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TEST - ACADEMIC OVERVIEW: FTMBA

Full-Time MBA Academic Overview

FTMBA

Holistic Academic-Career Program:The program begins with MBA Core courses that explore self-awareness, leadership, communication and value creation in order to help students identify their personal interest and value in the market place. The curriculum is designed to be flexible and customizable to suit each individuals' career goals. The program offers 100 different electives and opportunities to take courses from other graduate schools at USC like the School of Cinematic Arts or Viterbi School of Engineering. The Core Curriculum is designed to provide students with the fundamental principles of business that every manager needs to know and is delivered over five terms within the first academic year.

In Term 4, student-teams participate in a consulting project with a Los Angeles-based company, developing solutions for real-life business problems, using fundamental business tools they have learned in the program. In Term 5, students also begin to explore global business through the Global Context of Business course followed by the PRIME overseas experience. USC Marshall’s signature PRIME overseas experience is an experiential opportunity that allows students to travel abroad to one of a select number of countries to gain first-hand knowledge of how business is done globally. During the 10-day PRIME trip, students visit domestic and multinational companies and governmental institutions, develop business insights and complete projects that take into consideration the cultural, financial, regulatory, political and other constraints and opportunities of the country.

USC Marshall Full-time MBA student on campus.

FULL-TIME MBA CURRICULUM

COURSES

The following is a sample of FTMBA Year One courses. The second semester of Year One includes 9 elective credits.

  • GSBA-511
    Microeconomics for Management
    Microeconomic theory with business applications; consumer demand, production theory, cost theory and market theory; decision making within the firm under different market and regulatory environments.
  • GSBA-532
    Leading People, Teams and Organizations
    How to make sound decisions, build and leverage social capital, negotiate effectively and influence and motivate others without relying on formal authority. Duplicates credit in GSBA 507, GSBA 522ab, GSBA 533, and GSBA 543.
  • GSBA-540
    Contemporary Issues in Competitive Strategy
    Introduces the role industry and competitive analysis serves in an organization. Topics covered include global competition, innovation, the use of standards, competence, and building organizational capabilities to sustain competitive advantage. Duplicates credit in GSBA 529.

Year Two requires additional graduate business elective courses (500-level ACCT, BAEP, BUCO, DSO, FBE, GSBA, MKT or MOR) sufficient to bring the total to at least 63 units required to complete the degree.

FTMBA FACULTY

  • Scott Abrams

    Scott Abrams
    • Academic Director for the Full-Time MBA Program
    • Associate Professor of Clinical Finance and Business Economics

    Scott Abrams is an Associate Professor of Clinical Finance and Business Economics at the USC Marshall School of Business. He specializes in corporate finance, financial analysis and valuation, and portfolio management. Professor Abrams teaches these subjects in the MBA, MS Finance, and Undergraduate Programs. He is a two-time winner of the Golden Apple Teaching Award for the Full-Time MBA Core Program (2016 and 2021) and a winner of the Golden Apple Teaching Award for Undergraduate Electives (2023). In addition, he serves as the Academic Director for the Full-Time MBA Program.

  • Anthony Borquez

    Anthony Borquez
    • Professor of the Practice in Entrepreneurship

    Dr. Anthony Borquez is an expert at building and scaling creative tech businesses. He is the founder of Grab, a leader in augmented and virtual reality. He also founded Blue Label Games, an early leader in mobile game development, later acquired by Konami.

  • Sriram Dasu

    Sriram Dasu
    • Professor of Data Sciences and Operations

    Sriram Dasu's research has been published Queuing Systems, Operations Research, and Management Science. He has served as associate editor of Management Science and senior editor of Manufacturing and Service Operations. His research interest are healthcare operations, global health, service operations with focus on customer psychology, and supply chain management.

