Courses

The 30-credit Master's in Strategic Management and Executive Leadership is designed to help you think more strategically; enhance your ability to formulate, articulate, and implement strategy; and lead in an ethical and responsible manner.

The program is structured into three distinct areas:

Core courses (18 credits)
Primary concentration (6 credits)
Electives (6 credits)

All courses must be at the 500- or 800-level. Depending on the semester of admission and course offering schedule, you can complete the program in as little as five semesters of study with each semester consisting of at least two courses.

Your courses are primarily asynchronous — meaning you are not required to attend online classes at a specific time. Most courses, however, will include a voluntary synchronous session weekly or bi-weekly that allows you to interact with professors and peers virtually. These engaging sessions are recorded, giving you the chance to watch them at a later date, if your schedule allows.

Your education will also blend self-study with peer-to-peer interaction over an online learning network. You'll complete weekly assignments, readings, discussions, and occasional group work, as well as exams and other activities designed to enhance your learning outcomes, all at times that are most convenient for you.

Course List — Master's in Strategic Management and Executive Leadership

Required Courses (15 required credits)
Title	Abbreviation	Description	Credits
Ethical Leadership	BA 804	Enhances the student's ability to deal with the complexities of ethical decision-making in today's dynamic business environment by clarifying and applying personal values.	3 credits
Global Strategic Management	MBADM 571	Provides the fundamental concepts, frameworks, and principles underlying the formulation of successful strategies. Integrates multiple functional business areas to resolve global business problems and improve organizational performance.	3 credits
Strategy Implementation and Organizational Change	MGMT 831	Addresses the managerial challenge of strategy implementation, particularly by examining the organizational elements that must be drawn into line to support a strategy, as well as the immense difficulties of changing an organization.	3 credits
Power and Influence	MGMT 565	Provides students with the frameworks, concepts, and tools that allow them to diagnose individual and organizational sources of power and influence, as well as to wield these sources of power and influence in an ethical and responsible way.	3 credits
Leading Diverse Organizations	MGMT 845	Emphasizes how leading across differences and diversity is a core leadership competency in organizations today.	3 credits

Capstone Experience (3 required credits)
Title	Abbreviation	Description	Credits
Strategic Leadership (Capstone Experience)	BA 865	Presents a senior executive perspective on the key opportunities and challenges faced by business leaders; includes discussions on the changing context for setting strategy and leading organizations in an evolving business environment.	3 credits

Choose Your Primary Concentration

In addition to the core courses, students will select a 6-credit primary concentration in either Business Sustainability Strategy, Corporate Innovation and Entrepreneurship, or Negotiation and Influence. This list of concentrations may expand or change over time in response to market demand.

Business Sustainability Strategy (6 credits)
Title	Abbreviation	Description	Credits
Sustainability Strategy Development	MGMT 811	An overview of the economic, social, and environmental drivers of the transformation to sustainable business models and practices; identification of best practices and frameworks for assessing organizational engagement with sustainability; development of a strategic sustainability plan.	3 credits
Sustainable Supply Chain Management	SCM 813	Introduction to new business models and sustainable design principles for reinventing products and services to drive business value while reducing environmental and social impact, sourcing raw materials and working effectively with suppliers to safeguard labor and human rights and protect and restore natural resources, and managing total cost and risk.	3 credits

Corporate Innovation and Entrepreneurship Concentration (6 credits)
Title	Abbreviation	Description	Credits
Corporate Innovation and Entrepreneurship	MBADM 531	Understanding, exploring, and applying innovation-related concepts, principles, and practices to corporate environments involved with new venture creation and other contexts.	3 credits
Corporate Innovation Strategies and Entrepreneurial Methods	ENTR 820	Explores the methods used to foster innovation and entrepreneurship in a corporate setting, with a special emphasis on how organizations foster creativity, innovation, and new venture creation.	3 credits

Negotiation and Influence Concentration (6 credits)
Title	Abbreviation	Description	Credits
Negotiation Theory and Skills	BA 805	Delivers an overview of the difference between traditional (distributive) bargaining and interest-based (integrative) negotiations; students learn to identify their own and others' interests, to create and claim value, and to craft constructive agreements for all parties.	3 credits
Complex Negotiations	MGMT 821	Introduces the theory and practice of negotiation in a variety of settings, with specific emphasis on multiparty context; the course will allow students to develop these skills experientially and to understand negotiation in useful analytical frameworks. Prerequisite: BA 805	3 credits

