Master of Business Administration 

Mount St. Mary’s College in Los Angeles, a prestigious college with a tradition of academic excellence offers a Master of Business Administration. The Mount has a 60 year tradition of preparing undergraduate business students for professional careers in Accounting, Marketing, Management and International Business. The Mount St. Mary’s MBA is offered in a weekend format to individuals holding a Bachelor’s Degree in any field.

This five semester program includes one semester of "foundation" courses which may be waived if the applicant  documents successful completion of equivalent courses in his or her undergraduate studies. The program spans eighteen months is designed to meet the global need for effective leaders who can guide change by using value-based decision making. The Mount’s outstanding faculty will prepare you to meet the challenges of today’s business environment by offering an innovative, collaborative and globally orientated curriculum. The program is designed with the understanding that managers face global and cross-disciplinary challenges on a daily basis. So that you can gain hands-on experience in other countries with international companies, you will participate in a minimum of one international study trip to prepare a country and industry analysis.

A unique feature of the program is that it replaces the traditional course-by-course master’s curriculum with theme-based modules. By blending business disciplines that are traditionally kept separate (like marketing, finance, and business law), you will develop the big picture view of how disciplines come together in a real business environment. You will also have an opportunity in your final semester to choose a concentration in Entrepreneurship, Organizational Leadership, Not-for-Profit Management or Health Services Management. The program will culminate in a real world final project in either your own organization or a choice of another one.

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• Foundation Courses                                     
• Curriculum: Theme Based Modules
• International Study
• Project
• Coaching
• MBA Highlights
• MBA Semester Outline
• Weekend Format
• Location and Students

Admission Requirements

• Completion of a baccalaureate degree from a regionally accredited college or university
• A cumulative grade point average of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale in the last 60 semester units, or last 90 quarter units of undergraduate work
  (for grade point averages lower than 3.0, the GMAT is required)
• Complete Application and $50 fee
• Application Essay
• Two letters of recommendation
• One copy of an official transcript must be mailed directly to MSMC from ALL Colleges/Universities attended
• Foundation courses, if needed.  Please see below.
• Entrance interview with an advisor
• Three years of full-time professional experience preferred

Foundation Courses

• 1 Semester of Economics (micro or macro – lower or upper division)
• 1 Semester of Accounting (lower or upper division)
• 1 Semester of Finance (upper division)
• 1 Semester of Business Law I or II (lower or upper division)
• 1 Semester of Management/Organizational Behavior (upper division)
• 1 Semester of Marketing (upper division)

Curriculum: Theme Based Modules

The Mount St. Mary’s MBA program recognizes that managers do not deal with a single issue in an isolated, sequential, and orderly fashion. Rather a manager deals with a multitude of issues simultaneously, in pieces, in an incomplete and erratic order. However, there are broad general themes that can be used to integrate all the business disciplines to give the manager an effective set of tool to successfully lead an organization. These themes fall into 3 categories:

Setting the Stage – External Global Business Environment. During the first semester the attention is directed to analyzing and interpreting what is happening outside the organization and how these conditions may subsequently impact the organization. This includes information regarding the business environment, economic conditions, competition, data collection, interpretation, assessment and dissemination of relevant information.

Designing the Organization’s Future – Internal Strategy - Assessing the organization’s internal capabilities in order to successfully leverage them to obtain sustainable strategic advantage in the turbulent business environment. In the second semester the focus is directed to the potential positions that the organization can take considering the complexities of the external environment. Topics discussed include organizational goals and direction, financial conditions, brand positioning, strategic resource allocation, leadership, operational support and entrepreneurial preconditions.

Making it Happen – Implementation of Strategy - Utilizing the new capabilities of the organization to take the best actions.  In the third semester the attention is on implementing the plan.  What change processes, leadership, managerial, accounting and productivity measures must be set in motion to achieve the desired outcomes. Also presented is the role of the board of directors and other key stakeholders in streamlining processes. During this semester, students will broaden their perspective by participating in an international travel study program.

Concentration and Culminating Project. In the last semester, having gained knowledge in interpreting the signals of the external environment, developing solution based approaches and creating a fertile environment for them to be accomplished, each participant will focus on a concentration. The four concentrations are: Entrepreneurship, Organizational Leadership, Not-for-Profit Management and Health Services Management. The participants will attend two classes in the selected concentration area and work on a final project which will emphasize the application of the tools learned to achieve the organization’s goals in the working environment.

Each of the three themes is divided into modules that model the way managers need business knowledge in the real world.  The program integrates each knowledge domain into several modules relevant to real-world business organizational leadership.

