Global MBA

This specialized MBA combines the strength of the MBA core curriculum with globally focused, upper-level courses. With concentrations available in International Finance or International Marketing, you have the chance to fine-tune your skills based on your career goals.

The practical experience you gain at Suffolk will set you apart from other Global MBA graduates. As part of our Global Travel Seminar requirement, you’ll spend a week abroad in countries like China, Germany, India, or Brazil. Immersed in new cultures, you’ll work alongside multinational executives and learn about global business first-hand.

Full-time students also complete a three-month professional internship outside their home country. Part-time students have the option of completing the internship, a global research project at their place of employment, or a three-month consulting project based in a two-week residency at a company outside of the US.

Armed with real-world experience and expertise in international marketing or finance, you’ll graduate with a competitive advantage—ready to lead in the global marketplace.

33-57 credits
Full-time: 12 to 16 months 
Part-time: 16 to 28 monthsRequired Introductory Courses (2 Credits) 

• GMBA-601 Introduction to Global Business

  Credits:

  1.00

  Description:

  This 1-day introductory course is required for all entering Global MBAs during their first semester in the program. Students are introduced to the theme of global leadership and globalization. Students will gain an understanding of their own assumptions, expectations, and projections around authority and leadership and how these influence the way in which they engage in the world. Through highly interactive exercises, students will have an opportunity to exercise leadership and learn how to analyze their effectiveness as leaders. Students will explore the terms global and globalization by looking at two contrasting points of view: the pro-Globalization and the contra-Globalization positions. Students will form teams, and utilizing their personal experiences, readings, and websites develop a presentation and arguments to debate the issue of globalization.

  Type:

  Global MBA Required

• MBA-600 Effective Career Planning

  Credits:

  1.00

  Description:

  A hands-on behavioral simulation run in teams, this course highlights the interpersonal dynamics that occur between people as they address strategic and operating issues; issues that often involve departmental interdependencies, power relationships, and judgment. MBA 600 emphasizes experiential learning through doing. Working in teams, students assume different roles in the organization. Each role contains extensive information on past business decisions and correspondence on current issues, problem symptoms, and decision situations.

  Type:

  MBA & Global MBA Required

MBA Core Courses* (24 Credits) 

• MBA-610 Organizational Behavior

  Credits:

  3.00

  Description:

  This course explores human behavior and the overall functioning of organizational structures on three levels: the individual, the group, and the organization. Theoretical bases of behavior are used to provide understanding of peoples attitudes, motives, and behaviors in group and organizational settings as they relate to leadership, motivation, power, perceptions, group dynamics, communication, diversity, organizational culture, and decision making.

  Type:

  MBA & Global MBA Core

• MBA-622 Operations & Data Analysis

  Credits:

  3.00

  Description:

  This course covers topics of operations management in the services, manufacturing and distribution industries while introducing statistics and quantitative analytic tools relevant to all functional areas. Applications include supply chain management, total quality management, forecasting, inventory planning and control, project planning and management, risk analysis, process design, and human resources issues in a global economy. Analytic tools for these applications include descriptive statistics and graphics, uncertainty assessment, inferences from samples, decision analysis and models, simulation, and regression analysis.

  Term:

  Offered Both Fall and Spring

  Type:

  MBA & Global MBA Core

• MBA-630 Economic Analysis for Managers

  Credits:

  3.00

  Description:

  This course develops the basic tools for microeconomic and macroeconomic analysis with emphasis on business decision-making and the impact of economic policy on organizational performance and competitiveness with respect to global business.

  Term:

  Offered Both Fall and Spring

  Type:

  MBA & Global MBA Core

• MBA-640 Corporate Financial Reporting and Control

  Credits:

  3.00

  Description:

  Explores the structure and information content of the three principal financial statements of profit-directed companies, namely the income statement, balance sheet, and statement of cash flows. Students learn skills in how to use accounting information to analyze the performance and financial condition of a company, facilitate decision-making, planning and budgeting, and performance appraisal in a managerial context. Students with no prior background in accounting complete a programmed instruction in the mechanics of double entry accounting at the start of the course.

  Type:

  MBA & Global MBA Core

• MBA-650 Value Based Financial Management

  Prerequisites:

  MBA 620, MBA 630, MBA 640

  Credits:

  3.00

  Description:

  This course introduces the basic principles of corporate finance. The main focus is on fundamental principles such as time value of money, asset valuation, and risk and return tradeoff. Topics to be covered also include cost of capital, capital budgeting, and capital structure.