Electives (Select 6 credits)
Title	Abbreviation	Description	Credits
Negotiation Theory and Skills	BA 805	Delivers an overview of the difference between traditional (distributive) bargaining and interest-based (integrative) negotiations; students learn to identify their own and others' interests, to create and claim value, and to craft constructive agreements for all parties.	3 credits
Strategic Business Architecture	BA 809	Provides a concentrated and comprehensive approach to the practice of business architecture; focuses on business motivations, business operations and business analysis frameworks, and related components that link these aspects of the enterprise together.	3 credits
Executive Leadership	BA 888	Emphasizes identity issues that are critical to understanding individual and collective processes in organizational life.	3 credits
Complex Negotiations	MGMT 821	Introduces the theory and practice of negotiation in a variety of settings, with specific emphasis on multiparty context; the course will allow students to develop these skills experientially and to understand negotiation in useful analytical frameworks. Prerequisite: BA 805	3 credits
Corporate Innovation and Entrepreneurship	MBADM 531	Understanding, exploring, and applying innovation-related concepts, principles, and practices to corporate environments involved with new venture creation and other contexts.	3 credits
Corporate Innovation Strategies and Entrepreneurial Methods	ENTR 820	Explores the methods used to foster innovation and entrepreneurship in a corporate setting, with a special emphasis on how organizations foster creativity, innovation, and new venture creation.	3 credits
Business Modeling and New Venture Creation	ENTR 502	Focuses on the process of launching a new venture, in a corporate setting or as a new startup, including identifying a problem or market opportunity, developing business models, forming a team, financing, analyzing markets, assessing the competitive environment, and planning to acquire leadership talent.	3 credits
Descriptive Analytics for Business	BAN 830	Explores the use of descriptive analytics concepts, tools, and techniques throughout a wide range of business scenarios and problems. Prerequisite includes previous work experience and/or background with statistics. Please contact the program for further information at [email protected].	3 credits
Sustainability Strategy Development	MGMT 811	Establishes the economic, social, and environmental drivers of the transformation to sustainable business models and practices; identification of best practices and frameworks for assessing organizational engagement with sustainability; development of a strategic sustainability plan.	3 credits
Data Collection for Business Research	MKTG 597	Prepares students with the knowledge and skills to gather data that is credible, targeted, and actionable; covers techniques and tools for gathering quantitative and qualitative data, including sampling, questionnaire design and administration, experiments for ad and product testing, and interview guides for focus groups.	3 credits
Sustainable Supply Chain Management	SCM 813	Introduces new business models and sustainable design principles for reinventing products and services to drive business value while reducing environmental and social impact, sourcing raw materials and working effectively with suppliers to safeguard labor and human rights, protect and restore natural resources, while reducing total cost and risk. Special focus on circular economy strategies and closed loop supply chains.	3 credits

Students may select any two courses from a list of elective courses maintained by the program. This list may change over time in response to market demand. Please contact the program office to discuss your options and view the most up-to-date list.

Optional Global Immersion Experience

This learning experience is designed to enhance your ability to communicate cross-culturally, adapt to evolving business environments, and manage some of the key risks and benefits of operating on a global scale. The Global Immersion trip may include visits to corporate headquarters and manufacturing facilities, as well as meetings with executives and government officials to learn about international business from those experiencing it firsthand in the country you are visiting.

The Global Immersion trip and corresponding course(s) will be offered each spring.* Please note that course work is required both before and after the trip. Online students may pursue the Global Immersion experience/courses in one of two ways:

Option 1: Take BA 836 for 1 credit in a spring semester. The 1-credit course will include the trip and associated pre/post-work. BA 836 would be an additional credit on top of the 30 required to graduate.
Option 2: Take BA 836 for 1 credit AND BA 835 for 2 credits during spring semester. Together, the 3 credits will involve more extensive course work in this subject area than just the 1 credit alone and will include the trip. The 3 combined credits for BA 835 and 836 may replace one 3-credit program elective course with approval. Please contact the program office with any questions.

We aim to have enough students across programs to allow students to choose from 3–4 locations each spring. Past trips for the full-time and executive students have included Johannesburg, South Africa; Shanghai, China; Prague, Czech Republic; and Santiago, Chile. The trip choices will be made by the program faculty directors based on global business climate, and corporate and alumni relationships, that will allow for the most fruitful experience. Please contact the program office for more details, including fee structure, upcoming dates, and locations. Please note that students pay course tuition as well as an additional trip fee to participate in the Global Immersion experience.

Course Availability

If you're ready to see when your courses will be offered, visit our public LionPATH course search (opens in new window) to start planning ahead.

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