Elective Courses & Concentrations

Personalized Degree Planning

As a graduate student in the School of Management, you have the freedom to tailor your MS Accounting or MBA experience to meet your career goals by choosing from a variety of elective courses across disciplines.  

For details regarding elective course offerings, program requirements, and MBA concentration requirements, please view the classes below and consult with the Graduate Advising Office.  

MS Accounting Elective Options

Students in the MS Accounting program are not able to declare a concentration, however they may choose to take elective courses in any one of the business disciplines to enrich their course of study. A small number of electives may be restricted, so MS Accounting students should consult with the Graduate Advising Office before finalizing course schedule plans.

MBA Elective and Concentration Options

Students in the MBA program may choose to take elective courses in any one of the business disciplines to enrich their course of study. Only students who have earned an undergraduate degree in accounting from a U.S. college are eligible to register for ACCT courses at the graduate level.

While not required, many students in the MBA program choose to complete a concentration.

  • To complete a concentration in management information systems, finance, marketing, and leadership and consulting, students must take a minimum of four courses (16 credit hours).
  • Students completing the business analytics concentration must take a minimum of five courses (20 credit hours). 

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Elective Course Availability 

We cannot guarantee when elective courses will be offered. If an elective course is required for your area of concentration, you are strongly urged to register for that course when you see it is available. Most required elective courses are only offered once per academic year. If an elective course is closed at the time of your registration, submit a Closed Course Petition.

Technical Electives

Depending on your program of study, you may be required to complete a specific number of business electives designated as "technical" electives. Technical electives are indicated with a "T".

Accounting 

Only students who have earned an undegraduate degree in accounting from a U.S. college are eligibile to register for ACCT courses at the graduate level. The accounting concentration focuses on core concepts and procedures for generating accounting information, and the various ways it can be utilized to make business decisions.

ACCT 540 Financial Accounting Theory (T)
ACCT 541 Auditing and Managerial Accounting Theory (T)
ACCT 550 Accounting Information Systems (T)
ACCT 555 Advanced Accounting Theory
ACCT 573 Individual Tax
ACCT 581B Forensic Accounting: Audit Analytics (T)
ACCT 581F Accounting Analytics (T)

Business Analytics

Students in the business analytics concentration will learn how to use modern technologies and data analysis techniques to engage in strategic decision-making and make projections of future outcomes.

Required for Concentration:

SCM 572 Advanced Modeling and Simulation (T)
MIS 525 Essentials of Programming (T)

And Select One of the Following:

SCM 575 Data Mining and Business Intelligence (T)
MIS 580J Introduction to Machine Learning (T)
MKTG 580R Data Mining Techniques in Marketing (T)

And Select Two of the Following:

ACCT 581F Accounting Analytics (T)
MGMT 581L Advanced Business Statistics for Business Analytics (T)
MIS 533 Database Management Systems (T)
MIS 580H Web Mining and Social Network Analysis (T)
MIS 580L Data Science Project (T)
MIS 581F IT for Business Analytics (T)
MKTG 575 Data Driven Marketing (T)
MKTG 580H Analytical Marketing Strategy (T)
MKTG 580L Optimizing Customer Strategy (T)
MKTG 580U Introduction to Digital Marketing (T)
SCM 565  Supply Chain Management

Finance

The finance concentration provides students the opportunity to learn about core money management principles for businesses, firms, governments, and individuals. Emphasis is placed on the utilization of analytical tools to engage in effective operational and investment strategies. 

FIN 520 Financial Management
FIN 540 Security and Portfolio Analysis
FIN 550 Derivatives (T)
FIN 555 Fixed Income Securities (T)
FIN 580A ESG Investing
FIN 580E Financial Statement Analysis
FIND 580J Financial Technology (T)
FIN 581A Arbitrage Strategy (T)
SCM 560  Decision Modeling and Risk Analysis (T)

Leadership and Consulting

The leadership and consulting concentration is for students interested in understanding the dynamics of people in organizations, and how to communicate effectively as a leader in order to create systemic change. Students will learn the fundamentals of creating an culture of adaptivity and responsiveness to the organization's changing needs. 

ENT 580A Entrepreneurial Finance
LEAD 551 Foundation Skills and Development
LEAD 552 Team Leadership (T)
LEAD 553 Strategic Leadership (T)
LEAD 580C Human Resources
MGMT 583N Negotiations

Management Information Systems

The management information systems concentration focusses on how people can use technology to manage business information. Emphasis is on the design and implementation of business information systems aimed at increasing efficiency and effectiveness. 

MIS 523 Information Systems Analysis and Specification (T)
MIS 525 Essentials of Programming (T)
MIS 533 Database Management Systems (T)
MIS 550 IT Security and Forensics (T)
MIS 573 Information Systems Project Course (T)
MIS 580E Advanced Spread Sheeting (T)
MIS 580G Introduction to Cybersecurity (T)
MIS 580H Web Mining and Social Network Analysis (T)
MIS 580J Introduction to Machine Learning (T)
MIS 580K Blockchain Tech and Applications (T)
MIS 580L Data Science Project (T)
MIS 580N Emerging Issues in Cybersecurity (T)
MIS 581B Forensic Accounting: Audit Analysis (T)
MIS 581F IT for Business Analytics (T)
MIS 586 E-Business (T)
ACCT 550 Accounting Information Systems (T)

Marketing

Students in the marketing concentration learn the fundamentals of studying consumer behavior in order to make data-driven, integrated marketing decisions. Coursework emphasizes brand markets, competitors, and product portfolios in today's highly competitive global market.

MKTG 535 Consumer Behavior
MKTG 540 Marketing Research (T)
MKTG 575 Data Driven Marketing (T)
MKTG 580A Social Media Behavior
MKTG 580C Strategic Brand Management
MKTG 580E Relationship Marketing
MKTG 580F Social Media Behavior and Analytics
MKTG 580H Analytical Marketing Strategy (T)
MKTG 580K Strategic Media Planning
MKTG 580L Optimizing Customer Strategy (T)
MKTG 580M Social Media Marketing
MKTG 580Q Machine Learning and AI Marketing Strategy (T)
MKTG 580R Data Mining Techniques (T)
MKTG 580U Introduction to Digital Marketing (T)
MKTG 581A Judgment and Decision Making
MKTG 581E Data Driven Consumer Behavior
MKTG 581G Customer Analytics (T)
SCM 560 Decision Modeling and Risk Analysis (T)
SCM 572 Advanced Decision Modeling and Simulation (T)