Brandeis School of Business and Economics

Programs > MBA > Core Curriculum

Core Curriculum

Your Academic Experience

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The MBA curriculum ensures you're on the fast track to global business and leadership success.

Key Elements

  • Challenging, broadly applicable and inclusive of all business topics—from corporate communication to data analysis—through a global lens
  • An array of courses from global dexterity and transnational negotiations to marketing and investments
  • Continually updated to reflect the latest developments in global business and world affairs
  • Specialized to give you the technical training you need in the Bloomberg Lab and other “must-have” industry technologies

Curriculum and Timeline

The 2-year MBA program requires 64 credits. One of the four semesters in the program may be spent studying abroad. Students also have the opportunity to take courses at other institutions in the area in related fields.

Beginning in Fall 2026, all MBA students will be required to complete a practicum component — an internship or field project that provides real-world experience as part of the program.

Program Requirements

Core Requirements (30 credits)

  • FIN 212a: Accounting and Financial Analysis (4 credits) or FIN 213a Intermediate Accounting (4 credits)
  • FIN 203a: Financial Management (4 credits)
  • BUS 219f: Fundamentals of Organizational Behavior (2 credits)
  • Organizational Behavior elective:
    • BUS 222f: Global Dexterity (2 credits) 
    • Bus 226a Strategic Human Resource Management and People Analytics (4 credits)
    • BUS 227a: Influence, Power and Identity (4 credits)
    • HS 244a: Responsible Negotiation (4 credits) 
    • RPJM 113: Negotiating and Conflict Resolution (3 credits, online)
  • BUS 228b: MBA Career Strategy and Management Communication (2 credits)
  • BUS 252a: Marketing Management (4 credits)
  • BUS 260a: Competition and Strategy (4 credits)
Operations: 
  • Bus 272a: Operations Management (4 credits) or 
  • BUS 276a: Business Dynamics: Managing in a Complex World (4 credits)

Business Analytics: 2-4 credits from the following courses: 
  • BUS 211a: Foundations of Data Analytics (4 credits)
  • BUS 212a: Advanced Data Analytics (4 credits)
  • BUS 253a: Marketing Research and Design (4 credits)
  • BUS 240f Information Visualization (2 credits)
  • BUS 215f Python and Application to Business Analytics (2 credits)
  • FIN 217f: Corporate Financial Modeling (2 credits)
  • FIN 218f: Portfolio Financial Modeling (2 credits)

Advanced Organizational Behavior: 2-4 credits from the following courses:
  • BUS 222f Global Dexterity (2 credits)
  • BUS 226a Strategic HR Management and People Analytics (4 credits)
  • BUS 227a Influence, Power, and Identity (4 credits)
  • HS 244a Responsible Negotiation (4 credits)
  • RPJM 113 Negotiation and Conflict Resolution (3 credits, online)

General Business Elective (30 credits): - Concentration credits apply to elective credits. Of the 30 credits of MBA elective, 2-4 credits of coursework must be taken in each of the Organizational Behavior and Business Analytics areas. The remaining 22-26 credits of elective may be selected out of the MBA General Elective, listed below.
  • BUS 222f Global Dexterity (2)
  • BUS 226a Strategic Human Resource Management and People Analytics (4)
  • BUS 227a Influence, Power, and Identity (4)
  • HS 244a Responsible Negotiation (4)
  • RPJM 113 Negotiation and Conflict Resolution (3 credits, online)
  • BUS/ECON 264a Strategic Decision-making with Game Theory (4)
  • BUS 233a Entrepreneurship and Rapid Prototyping (4)
  • BUS 272a Operations Management (4)
  • BUS 276a Business Dynamics (4)
  • BUS 277a Healthcare Dynamics (4)
  • BUS 235f Real Estate Fundamentals (2)
  • BUS 254a Branding Strategy (4)
  • BUS 255a Consumer Behavior (4)

Practicum (4 credits)
  • BUS 292a Marketing Field Project (4 credits)
  • BUS 293a Real Estate Field Project (4 credits)
  • BUS 294a Data Analytics Field Project (4 credits)
  • FIN 293a Finance Field Project (4 credits)
  • BUS 295a Field Project: Social Impact Innovation (4 credits)
  • BUS 296a Internship (4 credits)
  • FIN 292a Internship (4 credits)
  • BUS 290a Directed Research (4 credits)
Sample Fall Course Plan

Fall 1 (16 credits)

  • FIN 212a: Financial Accounting and Analysis (4 credits)
  • FIN 203a: Financial Management (4 credits) 
  • BUS 252a: Marketing Management (4 credits)
  • BUS 219f: Fundamentals of Organizational Behavior (2 credits)
  • BUS 228b: MBA Career Strategy and Management Communication (2 credits)
  • Elective and/or other required course(s) (2 credits)

Spring 1 (16 credits)

  • BUS 272a: Operations Management (4 credits)
  • BUS 260a: Competition and Strategy (4 credits)
  • Electives and/or other required course (6 credits)

Fall 2 (16 credits)

  • Advanced Organizational Behavior course (2 credits) 
  • Concentration or general electives (14 credits)

Spring 2 (16 credits)

  • Business Analytics course (4 credits) 
  • Concentration or general electives (12 credits)
Concentrations and Electives

The MBA program requires 30 elective credits. These electives allow students to deepen their learning in specific areas. MBA students may use elective credits to complete one or two concentrations. Each concentration is 16-18 credits.