Program Director
Dr. Patrick J. Bateman
3354 Williamson Hall
(330) 941-3524
pjbateman@ysu.edu
M.B.A. Coordinator
Monique Bradford
1120 Williamson Hall
(330) 941-3069
mrbradford@ysu.edu
Program Description
The Master of Business Administration program is designed to prepare individuals for increasing levels of managerial and leadership responsibilities. The program helps qualified individuals to develop their understanding of decision making, management, leadership, and business strategy & policy concepts, and how to apply these across a variety of business contexts.
The program is delivered in a fully online format.
Accreditation
The Master of Business Administration program is fully accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) International. Fewer than one-third of the 1200 business schools in the United States have earned this prestigious accreditation.
Admission Requirements
The MBA Program offers applicants multiple pathways to admission, many of which do not require a standardized test score and/or full-time professional work experience.
For Regular Admission, applicants must meet one of four criteria:
- Earned an undergraduate degree in business, economics, or S.T.E.M. [3], with a 3.0+ GPA. No full-time professional work experience or standardized test score required.
- Earned an undergraduate degree in a discipline other than business, economics, or S.T.E.M[3], with a 2.7+ GPA and a minimum of 2 years full-time professional work experience[1]. No standardized test score required.
- Earned a graduate or terminal degree (e.g., PhD, MD, or JD) in any field. No work experience or standardized test required.
- Earned an active professional certification[2]. No work experience or standardized test score required.
For Provisional Admission, applicants must meet one of two criteria:
- Earned an undergraduate degree (in any field), with a 2.70 to 2.99 GPA and a GMAT (or GRE equivalent) score of 500. No work experience required.
- Earned an undergraduate degree (in any field), with a 2.5 – 2.7 GPA and a minimum of 5 years of full-time professional work experience. [1] No standardized test score required.
[1] Professional/managerial experience is determined using an applicant's chronological resume and any requested supporting documents. Professional/managerial experience is not simply a count of the years of employment, but strongly considers the relevance of the full-time experience as it relates to the nature of the program. This is typically demonstrated through a history of full-time positions where an applicant has documentable experience of overseeing people, projects, operations, and/or customer accounts. For strong applicants, the work experience qualification is supported by a career progression evidenced by increased roles, responsibilities, accomplishments and/or formal promotions. Please note: the chronological resume should not include non-professional positions, part-time (i.e., less than 40 hours per week) professional positions, volunteerism, or internships. These types of work are not considered in assessing the professional/managerial experience criteria.
[2] List of professional certifications eligible for waiver approval: CPA, CFA, CMA, PMP, Six Sigma Black Belt, SHRM-CP, and SHRM-SCP.
[3] S.T.E.M. is collective term for the disciplines of science, technology, engineering and math. S.T.E.M. degrees include: physics, actuarial science, chemistry, biology, mathematics, applied mathematics, statistics, computer science, computational science, psychology, biochemistry, robotics, computer engineering, electrical engineering, electronics, mechanical engineering, industrial engineering, information science, information technology, civil engineering, aerospace engineering, chemical engineering, astrophysics, astronomy, optics, nanotechnology, nuclear physics, mathematical biology, operations research, neurobiology, biomechanics, bioinformatics, acoustical engineering, geographic information systems, atmospheric sciences, educational/instructional technology, software engineering, and educational research.
Graduate Faculty
Rebecca Lee Badawy, Ph.D., Associate Professor
Identity; imposter phenomenon; person-environment fit; leadership; social influence
Patrick J. Bateman, Ph.D., Professor
Social media; privacy and publicness on the Internet; E-commerce; online communities; social and immersive computing environments (e.g., virtual worlds); computer mediated communication; business use of information systems
Huaiyu (Peter) Chen, Ph.D., Associate Professor
Equity market; abnormal return
Jeong Hoon Choi, Ph.D., Associate Professor
Ramesh Dangol, Ph.D., Associate Professor
Strategic management; dynamic capabilities; entrepreneurial opportunity recognition; firm failures
Rangamohan V. Eunni, D.B.A., Professor
Strategic management; international strategy; emerging markets
Kendra Fowler, Ph.D., Associate Professor
Services marketing; retailing
Guohong (Helen) Han-Haas, Ph.D., Professor
Leadership and diversity; employee attitudes and team development; social network and multilevel studies
Deepa Gopal Iyer, Ph.D., Assistant Professor
Open innovation; complexity in IS; IS design; requirements engineering; big data; IS security
Bruce Keillor, Ph.D., Professor, Chair
Marketing strategy; firm-level political strategy; cross-cultural marketing
Karin A. Petruska, Ph.D., Professor
Financial accounting and reporting; international accounting; earnings quality and disclosure; analyst following; forensic accounting
Christina Saenger, Ph.D., Associate Professor
Consumer behavior; social media; identity; branding
Jeremy T. Schwartz, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Director
Practice-based case studies; public pensions
Doori Song, Ph.D., Associate Professor
Advertising effect; consumer motivation; information processing; emerging media
Ying Wang, Ph.D., Professor
Integrated marketing communication; brand communication; international marketing; e-marketing
Rongyao (Gloria) Zhang, Ph.D., Assistant Professor
The MBA program is delivered in two modalities of delivery: 100% online and flex-campus (admission is on hiatus for the 2022-2023 academic year). Regardless of the modality of delivery, the program is designed to prepare individuals for increasing levels of managerial and leadership responsibilities.
