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    Dec 06, 2024  
2020-2021 Catalog 
    
2020-2021 Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

Business Administration, Law Concentration, Joint MBA/JD


Program Information


GGU provides students the opportunity to simultaneously pursue both the MBA and JD degrees. Students interested in the joint program should first apply to and be admitted to the School of Law. Matriculated full-time JD students may apply to participate in this program after the completion of two semesters of law school, and part-time JD students may apply after three terms. Students’ LSAT scores will be accepted in lieu of the GMAT and Writing Proficiency Requirement in order to gain admission to the MBA program. All other admission requirements of our traditional MBA program will apply. Students’ Law School grades will also be considered in admission decisions. See the Juris Doctor (Joint Degree Program), JD/MBA for more information.

For the MBA program, students complete the same foundation program courses and advanced program courses as required in our traditional MBA program. However, joint program students complete the Law concentration using 12 units of their second and third year law classes. However, these 12 units are not formally applied to the MBA program’s requirements until the student has successfully completed the JD program requirements.

Additionally, 12 units from the MBA program are used to satisfy the elective requirement of the JD program. In all, the program allows students to complete both the JD and MBA degrees in as few as 109 units, compared to 121 units if pursued separately. The total number of business school units may be higher if students have not already completed coursework equivalent to the MBA foundation program at an accredited undergraduate college or university (with a grade of “C-“or better).

Student Learning Outcomes

Graduates of the MBA program will be able to:

  • Work effectively in teams.
  • Sell their ideas.
  • Apply theory to understand real practical situations.
  • Think “outside the box” and develop novel solutions.
  • Integrate the functional department issues into a coherent strategic whole.
  • Analyze and synthesize problems.

And will be knowledgeable about:

  • Current international and global issues.
  • Ethical and diversity issues.
  • Current technology and environmental issues.
  • Leading change in an organization.
  • Current management trends.

Graduates of the JD program will demonstrate knowledge of:

  • Legal rules, principles, and theories in the core substantive areas of law (i.e., criminal law and procedure, constitutional law, tort law, contracts law, civil procedure, property law, wills and trusts, business law, evidence and professional responsibility).

And be proficient in the following:

  • Problem solving
  • Legal analysis and reasoning
  • Legal research
  • Factual investigation
  • Oral and written communication
  • Counseling
  • Negotiation
  • Litigation and alternative dispute resolution procedures
  • Organization and management of legal work
  • Recognizing and resolving ethical dilemmas

And demonstrate an awareness and appreciation of the value of:

  • Provision of competent representation.
  • Justice, fairness, and morality.
  • Improving the legal profession.
  • Engaging in professional self-development.

Attention Law School JD Graduates

If a student has already earned his/her JD degree, he/she can use 12 units of course credit from the JD program toward the completion of the MBA degree with Law concentration. Plus, if the student has already completed the business subjects in the foundation program at an accredited undergraduate college or university (with a grade of “C-” or better), he/she can transfer these courses to satisfy the foundation requirements, and reduce the course requirement to the eleven advanced program graduate core courses (33 units).

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 several 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

Graduates of the Master of Business Administration program will have the knowledge and skills 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 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 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.

Students may select from the following concentrations:

Requirements for the Master of Business Administration


The Master of Business Administration (MBA) requires completion of 6 units in the foundation program and 45 units in the advanced program, with a cumulative grade-point average of 3.00 or better in courses taken at Golden Gate University that are applicable to the program’s requirements. For further information regarding graduation requirements, see Academic Requirements for Graduate Programs .

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 proficiency in writing to ensure they can be successful in their course of study. Students may meet this requirement by satisfying one of the screening criteria listed under Graduate Writing Proficiency Requirement .

Graduate Mathematics Proficiency Requirement

Students are expected to possess a level of mathematical proficiency at least equivalent to MATH 20 Intermediate Algebra . Students may meet this requirement by satisfying one of the screening criteria listed under Graduate Mathematics Proficiency Requirement .

Foundation Program - 6 units


The two-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.

Core Courses - 33 units

Skills Courses - 12 units

Students are strongly encouraged to complete the courses in the following order:

Contextual Courses - 6 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. Courses listed carry three semester units of credit unless otherwise noted.

Students may select from the following concentrations:

Students wishing to develop on-the-job experience can obtain hands-on experience 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.

Law Concentration - 12 units


The concentration will be satisfied with 12-units of Law School coursework. However, this coursework will not be included in the calculation of students’ program GPAs.