Business Administration, Public Administration Concentration, MBA

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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
Demonstrate an understanding and ability to identify the ethical, environmental, and social implications of business issues and formulate appropriate responses

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 students 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.

BUS 202 Fundamentals of Business 3 unit(s)
BUS 240 Data Analysis for Managers 3 unit(s)

Core 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.

Business Core - 27 units

Students are strongly encouraged to complete the courses in the order below. It is also recommend that students take BUS 202 with LEAD 300 in their first semesters and BUS 240 in their second semesters of study.

LEAD 300 Management and Leadership 3 unit(s)
LEAD 303 Teamwork in Organizations 3 unit(s)
FI 300 Corporate Finance 3 unit(s)
MBA 323 Information Technology 3 unit(s)
MSBA 300 Foundations of Business Analytics 3 unit(s)
MKT 300 Marketing Management 3 unit(s)
OP 300 Operations and Supply Chain Management 3 unit(s)
MGT 301 Entrepreneurship and New Business Development 3 unit(s)
HRM 301 Work and Workforce Trends 3 unit(s)

Strategic Courses and Capstone Course - 9 units

MBA 311 Strategic Analysis and Design 3 unit(s)
MGT 345 Context of Business 3 unit(s)
MBA 350 Business Planning 3 unit(s) (Capstone course, to be taken in final semester.)

Concentration - 9-12 units

The three 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.

Public Administration Concentration - 12 units

Government regulation, compliance, taxation, and outsourcing public services to business and nonprofit organizations have increased the need for private sector managers to understand how the government bureaucracy works. This concentration provides students with the necessary skills and knowledge to be successful at public policy, government affairs, and community relations applying what they learned to approach the public sector with the mindset of a private sector manager. Also, be able to liaise and lobby effectively on behalf of business interests. Furthermore, students will learn how public sector finances, labor negotiations, ethics, programming, and policies are administered and influenced by citizens, activists, and advocates.

Required Courses - 4 units

EMPA 300 Theory, Ethics and Practice in Public Service 4 unit(s)

Elective Courses- 8 units

Two of the following:

EMPA 302 Public Policy Analysis and Program Evaluation 4 unit(s)
EMPA 304 Public Enterprise Management and Public Sector Business Relations 4 unit(s)
EMPA 305 Budgeting and Financial Management 4 unit(s)
EMPA 306 Public Service and the Law 4 unit(s)
EMPA 307 Personnel Management and Labor Relations 4 unit(s)