The Residential MBA consists of foundation courses in 10 specified areas and 38 credit hours of advanced graduate work. Students with undergraduate business majors will waive most or all of the foundation courses.

Through careful planning, students with backgrounds in engineering, liberal arts, or science may complete the foundation courses as part of an undergraduate minor or through pursuing the Summer Business Concepts program offered online, preceding the start of the regular fall semester. Articulation agreements, which specify acceptable foundation courses, exist for Clarkson’s engineering and science programs and a number of universities in the United States and Canada.

The foundation includes the following subjects:

  • Microeconomics
  • Macroeconomics
  • Ethics
  • Organizational behavior
  • Marketing
  • Operations and production management
  • Quantitative methods/statistics
  • Financial and managerial accounting
  • Information technology
  • Corporate finance

Residential MBA Curriculum

Curriculum (16 courses, 38 credits)

Beyond the foundation, the 38 credits of the Residential MBA degree program consist of 10 2-credit interrelated core modules, five 3-credit graduate elective courses, and a 3-credit experiential course. The core modules stress business functions, emphasizing the development of communication, interpersonal and managerial skills.

Core Modules

Required courses for the program are:

  • AC603 Management Accounting
  • OM606 Supply Chain Management
  • EC604 Applied Economics
  • OS608 Organizational Behavior & Performance Management
  • FN607 Financial Management
  • OS610 Strategic Planning
  • IS605 Information Systems
  • MK609 Marketing Management
  • OM602 Decision Analysis and Supply Chain Modeling
  • SB609 Corporate Ethical Decision Making

A Strategic Planning module (2 credits) is offered as a 12-week course during the spring semester or as an accelerated winter semester online course. The other modules are taught for seven weeks each during the fall semester.

Experiential Course

Experiential learning is a strong part of Clarkson's culture so each student participating in the Residential MBA program is required to take a 3-credit-hour experiential course. Currently, the experiential requirement can be satisfied by participating in the Global Business Program or by taking the SB696 Global Business Strategies course. 

The Global Business Program offers several options that are designed to give you knowledge and new perspectives regarding international business, helping you develop critical skills necessary to compete and succeed in the global market. The most popular Global Business Program option is the course that includes a 2- to 3-week trip to an international destination, often led by the faculty from that area. This course offers a unique opportunity to explore business outside the traditional classroom boundaries and to provide a unique experience to your resume. This course also helps students explore the global management issues facing business leaders and organizations in different parts of the world.

Electives Include*:
  • AC623 Financial Statement Analysis
  • EC660 Environmental Economics
  • EC651 Industrial Organization in Supply Chain
  • FN680 Strategic Financial Management
  • MK689 New Product Marketing
  • MK696 Marketing Methods
  • OM676 Developing and Managing Technology
  • OM680 Strategic Project Management
  • OM685 Quality Management and Process Improvement
  • OM671 Supply Chain Environmental Management
  • OS657 Leading Organizational Change
  • OS666 Negotiations and Relationship Management
  • SB693 Seminar in International Business
  • SB696 Advanced Topics in Supply Chain Management
*This list is one that represents electives that have been offered over the past several years and is provided for example purposes only. Some courses listed may not be offered each year.

Global Specialty Track

The Global Specialty Track Residential MBA follows the same curriculum structure and has the same foundation requirements as the regular Residential MBA program, with students completing up to six courses abroad during their spring semester at one of the partner AACSB-accredited institutions. Students starting in the spring semester cannot participate in the Global Track program in their first semester.

Our partner schools are:

The IESEG Master’s in Management Program is ranked 31st in the world and 7th among French Business Schools. Students can choose a specialization in one of the following areas:

  • International Business Economics
  • HR Management
  • Marketing

At Kedge students can take master's degree courses at the Bordeaux or Marseille campus. Students can choose a specialization in one the following areas:

  • Marketing/Brand Management
  • Finance
  • International Business

The ESSCA School of Management partners with over 214 institutions in more than 55 countries. This partnership allows graduate business students to take courses from its campus in Shanghai. Students can choose a specialization in one of the following areas:

  • Marketing and International Business
  • Brand Marketing and Retailing in China

CityU has been ranked as the 7th best university in Asia. CityU is located at the center of a thriving region in Hong Kong. Students can choose a specialization in one of the following areas:

  • Finance
  • Marketing
  • Operations Management

Monash University is the only Group of Eight university (an alliance of leading universities in Australia recognized for their excellence in teaching and research) with “triple crown status,” which represents their triple accreditation. Students can choose a specialization in one of the following areas:

  • International Business
  • Contemporary Management

Earn a Dual Degree

MBA/MS in Applied Data Science

You can get a dual MBA/MS in Applied Data Science by completing 21 additional credits when you pursue both degrees in tandem.

  • Probability & Statistics for Analytics
  • Database Modeling, Design & Implementation
  • Optimization Methods for Analytics
  • Information Visualization
  • Data Mining
  • Capstone Project

Learn more about our dual degrees

MBA/MS in Environmental Policy

Clarkson’s two-year dual-degree program leading to a Master of Science in Environmental Policy (MSEP) degree and a Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree integrates the study of the function and management of complex environmental systems.

There are 16 credits of overlapping coursework between the MSEP and MBA programs, allowing for the 38-credit-hour MBA program and 30-credit-hour MSEP program to be completed together in a combined 52 credit program of study spanning two years, including an MS thesis (6 credits) supporting the EP degree.