Flex MBA
Customize Your MBA
MBA Career Pathways
MBA career pathways allow students to customize their degree through a focus on interdisciplinary, cutting-edge skills that are in high demand. MBA career pathways comprise three courses plus an immersive experience that involves solving a real business problem in a real business setting that introduces students to working with real industry partners.
Analytics Consulting
Students who complete the Analytics Consulting career pathway will emerge ready to advise top management of companies on how to use their data to create value for their business: pinpointing what business issues to tackle; deciding what data would help solve those problems; and communicating the projects’ process, results and next steps. They will be equipped to make big picture decisions using the latest analytics techniques.
The pathway will include course options such as:
- Data Management for Analytics
- Business Modeling
- Data Mining
- Statistical Modeling
- Big Data Analytics
- Machine Learning Analytics
Commercializing Innovation
A modern company’s success hinges on the ability to recognize, pursue and develop innovative technologies and approaches to doing business. Students who pursue the Commercializing Innovation career pathway will develop this critical competency. They will learn how to build organizational cultures and structures that generate employee buy-in and permit firms to efficiently executive business plans, as well as how to secure the funding necessary to innovate and ultimately capture economic value.
The pathway will include course options such as:
- Improving the Customer Experience
- Innovating Customer Value
- Leading for Entrepreneurship
- Financing Innovation
- Corporate Financial Strategy
- Blockchain and Business Disruption
Digital Marketing
Firms that implement marketing strategies fusing information technology and analytics consistently achieve superior performance and growth. Students who finish this pathway will build a solid foundation in digital and data-driven marketing, and manage organizational performance based on cutting-edge customer insights.
The pathway will include course options such as:
- Marketing Intelligence
- Digital Marketing Analytics
- Data Mining
- Digital and Social Media Marketing
- Data-Driven Marketing
- Information Technology Project Management
Digital Transformation of Organizations
The Digital Transformation of Organizations career pathway prepares students to facilitate change by leveraging tools such as cloud computing, mobile devices and social media. Students who complete the pathway will be equipped with the skills and strategies to create value, drive organizational effectiveness and achieve global growth.
The pathway will include course options such as:
- Leading Organizational Change
- Coaching for Leadership
- Process Innovation
- Enterprise Resource Planning Systems
Fintech
The Fintech career pathway identifies recent technological advances in the financial services field. Students will gain a deep understanding of the latest industry innovations including blockchain technology, cybersecurity and unstructured data analytics, and learn how to leverage these disruptive changes in order to create value for their firms.
The pathway will include course options such as:
- Cybersecurity
- Disruptive Technologies
- Fundamentals of Database Management Systems
- Data Programming for Analytics
- Financial Data Analytics
- Unstructured Data Analytics
- Introduction to Fintech
- Blockchain and Business Disruption
- Financing Innovation
- International Marketing and Policy
Healthcare Enterprise Management
The Healthcare Enterprise Management career pathway focuses on the integration of IT and healthcare management systems. Students will cover topics such as ERP systems, mobile health technologies and predictive analytics in healthcare, and learn how these innovations can advance the field.
The pathway will include course options such as:
- Systems Integration
- ERP Systems
- Security and Privacy of Information Systems
- Mobile Health: Technologies and Applications
- Introduction to Healthcare Systems
- Health Economics
- Health Information Systems
- Predictive Analytics in Healthcare
Leading in Global Business
The Leading in Global Business career pathway prepares students to lead firms that operate on a global scale. Students will not only build an in-depth view of global business operations but also study cross-cultural communication, skillful negotiation, and designing and driving organizational change.
The pathway will include course options such as:
- Analyzing International Business Problems
- Leading Organizational Change
- International Negotiations
- Financial and Managerial Decisions: A Study Abroad Experience
- Special Topics in International Business
Dual Degrees
The most popular dual degrees among Flex MBA students are:
- MBA/Master of Health Administration (MHA) »
- MBA/ Master of Science in Analytics (MSA) »
- MBA/Juris Doctor (JD) »
- MBA/MHA/JD »
Flex MBA students can pursue dual degrees with all the other colleges at Georgia State as well.
