Master of Business Administration
The Questrom School of Business awards the Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree through several customized formats, each of which provides unique learning experiences and content exposure based on student needs.
Students may earn the MBA degree through the following formats:
- Full-Time MBA
- Part-Time MBA
- Online MBA
Most MBA students will earn a major of Business Administration. Students in the Full-Time or Part-Time programs may also pursue a major of Health Sector Management, Management Science, or Social Impact through those respective MBA programs. Students in the Full-Time program may elect to earn a dual degree in the MS in Digital Technology.
Learning Outcomes
Upon completion of the MBA program, students will be able to demonstrate:
- Responsible Business Leadership.
- Effective communication.
- Critical and analytical thinking.
- Collaboration and leadership.
- Entrepreneurial mindset.
General Management Program
The Full-Time MBA in General Management is a full-time program of 64 units, typically completed in two years.
General Management Full-Time Curriculum—64 units
Required Core Courses
- QST AC 710 Financial Reporting and Analysis (3 units)
- QST BE 720 Organizations, Markets, and Society (3 units)
- QST ES 723 Career Management (0 units)
- QST ES 730 Leadership Communication (1.5 units)
- QST ES 735 Team Coaching (.5 units)
- QST FE 711 Finance 1 (1.5 units)
- QST FE 712 Finance 2 (1.5 units)
- QST MG 730 Ethical Leadership in the Global Economy (1.5 units)
- QST MG 735 Crisis Management (.5 units)
- QST MK 723 Marketing Management (3 units)
- QST MO 713 Managing Organizations and People (3 units)
- QST OM 725 Creating Value Through Operations and Technology (3 units)
- QST QM 716 Business Analytics: Data Analysis and Risk (3 units)
- QST SI 750 Competition, Innovation, and Strategy (3 units)
- Action Learning Elective (3 units): Students must complete one 3-unit course from a list of approved experiential learning electives.
Electives
Eleven additional elective courses at 3 units each, or any combination of approved Questrom coursework totaling 33 units. This can include Questrom electives, approved graduate electives from other schools at BU, or directed studies.
64 units is the minimum required for single MBA completion. The flat, per-term tuition for full-time students encompasses 12–18 units per term. The curriculum and courses are subject to change as recommended by faculty, deans, and administrators of the Questrom School of Business.
Students who receive a “W,” “F,” or “I” grade in a core class cannot continue in the cohorted program.
General Management Part-Time Curriculum—55 units
The Part-Time MBA curriculum contains 28 units of required core courses and 27 units of elective coursework for a total of 55 units. The program is typically complete in three years and must be complete within six years of matriculation.
Required Core Courses
- QST AC 711 Financial Reporting and Control (3 units)
- QST BE 721 Economics and Management Decisions (3 units)
- QST ES 740 Leadership Communication (2 units)
- QST ES 750 Leadership Through Collaboration (.5 units)
- QST FE 722 Financial Management (3 units)
- QST MG 730 Ethical Leadership in the Global Economy (1.5 units)
- QST MK 724 Marketing Management (3 units)
- QST MO 712 Leading Organizations and People (3 units)
- QST OM 726 Creating Value through Operations and Technology (3 units)
- QST QM 717 Data Analysis for Managerial Decision-Making (3 units)
- QST SI 751 Competition, Innovation, and Strategy (3 units)
- Action Learning Elective (3 units): Students must complete one 3-unit course from a list of approved experiential learning electives.
Electives
Eight additional elective courses at 3 units each, or any combination of approved Questrom coursework totaling 27 units. This can include Questrom electives, approved graduate electives from other schools at BU, or directed studies.
A total of 55 units are required to earn the MBA in the Part-Time MBA program.
Management Science Major
The Management Science major is available to students who enroll in the full- or part-time MBA program, and it prepares students to leverage quantitative analysis and apply operations research techniques to confront problems and enhance decisionmaking within organizations. It provides a more focused set of courses than the general management curriculum. Students who pursue this major may also complete a second major in Social Impact or Health Sector Management or pursue the MS in Digital Technology program.