  • Shaun Harper

    Shaun Harper
    • University Professor of Business, Education and Public Policy
    • Provost Professor of Management and Organization
    • Clifford and Betty Allen Chair in Urban Leadership
    • USC Race and Equity Center Founder and Executive Director
    • Forbes Contributor

    Shaun Harper teaches MBA students and advises companies on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). He has worked with more than 400 businesses, agencies, and institutions; published 12 books and over 100 academic papers; and procured $21.8 million in foundation grants and $15.1 million in contracts for the center he directs at USC. His research has been cited in more than 23,000 published studies, in multiple amicus briefs submitted to the U.S. Supreme Court, and on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives.

    The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Black Enterprise, Washington Business Journal, Business Insider, and hundreds of other news outlets have quoted Shaun and featured his research. He has been interviewed on CNN, MSNBC, ESPN, and NPR. Articles he has written for Forbes, Rolling Stone, Washington Post, CNN.com, Fortune, and Los Angeles Times have been read by more than 3 million people.

    The U.S. Air Force, Nike, Zoom, T-Mobile, Google, Microsoft, Mattel, NBC Universal, Anheuser-Busch, Major League Baseball, the National Football League, and the City of Los Angeles are among the organizations with which Dr. Harper has worked. Prior to USC, Dr. Harper was a tenured full professor at the University of Pennsylvania.

    In 2023, the Los Angeles Times featured Harper as one of 111 DEI leaders across industries who are driving change in the nation’s second-largest city.

  • Christopher J. Harrer

    Christopher J. Harrer
    • Adjunct Professor of Entrepreneurship

    Christopher J. Harrer is a successful entrepreneur and educator with over 30 years experience in the finance, real estate, and service industries. He is an Adjunct Professor at the USC Marshall School of Business and has been teaching at the Lloyd Greif Center for Entrepreneurial Studies since 2002 and has won the student-voted Golden Apple Teaching Award. An accomplished entrepreneur in the hospitality and information management industries, Harrer was the founder of United Document Storage LLC and Pacifico’s LLC prior to successfully selling both companies.

  • Shon R. Hiatt

    Shon R. Hiatt
    • Director, Business of Energy Transition Initiative
    • Associate Professor of Management and Organization

    Shon Hiatt is an associate professor of business administration, director of the Business of Energy Transition initiative, and faculty affiliate of the Greif Center for Entrepreneurial Studies. He researches entrepreneurship, strategy, innovation and sustainability in the global energy and agribusiness sectors. His work has been published in leading academic journals and featured in popular media outlets.

  • Shane Kelly

    Shane Kelly
    • Adjunct Professor of Entrepreneurship

    Shane’s work in tech, media, and investing has been featured by TenOneTen’s LA Venture Podcast, Google Developers, and Forbes. Shane founded Cinematica Labs to develop mission-oriented entrepreneurial ecosystems in partnership with Pharrell Williams’ Black Ambition and others. He has led investments for Wolverine Angels and CrowdSmart’s Titan Fund to invest in startups including Neurable, Air, and Syntiant. He is an Investment Committee member for Cap Table Coalition and Investor in Residence for HBCUvc. Previously, he served as EIR for Techstars Los Angeles. Shane helped capitalize a slate 20 motion pictures generating over $250 million at the box office.​​​​

  • Stephen Lind

    Stephen Lind
    • Associate Professor of Clinical Business Communication

    Stephen Lind, an Associate Professor of Clinical Business Communication at USC's Marshall School of Business, is an award-winning educator known for his expertise in presentation skills, strategic messaging, technology in communication, and consulting. Recognized with the Marshall Teaching Excellence Award, he teaches a range of Marshall programs, from undergraduate courses to graduate electives and traveling global programming. Lind's research, explores unique communication choice, such as communication technology use for business and the risk-laden communication he explores in his industry insight biography, “A Charlie Brown Religion.” With a PhD from Clemson University, Lind also founded BizComm Ally, a consultancy that empowers businesses, from global corporations to local L.A. startups, to elevate their communication strategies.