Xavier University is committed to academic excellence. This commitment is demonstrated in the curriculum for our dynamic online program for the Master’s Degree in Business Administration. The core courses for the MBA combine academic rigor with diverse learning opportunities while electives allow students to complete specialized courses focused on future career paths or personal goals.
To complete the MBA program at Xavier University 39-45 credits are required. For students who do not need to take foundational credits, the program is completed in as little as 13 courses designed to develop core business skills ranging from leadership to data analysis and analytics.
Curriculum Online MBA Finance
An online MBA program provides an excellent foundation for a career in finance, management, marketing or public administration. The core courses required for a Xavier University MBA degree are designed to provide a firm background in essentials while electives serve as an opportunity to drill down on passion areas or explore emerging trends and challenges in the ever-changing business landscape.
For the future financial leader, Foundations of Financial Accounting, Managerial Accounting, Managerial. Economics and Fundamentals of Finance introduce the essential elements of finance for business and market-based careers. Students learn more about data analysis and analytics in statistics and how to use these elements to make information driven decisions regarding products, marketing efforts, communication initiatives and personnel acquisition.
Future CFOs may prefer to use electives to develop additional accounting skills while students who envision a career in a bank or lending institution find value in pursuing more aggressive economics and finance courses to enhance their degree. Each semester at Xavier University brings with it new opportunities to take electives, and course offerings adapt to the business world future graduates will face.
The lessons provided by Xavier University also extend beyond the online class. Xavier is a Jesuit university committed to supporting each student individually and fostering a sense of community among students to increase peer support. Post-graduation, a robust alumni network and ongoing professional and personal connections for Musketeers take the sense of community to the next level as graduates find a home in new enterprises and start businesses of their own.
MBA Program
Xavier University is a consistent Top 10 university in the Midwest United States while providing recognizable value for students pursuing graduate studies on a budget. This value is present in a 98% employment rate for students post-graduation. Whether graduates move on to careers, additional education or service work, they are sure to find success.
Xavier University’s online programs build on the private college’s history of accomplishments and bring them to an ever-widening range of students.
Core Classes
The core classes of Xavier University’s MBA program provide 27 credits across a wide range of business disciplines. From accounting to marketing, graduates leave the university with the skills needed to lead companies or service organizations with vigor and compassion.
Managerial Accounting provides an overview of the value of accounting information for making business decisions. Student analysis includes reviewing supply chains and learning how to maximize value for enterprises.
Managerial Economics focuses on both consumers and businesses. Students take a wide-ranging look at the variables driving consumer decisions and how firms monitor consumer demands and manage costs to generate higher profits. The course also trades the consumer market for financial markets by giving analysis on how businesses react at different times, such as market highs and lows. Students completing this course develop the skills needed for making informed decisions regarding personnel from the hiring process to the retention of workers.
For financial skills, Fundamentals of Finance explains the basics of business management and the role of sound financial management while also incorporating corporate finance and its nuances. For those pursuing a career in business but without dreams of holding a CFO position, this course provides the material needed to keep at a board meeting and follow the numbers for accountability purposes.
Business Law and Ethics focuses on the nucleus of a company. What is its mission? What does it stand for? How are those principles, such as honesty or strong leadership, put into practice every day? Legal concepts are examined along with the ethical considerations the same concepts provoke. This essential course requires digging deep intellectually, so students must prepare for a variety of learning formats. These include analysis of individual cases, class lectures, projects and online discussions using the Socratic method. Group and team projects are a must, and weekly tests are required. Students also prepare a research paper on an ethical or legal problem facing businesses.
Xavier University offers flexibility with International Business by allowing students to substitute certain international courses or an approved Global Immersion Trip for the course. For students who opt for the traditional class, expect an analytical look at the economic systems of other countries, and the strategic advantages political policy can provide. International Business examines capital markets, finance at the global level and the impact of exchange rates, globalization and strategic agreements. Be prepared to learn about how other countries do business.
Every business and organization is required to meet project or production deadlines on time due to effective personnel and management of those workers. The Strategy and Organizations core course in the MBA program focuses study on people management and leadership — from establishing the direction of an enterprise to human resources management from recruitment to selection and evaluation and retention of workers with experience and drive. A strong emphasis is placed on theories and applying them to real world business situations to analyze outcomes.
