EARN YOUR MASTER’S IN MANAGEMENT DEGREE FROM SC!
Total Credit Hours: 39
Transfer Credits: Up to 6
Program Length: Approx. 14 months
From top executive positions to careers in healthcare or even technology, your master’s degree in management will give you a variety of professions to choose from. Online courses at Southwestern College give today’s busy working men and women the flexibility they need to successfully juggle coursework, family, and work. Courses in the program are taught by management experts who bring real-world application to the online classroom setting.
- Experience applied learning through a variety of real management scenarios, including the development of a complete integrated marketing strategy
- Ranked Best Online Master’s in Management Degrees
- Stack with the Executive Leadership Certificate or Executive Quality Management Certificate to build additional credentials
- Discover more reasons to choose SC!
Recently ranked as one of the Top Accredited Online Colleges, Southwestern College offers quality online degrees to adult learners. With courses taught by expert faculty and access to a variety of student resources, SC learners are provided with the tools and flexibility needed to succeed in their education while preparing for professional advancement.
CAREER OUTLOOK
Projected Job Growth (BLS): 13%
Average Salary (PayScale): $78k
Graduates of the online MSM program at Southwestern College will be prepared for a variety of careers, including:- Business development manager
- HR director
- General/operations manager
STUDENT SUCCESS STORIES
“I really liked the class structure, especially being online, being able to do it whenever I needed to. Also, being able to meet lots of people from all over the country. And the smaller classes were really nice. It gave it a more personal feel.”
George, 2015 MSL Graduate
FACULTY
Visit our faculty page to view current Management instructors.
View Courses & Program Details
PROGRAM OUTCOMES
Students enrolled in the online management program at Southwestern College can expect to:- Demonstrate the ability to incorporate strategic, tactical, and operational skills to achieve organizational objectives for fiscal and human resource management.
- Exhibit the knowledge to analyze complex data for decision making and implementing solutions for real-world issues impacting the organization.
- Recognize the value of an organizational environment that embraces diversity and ethical behavior.
- Exhibit poise and confidence in verbal, interpersonal, and written communication.
- Demonstrate the ability to build and develop continuous learning opportunities in the management areas of planning, organizing, leading, and measuring organizational performance.
RESOURCES
Webinar: Lean vs. Six Sigma
Webinar: Rotten Leadership
RELATED PROGRAMS
Executive Leadership Certificate
Executive Quality Management Certificate
Master of Business Administration
Master of Science in Leadership
MASTER OF SCIENCE IN MANAGEMENT PROGRAM DETAILS
The Southwestern College Professional Studies Master of Science in Management program (MSM) prepares leaders of today’s complex and diverse business environment to manage key business operations and lead their organizations to success. The learner will develop skills in areas that support the management functions of planning, organizing, leading, and measuring the performance of the organization. Topics include project management, human resource management, finance, organizational ethics and statistical analysis.
The program not only introduces the learner to strategic, tactical and operations areas, but also to a variety of leadership theories and styles necessary for leading successful organizations. The MSM graduate had demonstrated competence in interpersonal and written communication, ethical reasoning through complex practical application activities as well as the ability to utilize resources to continue learning about best practices in management in order to prepare the learner for advancement in their field. The strong foundational concepts taught by professionals support the learners in the completion of projects that make a positive difference in their workplaces, churches, communities, or personal lives, and also my inspire them to continue in additional graduate degree programs.
Admission Process
Complete graduate application forms
- Provide current resume
- Submit two professional letters of recommendation (at least one from a current or former employer)
- Turn in one-page personal essay
- Submit an official transcript from a bachelor’s degree-granting institution. Official transcripts must be received within 8 weeks following the start of class.
Core Major Requirements
MBA500: Organizational Behavior and Human Resource Management
This course covers models and theories of behavior, and human resources management concepts and processes as they apply to managing individual and work‐group behavior in organizations. Organizational behavior topics include leadership, motivation, and teamwork. Human Resource management topics include human resources strategy, selection, performance evaluation, reward systems, and employee development. Heavy emphasis will be on the strategic implications of these topics.
MBA512: Financial Management, Analysis and Decision Making
Learners explore and apply the principles of financial management and examine the use of accounting and financial information to plan, analyze, and implement business decisions and activities. Topics include concepts such as time value of money, risk and valuation, cost of capital, capital structure and budgeting, long-term financing decisions, working capital policy and management, and financial analysis and planning. The course concludes with a focus on strategic and operational performance analysis and evaluation for effective decision making.
MGMT505: Project Management Fundamentals
In this course, concepts, theories, principles and practical application of project management tools will be applied to real business situations. A critical analysis of tools and techniques that are available to aid project managers will be performed, with a view of the potential disconnect between these tools and real‐world projects. Specific tools, including the Balanced Scorecard, Monte Carlo simulations, and stop‐light charts, will be utilized.
LEAD500: Leadership Styles and Theories
The course will cover fundamentals of leadership, definitions of leadership, and an introduction to the tools available for research in leadership. Emphasis is on the application of theoretical concepts to actual organizational settings and situations, culminating in the determination of participant’s dominant leadership style and articulation of a personal leadership profile.
