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The Chico State Online MBA Curriculum

The Online MBA curriculum at Chico State offers the best of all worlds: mastering well-rounded business knowledge and leadership attributes, the opportunity to target your degree toward a specific career path, and immediately actionable professional skills delivered quickly and efficiently. Whether you plan to pursue one of our specializations or take a more general route toward broad business expertise, the Online MBA can get you where you need to go.

Explore the innovative, high-impact courses that comprise the Online MBA curriculum, and see how you can craft an MBA experience to help you excel in any career path.

Prerequisite Courses*

To ensure preparedness for the course content of the Online MBA program, all students must either pass the following prerequisite courses or demonstrate sufficient professional experience to waive them:

  • ACCT 201: Introduction to Financial Accounting (or equivalent)
    • Required for ACCT 615 and FINA 655
  • ACCT 202: Introduction to Managerial Accounting (or equivalent)
    • Prerequisite: ACCT 201; required for ACCT 615
  • MATH 108: Statistics of Business and Economics (or equivalent)
  • ECON 103: Principles of Microeconomics Analysis (or equivalent)

Online students are strongly encouraged to take these courses prior to the beginning of their first term at Chico State, although students may begin taking Online MBA courses without having all prerequisite courses completed. Most students with an undergraduate business degree will likely have met all of these requirements.

To make this process more efficient and effective for you—as well as to save you time and money—the MATH 108 and ECON 103 requirements can be fulfilled by enrolling in online, non-credit bearing, self-paced leveling courses offered by Peregrine Academic Services. Leveling courses (also called modules) are meant to give non-business majors the basic information they need to succeed in our graduate courses. ACCT 201 and ACCT 202 must be taken as credit-bearing courses, either at Chico State or at another institution.

*Courses completed that are equivalent to the listed prerequisites (ACCT 201, ACCT 202, MATH 108, ECON 103, or equivalents), must be less than 10 years old and students should have earned a C or higher in the course. Prerequisite equivalents completed 10 or more years ago, or where a grade lower than a C was earned, may need to be retaken. In a rare exception, some dated prerequisites may be waived if the applicant has extensive and current knowledge in a relevant area. For example, the program may waive the two accounting prerequisites for someone that was an accounting major and has been actively working in accounting.

Quick View: Online MBA and Specialization Tracks

Get a quick overview of the courses required for each of the program tracks by clicking on your desired program below.

General Online MBA

Core Courses

  • ACCT 615: Accounting for Managers
  • BCOM 504: Effective Business Communications for Career Success
  • BSIS 610: Business Analytics
  • FINA 655: Seminar in Financial Management
  • MGMT 635: Seminar in Management
  • MGMT 647: Seminar in Leadership, Global Ethics, and Corporate Social Responsibility
  • MKTG 673: Seminar in Strategic Marketing
  • OSCM 607: Operations Planning and Execution
  • BADM 693: Seminar in Strategic Management Capstone
  • BADM 679: Competitive Business Simulation

FAST Electives
(Student choose from one of the three options.)

  • BSIS 501: Advanced Excel Analysis and Reporting
  • MKTG 502: CRM/Salesforce Knowledge and Applications
  • MGMT 504: Everyday Project Management: Knowledge and Applications

Core Courses

ACCT 615: Accounting for Managers (3 units)

Accounting information is used by stakeholders including firm managers, investors, and creditors to manage risk, measure performance, strategize, and make useful decisions. Understanding and application of the concepts that guide accounting, the flow of information through the accounting system, the nature of various types of accounts, the individual financial statements and the analytical techniques used by stakeholders to make effective business decisions.

Prerequisite: Undergraduate financial and managerial accounting courses (ACCT 201, ACCT 202, or equivalents). Prerequisites waived with appropriate academic or professional experience.

BCOM 504: Effective Business Communications for Career Success (1.5 units)

Effective business communication is central to success in business. Students will learn how to be an effective and persuasive communicator. Course will focus on how to clearly communicate in a professional environment that may include interpersonal interactions, written communications, presentations, and the appropriate use of technology and digital tools to facilitate communication. This course will allow students to develop a deeper understanding of their professional goals and career aspirations and how to turn this into a strategic career communications plan.

