If you are looking for an online degree program that may help increase your earning potential and prepare you for career advancement, a Master of Business Administration is an ideal choice. According to the annual Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC) survey, the average expected starting annual salary for new professional hires from MBA programs was $80,292 in 2006, up more than ten percent from 2002.* The U.S. Census Bureau reports average earnings of $58,866 for bachelor's degree holder's and $41,475 for associate's degree holders of all experience levels.† The Kaplan University MBA is a dynamic 21st-century-driven program that is designed to offer the right balance of theory and practice to help prepare you for advancement in your business career.

 Program Highlights: A Greater Degree of Professionalism 

The objective of the Master of Business Administration program is to help students pursue leadership positions in competitive business environments. The curriculum is designed to address this through a portfolio of practical, resume-building projects that satisfy students' intellectual curiosity as well as help them to build the knowledge, skills, and abilities needed to make sound business and management decisions. Beyond these practical skills, the program is also designed to foster thought leadership, innovation, and corporate social responsibility in a global context. Through the inclusion of current news events, instructors ensure that the curriculum stays topical, vibrant, and relevant. You will be taught to:

  • Create value in production and distribution of goods, services, and information throughout the supply chain
  • Integrate business knowledge to take well-reasoned action in diverse situations
  • Innovate to address business issues or establish new procedures within an existing process
  • Generate a new business or establish new procedures within an existing business
  • Demonstrate the leadership necessary to accomplish business goals and maximize organizational performance
  • Evaluate the ethical and social implications of business decisions in a global context

Focused Specializations

Competition is keen for upper-level management positions in most industries. Specialized knowledge and expertise may give you the edge you need to stand out to employers and land these highly coveted leadership roles. The MBA program is designed to allow you to increase your marketability and value by completing four or more additional courses in one of the designated areas of specialization. The MBA program can take between one and two years to complete, depending on if you are attending school full-time or part-time and if you have applicable transfer credits.‡

 Areas of Specialization for the Master of Business Administration 

Having an area of specialization is essential for today's business leaders. You need knowledge and skills that will help you stand out to potential employers and gain the respect of your employees and staff. When you choose the Focused MBA option at Kaplan University, you will have the opportunity to develop expertise in one of the following areas of specialization.
    Develop the skills required to evaluate business opportunities, create new ventures, and foster innovation. Hone your problem-solving and decision-making skills and explore the differences between managing start-up versus growing companies. Analyze organizational development theories and change models currently being employed in organizations.
    Analyze strategies for investing in various markets. Gain an understanding of the primary real and financial assets that comprise corporate balance sheets. Explore mergers and acquisitions and financial management issues for international businesses, including foreign exchange risk, hedging strategies, and global positioning of assets. Acquire the knowledge and skills required to prepare and interpret financial statements.
    Study how to navigate the rapidly growing and changing health care field. Health care is experiencing breakthrough advances in treatment, rigorous patient-privacy regulations, staffing challenges, and issues of cost control. Our program is designed to help you develop the proficiencies you need to make a difference and to find solutions to real-life business situations.
    Explore recruitment and hiring practices, employee training, corporate policies, and executive leadership. Analyze labor laws and topics such as wrongful termination, employment at will, and collective bargaining. Focus on change management and the relationship between pay structures and organizational performance.
    Discover key competencies for remaining competitive in a global economy. Apply concepts of finance, management, and marketing on an international level, including demographic and cultural considerations. You will be taught how to manage diverse people and projects around the world, with the insight and understanding to make effective business decisions related to fundamental business processes in a multinational framework.
    Apply marketing research methods and techniques to analyze and implement strategic advertising. Explore how buyer-behavior and consumer protection issues affect marketing strategies. Develop skills required to manage a sales force, with a focus on training, motivation, compensation, and performance evaluation. Analyze factors that affect purchase decisions in the marketplace.
    Examine how to analyze and streamline complex, large-scale endeavors into efficient project plans. You will be taught to strategize, plan, schedule, implement, and determine project deliverables, milestones, and responsibilities, making sure that business needs are being addressed and costs are managed.
    Examine tools and techniques used to create and manage an optimal supply chain, from the source of origin, to the consumer, to reverse logistics. Apply the total systems approach to manage materials and services, solve logistic and transportation problems, and reduce costs. Explore how e-business can improve productivity and position an organization to better compete in the global economy.

