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Curriculum

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Jones College’s Flex M.B.A. program provides an AACSB-accredited education in advanced business concepts, analytical decision-making, and effective leadership. Students benefit from having the freedom of choice by semester, whether they want to take classes online, on campus, or a combination of both.

The flexible and affordable online M.B.A. curriculum is delivered asynchronously, which means you’ll view recorded lectures at the times that are convenient for you. In some online classes, you may be required to schedule time for real-time interactions with your instructor and peers. Along the way, you’ll assemble a portfolio to show how your education has equipped you with the professional skills necessary for advancing in today’s globally connected, data-focused organizations.

Companies are on the lookout for employees who have interpersonal skills as well as a thorough understanding of business operations. That’s why the Jones College of Business curriculum goes beyond teaching the latest business strategies and tools, prioritizing professional development and persuasive communication.

The revised M.B.A. program takes students to the next level of professionalism by creating lasting relationships with peers in an effective and timely approach.

— Austin Bower, M.B.A. student

Program structure

An academic advisor will collaborate with you to create a degree plan that satisfies all requirements for the M.B.A. in a suitable timeframe. The program is structured in tiers. All core courses are offered during accelerated terms lasting approximately seven weeks each, with two terms offered each semester. We prioritize quality education over stuffing your schedule with as many courses as possible. That’s why our Flex M.B.A. requires only 10 courses without a concentration, or 12 courses with a concentration*.

*The Music Business concentration requires an extra class, for a total of 13 courses.

You will progress through three tiers of core M.B.A. coursework, culminating with a capstone in Strategic Business Consulting. This final class will give you the chance to put your analytics and problem-solving skills to work on a project for a real business, reporting to executives and receiving their feedback.

If you did not complete an undergraduate business degree, you will take three preparatory modules (or the approved course equivalents). Each module can be completed in a few hours through the MTSU M.B.A. online Coursera modules. These modules prepare you for the Flex M.B.A. program’s quantitative course requirements, and they are specifically designed to prepare you to succeed in the program.

You may complete the preparatory modules or approved course equivalents at any point before the end of your first semester. Preparatory courses do not count towards the M.B.A. hours listed above.

Master of Business Administration
(no concentration)

Total semester hours for core curriculum: 31
Average time to completion: 2 years

Optional concentrations

You may choose to enroll in the M.B.A. program with an optional concentration in Healthcare Management, Strategic Marketing Analytics, Legal and Ethical Governance, Risk Management, Human Resource Management, or Music Business: Visit the concentrations page to learn more about our six options and their corresponding career opportunities.

M.B.A. with concentration
Total semester hours for core curriculum and concentration courses: 37-40
Average time to completion: 2.5 years

Course offerings

Preparatory Modules

Students who do not hold an undergraduate business degree must complete three preparatory modules (or approved course equivalents). Students may take the preparatory modules after being admitted to the Flex M.B.A., before the term starts, or at any point before the end of their second semester.

The preparatory modules can be completed through MTSU M.B.A. online Coursera courses or through approved course equivalents.

We are here to help! Reach out to an enrollment representative to understand your options and learn about your degree plan and time to completion.

This course equips M.B.A. candidates with a grounding in the accounting principles that are essential for business leaders. Class material primarily focuses on financial statement analysis and managerial uses for accounting and considers the accounting cycle. Credit in ACTG 2110 and 2120 - Principles of Accounting I and II – is an equivalent to this course for fulfilling foundation requirements. ACTG 3000 is not open to accounting majors or students who have already earned credit in ACTG 2110 and ACTG 2120.

Students learn quantitative methodologies that assist in decision making processes. This course emphasizes topics in applied statistics and decision sciences that have a wide range of practical uses in business analysis. BIA 2610 and 3620 - Statistical Methods I and Intro to Business Analytics – can serve as an equivalent to meet this foundation requirement.
This class presents theoretical perspectives on corporate finance that help in implementing sound investment strategies. Students learn concepts in wealth creation, valuation, risk, capital budgeting, and the cost of capital.

Core Courses - Tier 1

This seminar helps students develop the skills necessary for success in management and leadership roles. Classes consider relevant topics and issues in the business world, identifying emerging challenges and opportunities. Each student prepares a professional/career development portfolio.

This course introduces students to the principles, concepts, and tools that drive financial and managerial accounting. Topics include product costing, budgeting, decision making tools, performance measurement, financial statement analysis, and reporting responsibilities for management.

Explores the latest thinking in effective leadership and management for organizations in today’s fast-paced business world. The class emphasizes techniques for self-assessment, skill improvement, and problem-solving.

This class focuses on applying microeconomic principles to rational management analysis and decision making. Topics include the guiding principles behind demand, supply, and cost theories, demonstrating how these concepts affect strategic pricing and output decisions. Students learn how factors such as information, economic incentives, and market competition can interact to determine prices, products, profits, and trade patterns.

This course presents the manager’s role in corporate planning and best practices to evaluate capital investment proposals, measure managerial performance, analyze cash flow, interpret and evaluate financial information, and apply the capital asset pricing model (CAPM).

Students learn an analytical, managerial approach to marketing. The course emphasizes problem-solving and decision making in marketing environments.

A course in application development that demonstrates how electronic spreadsheets can improve efficiency and effectiveness when making decisions. Students gain hands-on experience in applying electronic spreadsheets and modeling to a variety of business situations.