A background in statistics with either the foundational statistics class or a comparable course is required for Operational Analysis. In Operational Analysis, students learn how to be strong leaders with both soft skills and the ability to base decisions on analytics and drive an organization forward. Students learn how to think critically and strategically and how and when to use data to help a business operate more efficiently. This is an essential course for leadership development.
Business Information Systems isn’t a basic computer course or how-to guide. Instead, it looks at technology and information systems from the top-down and examines how management sets the groundwork for company-wide communication and operational systems. Expect a thorough examination of the anticipated and unanticipated impacts of technology on the workplace in the information age.
Marketing is an ever-changing business discipline, making a firm foundation in marketing strategies a must for the growth-minded manager. In Marketing Strategy, students learn how to form, start and use data and analytics to evaluate a marketing plan for a service or product. Target markets and developing and sustaining value in a competitive and changing landscape are also key components. For future managers who don’t plan on focusing on marketing, this course provides the background needed to learn how marketing dollars are being invested and analyze the value of those investments long-term.
Online MBA Courses
Many higher education institutions offer online MBA programs, but at Xavier University, the standards are higher and the results prove it. Xavier University sees its mission as four interconnected but distinct goals — learning, serving, achieving and doing those things together, or as a team. A career in business or with a service organization requires the ability to work as a team and lead. Xavier University is able to provide online students with the skills needed to pivot in any situation and face the world with confidence.
Xavier University’s professors provide instruction inside the virtual classroom, but the world outside the class space also provides learning opportunities. Peer projects and professional mentoring make it possible for students to develop connections that make online graduate school a more communal experience and ensure a lasting network for career success exists. Bonds formed in Xavier’s academically challenging environment are strong and help create the diverse leaders the modern business world needs.
A desire for service to community and humanity is also a hallmark of Xavier University, and it is rooted in the university’s Jesuit founding. The school and its faculty and students work hand-in-hand for the good of all. Each person is valued and acknowledged and becomes part of Xavier’s mission of making the world a better place.
Through academic rigor and intellectual challenges, achieving together becomes an everyday occurrence. Xavier University takes pride in the number of its students who move on to further study and embark upon careers that fill their life with passion and purpose. We foster an environment of success post-graduate through internship opportunities and an expansive alumni and Jesuit alumni network.
As everyone at Xavier University grows together, we change the world together, taking our inclusive community beyond the walls of the university and outside the computer screen.
Xavier’s online MBA course is a dynamic undertaking, both academically and personally. We welcome new students and prospective students ready to embark on a life-changing and enhancing journey. From foundational classes to core courses and career-boosting electives, the Xavier University online MBA is an experience that provides the leadership skills managers, HR heads and marketing professionals of tomorrow require.
How Many Credits for an MBA?
Receiving a Master of Business Administration at Xavier University requires a minimum of 39 credit hours, or 13 courses, and a maximum of 45 credit hours, or 15 classes. Students without a foundation in business courses prior to enrollment generally need 6 credits from two foundational courses: Foundations of Financial Accounting and Business Statistics. However, these courses can be waived and reduce the number of classes required by two. Each course is three credits.
Master’s Degree in Business Administration courses start with six credits attributed to foundational classes and 27 assigned to the core courses required in Xavier’s dynamic curriculum. Electives contribute nine credits while a capstone course designed to incorporate all essential elements of the Master’s Degree in Business Administration provides three credits.
MBA Risk Management
An MBA is excellent preparation for a career in Risk Management, and at Xavier University, students can use three elective courses to develop additional skills. Whether the future career focus is insurance, financial management or consulting, the next generation of risk management professionals can start here.
MBA Product Management
In the digital age, Product Management is an ever-changing field with increased service offerings. The product managers of tomorrow can receive a firm foundation in fundamentals and niche-specific courses through the Xavier University MBA program. Core courses for product management include accounting, finance and economics; introducing the financial logistics of product development while introducing key elements of consumer testing. Operations, marketing and communications focuses in additional core units provide the skills needed for effective planning and product launches. Students may also find more targeted product management courses offered among Xavier University’s robust and ever-shifting selection of electives.
