Master of Business Administration

Our program is committed to providing the highest quality of education enriched by our Holy Cross mission to prepare ethical business leaders. Getting an MBA, especially one with a technology focus, will prepare you for the post-coronavirus job market. A lot of organizations heavily recruit MBA graduates with robust knowledge in technology.

The MBA program at St. Edward’s University is unique because it provides students with a practice-based graduate education with a focus on hard and soft skills in a vibrant curriculum to maximize personal and professional growth opportunities. For example, the culminating course of our MBA program is known as the Capstone Consulting Experience. Student teams spend seven weeks researching and developing solutions to a real problem for a local, national or international organization.

Our classes are filled with students from across the globe, providing unique experiences that enrich the learning environment. You will be able to build a sustainable network of professional peers that many of our alumni attest to be personally and professionally rewarding. Our world-class faculty, who have valuable experiences in the corporate world, public sector, and academia, will prepare you for the challenges of the 21st century and beyond.

The St. Edward’s MBA is truly a powerful, transformational experience. I invite you to act now and join our outstanding program.

– Amr Swid, PhD
  Associate Professor of Management/MBA Program Director

The MBA program focuses on entrepreneurial thinking, social enterprise, innovation, global collaboration and business analytics — key competencies that industry leaders tell us they need. Students will learn to:

• Manage and lead through effective communication and collaboration.
• Use quantitative data to develop business opportunities in a dynamic world.
• Analyze the local and global environment to formulate business solutions.
• Apply critical reasoning to integrate business goals with corporate social responsibility.
• Leverage technology in all areas of business to improve outcomes.

Entrepreneurship and Small Business Management  

Prepares you to move forward in your career as a business owner, manager or consultant. Graduate jobs have included tech startup founder, director-level role at a technology company, VP of business development, product manager and business innovation consultant. 

Global Business and Supply Chain Management

Focuses on a broad, strategic view of how to manage in a global economy, and how to deal with the production, shipment, and distribution of goods and/or services. Graduate jobs may include distribution logistics, raw materials sourcing, development of production methods, cost and risk control, project management for an international company, international consultancy firms, and directors at the import and export departments.

Corporate Governance and Management

Prepares you to manage employees and lead teams within an organization. Graduate jobs may include executive leadership, compliance, risk management, regulatory changes, board members and advisory services.

Finance

Emphasizes creative solutions to business financing problems, the development of value-maximizing investment and financing strategies, and the analysis and management of fixed-income and equity investments. Graduate jobs include roles in banking, investment management, security analysis, valuation, collections, and corporate and international finance.

Digital Management

Presents theories, methods and tools used to address the challenges and opportunities presented by digital technologies on modern business practices. Graduates take on various jobs in the digital space, including digital strategy, marketing data analysis, e-commerce, and digital innovation and digital marketing management.

The flexible MBA is delivered online with options to attend sessions on campus*. It is a 36-credit hour program designed to be completed in 24 months. We also offer accelerated options for students who wish to complete the program in as few as 12 months. There are 12 total courses: 9 required core MBA courses and 3 courses from a concentration of your choice. The program culminates with a Capstone final project designed as a real-world consulting project. 

*MBA classes meet on campus once during each 7-week course, usually on Saturday in weeks 1, 4 and 7. All other coursework is delivered online. Saturday courses are offered in a hybrid format, where students may choose to attend class on campus or join synchronously online.

Core Courses: 

• Accounting for Managers – ACCT 6315
• Finance for Managers – FINC 6317
• Big Data, Business Intelligence, and Analytics – MGMT 6330
• Strategies in Operations Management – MGMT 6332
• Managing Dynamic Organizations – MGMT 6334
• Innovation and Disruption Management – MGMT 6328
• Social Responsibility of Business – MGMT 6336
• Marketing Management in a Digital Environment – MKTG 6315  
• Management Consulting/Global Project (Capstone) – MGMT 6350/GBUS 6350

View and download the Graduate Bulletin PDF.

Detailed Core Course Descriptions:

Accounting for Managers – ACCT 6315

This course is designed for current and future managers to learn the analytical tools for planning, analysis and decision-making from an accounting/financial perspective with an emphasis on an entrepreneurial viewpoint, meaning that the student learns to regard the issues, problems and decisions presented as if the enterprise were their own. The course is not designed for accountants but rather for managers in business who would apply or use these analytical tools and techniques. In addition, corporate social responsibility, ethics, and communications are brought into the course learning as applicable.

Prerequisite: accounting foundation course or equivalent; FINC 5308 [only required for students under a graduate bulletin before 2015-2016].

