From Seattle University's 2019-2020 Graduate Catalog
54 credits to completion
24 credits of required classes
30 credits of electives
Based on a student's academic background, there are various ways to complete the following Preparatory and Prerequisite Business Courses. The information below will help determine the most appropriate route for completing these courses. The Professional MBA Prerequisite Guide provides helpful information on prerequisite sequencing and requirements.
Students must have completed satisfactory coursework in statistics, business calculus, and financial accounting. The alternatives may be online courses, self-paced tutorials, waiver exams, or other options deemed appropriate by department faculty. The prep work will need to be completed prior to entering the Analytical Core or quantitative elective courses.
The statistics requirement must be completed prior to entering the Analytical Core or taking quantitative electives. This requirement can be waived if the student completed the course as an undergraduate, and received a score of B- or higher. More information is available on the Statistics page.
The financial accounting requirement must be completed prior to entering the Analytical Core or taking quantitative elective. This requirement can be waived if the student completed the course as an undergraduate and received a score of B- or higher. More information is available on the Principles of Business Accounting page.
The calculus requirement must be completed by the end of the first year in the program. This requirement can be waived if the student completed the course as an undergraduate, and received a score of B- or higher. More information is available on the Business Calculus page.
Professional Writing is required for students with a score below 25% on the verbal or writing sections of the GMAT or GRE. The professional writing requirement must be completed within the first quarter. More information is available on the Professional Writing page.
The Seattle University PMBA Core is focused on developing managers who navigate complexity to solve business problems, recognize (or create) opportunities, and become more adept in thinking holistically (people, processes, and technologies) about business challenges.
Upon the advice of our MBA Advisory Board, when we updated our PMBA program we decided to integrate our core curriculum. We did this because our industry advisors informed us that most MBA graduates do not realize how to integrate various business disciplines to solve complex business problems. Therefore, we designed our PMBA core curriculum to be both solution-based and integrated in nature. Most MBA core classes are vertically integrated (one accounting, one marketing, one HR, etc.); all of our core classes are integrated so each class combines three different business disciplines to solve the particular problem we have identified for that class. This allows students to understand how an integration of different business disciplines are needed to solve complex business problems.
In addition, we have split the core into two different tracks: the Behavioral Core (Management, Ethics, and Leadership) and the Analytical Core (Accounting, Finance, Statistics, etc.). Students can either take the two core tracks simultaneously or take the Behavioral Core first followed by the Analytical Core. The Core starts twice yearly, in fall quarter and again in spring quarter. Core classes are not offered during the summer. Prerequisite classes (Financial and Managerial Accounting as well as Statistics) are required before a student can begin the Analytical Core. These prerequisite classes are offered the quarter before the core classes begin.
If taking the core simultaneously, you will be required to take the Behavioral Core with the same students for all three classes. For example, you would take Behavioral Core 1 on Wednesday nights fall quarter, Behavioral Core 2 on Wednesday nights winter quarter, and Behavioral Core 3 on Wednesday nights spring quarter. That way you track with the same students all three quarters. This helps develop a strong network among your fellow Behavioral Core classmates.
Since each Core class will have three different professors, the classroom experience will be different than anything you have experienced in the past. Class moves quickly and transitions to different topics often. It frequently takes a whole quarter or even the whole core to see how disciplines are interrelated. This has been specifically designed to mimic the chaotic nature of business and helps train you for thinking systematically in non-linear situations.
| Course Number | Course Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| MBA 5205 | Teams and Decision Making | 4 |
| MBA 5210 | Building Internal and Community Stakeholder Relationships | 3 |
| MBA 5215 | Creating Value Through Marketing and Operations | 3 |
| Course Number | Course Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| MBA 5220 | Enterprise (Business) Financial Performance Analysis | 3 |
| MBA 5225 | Delivering Growth | 3 |
| MBA 5230 | Managing Risk | 3 |
Each module is offered as a cohort and takes 3 quarters to complete. They can be taken simultaneously, which is preferable, or separately. (If taken separately, you must start with the Behavioral module.)
| Course Number | Course Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| MBA 5235 | Professional & Interpersonal Communications | 1 |
| MBA 5240 | Career Planning & Development Recommended to be taken in year 1 or 2 |
1 |
|
Capstone: Applications in Strategy |
3 | |
Note: Students must complete MBA 5205, 5210, 5215, 5220, 5225, and 5230 prior to advancing to electives unless otherwise approved by the Program Director.
Electives include:
You may choose from a wide variety of Electives by Discipline to satisfy your 30 elective credits. This is your chance to customize your MBA by specializing in a particular area or taking classes across disciplines for a more general graduate program. If you choose to focus on a particular area, you have the opportunity to earn one graduate certificate within the 54 credits to enhance your MBA.
Currently, the graduate certificates offered at Albers are in accounting, business analytics, finance, global business, innovation & entrepreneurship, internal audit, leadership formation, marketing, quantitative economic analysis, and sustainability.
Part-time MBA students taking 2 courses per quarter can complete the program in 9 quarters.
Full-time MBA students taking 3 classes per quarter can complete the program in 6 quarters.