MBA Business Management
Whether leading a small business or a Fortune 500 is the goal of an Xavier student, they leave campus with an MBA in business management, prepared to take them up the career ladder. Xavier graduates excel at academically and intellectually challenging courses encompassing a wide range of essential managerial and leadership skills. From learning how to understand accounting at the product and corporate level to developing leadership and communication skills essential for reaching employees and conveying a company message, Xavier graduates are masters of the business world.
A background in business administration also translates easily to success in service organizations, non-profit groups and public administration. Wherever a student’s career path goes, the information and skills acquired in the online MBA program will help propel them forward to new roles with greater responsibility and greater potential to make the world a better place.
MBA Focus
Xavier University’s MBA program allows students to use nine flexible credits to pursue three courses of their choice. These classes can be used to develop more refined skills in chosen target areas, such as accounting, marketing or finance.
For students who plan to pursue careers in risk management, project management, business management or other disciplines such as public administration or marketing, additional coursework augments basic skills developed in other core courses while helping meet the nine credit elective requirement.
As business and corporate governance evolve, Xavier University is committed to tailoring elective offerings to help students better respond to changes and more competitively position themselves for the job market. Xavier regularly updates elective courses to include classes focused on current business issues with long-term consequences. For many students, this can mean an immediate competitive advantage when entering the workforce.
Types of MBA Concentrations
Students interested in a particular field can concentrate their students by using all three electives to tailor the MBA program to professional goals and personal interests. For the social media guru, a focus on marketing through all three electives will help to enhance the already present skills while the insurance professional sees augmented financial courses as a way to further a career in financial risk management.
The multi-purpose manager may want to branch out into additional management classes to further develop leadership skills and the analytical mindset needed to succeed in the business world. A potential HR professional may opt for other classes that increase data processing ability and strategic data management.
A Master’s Degree in Business Administration provides a well-rounded education for excelling in both small business and the corporate world. By further tailoring the MBA with extra classes on a passion topic or suited to leaders in a given field, students further prepare themselves for success when searching for a job.
Xavier graduates leverage their newly earned management skills, the quality of their education and Xavier’s unbeatable alumni network to excel in their first post-graduate career move and beyond.
Careful selection of electives can also boost the careers of Xavier students who are already in the workforce and ready for a promotion. Successful completion of an additional management class is a definite edge when advocating for a new position or a raise during a performance review. Likewise, the first-time applicant can emphasize choosing specific electives and lessons learned to differentiate themselves from other candidates for a position.
Online MBA Classes
At Xavier University online, graduate school meets students when they are available. While classes are tailored by professors, most courses do not require meeting at a set time and instead require consistent participation in course sessions. Some courses may also require coordination with classmates for group projects and peer feedback.
Xavier’s online courses use a portal that includes discussion boards, prerecorded audio and video files, email exchanges and video conferencing. Some courses may require participation at a set time for certain lessons. Each three-credit course requires an eight-week commitment with summer sessions condensed to six weeks.
Classes are designed to be taken one at a time with two courses completed in a traditional 16-week time period. While the eight-week timeframe per course is intense, it allows students to focus on one class only and continue with work, family and community responsibilities.
Curriculum Roadmap
Xavier University doesn’t dictate the path its students take through the online MBA curriculum. The Fundamentals of Finance course requires Accounting 500 and Statistics 500 prior to enrollment while Operational Analysis requires Statistics 500.
Beyond these two offerings and the capstone project, other classes in the online MBA curriculum can be scheduled based on availability and when students want to pursue a course. For students who find the eight-week class cycle demanding, alternating more data driven classes with courses focused on skills may be beneficial. Other students may prefer to pursue all math-related courses, such as accounting, statistics and finance back-to-back to build on fresh information.
Electives can be taken in between core classes. Since elective offerings at Xavier University rotate regularly, spreading the three classes required throughout the school terms provides the greatest access to career path specific offerings.
When all necessary core classes and electives are completed, students move on to the Online MBA Capstone Course. This all-encompassing course is designed to require regular presentations focused on business theories and issues affecting the business and corporate worlds today. Discussions and activities will focus on problem solving, examination of case analytics and data information is a core component of the course. Students must be prepared to use skills, experience and information acquired throughout the entire online MBA curriculum.