BSIS 610: Business Analytics (3 units)

An examination of applications and information system platforms designed to support and improve business decision-making. Exposure to relevant quantitative methods and their potential business value, combined with hands-on use of current technology. Case studies requiring the development of clearly communicated recommendations supported by sound analysis.

FINA 655: Seminar in Financial Management (3 units)

Survey of academic literature in managerial finance, with particular emphasis on recent developments in theory and application. Prerequisite: Undergraduate financial accounting course (ACCT 201). Prerequisite waived with appropriate academic or professional experience.

MGMT 635: Seminar in Management (3 units)

Study of current theory and research in organizational behavior and organizational design, emphasizing managerial applications. Includes ethical, environmental, technological, and international considerations.

MGMT 647: Seminar in Leadership, Global Ethics, and Corporate Social Responsibility (3 units)

A large variety of readings, cases, and written assignments are used to examine the role of leadership, global ethics, and corporate social responsibility in organizations. The course emphasizes the theoretical and practical application of leadership and decision-making models and their interaction with ethical and socially responsible outcomes. Effective leaders must communicate well. The course gives students the opportunity to improve their written and oral communication skills. This is a writing-intensive course. Passing the course with a B- or higher fulfills the Graduate School's writing proficiency requirement.

MKTG 673: Seminar in Strategic Marketing (3 units)

A study of marketing concepts and strategies, such as demand analysis, product/market positioning, distribution, promotion, and pricing strategies. Emphasis on integrating such concepts and strategies into strategic marketing programs.

OSCM 607: Operations Planning and Execution (3 units)

This course provides an overview of the operations management process. The operations management field includes the primary functions of business. These central functions of an organization are responsible for the creation and delivery of goods and services. This course will assist the student in developing both quantitative and qualitative skills to utilize current methodologies, systems, and technology to plan, execute, implement, and analyze performance of the organization and its resources. The topic area of quality management will be a significant segment of this course.

BADM 693: Seminar in Strategic Management Capstone (3 units)

A case-oriented, interdisciplinary capstone seminar. Emphasis is on the analysis of complex business problems via the integration of the subject matter of all previous program courses. Linking the firm's internal and external environments from the total-enterprise perspective of the general manager, this course undertakes a systematic inquiry into the strategic management and administrative business policy issues pertaining to the organization's performance and effectiveness. Capstone students will participate in project teams and undertake a comprehensive consulting experience with a client organization as an integral component of the course.

Focused Applied Strategic Training (FAST) Elective Courses

All courses are three weeks in length and worth 1.5 units. Students chose one from the three options. FAST elective courses are only available to students enrolled in the general MBA path.

BSIS 501: Advanced Excel Analysis and Reporting (1.5 units)

Advanced spreadsheet skills are valued by employers across all functions and industries. The knowledge and skills learned from this course will help students improve management decision-making and effectiveness. In this course students will learn to master extremely useful advanced analysis and reporting skills including creating dynamic reports and charts with PivotTables, understanding the power of conditional logic and IF statements, the power of VLOOKUP, the efficiency and effectiveness of Macros, how to present an analysis in a meaningful and persuasive manner, and more. The course is meant for all levels, but it is preferred that students enter the course with basic Excel skills.

MKTG 502: CRM/Salesforce Knowledge and Applications (1.5 units)

Organizations today rely on deep customer and market data to better identify valuable customers and to understand how to most effectively manage customer relationships and the sales channel. Students will comprehend the current underpinnings of customer relationship management (CRM) approaches. Students will learn how CRM improves communication and collaboration across an organization and facilitates more productive, data-driven business decision-making. This course will give students hands-on experience with a leading CRM platform, Salesforce.

MGMT 504: Everyday Project Management Knowledge and Skills (1.5 units)

Working in an organization means working on projects. Managing projects is complicated and requires managers to be quick, flexible, adaptable, data and action-oriented. Managers face shortened product cycles, narrow launch windows, increased reliance on teams, and frequent, unexpected events. This three-week course will introduce students to the concepts driving modern-day project management and give students the ability to initiate, plan, and execute projects using standard project management tools efficiently and effectively. This course in everyday project management is not meant for students in the project management option, but for students that strive to quickly learn how to be more organized, deliberate, and successful in their initiation and completion of projects.

