"Pre-skills" summer coursework is required for many of the core courses to fully prepare students for the first fall semester. Pre-skills courses equip students with the fundamental quantitative concepts and skills necessary for mastery in these and future courses. Pre-skills coursework prepares students to perform at a "higher level," that is, focusing on managerial implications instead of quantitative details.
UMD students have unlimited access to LinkedIn Learning, an online library of instructional videos covering the latest software, creative, and business skills.
Required Summer Pre-Skills Assignment for BMGT 606: Data Driven Decision Making
BMGT 606: Data Driven Decision Making (or DDDM) is a required course that all students will complete in their first semester. This critically important course covers analytical tools and models for managerial decisions that are used extensively in managerial practice as well as in other subsequent courses in the curriculum. To prepare for DDDM all students are required to complete "Spreadsheet Modeling, Introductory Section (SM)," an online course from Harvard Business Publishing. This online course focuses on fundamental skills in spreadsheet analysis that will be used in DDDM.
Study Time Required: Go through the various units making sure to constructively use the active learning method that is the basis of this online course. The faculty instructor for DDDM will be able to monitor your progress through the various parts of this online course. Harvard Business Publishing estimates that it will take 6 hours to complete this course. Please assume this as a minimum to be safe and plan accordingly. Students are urged to register for SM and begin studying the course material as soon as possible.
Performance and Due Date: SM includes a Final Exam with only once chance. Performance in this exam will account towards the 5% of the grade for BMGT 606. The deadline for taking the SM final exam is Sunday, August 27, 2023, at 6:00 p.m. eastern time.
Academic Integrity: Students will complete this assignment under the University of Maryland's Code of Academic Integrity. Any violation of this code, such as receiving help from another individual in taking a Test, will result in an academic integrity sanction.
Please direct questions about BMGT 606 pre-skills assignement to Professor Tunay Tunca via email at ttunca@umd.edu.
Harvard Business School Publishing Online Course Registration Information
Course descriptions are available at: https://hbsp.harvard.edu/online-courses/; required courses for the MS in Management Studies:
Course Number and Name: Spreadsheet Modeling Online Course, Excel 2014: Introductory Section
Cost: $45.00, to be paid individually by the student directly to HBSP
Login Information:
- Turn off all pop-up blockers
- Go to https://hbsp.harvard.edu/import/1066318
- See step by step instructions
Technical Requirements: HBSP courses are internet-based and cannot be accessed off-line; different computers can be used for access, as long as each computer satisfies certain requirements. See the technical specifications for Online Courses on the Harvard Business Publishing Education website.
Technical Difficulty? Contact the Harvard Business School Publishing Technical Support at custserv@hbsp.harvard.edu or 800-810-8858 or see https://hbsp.harvard.edu/contact-us/.
Required In-Person Workshops
The training provided in these workshops will provide both a good foundation for success in fall courses as well as with some of the required pre-skills assignments. Workshops are required and provided at no cost.
Tuesday, August 22, 2023 (part of New Student Orientation; lunch will be provided)
- 9:30 - 11:30 a.m. Excel Pre-Skills Workshop (Download Datasets)
- 12:30 - 3:30 p.m. Finance Pre-Skills Workshop
Thursday, August 24, 2023 (part of New Student Orientation; lunch will be provided)
- 10:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m./1:30 - 3:30 p.m. Algebra Pre-Skills Workshop
Optional Online Skill-Building Courses
Students may find the following useful; some resources are based on career specialization interests:
- LinkedIn Learning: Product Management: Building a Product Strategy (marketing and product management focused students)
- LinkedIn Learning: R (marketing students; anyone who would like to learn R)
- LinkedIn Learning: How to Succeed in a Case Study Interview (strongly recommended for consulting focused students and for anyone who may encounter a case interview)
- LinkedIn Learning: Branding Foundations (marketing students interested in brand management)
- Excel (for students with no Excel experience)
- Business Writing and Communications
Optional Summer Reading List
The University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business recently published its Summer Reading List 2023, as recommended by faculty.