The Tepper School of Business

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General Management
The General Management Track - synonymous with the existing, core MBA degree - is a popular academic option that provides students the advantage of an impressive roster of electives and that deliver depth across a variety of organizational functions.

The Tepper School has among the largest offering of electives of any top 20 business school. Depth across business functions is the basis for business strategy, it's this command of complex and dynamic problem solving strength that serves as the foundation of the core MBA degree. Most students in the General Management Track complete three to five concentrations during their course of study.

Concentration areas include: Accounting, Biotechnology, Communications, Economics, Entrepreneurship, Finance, Information Systems, International Business, Management and Strategy, Marketing, Operations Research, Organizational Behavior, and Production/Operations Management.

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Concentrations
Select from the links below to learn more about our conentration areas. Be sure to visit our Online Course Catalog as well for detailed course descriptions and faculty profiles.

Accounting
Biotechnology (Coming Soon)
Communications (Coming Soon)
Economics

Entrepreneurship
Finance
Information Systems
International Business

Management and Strategy
Marketing
Organizational Behavior
Production/Operations



Accounting
Accounting has been a mainstay in the MBA core curriculum since the school’s inception in 1949. While Financial Accounting and Managerial Accounting are required “core” classes for MBA students, there are unique electives to choose from in building an Accounting concentration grounded in analytical decision-making, technology, strategy and high ethical standards. For instance, in “Corporate Financial Reporting” students explore topics of recent interest to the business community, including quality of earnings mergers and acquisitions purchased RD post-employment benefits executive compensation and intangible assets.

In “Emerging Topics in Accounting” students are provided a flexible avenue to study current topics in accounting such as those that have received attention in the popular press and new ideas from accounting research. Examples of topics recently studied in the course include: Momentum accounting and momentum/impulse, Quantum accounting and quantum information, and Global accounting and composite currency



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Economics
The revolution that the we created in management science was, in part, spurred by the school’s leadership in the international economics arena. Answering the question of “Why markets?,” the program’s unprecedented research along with faculty Nobel laureates have reshaped public policy as well as deepened the debate surrounding societal and economic dynamics.

At the forefront of our Economic concentration is the Gailliot Center for Public Policy, directed by Professor Allan Meltzer and Adam Lerrick, two names renowned worldwide for their contributions toward improving economic policy. The strength of the business school’s economic concentration is reflected in the caliber of faculty research and its exceptionally strong partnerships in the public and private sectors.

Students will be prepared in their studies of capitalism, legal economic implications upon business and society as well as numerous courses in monetary, macro and global economics.


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Entrepreneurship
Recognized as one of the first business schools to focus on entrepreneurship as a distinct arena of management study (in 1972), the entrepreneurship program is ranked #6 by the Wall Street Journal.

Conducted through the Tepper School’s Donald Jones Center for Entrepreneurship, the research center is one of the leading centers for entrepreneurial management. (See Entrepreneurship in Organizations Track for details on in-depth study). Students are prepared for business success through an offering of many different entrepreneurial electives, ranging from basic management fundamentals to intensive project courses that involve market entry plans and venture capital strategies.

The curriculum combines theory with practice through a mix of coursework, hands-on venture capital exposure, corporate consulting and the close interaction with a world-class faculty, all having successful VC or entrepreneurial backgrounds.


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Finance
The recent #4 ranking of our finance program by U.S. recruiters (Wall Street Journal) highlights our outstanding reputation. Our finance program emphasizes the analytical and quantitative aspects of finance and accounting, offering students an opportunity to explore various methodologies and analyzes. Faculty include among the most prominent members of the financial academic community with success in fields of international finance, financial management, corporate finance and economic research. Graduates typically pursue careers at financial institutions, money management firms, corporate finance and treasury departments, consulting firms, and brokerage firms.



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Information Systems
The unprecedented speed in which technology transforms markets and economies has altered the way multi-national organizations successfully compete. As the university that is synonymous with technology, it has been a key player in leading this trend. Our students represent a new breed of leader, one who understands global issues and is able to take advantage of emerging trends and technologies.

Broadly encompassing an array of technical and managerial coursework as well as applied project experience, the Information Technology concentration is aimed at preparing students for a career in a technology-related field. With nearly 25 electives from which to choose in our computer science and information networking disciplines, students are able to take advantage of a cross-campus academic experience through our MBA program as well as the School of Computer Science, the Software Engineering Institute and the Heinz School of Public Policy.