Students complete the Management Science major by completing 15 units within a set of focused courses as part of the fulfillment of the elective requirements of their MBA degree program, as follows:
Foundational Courses (Quantitative Skills & Modeling) (6 units)
Students must complete the following (3 units):
- QST IS 879 Structured Business Modeling with Spreadsheets
Students must then select one analytics or programming course from the following list (3 units). Please note, students may not substitute an additional course from the programming/analytics list for a course from the electives list:
- QST IS 823 Analytics for Managers
- QST IS 833 Introduction to Data Analytics in Python
- QST IS 834 Introduction to Python for Data Analytics
- QST QM 877 Intro to Python Bootcamp AND QST QM 878 Deep Learning with Python Bootcamp
- QST QM 880 Business Analytics: Spreadsheet Optimization and Simulation
Management Science Electives (9 units)
Students must complete three of the following (9 units):
- QST AC 814 Financial Statement Analysis & Investor Decisions
- QST AC 820 Financial Analytics
- QST AC 830 Managerial Accounting
- CAS CS 595 Blockchains and their Applications (4 units)
- QST FE 823 Investments
- QST FE 829 Futures, Options, and Financial Risk Management
- QST FE 870 Analysis and Management of Financial Risk (1.5 units)
- QST HM 817 Advances in Digital Health
- QST IS 737 Decision Making with Data
- QST IS 811 Generative AI: Responsible AI for Business Analytics (1.5 units)
- QST IS 841 Advanced Analytics for Managers: Data Mining
- QST IS 843 Big Data Analytics for Business
- QST IS 863 Generative AI: Strategy, Adoption, and Integration in Business (1.5 units)
- QST MK 842 Machine Learning for Business Analytics
- QST MK 852 Data Driven Marketing Decisions
- QST MK 864 Pricing Strategy and Tactics
- QST MK 876 Digital Marketing Analytics
- QST MK 878 Customer Analytics
- QST MO 860 People Analytics
- QST OM 840 Improving Organizational Performance with Analytics
- QST OM 851 Environmentally Sustainable Supply Chains
- QST OM 855 Project Management
- QST PL 855 Energy Sector Market Dynamics
Health Sector Management Program
The Health Sector Management (HSM) program is available to full-time and part-time students. The full-time HSM MBA program consists of:
- 31 units of MBA core courses
- 9 units of HSM core courses and 6 units of HSM elective courses
- Action Learning Elective (3 units): Students must complete one 3-unit course from a list of approved experiential learning electives.
- 18 units of additional electives
- A Health Sector internship
Through the Health Sector Management MBA program, students learn essential management skills and develop the conceptual frameworks necessary to apply them successfully in the field of healthcare. The program requires a Health Sector internship, which students typically complete during the summer between the first and second years of the program.
The Health Sector Management curriculum augments the core MBA with required courses that provide an in-depth understanding of the structure and operation of healthcare systems. Building on the skills acquired in the core MBA program, the Health Sector Management curriculum focuses on health service delivery, life science products, and health sector consulting.
HSM Full-Time Curriculum—64 units
Note: Two of the eight electives must be HSM electives in addition to HM 703, HM 710 or HM 717, plus HM 820, in the second year.
First Year
Fall (20 units)
- Pre-Term: QST MG 730 Ethical Leadership in the Global Economy (1.5 units)
- Full Term:
- QST ES 723 Career Management (0 units)
- QST ES 730 Leadership Communication (1.5 units)
- QST ES 735 Team Coaching (0.5 units)
- Module 1:
- QST AC 710 Financial Reporting and Analysis (3 units)
- QST BE 720 Organizations, Markets, and Society (3 units)
- QST MO 713 Leading Organizations and People (3 units)
- Module 2:
- QST FE 711 Finance 1 (1.5 units)
- QST MK 723 Marketing Management (3 units)
- QST QM 716 Business Analytics: Data Analysis and Risk Management (3 units)
Spring (16.5 units)
- QST ES 723 Career Management (0 units)
- QST FE 712 Finance 2 (1.5 units)
- QST HM 703 Health Sector Issues and Opportunities (3 units)
- QST OM 725 Creating Value Through Operations and Technology (3 units)
- QST SI 750 Competition, Innovation, and Strategy (3 units)
- Elective* (3 units)
- Action Learning Elective (3 units): Students must complete one 3-unit course from a list of approved experientially based electives. This course may be taken any time in year 1 or year 2.
Summer
Second Year
Fall (15.5 units)
- QST ES 723 Career Management (0 units)
- QST HM 710 Health Service Delivery (3 units) or
HM 717 Drugs, Devices, and Diagnostics (3 units)
- QST HM 820 Strategy, Economics, and Policy in the Health Sector (3 units)
- QST MG 735 Integrated Risk Management (.5 units)
- Elective* (3 units)
- Elective* (3 units)
- Elective* (3 units)
Spring (12 units)
- Elective* (3 units)
- Elective* (3 units)
- Elective* (3 units)
- Elective* (3 units)
*Two of the eight electives must be HSM electives. They can be chosen from the list below.