For more information on dual degrees, contact:
MBA/JD
Trista Highfill
thighfill@gsu.edu
404-413-7271
MBA/MHA and MBA/MHA/JD
Olivia J. Wise
owise@gsu.edu
404-413-7271
MBA Concentrations
Accounting
The mission of the accounting concentration is to prepare individuals to become leaders in financial reporting and assurance services in public accounting or industry. While the MBA program enhances general management abilities, the accounting concentration focuses specifically on financial reporting skills in a global economy, assurance service skills in a variety of organizational contexts and financial analysis skills.
Required Courses:
- ACCT 8130 – Advanced Accounting Topics
- ACCT 8420 – Special Topics in Financial Accounting
- ACCT 8610 – Advanced Topics in Assurance Services
- ACCT 8700 – Financial Statement & Business Analysis
For more information, contact:
Larry Ashmore
404-413-7219
lashmore@gsu.edu
Actuarial Science
The MBA program provides the skills needed by future business leaders and future management consultants, such as creative decision-making, leadership and the ability to work as a member of a team. The actuarial science concentration focuses on mathematical modeling. Qualified students who wish to acquire both sets of skills should enroll in the MBA program with a concentration in actuarial science. Applicants will be required to meet the admission requirements for both the MBA and the master of actuarial science programs.
Required Courses (select 12 hours from the following):
- AS 8340 – Life Contingencies I
- AS 8350 – Insurance Mathematics (Life Contingencies II)
- AS 8430 – Loss Distributions and Credibility Theory
- AS 8520 – Principles of Property and Casualty Ratemaking
- AS 8810 – Actuarial Science Graduate Seminar
- ECON 8740 – Applied Statistics and Econometrics
- MRM 8320 – Introduction to Stochastic Actuarial Models
- MRM 8610 – Financial Engineering I
- MRM 8620 – Financial Engineering II
- MRM 8630 – Stochastic Interest Rate and Credit Models
For more information, contact:
Haci Akcin
Faculty Director
hakcin1@gsu.edu
404-413-7467
Business Analysis
The overall goal of the concentration in business analysis is to provide the student with specialized training in the use of advanced analytical techniques for managerial decision making. These areas span statistical data analysis, management science, business intelligence and decision support systems. This concentration also prepares students for Six Sigma certification. The contextual topics include data warehousing, data mining, online analytical processing, enterprise resource planning and supply chain management. This concentration prepares students for careers in business analysis, financial analysis, marketing analysis, operations analysis, strategic analysis and corporate planning. Students will be prepared for the utilization of information technology for corporate decision making.
Required Courses:
- MGS 8020 – Business Intelligence
- MGS 8040 – Data Mining
- MGS 8150 – Business Modeling
Electives (select one course from the following):
- MGS 8110 – Applied Regression Analysis
- MGS 8140 – Management Science Modeling
- MGS 8170 – Statistical Modeling
- MGS 8710 – Operations Planning
- MGS 8760 – Quality Management
For more information, contact:
Satish Nargundkar
404-413-7541
snargundkar@gsu.edu
Business Economics
The mission of the MBA concentration in business economics is to prepare students with a deeper understanding of economics in the corporate and business environment. More specifically, the program endeavors to build a solid background in micro and macroeconomic theory, equip students with an extensive knowledge of analytical and statistical techniques, provide expertise and practice in applying theory and quantitative tools to actual business problems, and ensure that students are able to communicate this information both in a technical way to peers and in a more general way for decision-making by upper management.
Electives (select 12 hours from the following):
- ECON 8100 – Applied Microeconomic Analysis
- ECON 8110 – Macroeconomic Analysis
- ECON 8180 – Applied Economic Analysis
- ECON 8430 – Theory of the Firm and Business Strategy
- ECON 8440 – Industrial Organization and Antitrust Economics
- ECON 8710 – Introduction to Statistical Foundations for Econometrics
- ECON 8860 – Economics of Global Finance
- ECON 8740 – Applied Statistics and Econometrics 1
- ECON 8780 – Financial Econometrics
- ECON 8840 – Applied Statistics and Econometrics 2
For more information, contact:
Jon Mansfield
404-413-0151
Jon.Mansfield@gsu.edu
Entrepreneurship
The mission of the entrepreneurship concentration is to equip individuals with the innovation skills to craft next generation solutions. While the MBA program enhances general management abilities, the entrepreneurship concentration focuses specifically on preparing graduates to innovate, lead and execute change. The methods, tools and techniques taught are valuable to those chasing their own entrepreneurial pursuits or taking their talents to a well-established organization.
