduction, and network analytics, utilizing open-source software. The class emphasizes hands-on exercises and real business case studies. Also addresses managerial and ethical considerations essential for the responsible application of Machine Learning techniques.
OM 617 (2): Advanced Prescriptive Analytics
Introduces tools and techniques to determine the best solution or outcome among various choices, given the analysis of descriptive and predictive analytics in business settings. Decision analysis, decision trees, risk analysis, multi-criteria decision-making, and simulation optimization using the software environment R.
Note: This is the final course in a series of three, which includes OM 613 and OM 615.

Prerequisite(s): OM 612 and OM 615 with a grade of C (2.0) or better.

MASTER'S EXPERIENCE

BA 685 (3):

Culminating experience for Business Administration, Specialized M.B.A. students. Involves collaboration with local companies where students propose, research, and write a report that includes problem identification, evaluation of potential solution, discussion of the selected implementation, and evaluation of the results.

International Business Specialization Courses

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MGMT 612 (2): International Comparative Leadership
This course is designed to provide students with a comprehensive understanding of the impact of cultural differences on organizational leadership in the global business environment. It aims to equip students with the knowledge and practical skills to successfully navigate the challenges posed by diverse cultural values, norms, and communication styles in international organizations. The course will examine the leadership styles and effectiveness of business leaders in different regions of the world, drawing comparisons and contrasts between different approaches. Additionally, students will gain an overview of international human resources management,
exploring topics such as expatriation, repatriation, incentives alignment, labor issues, and global regulatory frameworks.
GBM 612 (2): International Culture and Negotiations
Understanding of how business practices of other countries are essential for creating relationships, reducing conflict, and developing more effective strategies with businesspeople in other cultures. Focuses on how to use an understanding of business behaviors, assumptions, values, and attitudes to negotiate and conduct business successfully in other cultures.
FIN 612 (2): International Finance
A guide to financial management in an increasingly globalized world, and in particular, to the financial management. Introduces foundational knowledge of international financial management, including international financial environments, foreign exchange markets, exchange rate determinants and currency derivatives. Includes analyses of foreign exchange exposure, hedging of foreign exchange risk, making financing and investing decisions for MNCs.
MKTG 614 (2): Global Marketing and Sales
Challenges of marketing and sales in a global economy, difficulties that arise when buyers and sellers come from different national or cultural backgrounds. Covers the impact of cultural, political and economic differences in international marketing, and the challenges of face-to-face personal selling efforts, particularly for industrial products in global markets.
GBM 614 (2): Executive Seminar: Doing Business in a Selected Country/Region
Involves a series of guest lectures from scholars and business leaders with expertise in particular countries or regions of the world. Potential countries/regions are Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (BRICS), Latin America, the EU, and other emerging markets throughout the world.
OM 616 (2): Global Supply Chain Management
Managing material and information flows in multi-stage production-distribution networks. The knowledge and tools for developing, implementing, and sustaining strategies for managing global supply chains. Basic supply chain issues are reviewed, followed by more advanced themes related to coordinating global supply chain players and the incentive problems related to this topic.

MASTER'S EXPERIENCE

GBM 685 (3): International Experience (Optional)

This culminating experience lasts ten weeks. Students spend the first five weeks at CSUSM preparing for the international experience. The second five weeks has two different tracks. International students remain in Southern California and engage in company visits and projects. Domestic students travel to one of the locations where the College has relationships (Denmark, Taiwan, China, Ecuador, India, etc.). There will be in-class lectures by local faculty and business leaders as well as visits to local businesses.

Supply Chain Management Specialization Courses

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OM 612 (2): Business Analytics
Introduction to the tools used extensively in business organizations to solve managerial problems. Such methods generate results that support decision-making at all levels of the organization over various time horizons. Includes deterministic such as linear, integer, and network optimization using Excel Solver, and probabilistic models such as decision analysis and Monte Carlo Simulation using Crystal Ball.
GBM 612 (2): International Culture and Negotiations
Understanding of how business practices of other countries are essential for creating relationships, reducing conflict, and developing more effective strategies with businesspeople in other cultures. Focuses on how to use an understanding of business behaviors, assumptions, values, and attitudes to negotiate and conduct business successfully in other cultures.
OM 634 (2): Global Procurement & Strategic Sourcing
Global procurement has become a way for organizations to meet the challenges of new marketers and global competitors while also creating shareholder and customer value. CEO’s and CFO’s recognize that their competitive success is linked to the performance of their procurement and strategic sourcing function. This course will focus on the tools, techniques, strategies, and processes used by world-class global procurement organizations. Role-playing simulations and case studies will be used. Topics include: make vs. buy analysis, strategic sourcing process, negotiation of supplier pricing and terms, contract management of commercial and government contracts, supplier management, risk management, and the Procure-to-Pay (P2) Process.
OM 632 (2): Sales and Operations Planning
Sales and Operations Planning (S7OP) is a senior management decision-making process that ensures that the tactical plans in all business functions are aligned and support the business plan. S&OP is the vital process to balance customer demand with supply capacity S&OP aims to better match supply and demand by managing supply using capacity, inventory, and outsourcing backlogs by managing demand using short-term price discounts and trade promotions. This course particularly focuses on three main concepts: demand planning, supply planning, and sales and operations planning. Topics include, but are not limited to, Demand Forecasting, Demand Shaping, Capacity Planning, Inventory Management, Material and Production Planning, Outsourcing, Aggregate Production Planning, Supply Chain Integration and Coordination, Consensus Forecast (Tactical S&OP), Collaboration (Sales/Operations/Finance/Business Development), Management review and KPI measurement, and S&OP simulation game.
OM 690-2 (2): Integrated Business and Supply Chain Solutions

