BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT graduate certificate

• WHO CAN APPLY? The certificate can be completed as a part of the WSU MBA Program in the Goddard School of Business and Economics or as a stand-alone certificate.
• DELIVERY: The courses will be conducted in eight week blocks.  Each course will be offered virtual (online).  Select courses may be available face-to-face.
• PREREQUISITES: Applicants must possess a bachelor’s degree from a regionally accredited institution or be in the final stage of completing the undergraduate degree. Prerequisite classes may apply for select courses. See course description below. Basic computer competency is required.
• GRADE REQUIREMENTS: Students must complete all program courses with a grade of “C” or higher. In addition, the overall program GPA must be 3.0 or higher.
• CREDIT HOURS: 15 total credit hours including 6 required hours and 9 elective hours. The following is a list of available courses:

TWO (2) REQUIRED COURSES 
 

• MBA 6560  |  Business Market Planning (3 cr)

  MBA 6560
  BUSINESS MARKET PLANNING (3 cr)

  INSTRUCTOR: Miller
  TAUGHT: Summer (block 1)
  DELIVERY: Virtual

  In this hands-on project-oriented course, students learn to (1) develop and write effective business/marketing plans and (2) use online resources to gather pertinent market, competitor, and environmental information. Students may develop a business/marketing plan for an existing business or for a potential start-up of interest to them. Alternatively, they may write a business/marketing plan and conduct requisite research and data analyses for a business suggested by the course instructor. Learning is facilitated primarily via practical discovery exercises, an extensive term project, and coaching. Although lectures and reading assignments serve to convey essential background knowledge, especially during the first half of the course, much class time is devoted to working on plans in teams under the instructor’s guidance.

• MBA 6850  |  Business Development & Entrepreneurship (3 cr)

  MBA 6850
  BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT & ENTREPRENEURSHIP (3 cr)

  INSTRUCTOR: Miller
  TAUGHT: Spring (block 1)
  DELIVERY: Virtual

  Students will learn how to effectively come up with an idea, iterate around that idea, and validate customers around their final direction so that they can learn how to successfully launch an idea into a business with low risk, low capital, and higher degrees for success. In addition, if a student is interested in learning how to be a better "intrapreneur" this course will help them use some of these same skills in a corporate or employee environment. Being innovative and creative is always valuable.

SELECT TWO (2) OF THE FOLLOWING ELECTIVES 
 

• MBA 6160  |  Applications of Decision Models (3 cr)

  MBA 6160
  APPLICATIONS OF DECISION MODELS (3 cr)

  INSTRUCTOR: Barraza
  TAUGHT: Fall, Spring (block 2)
  DELIVERY: Virtual

  This course presents a rigorous treatment of quantitative decision-making with emphasis on data collection, analysis, and model building. This course emphasizes experience in structuring realistic business problems, collecting data, developing an appropriate model for analysis, and interpreting and defending results. A number of cases are employed. Additional foundation course work in statistics may be required prior to course registration as per department advisement and student’s program of study requirements. Prerequisite: MBA 6050 & MBA 6051, or equivalent courses in statistics.

• MBA 6260 (6810) | Data Visualization Using Tableau (3 cr)

  MBA 6260
  DATA VISUALIZATION USING TABLEAU (3 cr)

  INSTRUCTOR: Fowler
  TAUGHT: Spring (block 2)
  DELIVERY: Virtual

  This course will provide a solid foundational understanding of data visualization with plenty of opportunities to practice and develop visualization skills. This course aims to provide students with a foundational understanding of data visualization and enable them to think through and interact with big data. The overall goal of the course is to teach problem-solving and analysis skills that can be applied to any type of data with any of the numerous tools available.

• MBA 6870 | Sales Strategy & Management (3 cr)

  MBA 6870
  SALES STRATEGY & MANAGEMENT (3 cr)

  INSTRUCTOR: Nielson
  TAUGHT: Summer (block 1)
  DELIVERY: Virtual

  This course looks at advanced selling techniques or the skills that make a salesperson and/or business leader successful in large or complex sales. These sales differ from the simple sales because they involve high-value goods or services, a sophisticated customer or business executive, and there is a continuing relationship after the sale. This course will build managerial relationship-selling skills that can be used in many settings.

SELECT ONE (1) OF THE FOLLOWING ELECTIVES 
 

• MBA 6430  |  International Marketing (3 cr)

  MBA 6430
  INTERNATIONAL MARKETING (3 cr)

  INSTRUCTOR: Horstmann
  TAUGHT: Spring (block 1)
  DELIVERY: Virtual

  The course provides foundational knowledge and practical application of international marketing principles and practices so as to prepare participants for entry-level marketing positions in the global context.

• MBA 6540 | Negotiations (3 cr)

  MBA 6540
  NEGOTIATIONS (3 cr)

  INSTRUCTOR: Skanchy
  TAUGHT: Summer (block 1)
  DELIVERY: Face-to-Face

  The purpose of this course is to provide opportunities for class participants to develop their negotiating abilities for use in organizational and other settings. The course is premised on the assumption that negotiating concepts are best learned through practice which is grounded in rigorous analysis and reflection. While theoretical principles and concepts from various reference disciplines (such as social psychology, sociology, and economics) will be presented through lectures and readings, this course will focus primarily on improving practical skills. Class participants will not only learn to enhance their individual abilities in dyadic and group situations, but also to analyze contexts for the most effective application of these skills.

• MBA 6550 | Managing & Improving Quality (3 cr)

  MBA 6550
  MANAGING & IMPROVING QUALITY (3 cr)

  INSTRUCTOR: Schvaneveldt
  TAUGHT: Spring (block 2)
  DELIVERY: Face-to-Face

  This course examines how organizations can gain competitive advantage by improving the quality and productivity of their business processes, manufactured goods and service outputs. Customer-focused approaches for designing, controlling and improving processes are emphasized, together with other concepts and approaches of quality management. Specific topics include process analysis, problem-solving methods, variability and statistical process control, performance measurement, and quality management systems. Guest lectures from industry professionals, experiential learning exercises and cases from manufacturing and service industries will assist students in understanding key issues and current topics. Prerequisite: MBA 6050 & MBA 6051, or equivalent courses in statistics.

• MBA 6580 | Project Management (3 cr)

  MBA 6580
  PROJECT MANAGEMENT (3 cr)

  INSTRUCTOR: Neve
  TAUGHT: Spring (block 1)
  DELIVERY: Virtual

  This course is a study of topics involved with managing projects. It examines the roles and skills of the project manager and the project office. Students will study the phases of the project life cycle, specifically the activities, requirements, methodologies, and tools common in project management.

• MBA 6740 | Principles of Contract Management (3 cr)

  MBA 6740
  PRINCIPLES OF CONTRACT MANAGEMENT (3 cr)

  INSTRUCTOR: Johanson
  TAUGHT: Summer (block 2)
  DELIVERY: Virtual

  Students will gain an overview of the fundamentals of contract management from the development of acquisition requirements, solicitation/proposal, negotiation, contract formation, contract performance, and contract closeout. Learn the basics of what it takes to solicit, procure, negotiate and administer contracts and subcontracts while gaining a broad understanding of business principles to establish long-term relationships with customers, suppliers and other stakeholders. Explore an insider’s view of the roles and responsibilities of contract administrators and the various interfaces with program management and other internal disciplines. Learn how to identify the basic differences between contract types and how they are selected to mitigate risk in a contractual environment, as well as exploring the key distinctions between commercial, government and international contracting processes.