An Advanced Learning Environment Course work in the 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. Personal lives, as a result, are changed by graduate school 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 and a working knowledge of calculus.
A Class Within a Class Incoming students are assigned to one of four daytime core sec tions, each composed of about 50 students representing the diversity of the entire student body. The small section size allows active participation by all students. In addition, students get to know one another through group projects and study groups, developing a strong sense of camaraderie.
Each section takes on a distinctive personality, with its members defining customs and rules for class discussion. Ultimately, students find that the sections provide a context in which to learn a tremendous amount - not only from the faculty, but also from each other in formal and informal settings.
All full-time students share the same lunch hour, enabling people to attend executive seminars, participate in student government or simply meet with students in core sections outside their own.
An Emphasis on Leading The full-time M.B.A. program begins with a three-day off- site leadership retreat. The retreat empowers students to take responsibility for their learning climate at USC and starts the pro cess of self-examination and reflection funda mental to beginning leadership growth. Faculty and second-year M.B.A. students participate in the program, developing relationships and team values that will undergird 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 M.B.A. program is twofold. In study groups, project teams and competitive assignments, teamwork is crucial to success. 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.
A Sequential Program of Study Although there are 13 required courses during the first year of the full-time M.B.A. program, students are, in many ways, pursuing one nine-month course because the individual courses and materials covered are selective ly integrated. As a result, not all courses begin at the start of the semester and conclude at semester's end. Instead, a course - Corporate Finance, for example - begins several weeks into the first semester after basic concepts have been established in microeconomics and financial reporting and concludes in the middle of the second semester when its presence complements study in other functional areas, such as marketing and operations management. This staggered structure allows concepts to be introduced in a practical order and synthe sizes the functional components into a coherent whole.
An Enthusiastic and Dedicated Faculty Team The more than 170 faculty members at the school include authorities recognized around the world for their contributions to advances in business theory and practice. They also are distinguished by their dedication to teaching and excellence.
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 shares time together in one classroom, examining complex business problems from multiple perspectives.
Faculty exchanges over the past year have included: the statistics and communication professors combining to address the issue of how to most effectively present statistical data for managerial decision making; the financial accounting and business and society professors jointly covering the issue of ethics in financial reporting; and strategy, microeconomics and organizational behavior faculty collaborating to analyze the structure and performance of a firm for competitive advantage in its market.
Adding Scope and Focus in the Second Year The second year of the full-time 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. There are 13 required courses in the first year; there is only one in the second year - the field consulting project (also called the Management Internship Project). 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. Many students opt to focus on a particular area by taking at least four courses in that area of concentration. Among the concentrations offered by the Graduate School of Business Administration are: accounting, consulting, entrepreneurship, finance, financial services, health care advisory services, human resource management, information systems, international business, marketing, operations management, real estate, and technology management.
Others 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 nine units of graduate-level electives may be taken at USC outside GSBA for elective credit providing the student shows sufficient reason why a course is relevant to the selected GSBA program. This request must be submitted in a petition to the GSBA Academic Services Office, Bridge Hall 101.
Business Field Project - Management Internship Program (MIP) One of the hallmarks of the USC M.B.A. program is its real world orientation. In contrast to programs that focus solely on the theory of business, USC has found that theory gains greatest value when applied to practical problems.
To provide an opportunity to put into practice what has been learned in the classroom, the Management Internship Program (MIP), a required course taken during the second year of the full-time M.B.A. program, tackles real business problems. Working in teams of five or six, students assess the nature of the problem and propose - in writing and by oral presentation - recommendations as to how the organization can solve the problem. Each team works with a faculty advisor.
Projects vary. Past projects have included a market analysis for a large consumer goods company, a feasibility study to expand a plant for an automotive company, a marketing plan for a European airline, and a strategic plan for a large, urban homeless shelter. Clients include Fortune 500 companies as well as entrepreneurial ventures and not-for-profit organizations.
Credits and Schedule for Full-Time M.B.A. Students A total of 63 units is required. The typical full-time student's schedule over the two years is as follows:
| Term 1 | Units | |
| GSBA 510 | Accounting Concepts and Financial Reporting | 3 |
| GSBA 511 | Managerial Economics | 3 |
| GSBA 512a | Business, Government, and Society | 1 |
| GSBA 521a | Corporate Finance | 2 |
| GSBA 523 | Communication for Management | 3 |
| GSBA 524 | Applied Managerial Statistics | 3 |
| GSBA 532a | Behavior and Organizations | 2 |
| GSBA 540a | Contemporary Issues in Competitive Strategy | 1 |
| ____ | ||
| 18 | ||
| Term 2 | Units | |
| GSBA 512b | Business, Government and Society | 1 |
| GSBA 518 | Accounting Control Systems | 3 |
| GSBA 521b | Corporate Finance | 1 |
| GSBA 526 | The National and International Economy | 2 |
| GSBA 528 | Marketing Management | 3 |
| GSBA 530 | Information Systems | 2 |
| GSBA 532b | Behavior and Organizations | 1 |
| GSBA 534 | Operations Management | 3 |
| GSBA 540b | Contemporary Issues in Competitive Strategy | 2 |
| ____ | ||
| 18 | ||
| Term 3 | Units | |
| GSBA 585 | Business Field Project | 3 |
| Electives | 12 | |
| ____ | ||
| 15 | ||
| Term 4 | Units | |||
| Electives | 12 | |||
Note: USC reserves the right to change, add or delete its course offerings and programs without notice.
Produced by the USC Division of Student Affairs, Office of University Publications, May 1, 1995