This course provides strategic insights into modern business operations. Dives into Material Requirements Planning (MRP), Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), and Supply Chain (SC) technologies, focusing on how to integrate these systems for enhanced efficiency. Provides the chance to explore the complexities of global supply chains and learn how technology can facilitate real-time collaboration and visibility. Combines theoretical knowledge with practical case studies, equipping students to navigate the ever-evolving landscape of integrated business systems.
OM 616 (2): Global Supply Chain Management
Managing material and information flows in multi-stage production-distribution networks. The knowledge and tools for developing, implementing, and sustaining strategies for managing global supply chains. Basic supply chain issues are reviewed, followed by more advanced themes related to coordinating global supply chain players and the incentive problems related to this topic.

MASTER'S EXPERIENCE

BA 685 (3):

Strategic Sustainability Specialization Courses

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MGMT 611 (2): Strategy and Sustainability

Provides the frameworks and tools necessary to make strategic decisions that advance organizational performance on environmental and social issues. Examines how firms can integrate sustainability into their core strategies while responding to stakeholder expectations, regulatory pressures, and competitive dynamics through case studies, applied exercises, and analysis of real-world challenges. Designed for students interested in corporate responsibility, sustainable business models, and long-term value creation.
MGMT 613 (2): Social and Environmental Impact and Communication
Examines how organizations assess and report social and environmental impact to strengthen decision-making and enhance accountability. Explores the rationale for measuring impact and the challenges of doing so, with particular attention to the complexities of social impact assessment. Introduces and applies key frameworks and tools and certification systems, to evaluate impact, prepare sustainability reports, and communicate organizational social and environmental performance effectively. Emphasizes developing the skills to engage diverse stakeholders through transparent and strategic communication of results.
MGMT 614 (2): Managing Sustainability: Strategy, Metrics, and Investment

Equips sustainability managers with tools to evaluate risks and opportunities, interpret sustainability reporting frameworks, and collaborate with finance and accounting professionals. Emphasizes strategic decision-making. Instructs on building business cases for sustainability initiatives, designing internal performance systems, and communicating sustainability outcomes to stakeholders. Bridges sustainability strategy with financial fluency across corporate, nonprofit, and public-sector contexts.
MGMT 615 (2): Managing Public and Private Partnerships and Collaborations
Explores how public and private interests intersect through partnerships, collaborations, alliances, and hybrid organizations. Focuses on relationships among governments, nonprofits, and corporations, and the challenges that arise when goals conflict. Covers governance, accountability, funding, sustainability, and scaling. Evaluates opportunities and challenges in managing public–private partnerships and hybrid organizations, with emphasis on engaging internal and external stakeholders.
MGMT 616 (2): Sustainability Decision-Making in a Dynamic World

Explores how organizations can make strategic decisions to achieve and maintain social and environmental value creation in the face of a rapidly changing external business environment. Drawing on the PESTELE framework—Political, Economic, Sociocultural, Technological, Ecological, Legal, and Ethical—students will analyze how shifts in the macro-environment create new challenges and opportunities for sustainability-oriented firms. Emphasizes practical tools, frameworks, and case analyses to assess external changes and design responsive organizational strategies that support long-term sustainability goals.
MGMT 617 (2): Design and Systems Thinking for Cross-Sector Sustainability

Explores design and systems thinking as tools for addressing complex sustainability challenges. Covers stakeholder mapping, feedback loops, prototyping, leverage points, and managing wicked problems. Applies these methods to develop innovative, cross-sector solutions to environmental, social, and economic issues, with an emphasis on collaboration, systems analysis, and strategic problem-solving across public, private, and nonprofit contexts.

MASTER'S EXPERIENCE

BA 685 (3):