These electives can create an intensive and targeted education within any subset of the health sector. Two courses selected from the following list are required:
- ENG BE 696 Advanced Deployment of Biomedical Innovations
- QST HM 710 Health Service Delivery: Strategies, Solutions, and Execution**
- QST HM 717 Drugs, Devices, and Diagnostics: New Challenges, Strategies, and Execution**
- QST HM 801 Bench-to-Bedside: Translating Biomedical Innovation from the Laboratory to the Marketplace
- QST HM 817 Advances in Digital Health
- QST HM 833 Health Sector Marketing
- QST HM 840 Health Sector Consulting
- QST HM 848 Driving Health Sector Innovation
- QST OM 840 Improving Organizational Performance with Analytics
- QST SI 814 Intellectual Property Strategies
**Course will count as an HSM elective if not taken as an HSM core course.
64 units is the minimum required for single MBA completion. The flat, per-term tuition for full-time students encompasses 12–18 units per term. The curriculum and courses are subject to change as recommended by faculty, deans, and administrators of the Questrom School of Business.
Students who receive a “W,” “F,” or “I” grade in a core class cannot continue in the cohorted program.
Social Impact Program
The Social Impact program is available to full-time and part-time students. The full-time Social Impact MBA program consists of:
- 31 units of MBA core courses
- 3 units of Social Impact core courses and 9 units of Social Impact elective courses
- 21 units of electives
- Action Learning Elective (3 units): Students must complete one 3-unit course from a list of approved experiential learning electives.
- A Social Impact internship
Social Impact Full-Time Curriculum—64 units
Note: Nine units of the electives must be Social Impact electives.
First Year
Fall (20 units)
- Pre-Term: QST MG 730 Ethical Leadership in the Global Economy (1.5 units)
- Full Term:
- QST ES 723 Career Management (0 units)
- QST ES 730 Leadership Communication (1.5 units)
- QST ES 735 Team Coaching (0.5 units)
- Module 1:
- QST AC 710 Financial Reporting and Analysis (3 units)
- QST BE 720 Organizations, Markets, and Society (3 units)
- QST MO 713 Leading Organizations and People (3 units)
- Module 2:
- QST FE 711 Finance 1 (1.5 units)
- QST MK 723 Marketing Management (3 units)
- QST QM 716 Business Analytics: Data Analysis and Risk Management (3 units)
Spring (16.5 units)
- QST ES 723 Career Management (0 units)
- QST FE 712 Finance 2 (1.5 units)
- QST OM 725 Creating Value Through Operations and Technology (3 units)
- QST SI 750 Competition, Innovation, and Strategy (3 units)
- QST SR 801 Social Impact: Business, Society, and Environment (3 units)
- Elective* (3 units)
- Elective* (3 units)—optional
- Action Learning Elective (3 units): Students must complete one 3-unit course from a list of approved experientially based electives.
Summer
- Social Impact Internship (Required)
Second Year
Fall (15 units)
- QST ES 723 Career Management (0 units)
- Elective* (3 units)
- Elective* (3 units)
- Elective* (3 units)
- Elective* (3 units)
- Elective* (3 units)
Spring (12 units)
- Elective* (3 units)
- Elective* (3 units)
- Elective* (3 units)
- Elective* (3 units)
*Nine units of electives must be Social Impact electives, chosen from the following list:
- QST FE 833 ESG Equity Investing
- QST FE 854 Entrepreneurial Finance
- QST HM 703 Health Sector Issues and Opportunities
- QST IM 860 Social Impact Field Seminar
- QST IS 811 Generative AI: Responsible AI for Business Analytics (1.5 units)
- QST MK 867 Purpose-Led Marketing
- QST MO 830 Leading Mission-Driven Organizations
- QST MO 833 Executive Compensation**
- QST MO 848 Leadership Challenge
- QST OM 851 Environmentally Sustainable Supply Chains
- QST PL 833 Business Law and Discrimination (1.5 units)
- QST PL 855 Energy Sector Market Dynamics
- QST SI 836 Decarbonization of the Global Economy
- QST SI 849 Corporate Sustainability Strategy
- QST SI 852 Starting New Ventures**
- QST SR 831 Sustainability Reporting (formerly QST AC 831)
- QST SR 841 Fundamentals of Nonprofit Management (formerly OB 841)
- QST SR 850 Global Entrepreneurship
**QST MO 833 and SI 852 only count toward Social Impact degree requirements with qualifying project.
64 units is the minimum required for single MBA completion. The flat, per-semester tuition for full-time students encompasses 12–18 units per semester. The curriculum and courses are subject to change as recommended by faculty, deans, and administrators of Questrom School of Business.
Students who receive a “W,” “F,” or “I” grade in a core class, excluding Executive Skills classes, cannot continue in the cohorted program.
Action Learning Electives
The following courses may be used to fulfill the Action Learning requirement:
- QST HM 840 Health Care Consulting
- QST IS 827 Platform Strategy and Design
- QST MK 854 Brand Management
- QST SI 859 Strategy Implementation
- QST SI 860 Managing Corporate Innovation