The thematic approach is one of the most distinguishing features of the Mount St. Mary’s MBA program but there are others as well. Among the other unique features are personal career coaching, the end-of-program project, and international travel study.

The Mount St. Mary’s MBA is highly student-centered, career-relevant and strategically focused on the practice of managerial leadership.

The MSMC - MBA program consists of 3 integral component areas: the International Travel Study, Project and Coaching.

International Study

Organizational leaders in the 21st century need to think globally. The Mount St. Mary’s MBA immerses students in an international market as a complement to the study in the third semester. In 2009, for example, MBA students will examine global competition in a 9-day guided exploration of China.

With a rapidly evolving economy and growing geopolitical influence, China holds many of the world's most dynamic regions today. The complexities of its transitioning markets make it an ideal study for organizational leaders.

Participants will first visit Shanghai. With a long tradition of American, British, and French commercial presence, the city is quickly emerging as a leading commercial harbor, financial center, and manufacturing center in China.

Next, the program travels to Guangzhou and Guangdong Province to gain an understanding of China's manufacturing powerhouse. Visits to factories and exchanges with Chinese executives and professors will provide opportunities for a deeper appreciation of the Chinese business, cultural and management environment.

The travel study program will end in Hong Kong one of Asia’s Tigers and one of the world major transportation and financial centers.

Cultural excursions and informal sessions also introduce students to China’s many perspectives on the United States and other foreign countries.

For more information download PDF document

Project

During the last semester the participants work on a real life project either in their own organization or another. The project can be to solve a problem, develop a new approach or create something entirely new. As part of the process, students choose one of three options for completing a final project:

- Participants may work on a project individually
- Multiple individuals interested in a particular issue in an organization can choose to work together
- An individual may choose to do a research based project/thesis

Sample Projects
Examples of the kinds of projects students might engage in include:

• Developing a market entry or expansion strategy for a new product or for an existing product in a new market
• Designing a new inventory system for an organization
• Designing a merger and acquisition plan 
• Developing a business plan for a new or existing venture
• Analyzing the profitability of a division, product line, region, etc.
• Creating a financing strategy for a major acquisition or undertaking
• Creating a branding strategy for a product or company
• Improving customer experience for an existing product or service
• Re-engineering processes or operations for a major functional area of an organization
• Developing an online marketing strategy for a not-for- profit organization

Upon completion of the semester there will be a reception featuring the projects with a project presentation poster, inviting the participating companies and all those involved in the MSMC - MBA program.

Coaching

All participants will be part of a career coaching process not only as receivers but also as ones who will learn how to coach others.

During the first semester each student will go through an assessment process to identify interests, areas of strength and areas needing improvement. In the second semester participants will start working directly with a coach to improve themselves and learn the skills necessary to coach others. In the third semester you will be a coach in training working to improve yourself and others. In the last semester you will be receiving coaching directly in conjunction with your project so that upon graduation you will be prepared to attain greater professional advancement.

This unique feature of the Mount St. Mary’s MBA allows the participants not only to receive coaching, so that they will be immediately ready for career enhancement, but also will be in a position to bring an added dimension to the workplace.  Every Mt. St, Mary’s MBA graduate will have the ability to coach others. This coaching skill and its application in the work environment can be used at any levels and is transferable to any professional settings.

MBA Highlights

Program Length and Format

1. Semester One: Foundation courses for undergraduate non-business majors.
2. Core Curriculum: Four Semesters  (36 units – 9 units each semester)
3. Weekend Format

Concentrations
1. Entrepreneurship
2. Non-profit Management
3. Organizational Leadership
4. Health Services Management.

Admission Requirements

• Completion of a Baccalaureate degree from a regionally accredited college or university
• A cumulative grade point average of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale in the last 60 semester units, or last 90 quarter units.  For grade point averages lower than 3.0, GMAT is required.
• Complete application
• Application essay
• Two letters of recommendation
• Entrance interview with an advisor
• Three years of full-time professional experience preferred

Cost (not including foundation courses and books)
$29,970 - this includes the travel study trip

MBA Semester Outline

Weekend Format

Although there are other MBA programs in Los Angeles, one of the distinctive qualities of the Mount St. Mary’s College MBA program is that it will allow you to focus on your career during the week while earning a high quality MBA on the weekend. You will attend classes on six non-consecutive weekends per semester. Classes are scheduled two to three weeks apart, with classes offered from 8am to 6:30pm.

Location and Students

Mount St. Mary’s College graduate programs are offered at the historic and centrally located Doheny Campus, near downtown Los Angeles. All Mount graduate programs are open to men and women.

Application now being accepted

Admission Requirements