Global MBA Curriculum

The Global MBA Program begins each February with the Asia Session, consisting of one month each in Korea and Japan, followed by a month in Silicon Valley. In June, students relocate to the Ross campus at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor for the remaining thirteen months of the program.

Students complete the required Ross MBA core courses in the first six months, consisting of the two months in Asia, one month in Silicon Valley, and the first three months in Ann Arbor. Upon completing the core, students are free to pursue a wide variety of electives at Ross during two four-month terms (fall and winter). The program concludes with the seven-week Multidisciplinary Action Projects requirement.

Global MBA Class of 2020 Schedule

* Students who demonstrate proficiency in English during the application phase may place out of the course.

The Ross MBA Program requires successful completion of 57 graduate credit hours. Students must complete a minimum of 27 credit hours of coursework during the fall 2019 and winter 2020 terms, including an approved law or ethics course and the Competing in the Global Business Environment (formerly known as The World Economy) course (1.5 credit hours). Students may take a maximum of 18 credit hours during each of the fall 2019 and winter 2020 terms.

The Ross MBA curriculum prepares you to lead by offering a combination of rigorous fundamentals, practical experience, and the freedom to explore. We want you to leave the school with broader aspirations, the tools to achieve them, and the confidence to pursue them.

Business challenges are often complex. You must be able to see from many perspectives in order to assess your risks and opportunities.

The broad-based management approach at Ross delivers an integrated view of business. Our focus on action-based learning gives you the tools and hands-on experience to lead change, drive innovation, and implement creative solutions.

The core courses give you a broad grounding in the fundamentals of:

• financial and managerial accounting
• business economics
• business statistics
• finance
• business communication
• management and organizations
• marketing
• operations management
• strategy

Additional Degree Requirements:

1. Competing in the Global Business Environment (formerly known as the World Economy) (STRATEGY 503 - 1.5 credits) core course which must be completed during either the fall or winter term in Ann Arbor.

2. Law/Ethics: This requirement can be met by waiver request or by taking ONE of a selection of courses at any time during either the fall or winter term in Ann Arbor. (Students who have earned a Juris Doctor degree are automatically waived from this requirement.) The following courses will satisfy the Law/Ethics requirement: BL/ES 504, BL 507, BL 508, BL 509, BL 512, BL 513, BL 514, BL 517, or BL 582

3. MBA Communication Requirement: Global MBA students fulfill the communication requirement through successful completion of BCOM 594 and BCOM 595 offered at the beginning of the program.

4. In the final term, you put the curriculum to work in the Multidisciplinary Action Projects course (see below), integrating your analytical tools with teamwork and leadership development on a strategic project inside an actual firm or organization.

After completing your core courses, during the fall (September-December) and winter (January-April) terms, you are free to pursue a wide range of elective courses. Ross offers you the flexibility to focus studies on a specific area or broaden studies over a variety of disciplines. During your elective terms, you also need to fulfill the World Economy and Law/Ethics requirements (see above). With the exception of those two courses, you are free to select from more than 110 electives offerings at the Ross school or across the University.

Benchmarking COURSES

In addition to the traditional MBA electives available, the Global MBA Program offers unique opportunities through the STRATEGY 598 Benchmarking courses. Two courses are offered — one during the session in Silicon Valley and the other in New York during the fall term. In each location, students visit about 6 companies, from diverse industries over a two-day period. These courses are exclusive to the Global MBA Program and provide ample opportunities to meet top executives at major U.S. companies.

Featured courses:

Business Leadership in Changing Times MO 611
Could you announce a significant shift in company strategy to investors in a case simulation? How about in front of a C-Level executive from the very company you are studying? The CEO and other C-level executives of Fortune 500 companies make regular appearances in this class. Your performance will be closely scrutinized and rigorously critiqued – but the opportunity is unique.

Action Learning Project in Operations, Procurement, and Supply Chain TO 582
In this 14-week project, taught in cooperation with A.T. Kearney, students address a major operations or supply chain problem within a company. You’ll benefit from guest lectures by A.T. Kearney and Fortune 500 company executives.

Social Intrapreneurship: Leading Social Innovation in Organizations MO 637
Drawing on the latest advances in social research, network analysis, and information technology, this course builds a toolkit for leading social innovation within organizations. Live case studies with guest intrapreneurs from companies of all sizes help you to apply the principles in practice.

Entrepreneurial Turnaround Management ES 735
You'll examine turnaround management techniques, led by an experienced practitioner. This hands-on course evaluates analysis techniques, prioritization of tasks, communication strategies, strategic repositioning, financial restructuring, and the psychological aspects of troubled situations.

Marketing Engineering MKT 630
Professions such as marketing manager, account manager, and market researcher are evolving rapidly in the new technology-intense marketing environment. The new marketing needs people with marketing engineering skills, and this course develops those skills.

Strategies For Growth STRAT 672
This course develops a framework for determining the direction of growth: market penetration, globalization, vertical integration, related diversification and unrelated diversification, and the mode of growth. You will also explore the organizational challenges in implementing the growth strategy.

Integrated Product Development Course TO 548
Partner with students in the College of Engineering and School of Art and Design to research, design, manufacture, and market a fully functional, customer-ready prototype of an actual product. Then compete against classmates in a trade show.

See also:
Zell Lurie Institute Funds

FOCUSED LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES

Ross students inhabit a world of powerful, relevant ideas, both in and out of the classroom, through focused learning opportunities in the school’s leading institutes and centers. The very opposite of ivory towers, these institute and centers are committed to practice, experience, and hands-on learning.

ACROSS THE UNIVERSITY

100+ of the University of Michigan’s graduate programs rank in the top 10 (U.S. News & World Report). You have the opportunity to take up to 10 of your 57 required credits at any of the graduate programs offered by the University of Michigan.

INTERNATIONAL EXCHANGE PROGRAM

Michigan Ross arranges semester-long study abroad programs with partnering business schools worldwide, including opportunities in Asia, Australia, Latin America, and Europe. Students participating in an exchange are able to earn up to 15 credit hours toward their Michigan Ross degree.

DUAL DEGREE PROGRAM

If you are equally passionate about another subject beyond business, Ross offers 23 established dual degrees, including in engineering, education, social work, public policy, public health and law.

Your Global MBA Program culminates with our renowned Multidisciplinary Action Projects course, which epitomizes Ross’ dedication to action-based learning. It’s a seven-week, hands-on project for a sponsoring company seeking a creative solution to a critical organizational challenge. Projects are hosted by incubators, startups, nongovernmental organizations, and multinational corporations throughout the world.

Each project requires you to collaborate with a team of peers and a faculty advisor to confront the ambiguities of a real-world business challenge. You apply academic concepts, problem-solving skills, and imagination to frame and resolve that challenge. At the conclusion of the project, you deliver your analysis and recommendations to the sponsor and Ross faculty in a formal presentation and written report.

As you delve into the MAP experience, you may be asked to:

• develop a business strategy
• target opportunities for growth
• solve a market entry problem
• develop new products
• assess mergers, acquisitions, partnerships, and joint ventures
• perform complex financial modeling
• launch feasibility studies
• generate product launch and distribution plans
• propose operations improvements
• perform risk analysis

Learn more about MAP

Once you complete your Ross Global MBA, you have the opportunity to complete a Post-MBA Research Project. This is a chance to enhance your education through a comprehensive research project integrating all that you have learned.

Available exclusively to Global MBA students, the project is offered for seven or 14 weeks. Under the guidance of a faculty advisor, you'll apply the knowledge gained at Ross to a real situation faced by your employer. Then, you'll deliver a final report and present proposed solutions.