  Term:

  Offered Both Fall and Spring

  Type:

  MBA & Global MBA Core

• MBA-660 Marketing: the Challenge of Managing Value

  Credits:

  3.00

  Description:

  Marketing is changing - constantly driven by dramatic technology developments, globalization, and evolving consumption values, practices, and lifestyles. This course covers Marketing themes, theories, and trends that are critical for superior business performance in the 21st century. In this course, we will examine current marketing theory as it is being shaped by forward thinking academics and new developments in todyas business practices. This course provides students with a strong foundation in marketing principles and practices required in upper level elective courses.

  Type:

  MBA & Global MBA Core

• MBA-670 Information Management for Competitive Advantage

  Credits:

  3.00

  Description:

  This course focuses on exploiting information systems (IS) and information technology (IT) for a competitive advantage. It explores the impact of IS and IT on the internal and external environments of organizations. It examines decisions needed for effective deployment of IS and IT, such as IT infrastructures selection, valuation of IT business models, and analysis of the operational benefits and risks. The course also introduces students to the opportunities and challenges of managing technology activities to meet the needs of business executives, IT executives, users, and IT partners.

  Term:

  Offered Both Fall and Spring

  Type:

  MBA & Global MBA Core

• MBA-680 Managing in the Ethical & Legal Environment

  Credits:

  3.00

  Description:

  This course explores multidisciplinary analytical techniques and case analysis as strategic management tools to assist executives in successful navigation of an increasingly complex, evolving, and highly competitive business environment in which ethical, legal, economic, and regulatory forces are continuously reshaping the global marketplace both to create and limit competitive opportunities.

  Term:

  Offered Both Fall and Spring

  Type:

  MBA & Global MBA Core

* May be waived.

Global Requirements (7 Credits) 

• GMBA-850 Capstone Seminar

  Prerequisites:

  restricted to GMBA students only. With permission of Dean Hallberg only.

  Credits:

  1.00

  Description:

  Following their global interships, GMBA students return to Boston for a two week captsone seminar, during which they complete a pre-approved comprehensive research project which builds on shared learnings from their global experiences and revisits their origional personal academic and professional goals.

  Type:

  Global MBA Required

• MBA-780 Managing in Global Environment

  Prerequisites:

  All MBA core courses except MBA 670 and MBA 680 Students seeking special permission to take MBA 780 (concurrent with pre-req, above capacity, etc) should contact the MBA Programs office at 617-573-8306

  Credits:

  3.00

  Description:

  This course introduces the student to the fundamentals of the global business environment and the cross-cultural factors that affect management practice in this environment. Topics covered include: economic environment, free trade and regional integration, foreign direct investment, exchange rate determination and relevant government policies; the decision to go international; the multinational firm and its business functions.

  Term:

  Offered Both Fall and Spring

  Type:

  MBA & Global MBA Required

• MGIB-850 Global Travel Seminar

  Prerequisites:

  MBA 600 or MBA 700

  Credits:

  3.00

  Description:

  The seminar is designed to develop students awareness, understanding and knowledge of managin in an international context. The format will consist of several preparatory sessions, at Suffolk and an intensive oen week seminar outside the United States. Topics will include, but are not limited to, managing cultural and structural differences, geo-political-economic considerations, international human resources and strategic management issues. The scheduling and the host country destination, as well as content emphasis will vary from term to term. A maximum of two off-campus courses is permitted subject to the 30 credit residency requirement.

  Type:

  MBA International Business,Global MBA Required

Conentrate in eitherInternational Finance Concentration Electives (15 Credits) 

• ACIB-872 Multinational Financial Analysis and Control

  Prerequisites:

  ACCT 802 or MBA 640; and MBA 650

  Credits:

  3.00

  Description:

  Students develop an understanding of differences among nations in approaches to disclosure and choices of accounting measurement systems. They learn about the influence of the IASB and IOSCO on multinational accounting harmonization, contrasting historical cost/purchasing power accounting with other accounting approaches, including current value accounting. They will assess how differences in industrial and ownership structures affect accounting performance measurement. They will also analyze risk management, accounting for derivative contracts, consolidation accounting, budgetary control, and transfer pricing in a multinational company.

  Type:

  MBA International Business,MBA Accounting

• FNIB-825 Multinational Financial Management

  Prerequisites:

  MBA-650 OR MBA-750

  Credits:

  3.00

  Description:

  This course covers corporate financial decisions in an international setting with a focus on foreign exchange management and capital budgeting.

