MBA@Nebraska’s curriculum combines foundational skills in-demand with employers and a flexible set of electives to make your degree fit your career path.
The MBA@Nebraska is a 48-credit hour program, comprised of 10 core courses and six electives. You can complete the program as quickly as 1.5 years, though on average most people finish the program in about three years.
Select your own electives or choose from one of six specializations. Learn More
Simultaneously earn your MBA and a certificate in business analytics, financial analytics, human resource management, marketing analytics, sales excellence, strategic innovation and entrepreneurship, strategic marketing, supply chain analytics or supply chain management. Learn More
MBA@Nebraska’s core courses will provide you with a well-rounded set of foundational business skills employers expect from their leaders.
This course is to be taken in the last semester of classes
Within a corporation, there’s a top management team tasked with implementing its corporate strategy. In this course, you explore real cases of organizational structures, evaluate how well they support the top management team's strategic implementation, and assess the impact on overall organizational success.
An organization’s corporate structure is one of the primary mechanisms through which the management team implements its corporate strategy. Organizations with thoughtful strategic plans may still fail if management does not fully implement those strategies through an effective organizational structure. In this course, we will discuss live cases of organization structures, evaluating how well those structures support the strategies the management team has devised, and understanding their impact on overall organizational success.
The purpose of this course is to provide a broad understanding of financial accounting for managers who will be “customers” of financial information.
The course focuses on providing an understanding of accounting from a user’s perspective and gaining insight into how economic events such as financing transactions, company investments, and operating activities are recorded in financial statements.
The purpose of this course is to provide students with an operational knowledge of corporate finance by combining theory and application.
We cover concepts of risk, return, and time-value-of-money as applied to valuation of securities and capital budgeting. The course will also enable students to develop skills in the areas of financial analysis and planning.
This course is an economics course for managers. It is about the great ideas of economics and their applications to business.
As Charles Wheelan notes, “Economics should not be accessible only to the experts. The ideas are too important and too interesting.” This course will train students in the areas of economic problem solving and decision making, consumer demand, demand elasticity, supply and demand decisions, international economics and foreign exchange rates, economic bubbles, complex pricing decisions, strategic game theory and bargaining, decisions under uncertainty, auctions, adverse selection and moral hazard. Students will also learn to apply these economic theories in a practical way to numerous business-oriented situations.
In this course, students will be exposed to the theory and practice of marketing management.
Students will integrate the knowledge from various marketing sub-fields, including consumer behavior, marketing research, and channels of distribution. The course will follow a four-stage learning approach including: 1) comprehensively reviewing and analyzing all aspects of marketing management, 2) learning tools for marketing problem analysis, 3) understanding how to apply core marketing concepts, theories, and frameworks, and 4) developing an original marketing plan for a new product launch.
In this course, students will develop skills and techniques that promote effective individual and team leadership.
Specifically, students will learn about major organizational frameworks and how they improve managerial decision making and performance. Students will gain awareness of recent developments in positive psychology and mindfulness that can enable more effective leadership as well as learn to recognize and address multiple perception biases related to leadership. Lastly, students will benefit from learning best practices from companies at the cutting edge of innovation in people-related processes.
This course will enable students to better develop and sustain a company competitive advantage through effective supply chain management.
Students will develop an understanding of operations and information systems that support corporate-level strategies and simultaneously coordinate with other functional areas. Students will learn how to create value for customers through supply chains, operations and information systems, as well as understand the relationships between operations, supply chain management and other parts of the organization.
Most, if not all managers, would agree that managing people effectively is an important ingredient of organizational effectiveness. This course develops your understanding of how human resource decisions contribute to organizational effectiveness and competitive advantage.
“People are our most important asset.” This phrase can be found, in one form or another, in most annual reports and CEO speeches. Nearly all managers would agree that managing people effectively is an important ingredient of organizational effectiveness. The most important success factor to achieving a long-term, sustainable competitive advantage—acknowledged by the world’s most admired companies—is the effective acquisition and management of human assets. In this course, students develop an understanding of how human resource decisions contribute to organizational effectiveness and a firm’s competitive advantage.