LEAD565: Knowledge Based Leadership
The course will cover the integration and alignment of strategic planning, mission, vision with goals and objectives to position organizations to transition to a knowledge-based environment. Participants will develop a plan for capturing “tribal knowledge” and using that knowledge to create and communicate a shared vision.
MGMT560: Ethics in the Global Marketplace
What are the challenges for an organization to be considered an ethical corporate citizen, locally and globally? How can an organization effectively address those challenges in a diverse global society, economy, and marketplace while also pursuing profitability? Learners explore ethical leadership and the organization, and the triple bottom line, evaluating the means and potential strategies for ethically balancing profit, corporate social responsibility, and environmental sustainability. Learners also examine the local and global impact of those strategies, inclusive of the impact on societies, cultures, economies, and stakeholder constituencies.
MBA535: Knowledge-based Decision Making
In this course, learners develop the skills necessary to apply the principles and practices of knowledge management and business intelligence, and qualitative and quantitative knowledge to strategic and operational business decision making. Learners study specific business modeling applications include forecasting, decision analysis, simulation, and linear programming. Learners also examine and apply methods for capturing, analyzing, and applying tacit knowledge to decision-making. Learners explore the application of knowledge exchange and decision making process tools and software technologies to effective decision making. Prior study of business research recommended.
CAPS590: Graduate Project
Learners engage in an applied research project that demonstrates their mastery of the knowledge and skills gained from the program and professional experience. Each learner will prepare a comprehensive report and presentation of the research findings by the conclusion of this course.
Prerequisite: Successful completion of all major courses.
ONE OF THE FOLLOWING
LEAD560: Leading Change in Organizations
Participants will learn to navigate the world of needs assessment tools in order to build an organization’s ability to operate on the consistent generation of information. Systems used to analyze information and implement change resulting from data will be covered through case studies, individual and group exercises. Participants will develop practical tools for engaging people at all levels of an organization through inevitable change.
MBA544: Organizational Dynamics and Change
This course provides a foundation in organizational change theory and practice. Learners gain a framework for understanding and changing organizations from a micro to macro level as they learn how to create an organization that is responsive to environmental forces. Change in large and small, and public and private entities will be examined through analysis of real world businesses.
_Prerequisite: MBA 500.
ELECTIVE COURSES
(Choose 12 credit hours from the following list):
LEAD510: Leadership in Context
Participants will be able to demonstrate an understanding of how economic, social and/or political events and relationships‐‐whether local, national or worldwide‐‐affect organizations and impact culture and community. Participants will develop a plan of action for dealing with that impact.
LEAD515: Leadership Communication and Conflict Resolution
The course will teach leaders to hone and refine important communication and conflict resolution skills including interpersonal and small group communication, persuasion, media communication, and crisis communication.
LEAD520: Leadership Coaching
The course will help students coach, mentor and empower future leaders. The course will review coaching theories and models as well as the theoretical and applied aspects of teamwork. Participants will focus on building the skills of collaboration. Participants will articulate a personal leadership development plan.
MBA505: Business Law & Ethics
Businesses must meet the legal and ethical standards imposed by a changing society. Decisions must be made that reflect the legal obligations of our world and the ethical standards by which a company will be known. Any company can face challenges in the form of globalization of the business enterprise, potential of hostile takeovers, concerns with market strategies, and continuing developments in international law and administrative regulation. Learners will exam the legal, social, historical, and political/economic regulatory environments to understand that the legal and ethical perspectives are crucial in all business transactions markets.
MBA530: Marketing Strategies
Learners explore various marketing concepts of importance to managers, including product development and brand management, price determination, distribution strategy, and advertising/promotion management. Emphasis will be on strategic implications of these topics, rather than the theories themselves. Learners will be required to exhibit mastery of the topics through the development of a complete, case‐based integrated marketing strategy.
MBA540: Global Operations
This course focuses on the central role operations plays in a global organization’s success. Learners gain an understanding of the strategic advantages provided by the operations function to successful organizations and the analytic tools that are required for effective operations decision-making. Topics of study include global operational strategies and supply chains; process design and analysis; and lean manufacturing, Six Sigma, and other approaches to managing quality.
MBA545: Technology and Innovation Management
This course examines information technology and innovation from a strategic management perspective. Learners will explore the strategic management of high technology companies, investigate emerging technologies in a global marketplace, and gain an understanding of the importance of aligning product development and system design.
LEAD570: Leadership for the Future
Participants will learn to identify trends, implement change initiatives, maximize resources, and develop a response to changing workforce dynamics. This course provides a thorough foundation in the methods used when leading project initiatives.
LEAD580: Practical Problem Solving for Today’s Organizations
Working from current and relevant case studies, students will develop the skills to make real‐world, real‐time decisions.
Graduation Requirements
- Complete the specific program requirements for the master’s program
- Have an overall grade point average of 2.5, with no grade below a C (2.0)
- Complete a minimum of 30 credit hours
All degree requirements are subject to change. Please see Southwestern College Professional Studies Catalog for the most current degree requirements.