Core Courses - Tier 2

This class presents an overview of the integration between strategies and decisions for supply chain operations. Students learn how supply chain operations can impact other business functions in an organization.

Students build their understanding of prescriptive and data analytics tools to model and analyze business data. The class takes a hands-on approach to developing and applying both commonly used spreadsheet software and specialized business intelligence software. Student develop the skills to perform self-service business analytics.

Core Courses - Tier 3

This capstone course integrates concepts and skills drawn from the entire M.B.A. curriculum. Students apply analysis tools to address strategic issues at real companies. Groups present their findings to business decisionmakers and receive professional feedback.

Core Courses - Elective

Your elective can be taken at any time. Choose one elective from the following fields:

  • Accounting (permission from department required)
  • Business Communication and Education
  • Business Intelligence and Analytics
  • Business Law
  • Computer Information Systems
  • Economics
  • Entrepreneurship
  • Finance (permission from department required)
  • Management
  • Marketing

The availability of specific courses may vary. The elective requirement can also be satisfied through an approved internship or study abroad courses.

Dwayne Williams II

Jones College put me on a path to success. It gave me the resources, knowledge, and support to transition from my job as a sales representative of 11 years into a career as an executive sales specialist for the largest generic drug manufacturer in the world. Choosing to obtain my M.B.A. from MTSU has already provided a substantial return on my investment.

— Dwayne Williams II, Executive Sales Specialist, Teva Pharmaceuticals

Healthcare Management Concentration (9 Credits)

Required concentration courses:

  • MGMT 6250 – Healthcare Resource Management
  • MGMT 6780 – Healthcare Management

    • Choice of one elective course, such as:

    • BLAW 6500 – Legal Aspects of Healthcare
    • ECON 6400 – Health Economics
    • MKT 6900 – Healthcare Marketing

    Strategic Marketing Analytics (12 Credits)

    Required Courses (12 Hours)

    This course covers what, why, and how of major current approaches, including search engine optimization, search and display ads, mobile marketing, social media, and online listening/monitoring. The key performance indicators and basic techniques to evaluate the effectiveness of online marketing campaigns, including Google Analytics, regression analysis, logistic regression, and online experiments will be covered. This course provides a quantitative and qualitative approach to understanding and harnessing tools in digital marketing analytics to meet business objectives.

    The course will emphasize how to make better strategic decisions through marketing research and analysis. Specifically, this course focuses on evaluating potentially conflicting information from sources such as external secondary research, internal marketing metrics and trends, qualitative research, and quantitative research in order to make the most effective and intelligent decision(s).

    Covers why and how brands are one of the most valuable assets to a company; provides an overview of branding strategies, analytics, and creativity required for successful brand marketing.

    Integrates prior course content in an applied project-based environment where students analyze key processes and make appropriate marketing decisions. Allows students to make strategic recommendations across the marketing domain.

    Music Business Concentration (12 Credits)

    Required Courses (12 Hours)

    Prerequisite: Enrolled in the M.B.A., Music Business program. Examines the dynamic environment called the music business. Utilizing evaluative elements of the industry (Billboard’s MusicConnect, Pollstar, Performing Rights Organizations, etc.), students will review the publishing, recording, management, and touring history of an act and level of success based on current practices and genre/artist stature.

    Prerequisite: Permission of department. Examines emerging business models, competitive and feasibility analysis, organizational structure and design, fundraising, marketing and entrepreneurship in the music industry. Students will choose to follow a “for-profit” or “non-profit” track, and develop a final project plan for a business or organization, fully annotating and creating a professional visual presentation which could ultimately be used to present to either a funding source (e.g. venture capitalists, bankers, grantors, etc.) or to the industry (e.g. potential partners, sponsors, clients).

    Examines legal rights and duties of creative persons. Students apply concepts from copyright, trademark, trade secrets, privacy, publicity, defamation, and other branches of the law to media productions.

    Prerequisites: MKT 3820, MBAK 6895, or permission of instructor. Role and importance of branding in the entertainment industry including the development of branding objectives consistent with both product and overall marketing objectives. Demonstrates how to align a brand with consumers and partners through the development of a marketing plan relating to an approved entertainment product of student’s choosing.

    **Students who majored in Recording Industry at the undergraduate level at MTSU should take MGMT 6670 Seminar in Negotiations (3 Credit Hours) or MGMT 6750 Business Ethics (3 Credit Hours) in place of RIM 6020.

    Legal and Ethical Governance Concentration (9 Credits)

    Required concentration courses (3 hours):

    • BLAW 6250 – Topics in Corporate Governance, RIsk Management, and Fraud

      • Choice of two of the following:

      • BLAW 6500 – Legal Aspects of Healthcare
      • MGMT 6750 – Business Ethics
      • BCED 6820 – Managerial Communications

      Risk Management Concentration (9 Credits)

      Required concentration courses (6 hours):

      • INFS 6300 – Management of Security Operations
      • FIN 5750 – Risk Management

        • Choice of one of the following:

        • FIN 6050 – Risk Financing
        • ACSI 5140 – Mathematical Foundations of Actuarial Science
        • BCED 6820 – Managerial Communications

        Human Resource Management Concentration (12 Credits)

        Required concentration courses (12 hours):

        • MGMT 6680 – Seminar in HR Management
        • MGMT 6745 – Talent Acquisition and Management
        • MGMT 6735 – Performance Management and Rewards
        • MGMT 6755 – HR Resource Analytics

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