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International Business
With 30-35% of each incoming class representing international students (this year from 24 different countries!) students receive an international perspective throughout their core courses. For students wishing to delve deeper into International Business Management, we offer both our Global Enterprise Management Track as well as a concentration in International Business. The concentration features introductory courses such as "International Business Management," which will broaden the students understanding of business issues and problems encountered in managing global business enterprises. Additional electives, such as "International Finance" and "International Accounting," focus on particular business functions using a global perspective. Courses such as "Cross-Cultural Mangement and Ethics" explore ways in which culture defines organizations.

Students find one of our Global Study options as a wonderful compliment to coursework in International Business.




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Management and Strategy
Today’s B-school environment is crowded with courses and programs that highlight “strategy” as the academic focus. Our Management and Strategy concentration distinguishes itself from other schools through an integrated approach to long-term, executive-level and competitive approaches to international business.

Featuring a faculty comprised of lawyers, entrepreneurs, authors and former CEOs, CFOs and COOs, the Management and Strategy curriculum encompasses a wide range of coursework, including business models for a new economy, organizational survival, industry evolution and competitive environments and financial economic modeling.



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Marketing
One of the most popular concentration areas, the marketing curriculum incorporates academic specialty areas related to buyer behavior, technology, B2B strategy, data mining, product design and development as well as the fundamental coursework in marketing management.

Our graduates are highly sought for marketing positions at consumer packaged goods, technology, health care/pharmaceutical, retail and start-up companies. Our students’ ability to approach marketplace and consumer issues as part of a honed, analytical framework is rare – and valued – in today’s fast-paced industries and categories.

In business situations when case study reference books and gut instinct don’t suffice, our grads solve problems that impact organizations’ competitive success. Within an analytical decision making context, coursework encompasses product marketing, market entry planning, segmentation, communications management, pricing/sales forecasting, channel distribution and management, and marketing research.

For those students who wish to focus on the analytical aspects of Marketing, the Analytical Marketing Strategy Track offers an opportunity to deepen your understanding and study our own "brand" of marketing.


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Organizational Behavior
As one of the pioneering fore parents of organizational studies, we believe that creating new knowledge is as important as disseminating it. In the 1960s our contributions in the arena of behavior science grew to impressive prominence. Today, the history of organizational research at our school is one of the path breaking, highly influential, interdisciplinary milestones that fundamentally changed how scholars think about organizations.

The program's strength lies within the areas of groups, negotiation and conflict management, social networks within and between organizations and organization learning and management.

The Organizational Behavior concentration features faculty who are spearheading innovative classroom-to-boardroom research, particularly in the arenas of knowledge transfer and management, interpersonal negotiation, team dynamics, organizational change and productivity as well as corporate leadership. Their credentials are impressive, serving in key leadership positions with the Academy of Management, Management Science Journal, Journal of Organizational Behavior and the International Association for Conflict Management.

The Organizational Behavior program includes a comprehensive roster of elective offerings. Within our trademark framework of analytical decision making, this program introduces models and techniques that elicit meaningful insights regarding the universal challenges of organizational success.



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Production/Operations
Each year 20 of the most elite business schools from around the world meet on the Tepper School's campus to participate in the nation’s capstone MBA Operations case competition. There’s a reason why we host the anticipated event.

Ranked as the #2 Operations program by the Wall Street Journal and #2 by U.S. News and World Report, our heritage as the academic pioneer of “industrial administration” has placed the school in the research, manufacturing and academic spotlight.

We view the complex industry of operations management as broadly as material, information, technology and people. Students are prepared to enter this field with a depth that effectively leverages operations management a source of competitive advantage. With a multitude of different elective offerings in this specialty discipline, the Operations Management concentration provides students exposure to studies in simulation modeling, logistics, manufacturing systems, quality design and analysis as well as strategic performance drivers.

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Online Course Catalog
Our mini-semester system splits the traditional semester in half. In a typical mini-semester, FullTime students take four or five courses, while FlexTime and FlexMode students take two courses. This course structure affords you wide exposure to topics and professors and more flexibility to design your MBA program for career opportunities. And it quickens the pace of discovery – preparing you to hit the ground running in your internship and career upon graduation. Students take at least 32 courses while in the program, only half of which are required core courses. The Tepper MBA is unique in its balancing of both breadth and specialization. Add to that its company-sponsored courses, international study options and the capstone Management Game course, and you have an MBA program unlike any other.

The application below will allow you to view recent required and elective course descriptions by area of interest. Note: In keeping with our tradition of innovation, the MBA faculty may revise the curriculum and course offerings at any time.