The 30-credit hour degree is achieved by successfully completing:
100% Online
- the MBA core (8 courses, 30 credit hours), and
- a specialization (2 specific courses, 6 hours) or the general option (2 courses, 6 hours)
| COURSE | TITLE | S.H. |
|---|---|---|
| MBA Core | ||
| OMBA 6921 | Industrial Economics | 3 |
| OMBA 6922 | Cost Based Decision Making | 3 |
| OMBA 6923 | Corporate Financial Management | 3 |
| OMBA 6940 | Leadership | 3 |
| OMBA 6941 | Managing Organizational Talent | 3 |
| OMBA 6944 | Operations & Supply Chain Management | 3 |
| OMBA 6955 | Marketing Strategy | 3 |
| OMBA 6975 | Business Policy and Strategy | 3 |
| SPECIALIZATION OR GENERAL (only one option can be selected) | 6 | |
| Marketing (Specialization) | ||
| Consumers in a Digital World | ||
| Digital Marketing | ||
| OR | ||
| Healthcare Management (Specialization) | ||
| Health Care Reform | ||
| Health and Human Services Planning and Fiscal Management | ||
| OR | ||
| General | ||
To fulfill general requirements, students must complete six (6) credits of coursework in addition to the core. These courses come from: the specialization courses listed above (OMBA 6953, OMBA 6954, OMBA 6962, OMBA 6992). In addition, students may complete other PRE-APPROVED, GRADUATE LEVEL coursework (approval must be applied for prior to registering for the course and allowed on extremely limited basis). Gradate-level transfer credit is also accepted (student must request for the approval of transfer credit, which requires submission of course syllabi for evaluation). | ||
| Total Semester Hours | 30 | |
FLEX-CAMPUS (HYBRID) (Applications to this option are currently on hiatus.)
- the MBA core, and
- a required specialization in Leadership.
Course List
| COURSE | TITLE | S.H. |
|---|---|---|
| MBA Core | ||
| ECON 6921 | Economic Analysis of Markets and Industries | 3 |
| ACCT 6922 | Cost Based Decision Making | 3 |
| FIN 6923 | Corporate Financial Management | 3 |
| MGT 6944 | Managing Business Processes | 3 |
| MGT 6947 | Managing Information & Technology | 3 |
| MGT 6948 | Project Management | 3 |
| MKTG 6975 | Applied Marketing Strategy | 3 |
| MGT 6975 | Strategic Management | 3 |
| LEADERSHIP SPECIALIZATION (REQUIRED) | ||
| MGT 6930 | Managing and Leading in Organizations | 3 |
| MGT 6941 | Managing Organizational Talent | 3 |
| Total Semester Hours | 30 | |
| 1 | All applicants must submit a resume providing detail of their work experience. The resume will be reviewed to evaluate the relevance of full-time, managerial and/or professional work experience. Applicants are automatically admitted into the MBA program with regular status if they have earned a: terminal degree (PhD, MD, or JD) in any discipline, or a master’s degree for an accredited U.S. college or university. |
Learning Outcomes
The Williamson MBA prepares our graduates to be successful:
- Managers, knowledgeable of core business processes, issues, and environments.
- Decision Makers, able to utilize analytical methods to interpret information and business situations.
- Strategic Thinkers, able to evaluate complex business situations.
- Leaders, versed in techniques for motivating and influencing others to achieve business goals.
Graduate Courses
OMBA 6900 Special Topics 3 s.h.
Special topics and new developments in business. Subject matter to be announced in advance of each offering.
Prereq.: As announced or permission of instructor.
OMBA 6921 Industrial Economics 3 s.h.
Students will learn to analyze and understand the impact economic factors (e.g., information, consumer behavior, supply and demand) have on shaping markets and industries. Using this knowledge, students will be capable of assessing the different types of economic strategies (e.g., product differentiation, pricing, advertising and signaling) an organization can employ to gain market power to realize economic profits.
Prereq.: graduate standing, admission to the OMBA Program or permission from the MBA Program.
OMBA 6922 Cost Based Decision Making 3 s.h.
Insights into a company’s product costs (including those considered direct and indirect), its fixed and variable costs (and ways to identify these) and an understanding of its controllable and non-controllable costs all are necessary to effectively manage an organization. This course focuses on these concepts and how they can be used when making business decisions.
Prereq.: graduate standing, admission to the OMBA Program or permission from the MBA Program.
OMBA 6923 Corporate Financial Management 3 s.h.
Participants will gain an understanding of financial analysis techniques are used when evaluating businesses, projects, budgets and other related decisions. Participants will develop a set of analytical tools for conducting historical analysis (analysis of the income statement, cash flow statement, balance sheet, interpretation of various financial ratios) as well tools associated with capital budgeting, capital structure and cost of acquiring capital.