 Curriculum for the Master of Business Administration 

    Courses Credits
    Business Perspectives 4
    Business Communications 4
    Business Analytics 4
    Financial Accounting Principles and Analysis 4
    Measurement and Decision Making 4
    Strategic Human Resource Management 4
    Marketing Management 4
    Economics for Global Decision Makers 4
    Financial Management 4
    Designing, Improving, and Implementing Processes 4
    Managing the Value Chain 4
    Strategic Management 4
    Corporate Social Responsibility 4
    Leadership Strategies for a Changing World 4
    MBA Capstone 4
    Courses Credits
    Entrepreneurship 4
    Small Business Administration 4
    Corporate Venturing 4
    The Entrepreneurial Lab 4
    Courses Credits
    Capital Markets and Investments 4
    Mergers and Acquisitions 4
    International Finance 4
    Financial Statement Analysis 4
    Courses Credits
    Health Care Systems 4
    Comprehensive Health Care Strategies 4
    Quality Health Care Management 4
    International Health Care Systems 4
    Courses Credits
    Employment and Labor Law 4
    Training and Development 4
    Strategic Reward Systems 4
    Recruitment and Selection 4
    Courses Credits
    International Finance 4
    International Management 4
    International Marketing 4
    International Managerial Competencies 4
    Courses Credits
    Advertising 4
    Marketing Research 4
    Salesforce Management 4
    Marketing Psychology 4
    Courses Credits
    Strategic Project Management 4
    Project Initiation, Planning, and Execution 4
    Project Cost and Schedule Monitoring and Controlling 4
    Project Risk, Quality, and Procurement Monitoring and Controlling 4
    Courses Credits
    Supply Chain Management 4
    Inventory and Distribution Management 4
    Managing the Service Value Chain 4
    Strategic Global Logistics Management 4
    Total Program Requirements 76
    Courses Credits
    Business Perspectives 4
    Business Communications 4
    Business Analytics 4
    Financial Accounting Principles and Analysis 4
    Measurement and Decision Making 4
    Strategic Human Resource Management 4
    Marketing Management 4
    Economics for Global Decision Makers 4
    Financial Management 4
    Designing, Improving, and Implementing Processes 4
    Managing the Value Chain 4
    Strategic Management 4
    Corporate Social Responsibility 4
    Leadership Strategies for a Changing World 4
    MBA Capstone 4
    Total Program Requirements 60

 What Are the Career Opportunities? 

A Kaplan University online MBA may greatly increase your income potential and marketability in today's competitive job market. This professionally focused program prepares you for business management and corporate leadership. As a graduate of this program you may be qualified for high-level employment opportunities in finance, marketing, operations, management of information systems, and human resources.§ An MBA may also help you acquire knowledge and proficiencies to make you more effective leader and a more valued employee in your current career. Click here to review career profiles.

For more information, chat live or call an Admissions Advisor at 866.527.5268 (Toll Free).

  

Tuition and Fees

Cost per credit hour$441.00
Total program requirements Specialization track76
Total cost of tuition$33,516.00

Cost per credit hour$441.00
Total program requirements Nonspecialization track60
Total cost of tuition$26,460.00

This program requires a prorated technology fee of $50 per 6-week term. Effective June 5, 2010, a minimum tuition deposit, depending on your program and as described in the Tuition and Fees Supplement, is required at the time of enrollment. The deposit will be credited toward your tuition when you begin classes. Qualifying transfer credit may reduce your total costs. Refer to the University Catalog for transfer of credit policy. We encourage you to explore the availability of financial aid and scholarships. For more information, chat live or call an Admissions Advisor at 866.527.5268 (Toll Free).

Kaplan University offers tuition discounts to active-duty military servicemembers and veterans. Call 866.583.4412 (Toll Free) to speak to a military Admissions Advisor.

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* Graduate Management Admission Council, GMAC Research Reports, RR-06-13, September 19, 2006, http://www.gmac.com/nr/rdonlyres/4314d9f3-b844-4ac0-b84c-86798d74ddce/0/rr0613_mbasalary.pdf (accessed May 2008).
† U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey (CPS), http://pubdb3.census.gov/macro/032007/perinc/new03_001.htm (accessed May 2008).
‡  Speak to an Admissions Representative or refer to the University Catalog for our Transfer of Credit policy.
§  Kaplan University's programs are designed to prepare graduates to pursue employment in their field of study, or in related fields. However, the University does not guarantee that graduates will be placed in any particular job or employed at all.