Curriculum & Academics

The academic environment at the Smith School is rigorous. With a curriculum grounded in data driven decision making, Smith MBAs are prepared to "Lead Fearlessly." They are able to embrace the ever greater amounts of information available and lead the transformations of their functional areas by having the analytic and leadership skill sets that the next generation of business leaders will require. 

For graduation, students are required to complete a total of 54 credit hours - 34 credits of required courses and 20 credits of elective courses.

The Fall 2022 Flex MBA Curriculum Guide will be available this summer and can be utilized for student planning purposes. Curriculum and course numbers are subject to change.

Students are required to complete 34 required course credits for graduation. The required courses are listed below. All courses are 2 credits. Curriculum and course numbers are subject to change. Students will be provided pertinent curriculum information at Opening Residency.

All required courses are completed with a student's cohort at their home campus. The cohort model provides an active, interactive, and dynamic setting for students to develop their knowledge and skill sets. Intended to strengthen the overall MBA experience for each individual, a cohort brings students together to build a strong community, foster creativity, and develop leadership skills.

Course Number
Course Title
Term

BUSI 600

Fundamentals of Business Decision Making

Fall 2021
(August)

BUSI 681

Managerial Economics & Public Policy

Fall 2021 Term A
(August - October)

BUSI 662

Leadership and Teamwork

BUSI 630

Data Driven Decision Making

Fall 2021 Term B
(October - December)

BUSI 650

Marketing Management

BUSI 690

Strategic Management

Spring 2022 Term A
(January - March)

BUSI 610

Introduction to Financial Accounting

BUSI 640

Corporate Finance I

Spring 2022 Term B
(March - May)

BUSI 621

Digital Transformation in Business

BUSIxxx

Business Decoded
(4 credits)

Summer I 2022
(May - July)

AND

Summer II 2022
(July - August)

BUSI 634

Operations Management

Fall 2022 Term A
(August - October)

BUSI 611

Managerial Accounting

Fall 2022 Term B
(October - December)

BUSI 683

The Global Economic Environment

Spring 2023 Term A
(January - March)

BUSI 787

Integrative Capstone - Closing Residency

Summer I 2023
(May/June)

BUSIxxx

MBA Consulting Practicum

Summer I 2023
(May - July)

AND

Summer II 2023
(July - August)

Students are required to complete 20 credits of elective courses for graduation. Mini-Spring electives are offered online. Students can also choose to take the 4-credit Global Business Course* that includes international travel in January. Global Business Course credits will appear on student transcripts as 2 credits in Fall and 2 credits in Spring. For more information about Global Business Courses, please visit the Global Business Course page. The industry focus areas that are available at the Baltimore campus are listed below. Please contact your campus advisor to discuss these focus areas and other elective options.

* The Global Business Course is not required to graduate. Students should contact their campus advisor for questions.

 
Term
General Management
Finance (Corporate)
Digital Marketing

Mini-Spring 2022
(January)

Online Elective

Online Elective

Online Elective

Summer 2022

Term A
(June - July)

Online Elective

Corporate Finance

II

Online Elective

Online Elective

Summer 2022

Term B
(July - August)

Online Elective

Marketing Research and Analytics

Online Elective

Online Elective

Fall 2022

Term A
(August - October)

Negotiations

Financial Strategy

Fall 2022

Term B

Leading with a Strategic Mindset

Digital Customer Journey

Mini-Spring 2023
(January)

Global Business Course Travel*
(4 credits: 2 Spring/2 Fall)

OR

Online Elective

Global Business Course Travel*
(4 credits: 2 Spring/2 Fall)

OR

Online Elective

Global Business Course Travel*
(4 credits: 2 Spring/2 Fall)

OR

Online Elective

Spring 2023

Term A 

(January - March)

Valuation

Digital Promotion and Advertising

Spring 2023

Term B 

(March - May)

AI and Business

Decision Modeling

Corporate Risk Management

Summer 2023

Term A
(June - July)

Ethical Leadership

Digital Marketing Strategy

Summer 2023

Term B
(July - August)

Data Mining

Advanced Financial Modeling and Equity Analysis

The Business Decoded Saturday Seminars during the summer terms explore new developments in business and are taught by our own Maryland Smith faculty experts. Flex MBA students at all three locations are required to complete 50 hours of these special topic seminars as part of their cohorts. Please contact your campus advisor for more information about the Business Decoded seminars.

The Smith MBA program begins with intensely quantitative required courses. In order to ensure that students are able to maximize their learning during this part of the program, it is essential to enter the program with well-developed pre-skills in basic business mathematics. Students are expected to complete the required Pre-Skills for BUSI600 (Opening Residency) in Canvas upon course registration. Please allow up to 24 hours for Canvas to update once registered. 

Academic Calendar 
Academic Integrity
Academic Standards and Grading System
Pre-Skills Requirements - New!
Frequently Asked Questions