Required Courses:
- ENI 8000 – Organizational Entrepreneurship
- ENI 8101 – Improving the Customer Experience
- ENI 8102 – Innovating Customer Value
Electives (select one from the following):
- ENI 8301 – Managing for Dynamic Growth
- ENI 8302 – Leading for Entrepreneurship
- IB 8100 – International Entrepreneurship
- MGS 8420 – Enhancing Leadership Skills
- MGS 8425 – Coaching for Leadership
- MGS 8430 – Negotiation
Finance
The mission of the MBA with a concentration in finance is to prepare students to become leaders in the corporate finance, financial services, and asset and wealth management industries. The program of study provides students with the decision-making, analytical and technical skills required for success in today’s financial environment.
To complete an MBA concentration in finance, 12 additional semester hours of 8000-level finance courses are required beyond MBA 8135. FI 8070 – Leading the Finance Function may be taken as a free elective but does not count toward a finance concentration.
Dual Concentration Option
Students who complete the following set of courses as part of their MBA program will qualify for dual concentrations in the areas of both finance as well as risk management and insurance:
- FI 8000 – Valuation of Financial Assets
- FI 8200 – Derivative Markets I
- RMI 8050 – Risk Management Modeling
- RMI 8370 – Financial Risk Management
For more information, contact:
Gerald Gay
404-413-7321
ggay@gsu.edu
General Business
This concentration comprises 12 credit hours of Robinson coursework.
For more information, contact:
Jermaine Clarke
404-413-7338
jclarke@gsu.edu
Health Administration
Required Courses:
- HA 8160 – Introduction to the Health Care System
- HA 8190 – Health Policy & Ethics
- HA 8250 – Health Economics & Financing
- HA 8440 – Executive Leadership in Healthcare
- HA 8550 – Healthcare Financial Management and Planning
- HA 8670 – Health Information Systems
- HA 8680 – Care Management and Delivery Systems
For more information, contact:
Andrew T. Sumner
404-413-7634
asumner@gsu.edu
Health Informatics
The goal of the MBA concentration in health informatics is to provide students with specialized skills to improve healthcare services enabled by information technology. Such improvements focus on the information-intensive nature of healthcare institutions and processes to increase the quality and reduce the cost of healthcare services.
Required Courses:
- CIS 8070 – Pervasive Healthcare Technologies
- CIS 8080 – Security and Privacy of Information and Information Systems
- HA 8160 – Introduction to the Health Care System
- HA 8670 – Health Information Systems
Suggested Electives:
- CIS 8010 – Process Innovation
- CIS 8000 – IT Project Management
- HA 8550 – Health Planning and Financial Management
- CIS 8090 – Enterprise Architecture
For more information, contact:
Abhay Mishra
404-413-7638
amishra@gsu.edu
Hospitality Administration
The MBA concentration in hospitality administration provides an industry-based specialization in a global context. Combined with the general business curriculum of the MBA program, individuals can apply management and analytical abilities in hospitality industry sectors such as hotels and lodging, tourism, mega-event planning, venue management and restaurant/catering operations.
Required Courses (select 12 hours from the following):
- HADM 8100 – Hospitality and Tourism Management
- HADM 8400 – Financial Management Applications for Hospitality Enterprises
- HADM 8500 – Economic and Cultural Impact of Travel and Tourism
- HADM 8600 – Trends in the Food Service Industry
- HADM 8700 – Trends in the Hotel Industry
- MGS 8300 – Human Resources Management
- MK 8800 – Services Marketing
For more information, contact:
Debby Cannon
404-413-7617
dfcannon@gsu.edu
Human Resources Management
Required Courses:
- MGS 8300 – Human Resources Management
- MGS 8360 – Human Resources Recruitment and Selection
- MGS 8390 – Strategic Compensation
Electives (take at least one of the following):
- MGS 8320 – Legal and Ethical Environment of Human Resource Management
- MGS 8380 – Strategic Human Resource Management
For more information, contact:
Pam Barr
404-413-7527
pbarr3@gsu.edu
Information Systems
In today’s highly competitive global environment, the effective deployment of information technology has become the key to organizational success. There is a continuing shortage of individuals with the combination of business and technology skills needed to develop and manage information systems that provide competitive advantage in the global marketplace. The mission of the MBA concentration in information systems is to produce graduates able to fill this need. Students will learn how to combine their general business knowledge with the latest software engineering tools and techniques to create information systems needed by today’s organizations.
