Earning a Master of Business Administration (MBA) can fast-track your career and help you achieve your professional goals. But what precisely would you like to do with your MBA? Are you looking for versatility and flexibility in your career? Or are you interested in pursuing and excelling in a specific area of business?
These are all important questions to ask yourself when choosing an MBA program. After all, your specific interests should inform what you study in school. In order to address the specific interests of different students, Southern Utah University’s (SUU) Dixie L. Leavitt School of Business offers four online MBA options: MBA – General Emphasis, MBA – Finance Emphasis, MBA – Marketing Emphasis and MBA – Leadership Emphasis.
What Are the Similarities Between These MBA Areas of Emphasis?
All of SUU’s online MBA emphases are based on the same foundation of business studies. Core courses cover topics like organizational management, accounting, strategy and supply chain management. Plus, all students study the fundamentals of the specialization areas of emphasis, namely finance, marketing and leadership. Central to all of these studies is the development of critical thinking, problem-solving, decision-making and strategic analysis. These skills are essential to being effective in any managerial role in business and, as such, are highly valued by employers.
Focusing on management theory and knowledge-building combined with project-based learning and skill development, this degree program takes an experiential approach to MBA studies. Allowing students to apply what they learn to practice can help deepen that learning. This is a fundamental tenet of studies in all of SUU’s online MBA emphases.
Beyond the shared content of SUU’s MBA areas of emphasis, all four of these online degree programs follow the same structure as far as cost, timeframe and educational requirements. Total tuition for any of SUU’s online MBA programs is $16,269 — each credit hour costs $493 and 33 credit hours are required for degree completion. With eight-week long courses and multiple start dates, these programs are flexible and convenient, ideal for the modern, working professional. In addition, this calendar structure provides students with the opportunity to complete the MBA program in as few as 12 months.
What Are the Differences Between These MBA Areas of Emphasis?
As far as course requirements go, these programs differ only in the elective courses students take. With the exception of the general area of emphasis, students take two required electives according to their chosen MBA areas of emphasis and one additional elective from the other specialization areas. But, of course, the areas of emphasis also differ in each student’s intent and focus throughout their MBA experience. This is reflected in the types of projects and experiences students choose, especially in the MBA capstone course on strategy.
Finance Emphasis
Required electives for the finance emphasis focus on the advanced study of investments and valuation. This degree program can help hone students’ abilities in financial analysis, forecasting and other such topics in financial management. Students can apply what they learn through these studies to many professional roles in financial management and analysis, whether working independently as consultants or for organizations of any size and type.
Marketing Emphasis
Electives in this MBA emphasis focus on analytics-driven decision-making and marketing research methodologies, as well as the design and execution of effective strategies based on analysis and research. Coursework in this area of emphasis emphasizes both time-tested marketing methods and emerging strategies and trends, preparing students to manage the turbulence and rapid change involved in modern marketing work.
Leadership Emphasis
Logically, this emphasis prepares students to be effective in leadership roles at the manager, director or executive level. Elective coursework focuses on helping students explore and refine their personal leadership styles as well as develop the ability to build and maintain well-functioning teams.
General Emphasis
Candidates in this area of emphasis can choose any three elective courses from the other MBA emphasis elective offerings. This emphasis can work well for students who want to create their own unique degree focused on their particular combination of interests. On the other hand, it could also be ideal for a student who wants versatility and flexibility in skill sets and career pursuits. For example, an aspiring entrepreneur who may have to take on various roles within a startup could benefit from the versatility of generalized business studies.
Through electives and focused, project-based learning, SUU’s online MBA emphasis specializations allow students to tailor their education to their individual learning goals. Yet, these customizable degree programs also share much in common, providing each student the breadth of skills and knowledge necessary for success across a range of professional pursuits in business.
Learn more about Southern Utah University’s online MBA programs.
Sources:
Forbes: What Are the Most Important Skills Entrepreneurs Need?
The Balance Careers: Top Management Skills Employers Value With Examples
BizFluent: What Types of Skills Are Required to Be a Financial Manager