Specialization Courses

General Path Courses

BADM 679: Competitive Business Simulation (3 units)

This course provides deep engagement with all aspects of running a virtual business. Students will make data-driven decisions based on analysis of their business’s market, sales strategy, manufacturing, financials, and competitive environment. Student teams will compete against each other as they try to maximize customer satisfaction, profitability, market share, return on assets, earning per share, and more. The competitive business simulation is a thoroughly engaging experience in which students can bridge theory and practice and test out their business acumen in a dynamic, complex simulated environment.

Health Services Administration Courses

PHHA 631: Healthcare Delivery and Payment Systems (3 units)

This course will provide an overview of the healthcare delivery system and payment systems in the United States. Students will examine: 1) the major delivery and financing components of the system as well as the roles and responsibilities of system participants, 2) various payment models and how they affect cost containment and utilization and 3) emerging trends in healthcare delivery and payment.

PHHA 634: Healthcare Quality Control Management (3 units)

This course provides students with an understanding of healthcare quality management and management engineering techniques. Regulatory and payment factors influencing quality improvement in health services are examined.

PHHA 633: Healthcare Financial Management (3 units)

(Prereq: Financial Accounting, ACCT 201 or equivalent)

This course provides an overview of general financial management as well as financial management specific to health services organizations. It covers payer contract analysis, financial considerations of capitation and related financial decision-making for both nonprofit and for-profit health services entities.

PHHA-POLS 635: Healthcare Policy (1.5 units)

This course will analyze private and public political forces which impact how healthcare is delivered and paid for in the United States and the major political issues related to health services.

PHHA-POLS 638: Healthcare Law (1.5 units)

This course focuses on the study of specific areas of health services related laws and regulations with an emphasis on the analysis of legal and regulatory issues, including regulatory, compliance, torts and patient rights, and responsibilities.

PHHA 695: Capstone Seminar in Health Services Administration (3 units)

Students will work in teams to develop a comprehensive healthcare-related business plan. Students will identify a specific type of healthcare organization and select an appropriate market for that organization. The business plan requires the application of strategic planning, healthcare laws and regulations, management principles, human resources, management engineering, marketing, and finance.

Project Management Courses

MGMT 644: Seminar in Project Management (3 units)

A comprehensive, in-depth, and hands-on approach to learning about managing teams and projects. Students learn how to efficiently and effectively initiate, plan, execute, and monitor projects. This course includes the coverage of the nine project management body-of-knowledge areas required for professional certification by the Project Management Institute. Students are required to use information technology, spreadsheets, and project management software.

MGMT 645: Conflict Resolution, Negotiation, and Teamwork (3 units)

This course highlights the theoretical and practical application of teamwork, negotiation, and conflict resolution models and their interface with ethical and socially responsible outcomes. Effective leaders must develop strong teams, negotiate well, and have the capability to resolve conflict in the organization. To this end, a variety of readings, case studies, and personal assessments are used to survey the tools essential for successful negotiation and conflict resolution.

MGMT 646: Optimizing Project Goals and Outcomes (3 units)

This course provides students with tools, techniques, and knowledge to efficiently and effectively implement projects in order to reach organization goals. Even with improved planning, projects will rarely go exactly as planned. When problems occur, how should management best respond? To what extent can additional budget be obtained (“change management”)? How can risks be mitigated (“risk management”)? What mix of adding resources (e.g., by hiring, overtime, work intensity), changing the schedule (both final and interim milestones), reducing scope, cutting activities such as QA, and so on will provide the most satisfactory outcome? A system dynamics (SD) causal model tool is used to improve such decisions by taking into consideration feedback in projects, especially the adverse ripple effects of management actions. Resource optimization techniques used in project management are explored through hands-on applications, exercises, and projects.

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Admissions Deadlines for the Online MBA

Dec
9
Priority Application Deadline
Spring 2025 term
Jan
3
Application Deadline
Spring 2025 term
Jan
21
Next Start
Spring 2025 term