USC Catalogue: The Schools: USC Marshall School of Business: Master's Degree Programs: Marshall M.B.A. Program

Master's Degree Programs

Marshall M.B.A. Program

The Marshall MBA curriculum is a comprehensive two-year (63 unit) learning experience designed to foster the critical thinking, insightful business judgement and managerial action needed to lead organizations of the future. The curriculum is divided into two closely interrelated components: a core of 12 essential courses designed to build the deep generalist skills required of all leading executives, and an individualized program of study, which begins in the second semester, where students pursue deep knowledge and skill in specialized areas of business.

Recognizing that real education is what remains after the facts are long forgotten, the Marshall M.B.A. curriculum pushes beyond mastering the essential languages of business (accounting, economics, business statistics and quantitative methods) and the functional knowledge and skills of finance, marketing, operations and management. The M.B.A. curriculum emphasizes developing within M.B.A. students:

intuitive understandings of individual, organizational and competitive behavior;
profound insights into the dynamics of markets, including product, financial, labor and global markets;
decisive strategic thinkers with problem-solving and decision-making confidence who fully comprehend the global context of business;
action-oriented empowering leaders and team players;
creative innovative thinkers with entrepreneurial mindsets;
mastery of leading edge theoretical, conceptual and analytical skills; and
committed individuals with strong moral compasses and ethical principles who are passionate about making a difference.

The core first-year educational experience begins and ends with courses in competitive and global strategy to create the context and perspective for effective learning. Leadership @ Marshall is a year-long, carefully structured leadership development experience of intensive weeks, focused class sessions, tailored workshops and ongoing individual and group coaching. The capstone of the M.B.A. curriculum is PRIME, an essential and required intensive international business experience in 10 global cities.

The educational approach of the Marshall M.B.A. is a careful balance of case learning along with course work, lectures, experiential exercises and field studies. Students belong to supportive and challenging learning communities. Learning is hands-on and team-work based, with extensive opportunities to work with real companies and real managers on real projects.

An Advanced Learning Environment

Course work in the Marshall M.B.A. program differs substantially from undergraduate education. Learning basic concepts individually becomes secondary to synthesizing concepts across courses. Classroom activity dominated by faculty-to-student lectures gives way to frequent case analysis and student-led discussion and management simulations. Work produced by project teams becomes a significant basis for many course grades.

The full-time program is rigorous, intellectually demanding, and time-consuming. Students typically spend 60-80 hours per week on course work and projects. Graduate school changes personal lives as demands on time and intellectual capacity are pushed beyond previous limits.

Although students are not expected to bring a substantial amount of knowledge of business to the program, they need to have an excellent command of the English language.

Application

Applicants should have significant full-time work experience. For more information, contact the Marshall M.B.A. Admission Office in Popovich Hall (JKP), room 308; (213) 740-7846; Fax (213) 749-8520; www.marshall.usc.edu. Apply online at www.emarshall.usc.edu/admissions.

Letters of recommendation submitted with the application should relate to the student's work experience (resume).

Application Deadlines

Admission decisions for the full-time program are made within four admission rounds. Applicants who submit completed applications (including test scores) to the Admission Office by the December, January, February and April dates listed in the M.B.A. application packet will receive notification in approximately six weeks. Applicants are urged to file a completed application as early as possible, as the applicant pool is extremely competitive. The final deadline for the full-time program is April 1.

Comprehensive Orientation

The Marshall M.B.A. program begins with an orientation that empowers students to take responsibility for their learning climate at USC and starts the process of self-examination and reflection fundamental to beginning leadership growth. Faculty and second-year M.B.A. students participate in the program, developing relationships and team values that will provide the foundation for the academic program throughout year one. New students emerge with clearer expectations for the educational experience and a charted course for pursuing their own leadership growth.

A Focus on Teamwork

The relevance of team-building to the Marshall M.B.A. program is twofold. In study groups, project teams and competitive assignments, teamwork is crucial to success. A greater understanding of teams is bolstered through formal discussions and presentations throughout the year. The ability to work in and manage teams is becoming increasingly important in business practice as well. Taking those skills away from the program -- developed and refined from the start -- will be a key part of each student's leadership growth.

In addition to formal team projects, a strong community of mutual support develops from the important role informal study groups play in the school's academic culture. Study groups are composed of people with all kinds of backgrounds, so the dynamics of learning how to collectively accomplish a goal in a limited time are tremendously challenging and ultimately rewarding.