For a managerial emphasis, select 12 hours from the following:
- CIS 8000 – Information Technology Project Management
- CIS 8010 – Business Process Innovation
- CIS 8060/CPI 8060 – Supply Chain Management
- CIS 8080/ACCT 8680 – Security and Privacy of Information and Information Systems
- CIS 8100 – Management of Information Services
- CIS 8125 – IT Management
- CIS 8200 – Information Systems Strategy
- CIS 8210 – Global Systems Sourcing
- CIS 8220/IB 8710 – International Information Technology Issues and Policy
- CIS 8670 – Enterprise Resource Planning Systems (ERP)
For a technical emphasis, select 12 hours from the following:
- CIS 8020 – Systems Integration
- CIS 8030 – Software Requirements Management
- CIS 8040 – Database Management Systems
- CIS 8050 – Business Telecommunications and Networks
- CIS 8070 – Pervasive Healthcare Technologies
- CIS 8090 – Enterprise Architectures
- CIS 8260 – Knowledge Management
- CIS 8300 – Software Quality Management
- CIS 8310 – Systems Development
- CIS 8399 – Advanced Topics in Systems Development
- CIS 8499 – Advanced Topics in Telecommunications
- CIS 8670 – Enterprise Resource Planning Systems (ERP)
- CIS 8850 – Web Application Development
For more information, contact:
Veda Storey
404-413-7477
vstorey@gsu.edu
International Business
Businesses continue to explore international opportunities as globalization expands. A concentration in international business opens up exciting career opportunities for managers with an MBA. The program offers an opportunity to build a sound foundation in international business, preparing students for careers in an increasingly interconnected global business environment. The concentration offers a flexible learning experience that extends functional skills to deal with managerial issues in the international marketplace as well as enhance students’ intercultural awareness and effectiveness.
Capstone Course:
- IB 8990 – Policy and Strategy in the International Marketplace
This replaces MBA 8820 as the MBA capstone requirement.
Electives (select 9 hours from the following):
- IB 8080 – Legal Aspects of International Business
- IB 8092 – Analyzing International Business Problems
- IB 8100 – International Entrepreneurship
- IB 8180 – Doing Business in Emerging Markets
- IB 8190 – Doing Business in World Regions
- IB 8400 – International Exchange Program Credit
- IB 8410 – Study Abroad
- IB 8550 – Special Topics in International Business
- IB 8620 – Commercial Diplomacy
- IB 8630 – International Business Negotiation
- IB 8680 – Technology and Global Competition
- IB 8690 – Global Operations Management
- IB 8710 – International Information Technology Issues and Policy
- MGS 8860 – Management and Cross-National Environments (Study Abroad)
- MK 8600 – International Marketing
- RE 8600 – International Real Estate
- RMI 8350 – International Risk and Insurance
- TX 8300 – International Aspects of Taxation
- ACCT 8090 – International Accounting Practices
- CIS 8060 – Supply Chain Management
- ECON 8850 – International Trade
- ECON 8860 – Economics of Global Finance
- FI 8040 – Survey of International Finance
- FI 8240 – Global Portfolio Management
- FI 8340 – Multinational Corporate Finance
- FI 8440 – Finance and Banking in the Global Economy
For more information, contact:
Daniel Bello
404-413-7658
dbello@gsu.edu
Marketing
Marketing is a dynamic and changing discipline, focusing on understanding and satisfying customer wants and needs. The marketing concentration is designed to provide students with specialized training in the use of advanced marketing techniques. Based on their interests and career objectives, students can develop expertise across a variety of themes, including brand and customer management, marketing analysis and analytics, and business-to-business marketing and professional sales.