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Analytical Marketing Strategy MBA Track
Analytical Marketing Strategy is the application of multidisciplinary, quantitative methods and models to solve marketing problems. The Analytical Marketing Strategy Track leverages the power of data management and mining, model building, and strategic applications that capitalize upon the school's dominance in transferring knowledge to information driven decisions and competitive advantage.

The Analytical Marketing Strategy Track prepares students to make decisions that address direct marketing, CRM, product design and development, dynamic pricing, revenue management options, and customer loyalty. Numerous industry projects are available for the capstone project course. Customer retention processes are one of the fastest growing careers in marketing today in both consumer and business-to-business sectors.

The Track features a sequence of coursework in three underlying areas: database management, database development, and mining for marketing. However, based on recruiter interest, students can specialize in areas such as engineering, manufacturing and finance. Taking a broad view of the role future executives will assume in effectively leveraging information and technology for competitive success, the Track emphasizes both the technical as well as management-related aspects of information organizations, transfer and application.

While it is easy to recruit MBA graduates trained in traditional marketing, it is rare to find a future executive able to lead marketing decisions with large data sets using computational techniques. Whether creating targeted campaigns, evaluating and forecasting pricing sensitivity, or executing customer retention programs, the Analytical Marketing Strategy Track’s curriculum is highly relevant to today’s corporate marketing strategies.




CAREERS IN MARKETING

From brand management to global strategy, Tepper grads are known for a best-in-class approach to cutting-edge marketing, applying both classical and computational techniques within the retail, trade, technology and institutional industries.

Marketing Recruiters
Marketing Salary Statistics
Career Opportunities Center

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Biotechnology MBA Track
The Biotechnology Track features an interdisciplinary format that leverages the research expertise and academic leadership of the Tepper School of Business, the Mellon College of Science and Heinz School of Public Policy.

The Track’s framework is unparalleled as an impressive intersection – and authentic partnership – of several disciplines throughout the university, in particular science, engineering, robotics, computer science, business management and biomedical engineering. We view biotechnology as a complex, dynamic industry that requires both breadth and depth for executives to succeed in managing regulatory, management, scientific and marketplace issues.

Students who select this Track prepare for leadership in business and science. We understand the unique aspects of the biotechnology industry and have developed the Track with the objectives of effective utilization of technical and scientific expertise as well as strategic business leadership

Required Courses
Key courses included in the Biotechnology Track are:

Principles of Biotechnology
Biotechnology Regulations, Policy and Compliance
Biotechnology Industry, Structure and Strategy
Ethical Judgments in Professional Life
Capstone Project Course
Plus, four to five relevant electives selected by the student and approved by the Track faculty leader
Elective courses can be selected from biology, for a pharmaceutical focus; public policy, for a health care delivery focus; or engineering and robotics, for a medical devices focus. These three options are readily available, however, other directions can be designed with the Track’s faculty leader.

We recognize biotechnology as an industry that requires professional who can effectively manage multiple disciplines and perspectives. The growth and potential of the sector has resulted in a demand for executives who can simultaneously balance regulatory, scientific and business issues. The Carnegie Mellon culture is inherently collaborative. Our integrated campus network and decidedly small size breeds interdisciplinary exploration, and corporate partners benefit from a broader scientific view. Some of the world’s leading research centers in biomedical engineering, robotics, green chemistry and stem cell research are located on our campus, and MBA students who select the Biotechnology Track have the opportunity to work within them.

In addition, we have chosen the Tepper School of Business as the hub for this Track to ensure an equally balanced emphasis on business and science, while many other universities host their biotechnology programs and degrees in either schools of engineering or science.
Biotech & Life Sciences In-Depth

Carnegie Mellon recently received one of the largest medical grants of any university from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute to develop its biosciences programs. Learn more about the impressive research and resources available to MBA students studying in the Biotechnology Track:

Mellon College of Science
Life Science Greenhouse

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Entrepreneurship In Organizations MBA Track
The Entrepreneurship in Organizations Track provides exceptional depth in planning, funding and sustaining a successful new business. The Track focuses on three key areas for start-up survival: marketing, organization and funding. Students take required and advanced electives in each of these areas to acquire the planning skills to develop and execute a start-up plan. Students in the Track become Entrepreneurial Fellows and can participate in an executive guest speaker, summer internship, and final Track project program. Final projects can result from collaboration across the campus also. The resulting plan will be a new opportunity to secure required funding for a start-up, early stage or ongoing business.