  Term:

  Offered Both Fall and Spring

  Type:

  MBA International Business,MBA Finance

• FNIB-830 Valuation and Capital Budgeting In a Global Environment

  Prerequisites:

  Take MBA 650

  Credits:

  3.00

  Description:

  This course will provide students with the necessary tools, techniques, and models to address capital budgeting problems in finance. Capital budgeting is about finding or creating and analyzing long-term investment projects. Students will be exposed to different project valuation models that are used by financial managers to make effective value-maximizing decisions in a rapidly changing global environment. Teaching is oriented towards case studies and discussion of readings. Case studies should enable students to apply various capital budgeting techniques in a global setting and readings should provide students with understanding of those techniques and current developments in the related areas. The emphasis is on global issues: international asset pricing & CAPM, international cost of capital, global risk in international capital budgeting such as political risk and currency exchange risk, and real options embedded in international investment. The course is designed to help corporate leaders make intelligent decisions on their international investment.

  Term:

  Offered Spring Term

  Type:

  MBA Finance,MBA International Business

• FNIB-835 Global Investment Analysis and Derivatives

  Prerequisites:

  Take MBA-650

  Credits:

  3.00

  Description:

  Students are introduced to investments and derivatives: investment procedures, basic analytical techniques and, factors influencing risk/return tradeoffs. A variety of models are discussed, including the CAPM (Capital Asset Pricing Model), discounted cash flow models, and relative valuation models. The focus then moves to the global financial markets, such as global debt and equity markets. The course also involves virtual trading and team projects. The second half of the course introduces the use of derivative securities and strategies to control and monitor risk. As the business world grows more globalized, understanding of derivative securities gets more important, particularly for corporate managers dealing with currency risk. Though the topics contain somewhat complicated mathematics and statistics, the emphasis is more on strategy. Corporate managers need to be well versed in strategies of derivatives and risk management involving global risks. The primary derivative types discussed are options, swaps and futures. The primary risks discussed are foreign credit risk, multinational interest rate risk, and currency risk.

  Term:

  Offered Fall Term

  Type:

  MBA Finance,MBA International Business

• FNIB-840 Global Capital Markets and Risk Management

  Prerequisites:

  Take MBA-650

  Credits:

  3.00

  Description:

  The course introduces students to the structure and management of international financial-services firms and capital markets in which these firms operate. It examines the theory and evolution of financial institutions, international regulatory institutions and global capital markets. It also introduces students to the methods through which financial institutions manage risk. The course discusses tools for identifying, measuring, evaluating, and managing risks, such as interest rate, credit, foreign exchange, liquidity, market, sovereign, and operational risk.

  Term:

  Offered Fall Term

  Type:

  MBA Finance,MBA International Business

or

International Marketing Concentration Electives (15 Credits) 

• MKIB-812 Global Branding and Communication Strategies

  Prerequisites:

  Take MBA 660;

  Credits:

  3.00

  Description:

  In many firms, the brand or portfolio of brands has become the most valuable asset requiring strategic management in order to secure the goals of the organization. Hence, developing strong brands for markets around the world has become increasingly important in todays global economy. This objective of this course is to examine appropriate theories, models and other tools to help make branding and communication decisions for brands globally. The course presentation will combine lectures, case studies, guest speakers and a semester long, team-based project.

  Type:

  MBA Marketing,MBA International Business

• MKIB-817 International Marketing

  Prerequisites:

  MBA 660 formerly MBA 710

  Credits:

  3.00

  Description:

  The application of marketing principles and practices to competition in global markets. The course emphasizes the skills necessary for cross-cultural marketing.

  Type:

  MBA International Business,MBA Marketing

• MKIB-819 Global Perspectives in Consumer Marketing

  Prerequisites:

  Take mba-660;

  Credits:

  3.00

  Description:

  A key to successful marketing is cracking the code of consumer behavior. The scope of this course is analyzing consumer behavior both at home and abroad, particularly contrasting the emergent markets in the East with more established Western markets. This comparison highlights issues such as the role of consumption in negotiating modernity while honoring tradition, responses of consumers to innovations, the role of social class and status in consumption, and value placed on authenticity in different culteral milieus. This course is constructed in three modules. The first focuses on the globalization of consumption, the second on the adoption and consumption of innovations, and the last on special topics in cultural and cross-cultural studies.

  Type:

  MBA International Business,MBA Marketing

• MKIB-816 Managing Relationships in the Global Supply Chain

  Prerequisites:

  Take MBA-660;

  Credits:

  3.00

  Description:

  This course will examine the theories and practices used to plan, organize, and control global supply chains. The approach will go beyond viewing exchange relationships from a strictly physical sense(movement of goods and services) to focus on the interaction between trading partners with different cultures and how firms are using channel strategies to gain a competitive advantage globally. Specifically, this course will explore the role that channel members play as intermediaries between the production and consumption sectors of the economy. This course will explore how channels of distribution have evolved and identify challenges that channel members will face in the globalized 21st century. Subsequently, this course will examine how channel members develop global strategies to attract consumers and also how consumers develop strategies to acquire goods and services from channel members.