In this course, students will gain broad understanding and knowledge of important business analytic topics and how they can be used to support decision making.
The course emphasizes the technical procedures that are used to describe, predict and prescribe data into information for enhanced decision making. Students will learn how data exploration results in a sequence of descriptive, predictive and prescriptive processes that result in new information on which better—and more informed—decisions can be made.
In this course, students will improve their skills in thinking strategically from the perspective of a senior executive.
Students will improve their skills in thinking strategically from the perspective of a senior executive in the way that she/he identifies strategic challenges, analyzes the competitive and firm environment, formulates alternative courses of action, conveys strategic thinking to others, and justifies recommendations in ways that are firmly grounded in strategic theory and supported by strategic logic. Senior managers have daily responsibilities for examining critical assumptions, discerning hidden values, evaluating evidence, accomplishing actions and assessing conclusions. Importantly, students will practice these skills as an essential component of this course.
After you’ve built your foundational skills through the core, you’ll have the opportunity to specialize your coursework to fit your career goals. You can choose from more than 25 elective classes to complete your degree.
This course is designed to support aspiring entrepreneurs who intend to launch and grow a business.
Recognizing that the founder is the critical success factor in new enterprise formation and building, the course addresses the concepts, skills, information, attitudes, and alternatives that are relevant for start-up entrepreneurs and entrepreneurial managers. In this course, students investigate the characteristics common to entrepreneurs and evaluate how successful entrepreneurs create and build value for themselves and others. They will also evaluate how successful entrepreneurs and investors create and differentiate profitable and durable opportunities from just “other good ideas.” Students will also review the roles that marketing, human resources, and operations play in the organization and operation of a new venture. Finally, students will learn how to evaluate the necessary financial and non-financial resources available for new ventures as well as review the criteria that resource providers use to screen and evaluate the attractiveness and risk of proposals.
This course applies the principles and tools of economics, accounting, and finance to the specific situations of multinational corporations.
Multinationals are particularly well suited to exploit market imperfections. In this course, students will learn how to identify market imperfections as well as how to exploit them for profit and competitive advantage. Students will also explore how to identify and manage the unique risk factors faced by multinationals.
This course focuses on the core processes of human resource planning, recruitment and selection.
Specific topics include the development and administration of internal and external recruitment, HR planning, job analysis and selection systems. In addition, the course will focus on the ways in which talent acquisition can enable a firm to gain a competitive advantage. The course would be of interest not only to those who plan a career in the field of human resource management, but also to those who plan careers in any field where talent recruitment and selection is a part of their core job responsibilities.
Competitive advantage throughout the supply chain and marketplace is possible with the right strategy. This course focuses on this idea through concepts, techniques, and topics on creating value for customers and understanding relationships within and outside of the organization.
More and more organizations are turning to predictive analytics to help solve difficult problems and uncover new opportunities. In this course, students will explore the tools and techniques that enable business leaders to use big data to make better decisions. Students will focus on how classification models in data mining can be successfully applied in business. It will also cover the statistical and artificial intelligence-based tools commonly used in data mining work.
Market globalization is increasing and competition, both domestic and foreign, is on the rise with it. This course explores how to use the key concepts of international marketing to create a competitive advantage for businesses in today’s market.
With the increasing globalization of markets, companies find they are unavoidably enmeshed with foreign customers, competitors and suppliers, even within their own borders. They face competition on all fronts—from both domestic and foreign firms. It is imperative that today’s leaders have an understanding of and appreciation for the challenges and issues in doing business in an increasingly globalized business world. This course is designed to enable students to understand key concepts of international marketing and how they can be used to create competitive advantage for businesses.
Elective offerings are subject to change based on instructor availability. Not all courses are offered every academic year.
Here is the current list of electives:
You must complete GRBA 811 before taking any FINA electives
The MBA@Nebraska allows you to add a specialization to your degree. A specialization sends a signal to employers that you’ve acquired a solid set of skills, adding to your credibility and giving you a competitive edge in the job market.