The Core Program: A Sequential Program of Study

Although there are many required courses during the first year of the Marshall M.B.A. program, students are, in many ways, pursuing one nine-month course because the individual courses and materials covered are selectively integrated.

The required core courses of the Marshall M.B.A. program provide a carefully coordinated sequence of study designed to equip students with the fundamental tools and functional knowledge that effective business leaders must have.

Instructors for first-year required courses are selected on two grounds: teaching excellence and their ability to work together as a faculty team. The first-year teaching team develops and evaluates selected assignments jointly, linking concepts across courses, and occasionally shares time together in one classroom, examining complex business programs from multiple perspectives.

Business Environment and Management Practices in the Pacific Rim (PRIME Program)

PRIME is an innovative program which provides students with international business experience. PRIME is a program that melds on-campus classroom study with nine days abroad. Students make a major presentation either on specific industry analyses or on consulting projects that they have undertaken. To date, students have studied in Shanghai, Nanjing and Hong Kong/Shenzen, China; Tokyo and Osaka, Japan; Beijing, Tianjin; Mexico City, Mexico; Santiago, Chile; Havana, Cuba; Singapore; and Bangkok, Thailand.

Adding Scope and Focus in the Second Year

The second year of the Marshall M.B.A. program builds on the grounding in business fundamentals and functional areas gained during the first year and offers an opportunity to pursue particular interests in depth. The program's flexibility in the second year allows students to tailor a program of study to their individual needs and long-term career objectives.

Students can opt to focus on a particular area by fulfilling the requirements of a concentration, selected combinations of courses designed to prepare students for particular kinds of careers. Concentrations have been developed by faculty in consultation with business professionals who recruit M.B.A. students. As such, their designs are market-driven and directly linked to career opportunities.

Among the concentrations offered by the Marshall School of Business are: business of entertainment, business entrepreneurship, controllership, corporate finance, corporate financial reporting, designing and reengineering management accounting and control systems, finance and marketing, financial analysis, information systems, investments and markets, management and organization, marketing (managing clients), marketing (managing products), manufacturing operations management, service operations management, real estate, strategic human resource management, technology and innovation management, and health care advisory services. For more information, refer to the school's Web site: www.marshall.usc.edu/ekg.

Some students decide to gain additional breadth in general management or to design an individualized program of study, sometimes taking courses in other areas of the university. Up to 9 units of graduate-level electives may be taken at USC outside the Marshall School of Business for elective credit provided the student shows sufficient reason why a course is relevant to the selected Marshall School of Business program. Permission to take courses outside the Marshall School must be requested via petition to the Marshall M.B.A. Program Office, Popovich Hall 200.

International Exchange Program

The Marshall School offers a range of international exchange programs in cooperation with leading business schools around the world. Through this program students may attend a partner institution in Europe, Asia, Latin America and Australia. Students may choose to spend a semester abroad or may enroll in a short (three to four week) summer program. Since many of the programs are taught in English, language proficiency is not a requirement for all countries. Students must complete the M.B.A. core and maintain a 3.0 GPA in order to participate in the exchange program.

Sample Program

A total of 63 units is required. The following outlines the typical full-time student's schedule:

First Year--First Semester "Core" Required Courses

Term 1		Units
GSBA 502a	Leadership Development: Theory, Practice and Skills	1
GSBA 510	Accounting Concepts and Financial Reporting	3
GSBA 511	Managerial Economics	3
GSBA 540	Contemporary Issues in Competitive Strategy	1.5
		8.5

Term 2 Units

GSBA 509 Marketing Management 3

GSBA 521 Corporate Finance 3

GSBA 524 Applied Managerial Statistics 3

9

GSBA 502a Leadership Development: Theory, Practice and Skills continues

Term 2	Units
GSBA 509	Marketing Management	3
GSBA 521	Corporate Finance	3
GSBA 524	Applied Managerial Statistics	3
		9
GSBA 502a Leadership Development: Theory, Practice and Skills continues

First Year--Second Semester "Core" Required Courses

Term 3		Units
GSBA 502b	Leadership Development: Theory, Practice and Skills	0.5
GSBA 504	Operations Management	3
GSBA 536	Management Accounting	1.5

Graduate business elective(s)

TERM 4		units
GSBA 515	Contemporary Issues in Global Economic Strategy	1.5
GSBA 533	Management of Organizations	1.5
GSBA 580	Business Practices in the Pacific Rim (PRIME)	1.5