  Type:

  MBA International Business,MBA Marketing

• MKT-810 Marketing Research for Managers

  Prerequisites:

  MGQM W700 or MBA 620; and MBA 660

  Credits:

  3.00

  Description:

  This course explores the role of research in marketing decision-making, including the cost and value of information. The course uses cases and problems to explore problem definition, research design, sampling, questionnaire design, field methods, data analysis and reporting.

  Type:

  MBA Marketing

Experiential Requirement (6 Credits) Full-Time Students:

• GMBA-800 Global Internship

  Prerequisites:

  Restricted to full time GMBA students only. With permission of Dean Hallberg only

  Credits:

  6.00

  Description:

  For three months, GMBA students are required to complete a full-time professional internship in a country outside their native country, putting their newly-acquired global business knowledge to the test in a real-world global business setting. Students may intern in a variety of industries including consumer products, e-commerce, economic development, energy, finance, industrial manufacturing, pharmaceutical, professional service, high technology, telecommunications, and travel. Employers may include start-ups, joint ventures, and global corporations. Global interships are supervised by GMBA faculty, and culminate in a 2 week capstone seminar. Restricted to GMBA students only.

  Type:

  Global MBA Required

Part-Time Students: Select Either

• GMBA-800 Global Internship

  Prerequisites:

  Restricted to full time GMBA students only. With permission of Dean Hallberg only

  Credits:

  6.00

  Description:

  For three months, GMBA students are required to complete a full-time professional internship in a country outside their native country, putting their newly-acquired global business knowledge to the test in a real-world global business setting. Students may intern in a variety of industries including consumer products, e-commerce, economic development, energy, finance, industrial manufacturing, pharmaceutical, professional service, high technology, telecommunications, and travel. Employers may include start-ups, joint ventures, and global corporations. Global interships are supervised by GMBA faculty, and culminate in a 2 week capstone seminar. Restricted to GMBA students only.

  Type:

  Global MBA Required

or

• GMBA-902 Global Experiential Research Project

  Prerequisites:

  MBA-780; GMBA Students Only

  Credits:

  3.00

  Description:

  Supervised by a faculty mentor, part-time Global MBAs are required to complete a global business research project during the last semester of their program, either with their current employer or another comapny involved in or seeking involvement in global business. The project will explore a real-time or prospective global business issue, challenge, or process. Sutdents will apply the knowledge and skills acquired from coursework completed in the Global MBA, with specific focus on their concentration in either international finance or international marketing. Learning objectives, topic, and bibliography must be agreed upon by both the student, faculty mentor, and, where appropriate, employer designee. The final outcome shall be a substantive paper with a formal presentation in GMBA 850, the Global Capstone Seminar.

  Type:

  Global MBA Required

Required Global MBA Course (3 Credits) 

• MBA-800 Strategic Management

  Prerequisites:

  All MBA core courses and MBA 780 Students seeking special permission to take MBA 800 (concurrent with pre-req, above capacity, etc) should contact the MBA Programs office at 617-573-8306

  Credits:

  3.00

  Description:

  In this course, students will develop a multi- functional general management perspective. Students will be required to integrate and apply knowledge and techniques learned in the core courses of the MBA program. Students will also learn about the principal concepts, frameworks, and techniques of strategic management, they will develop the capacity for strategic thinking, and they will examine the organizational and environ- mental contexts in which strategic management unfolds. Students will achieve these course objectives through a variety of learning activities, such as case studies, computer simulations, examinations, project reports, and experiential exercises.

  Term:

  Offered Both Fall and Spring

  Type:

  MBA & Global MBA Required

Waiver Policy

Core courses may be waived. Required MBA Courses (MBA 600, MBA 780 and MBA 800) cannot be waived.

To waive a Core Course a student must successfully complete equivalent academic coursework at the undergraduate/graduate level in the past seven years (“B”or better).

All waiver requests are evaluated upon a student’s acceptance into the Global MBA Program and are waived during the student’s first semester. A student receives credit for each course waived, thereby reducing the total number of courses for the Global MBA. You may also elect to take a proficiency exam to gain a waiver. Proficiency exams must be completed in the first semester. All students must, however, complete a minimum of 33 credits (10 courses, GMBA 601, and MBA 600) in the Sawyer Business School