Required Courses (select 12 hours from the following):
- MK 8010 – Marketing Metrics
- MK 8100 – Consumer Behavior
- MK 8200 – Marketing Research
- MK 8300 – Marketing Communications and Promotion
- MK 8330 – – Strategic Selling
- MK 8340 Strategic Sales Leadership
- MK 8400 – Channels of Distribution
- MK 8410 – Logistics Management
- MK 8510 – Business to Business Marketing
- MK 8600 – International Marketing
- MK 8620 – Product Management
- MK 8700 – Digital and Social Media Marketing
- MK 8705 – Digital Marketing Analytics
- MK 8710 – Customer Relationship Management
- MK 8715 – Brand and Customer Analytics
- MK 8720 – Data Driven Marketing
- MK 8730 – Marketing Engineering
For more information, contact:
Bruce K. Pilling
404-413-7673
bpilling@gsu.edu
Operations Management
The operations management concentration is designed to equip students with management skills and operational tools in the design, development, and distribution of products and services. The concentration prepares students to pursue a career in operations and supply chain management, which can include a diverse range of job opportunities including purchasing, project management, inventory management, quality management, logistics and supply chain management, and consulting.
Electives (select 12 hours from the following):
- MGS 8710 – Logistics and Supply Chains
- MGS 8730 – Project Management
- MGS 8740 – Operations Strategy
- MGS 8760 – Quality Management
- MGS 8770 – Service Operations Management
- CIS 8060 – Supply Chain Management
- IB 8690 – Global Operations Management
For more information, contact:
Peter Zhang
404-413-7557
gpzhang@gsu.edu
Organization Management
The concentration in organization management is designed to help professionals as they move into managerial roles and begin to focus more on working through the complexities of organizations to accomplish tasks. These complexities include elements of organizational structure, working with people to accomplish tasks and dealing with political realities of the workplace.
Electives (select 12 hours from the following):
- MGS 8420 – Enhancing Leadership Skills
- MGS 8425 – Coaching for Leadership
- MGS 8430 – Negotiation
- MGS 8435 – Power in Organizations
- MGS 8450 – Leading Organizational Change
- MGS 8500 – Entrepreneurship and Enterprise
- MGS 8510 – Business Plan Development
- MGS 8730 – Project Management
- MGS 8860 – Management Studies Abroad
For more information, contact:
Ed Miles
404-413-7540
emiles@gsu.edu
Real Estate
The real estate concentration in the MBA program is designed to prepare individuals to manage the real estate interests of firms in any industry. While the MBA program provides broad understanding of business operations and enhances general management abilities, the real estate concentration focuses on strategically employing real estate assets to contribute to the financial success of the firm.
Required Courses (select 12 hours from the following):
- RE 8000 – Real Estate Concepts and Practices
- RE 8020 – Real Estate Equity Investments
- RE 8030 – Real Estate Financing
- RE 8035 – Real Estate Investments Trusts
- RE 8040 – Legal and Regulatory Environment of Real Estate
- RE 8050 – Real Estate Development
- RE 8060 – Applied Real Estate Market Analysis
- RE 8070 – Quantitative Analysis for Real Estate
- RE 8080 – Real Estate Project Planning and Development
- RE 8090 – Real Estate Case Analysis
- RE 8100 – Strategic Management of Real Property in a Corporate Environment
- RE 8400 – Advanced Real Estate Investment Analysis
- RE 8450 – Taxation of Real Estate Investment
For more information, contact:
Jon Wiley
404-413-7728
jwiley@gsu.edu
Risk Management and Insurance
The curriculum for an MBA concentration in risk management and insurance can comprise any 8000-level RMI-prefixed courses.
In addition to the general concentration described above, the department participates in a hybrid degree program that leads to a specialization in financial risk management. Students completing the financial risk management specialization will earn a dual concentration in risk management and insurance as well as finance. The specialization is designed to prepare students to work in the treasury departments of non-financial firms or as professionals in the financial risk management departments in financial institutions or consultancies.
Required Courses:
- FI 8000 – Valuation of Financial Assets
- RMI 8050 – Risk Management Modeling
- FI 8200 – Derivative Markers I
- RMI 8370 – Financial Risk Management
For more information, contact:
Haci Akcin
Faculty Director
hakcin1@gsu.edu
404-413-7467