Prereq.: graduate standing, admission to the OMBA Program or permission from the MBA Program; it is assumed the student has an understanding of accounting; It is the student’s responsibility to be certain he/she is comfortable with this requirement.
OMBA 6940 Leadership 3 s.h.
The purpose of this course is for you to acquire theoretical and practical knowledge about management and leadership so that you can lead and follow more effectively and ethically. It explores management and leadership situations with the intent to extract lessons and insights which can be applied to your own approaches to managing, leadership, and followership.
Prereq.: graduate standing, admission to the OMBA Program or permission from the MBA Program.
OMBA 6941 Managing Organizational Talent 3 s.h.
The objective of this course is to provide students with an overview of the organizational behavior literature, research findings, and applications. Students are expected to think about, discuss, debate, analyze, and solve issues relating to organizational behavior. Students will be exposed to a broad range of management theories and expected to apply those theories to a variety of organizational contexts and situations.
Prereq.: graduate standing, admission to the OMBA Program or permission from the MBA Program.
OMBA 6944 Operations & Supply Chain Management 3 s.h.
Operations and Supply Chain Management (OSCM) examines the functions of sourcing, materials management, operations planning, distribution, logistics, retail, demand forecasting, order fulfillment, and more in a broad area that covers both manufacturing and service industries. In this course, students will learn what functions OSCM performs, why it is important, and how to make business decisions in the field of OSCM. The objective is to help students develop a systematic working knowledge of the concepts and methods related to designing and managing operations in a supply chain.
Prereq.: graduate standing, admission to the OMBA Program or permission from the MBA Program.
OMBA 6947 Managing Information and Technology 3 s.h.
No matter the industry, nor department within a company – information and technology play a key part in an organizations ability to implement its strategy. In this course you will obtain knowledge that will help you not only to better understand, but be able to more effectively select, implement, and manage these resources within your organization.
Prereq.: graduate standing, admission to the OMBA Program or permission from the MBA Program.
OMBA 6948 Project Management 3 s.h.
Project Management deals with seeking new methods of planning, organizing, and controlling non-routine tasks. You will develop an understanding of the role of a Project Manager in an organization, the tools and techniques to successfully manage projects, and how to deal with problems often faced when managing projects. The concepts learned can also help prepare you for taking the PMP (Project Management Professional) or CAPM (Certified Associate in Project Management) certification exams.
Prereq.: graduate standing, admission to the OMBA Program or permission from the MBA Program.
OMBA 6953 Consumers in a Digital World 3 s.h.
An examination of consumers and consumer behavior in a digital world. Students study the consumer decision making process that individuals or businesses engage in during the evaluation, acquisition, use of, and disposition of goods and services. Emphasis is placed on the role that technology plays in developing actionable plans to address consumers’ wants and needs of today and anticipate those of tomorrow.
Prereq.: graduate standing, admission to the OMBA Program or permission from the MBA Program.
OMBA 6954 Digital Marketing 3 s.h.
In-depth investigation into the development and evaluation of interactive and digital marketing strategies and tactics.
Prereq.: graduate standing, admission to the OMBA Program or permission from the MBA Program.
OMBA 6955 Marketing Strategy 3 s.h.
Students explore the development of marketing strategy via segmentation, targeting, and positioning, and the support of the marketing strategy through integrated product, price, place, and promotional tactics.
Prereq.: graduate standing, admission to the OMBA Program or permission from the MBA Program.
OMBA 6962 Health Care Reform 3 s.h.
The purpose of the course is to give students the skills necessary to understand all aspects of health and health care especially those related to Health Care Reform and recent and previous legislation. It will examine the supply of and demand for health services, and the analysis of health care systems and current, previous and potential future legislation relevant to health care reforms. Cross-Listed HHS 6962.
Prereq.: graduate standing, admission to the OMBA Program or MHHS Program or permission from the Program (OMBA or MHHS).
OMBA 6975 Business Policy and Strategy 3 s.h.
Strategy involves thinking at the enterprise level. Successful strategy design and implementation requires a holistic understanding of the threats and opportunities in the firm’s external environment, and of its internal resources and capabilities. It also requires a synthetic view on how the firm integrates functional activities and cross-functional business processes. This course is designed to develop such an integrative view of the firm and its environment, along with appropriate analytical skills.
Prereq.: OMBA 6923, OMBA 6944, OMBA 6955 and graduate standing, admission to the OMBA Program or permission from the MBA Program.
OMBA 6992 Health and Human Services Planning and Fiscal Management 3 s.h.
This course examines the principles of strategic planning and fiscal management in relation to Health and Human Services Organizations. Emphasis is placed on the specific role of the program director in leading and managing an organization in collaborative efforts and community planning. The course prepares the student to analyze the impact of fiscal management on resource allocation, personnel management, decision making, and future planning through the development of an individualized strategic plan.
Prereq.: graduate standing, admission to the OMBA Program or MHHS Program or permission from the Program (OMBA or MHHS).