Sustainability underlies many of the complex global challenges we face today, carrying profound implications for business practices, economic development, and environmental stewardship. Businesses increasingly recognize the need to incorporate environmental risks and social objectives into their core strategy and operational decisions. The commitment to sustainable practices can take many forms, such as developing social enterprises, creating and distributing fair-trade products, reducing carbon footprints, ensuring a sustainable value chain, guiding social impact investments, and making frugal use of natural resources. Sustainability initiatives are motivated by a desire to manage risk, drive growth, improve returns on capital, and create value.
The Master of Business Administration, Impact Specialization, is a 44-credit, 3 semester, full-time Resident Instruction program. The program aims to provide business solutions that achieve positive economic, environmental, and social impact. The program educates and prepares future business leaders to take effective roles in organizations that integrate economic, social, and environmental sustainability into core strategy and operations. There are elective options to enable students to pursue either a venture-creation process or take up to 15 credits outside the College of Business in areas such as environmental sustainability, social impact, water resources, life cycle assessment, ethics and sustainability, and climate change.
Program Learning Goals:
Business Acumen and Integration Skills: Graduates demonstrate competency across business functions and integrate them into strategic decisions.
Practical Leadership and Management Skills: Graduates demonstrate individual, interpersonal, and organizational leadership skills necessary for professional development and organizational effectiveness.
Critical and Analytical Thinking: Graduates apply critical thinking and analytical skills for management decision-making.
External Environment – Ethical, Legal and Regulatory Framework: Graduates consider ethical, legal, and regulatory implications inherent in business situations and apply that knowledge to make responsible decisions.
Global Perspective: Graduates acquire a global and cross-cultural perspective in formulating decisions and implementing organizational strategy.
Enterprise Approaches to Global Challenges: Graduates of the Impact MBA program develop the skills to:
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Assess opportunities for enterprise approaches to address social and environmental challenges.
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Develop, implement, and manage initiatives or enterprises that address global social and environmental challenges.
Effective Fall 2023
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Core Classes: | ||
| ACT 605 | Accounting for Sustainable Enterprises | 3 |
| BUS 601 | Quantitative Business Analysis | 2 |
| BUS 620 | Leadership and Teams 1 | 2 |
| BUS 636 | Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity | 3 |
| CIS 600B | Project Management: Impact Enterprise | 2 |
| FIN 601 | Financial Management and Markets | 3 |
| MGT 612 | Managing in a Global Context | 3 |
| MGT 663 | Strategic Opportunities in Impact Enterprise | 3 |
| MGT 665 | Supply Chain Development and Management | 2 |
| MKT 601 | Marketing for Social Sustainable Enterprises | 3 |
| Select one course from the following: | 2-3 | |
| Financial Markets and Investments | ||
| Environmental, Social, Governance Investing | ||
| Select one course from the following: | 3 | |
| Practicum | ||
| Internship | ||
| Select 12-13 credits from the following electives: | 12-13 | |
| Sustainable Agriculture | ||
| Global Sourcing of Textiles and Apparel | ||
| Social Benefit Cost Analysis | ||
| Career Management | ||
| Building and Leading Exceptional Teams | ||
| Sustainability Ethics and Business Practice | ||
| Corp. Social and Sustainable Responsibility | ||
| Building Value Thru Creativity and Innovation | ||
| Entrepreneurship and New Venture Creation | ||
| Ethical, Legal, and Regulatory Issues 1 | ||
| Enterprise Computing and Systems Integration | ||
| Principles of Ecosystem Sustainability | ||
| International Climate Negotiations | ||
| Foundations for Carbon/Greenhouse Gas Mgmt | ||
| Greenhouse Gas Policies | ||
| Global Climate Change | ||
| Life Cycle Assessment for Sustainability | ||
| Financial Modeling | ||
| Financial Management | ||
| Fundamentals of International Finance | ||
| Financial Institutions Management | ||
| Alternative Investments | ||
| Quantitative Methods in Finance | ||
| Behavioral Finance | ||
| Investments | ||
| Environmental, Social, Governance Investing | ||
| Sea Level Rise and a Sustainable Future | ||
| Analysis of Sustainable Energy Solutions | ||
| Global Sustainability and Health | ||
| Law and Sustainability | ||
| Sustainable Strategies for E-Waste Management | ||
| Issues in Global Environmental Sustainability | ||
| Water Resources Seminar | ||
| Negotiation and Conflict Management | ||
| Product Design | ||
| Strategic Selling for Business Customers | ||
| Design Thinking for Sustainable Enterprise | ||
| Seminar in Environmental Philosophy | ||
| Program Total Credits: | 44 | |
A minimum of 44 credits are required to complete this program.
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Students will need to obtain a prerequisite override from the department to enroll in this course.