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Joint Programs options include Juris Doctor/MBA and Master of Architecture/MBA. Partner your MBA with the College of Law at Nebraska or with the College of Architecture to make yourself more marketable and achieve career goals that allow you to make the most of your potential.
Our MBA-JD duel degree program integrates the study of law and business and thus expands career opportunities. The joint program is a collaboration between the Nebraska College of Business and the College of Law. Students who complete both degrees often go on to become transactional attorneys, corporate in-house counsel or compliance officers, non-profit directors, management consultants, investment bankers, human resource officers, entrepreneurs or business owners.
During the program, you will take a total of 84 credit hours from the College of Law and complete the 48 credit hours required to receive the MBA degree. Up to 15 hours of the 84 hours of courses taken at the College of Law can be used to satisfy the 48 hours required for the MBA degree. You must meet the application requirements of each college for admittance to the joint degree program.
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This 73-credit hour, dual degree program focuses on the strengths between the professions of architecture and business administration. In recognizing the reality of these expanding interdisciplinary professional responsibilities and opportunities, this dual degree program provides a means of completing requirements for the Master of Business Administration (MBA) and the Master of Architecture (MArch) degrees in a three-year sequence. Individually, they each require two-year programs. While in the program, you may pursue either of the following: a master’s thesis track or professional project/design studio track.
Intended for those who hold a Bachelor of Science in Architectural Studies (BSAS) degree, you must satisfy all entrance requirements for each of the two master’s degree programs before admittance.
All classes last just 8 weeks, so you can take multiple classes per semester and concentrate on one concept at a time. Advance your career while you continue to excel at your current job and keep your family commitments.
All of MBA@Nebraska’s classes are designed by expert faculty who are advancing scholarly research and leading the conversation on what’s next in the field of business.
MBA@Nebraska is built on the Canvas platform which has been designed from the ground up to be easy to use and save you time.
We hate flat PowerPoint presentations, too. Your professors will frequently serve as on-camera guides to break down complex concepts.
PowerPoint presentations can make even the most interesting topics hard to follow. In this lecture, you’ll see MBA@Nebraska professor Dr. Jake Messersmith walk you through the key elements of talent acquisition.
Watch A Video Walkthrough
With our mobile app, you’ll get notifications for course updates and have the opportunity to message faculty or jump into coursework from wherever you are.
Adding tasks to your to-do list, keeping track of due dates, checking grades, messaging faculty and peers, and even watching lectures can be done from the palm of your hand. The Canvas app is a valuable asset in managing your MBA@Nebraska learning experience.
See the App in Action
Participate in optional live group discussions that are recorded for later review, and collaborate with faculty and fellow scholars in real time.
In this recording of a live session, MBA@Nebraska professor Dr. Richard DeFusco walks through financial theories and works real-life problems with his students via webcam and screen sharing. During a live session, you can ask questions, participate in discussion, and follow along in a virtual classroom. Even if you can’t attend or need a refresher, you can view it on your own time as live sessions are recorded for later access.
Watch A Live Class Session
All MBA@Nebraska classes are structured the same way. You can easily hop into a new class without tech stress, allowing you to focus on learning what’s really important.
You won’t have to worry or waste time with learning what’s located where with each course you take. Each class is structured with consistency in mind, allowing you to flow from one course to the next.
See Class Structure
Minimum technology requirements include a webcam and microphone, as well as an operating system that is compliant with the online learning platform, Canvas.
Canvas is best viewed at a minimum resolution of 800x600. If you want to view Canvas on a device with a smaller screen, we recommend using the Canvas mobile app.
Along with compatibility and web standards, Canvas has been carefully crafted to accommodate low bandwidth environments.
Minimum of 512kbps
Some courses may require additional technological components. Please review the syllabus and contact the instructor with specific questions about technology required for a given course.
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If you have immediate questions, contact the College of Business Graduate Programs Office at businessgrad2@unl.edu or 402-472-2338.
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