Required Courses
Funding Early Stage Ventures
Renewable Advantage: New Models and Strategies
Entrepreneurship Through Business Acquisition
Entrepreneurial Thought and Action
Technology Commercialization and Business Development Strategy
Entrepreneurial Thought Leadership Seminar Series and Workshop
Capstone Project Course
Electives can be selected from marketing, finance planning and organizational structure and growth which represent the areas critical to successful market entry and growth.

The curriculum for this Track also provides an excellent basis for a career in consulting, finance, technology or venture capital due to student involvement with corporations, mid-size companies and start-ups. The entrepreneurship field is not limited to those seeking to launch their own company. In fact, many graduates become “intrapreneurs,” serving as business development executives and strategic leaders within established companies.

Students closely collaborate with faculty, researchers and students at Carnegie Mellon’s top-ranked programs including engineering, product development, computer science and robotics for the capstone course. During the second year of the program, numerous electives, events, case competitions and conferences are conducted to increase student exposure to possible business ideas and campus partnerships.

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Financial Engineering
The derivatives security industry is a global multi-trillion dollar business in which options, swaps, and other structured products are structured, priced, hedged and traded. The functioning of this dynamic market relies on complex mathematical and financial models for pricing derivative securities. Examples include Black-Scholes, stochastic volatility models, and Heath-Jarrow-Morton among others. These valuation models rely on advanced mathematics and must be computed numerically in all but a few special cases.

The Financial Engineering track prepares students for careers in derivatives trading, structuring, and risk management. The track consists of the finance and mathematics core of the well-respected Masters in the Science of Computational Finance (MSCF) program. Students completing the track will be proficient in using cutting-edge option pricing models. They will understand the mathematical theory underlying these models and be able to implement numerical techniques for computing these models.

Required Track Courses *
Intro to Probability
Options
Multi-Period Asset Pricing
Studies in Financial Engineering
Stochastic Calculus for Finance I
Credit Derivatives
Stochastic Calculus for Finance II
Simulation for Option Pricing

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Global Enterprise Management MBA Track
Global organizations are the norm today, and understanding how a multinational competes across a range of disciplines is critical for success. Integrated planning, R&D, operations, finance, and delivery of value to the global marketplace have changed business processes forever. This MBA Track combines the key business process areas at Tepper to provide exposure and learning for the new global enterprise.

Five functional areas have merged subject material:

Operations (supply chain and manufacturing)
Organizational Behavior (management),
Information Systems (technology)
Strategy (corporate resources)
Management (cultural) to constitute the content base of the track.

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Investment Strategy
Students who complete the Investment Strategy track will have distinguished themselves in terms of three sets of skills:

1. They will have a user-level understanding of the mathematics and statistics of modern valuation theory and derivatives pricing.
2. They will understand the economics underlying the theory.
3. They will be able to put the math, stats and economics together with data in order to solve problems that are important for the financial industry. Examples include identifying and implementing data-driven investment strategies and pricing and hedging structured products such as collateralized mortgage obligations (CMOs), credit derivatives and exotic equity options.

While this skill set is valuable for any finance job, it is of particular importance for careers in buy and sell-side money management, sales and trading, structured products and corporate treasury.

Two new courses are being developed for the Track. “alpha” emphasizes the development and implementation of data-driven portfolio allocation models which play an increasingly important role in the money-management industry. “Financial Economics” will teach the economic fundamentals underlying modern asset pricing and derivatives valuation.

Students taking the Investment Strategy Track are strongly encouraged to participate and play a leadership role in the Tepper Investment Club, where much of the content of the track can be applied.

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Management of Innovation & Product Development MBA Track


The Management of Innovation and Product Development Track (MIPD) provides students with a strong working knowledge of integrated product development, in which designers, engineers and marketers collaborate in a team environment to develop useful, usable and desirable products. Students will gain an in-depth understanding of how innovation and project management processes are utilized and focused for new product opportunities. Faculty from the schools of business, engineering, and fine arts provide the Track coursework and team guidance during the corporate-sponsored capstone course.

Required Courses
New Product Management
Marketing Research
Interpersonal Negotiation
Groups and Teams in Organizations
Industrial Design Fundamentals
Design for Manufacturing (or) Engineering Design
Capstone Project Course and an additional 1-2 electives selected by the student and approved by the Track faculty coordinator. Electives can be selected from other areas that influence product development such as marketing, entrepreneurship, intellectual capital and design.

The central objective of this Track is to provide a hybrid classroom environment in which project teams learn together, working collectively on company prototypes and market entry plans. Carnegie Mellon is the only business school in the United States to offer a fully integrated curriculum of this type, which aims at producing next-generation executives familiar with a multi-functional approach to product development. Students experience the actual issues and challenges associated with the development and launch of new products.