Program Information
The GGU Master of Business Administration (MBA) program will advance your leadership skills and business knowledge using an activity-based learning approach. Our faculty members are seasoned professionals in their respective fields and will prepare you to lead in today’s complex business environment.
The GGU MBA builds leadership skills throughout the program, provides an integrated perspective of management and allows you to tailor your program with one of our 13 concentrations to meet your interests and goals. These concentrations include business data analytics, entrepreneurship, project management and even the option to design your own.
Since the founding of its MBA program over half a century ago, GGU has pioneered evening and online programs for working professionals to achieve their career objectives. You will proceed at your own pace in deciding how many courses to take in a given trimester and study fully in-person, completely online or a combination of both.
Student Learning Outcomes
By the end of the program, students should be able to:
- Demonstrate a general management “holistic” perspective
- Demonstrate managerial and leadership skills, such as teamwork, critical thinking and problem solving, communications and presentations, self-awareness
- Master and apply general management analytic processes and tools for decision making
- Integrate strategic business objectives within competitive industry dynamics
- Integrate strategic business objectives within the socio-political-economic-ecological-global context
- Understand functional areas’ impact on business and departmental interaction issues
- Demonstrate integrated business level planning
Declaring Program Concentrations
Students may declare concentrations when they have completed the coursework required for their desired concentrations, or after the “Last Day to Drop Course without Tuition Charge” (per the Academic Calendar) for their final terms, if they will be able to complete their concentrations in their final terms.
To be eligible to declare concentrations, students must have already completed the required concentration coursework, or be able to complete it in their final terms without requiring waivers, substitutions, or directed study courses, unless they are approved in advance by the department chair, program director, or dean.
Students may declare up to two concentrations in a given degree program. Students seeking to declare more than two concentrations will be required to appeal to the dean or vice president of academic affairs for approval. Students’ diplomas will list the concentrations that they had successfully completed at the time their degrees were conferred. Students may not declare additional concentrations after their degrees have been conferred.
The following concentrations are available:
Requirements for the Master of Business Administration
GMAT/GRE Requirement
The GMAT/GRE is NOT required if you have more than 5 years of professional work experience and hold an earned bachelor’s degree from a regionally accredited US institution or the equivalent from a recognized foreign (outside the US) institution. If you have less than 5 years of work experience, you may need to take the GMAT or GRE. For all exceptions to the GMAT/GRE requirement, please view our Graduate Admission information.
Graduate Writing Proficiency Requirement
Students are expected to possess a level of writing skill and knowledge equivalent to ENGL 201 . Students may meet this requirement by satisfying one of the screening criteria. See Graduate Writing Proficiency Requirement for more information.
Graduate Mathematics Proficiency Requirement
Students admitted to this program are expected to possess a level of mathematical skill at least equivalent to College Algebra (MATH 30 ). Students may meet this requirement by satisfying one of the screening criteria listed under Graduate Mathematics Proficiency Requirement .
Foundation Program - 9 Units
The three-course foundation program provides the groundwork for the advanced program core and concentration courses. Some, or all, of the foundation course requirements may be waived if they have previously completed comparable undergraduate courses at a regionally accredited college or university with a grade of “C” or better. Students may be admitted to advanced program courses before completion of the entire foundation program, but they must complete the foundation program by the time twelve units have been earned in the advanced program.
Advanced Program - 45 Units
The core courses in the advanced program are taken by all MBA students. This ensures that all MBA graduates have an understanding of the important skills for effective management and an integrative knowledge of the core area of business, regardless of their area of concentration. Although they are required to choose either a concentration or a general concentration when they apply for admission, the common core allows students to rethink their concentration (or general concentration) decision, and to change it with minimum course penalty.
Skills Courses - 12 units
Contextual Courses - 6 units
Functional Courses - 12 units
Capstone Course - 3 Units
Concentration - 12 units
The four concentration courses in the advanced program allow the student to develop expertise in a specialized area of business. The concentrations may include required and elective courses. Currently, GGU offers several MBA concentrations, including a general concentration. Courses listed carry three semester units of credit unless otherwise noted.
For those students who wish to develop on-the-job experience in the program, they can develop hands-on experience through an internship program by taking three units of an internship course in the student’s field of interest. For three months, under the supervision of GGU faculty, students will work for a business or nonprofit organization, applying their Golden Gate education to real-life circumstances.
Marketing Concentration - 12 units
Often considered the central discipline of business, the challenges and practices of marketing are evolving along with the changes in the contemporary business environment. This concentration prepares students to manage the marketing function inside private or public sector business organizations. General management and marketing techniques, such as market research and market planning, are covered along with the current trends and techniques in the field like digital marketing, social media, and the increasing mobile marketing trends.