Finance for Managers – FINC 6317

Corporate finance prepares managers to understand that business decisions are made under financial uncertainty, which forms the risk basis. The course trains managers to define and quantify risk and understand risk-based value models that are employed for corporate decisions involving investing, financing and dividend policies. Students also learn the application of the risk-return tradeoff concepts to corporate securities, stocks and bonds, and understand the impact of business decisions made by managers on the market value of the firm. In addition, corporate social responsibility, ethics, and communications are brought into the course learning as applicable. 

Prerequisite: ACCT 6315 for MBA students and ACCT 6310 for MBA students pursuing a concentration in Accounting.

Big Data, Business Intelligence, and Analytics – MGMT 6330

In this course, students will learn how “Big Data” is transforming modern business through its use in marketing, customer and competitive business analytics, predictive decision-making, and market evaluations. Using case studies and materials from pioneers in the field of data analytics, students will learn how to evaluate, distill, manage, and present information from large sets of consumer, market, and geographically based data from the perspective of corporate management and strategic decision-making. In addition, corporate social responsibility, ethics, and communications are brought into the course learning as applicable. 

Prerequisites: statistics module and economics module or equivalent.

Strategies in Operations Management – MGMT 6332

This course underscores the strategic importance of operations management to overall organization performance. In addition to presenting the evolutionary changes within the field of operations, this class provides students with comprehensive exposure to the concepts and methods used in planning, directing, controlling, and improving the process involved in transforming resources into goods and services. Topics covered include forecasting, capacity planning, process design, scheduling, inventory management, quality assurance, project management, and supply chain concepts. Considerable emphasis is put on newer and emerging concepts that facilitate operating flexibility and reduce product design and production time. Included is an awareness and understanding of the interdependencies that exist between operations and other functional areas within an organization. In addition, corporate social responsibility, ethics, and communications are brought into the course learning as applicable.

Managing Dynamic Organizations – MGMT 6334

This course focuses on an organization’s most critical resource — its people. It takes a systems approach to management and studies both macro-    and micro-level organizational issues relating to sustainable success in a global environment. Topics include: designing organizations to fit with strategic objectives, creating cultures of innovation, collaboration, and engagement, using power and influence effectively with various stakeholders, managing effective teams, and motivating, developing, and retaining employees for the future. In addition, corporate social responsibility, ethics, and communications are brought into the course learning as applicable.

Innovation and Disruption Management – MGMT 6328

This course will introduce the student to the unique problems of managing technology and innovation in a modern business environment. Starting from a theoretical perspective on disruption and the innovation curve, students will learn techniques and processes utilized to both encourage and take advantage of innovation within a company as well as the optimal corporate structures needed to shield a company from unrelated and potentially devastating technology disruption within an industry. Historical case studies and forward-looking processes will allow the future manager to spot potentially disruptive innovation, incorporate or shield against the potential impact of that disruption, and create “innovation growth engines” within standard company hierarchies. In addition, corporate social responsibility, ethics, and communications are brought into the course learning as applicable.

Social Responsibility of Business – MGMT 6336

Practicing corporate social responsibility (CSR) requires that an organization integrate business goals with societal expectations of ethical behavior toward its stakeholders, including customers, employees, suppliers, communities in which it operates, and the environment. It begins with the individual employee developing an ethical framework that can be applied to an organization’s business behaviors and practices. The course explores best practices that organizations are using that move beyond traditional philanthropy and partner with stakeholders to identify strategic opportunities for innovative products and services, technologies, and business models aimed at meeting social and environmental challenges in a dynamic, global environment. It examines third-party assessment organizations as strategies to evaluate organizations’ CSR initiatives. In addition, ethics and communications are brought into the course learning as applicable. Equivalent to MSLC 6304.

Marketing Management in a Digital Environment – MKTG 6315

This course offers a high-involvement approach to marketing management and policy decision-making. Emphasis is placed on problem-solving that synthesizes the interrelated elements of the marketing mix. Topics include analyzing marketing opportunities, developing marketing strategies for traditional and digital marketing channels, shaping the market offering, and managing and delivering integrated marketing programs. Marketing management tools and market analytics are introduced. Traditional marketing frameworks and processes are introduced along with emerging new digital marketing approaches such as methods and processes involving marketing in the earned, owned, and paid media channels. Class discussion is used to explore the social and ethical responsibility of marketers and the implications of a global marketplace. In addition, corporate social responsibility, ethics, and communications are brought into the course learning as applicable.

MBA Consulting Capstone – MGMT 6350

The locally based MBA Capstone course focuses on top management strategy formation and administration by building on and integrating the concepts taught in the core curriculum in both private and public sectors to enhance the development of a general management approach for managing and leading organizations. Students investigate the formulation, implementation and evaluation of strategies that determine the character, direction and success of the organization. Students integrate their learning of business disciplines and strategy through student consulting projects with actual companies, in addition to case studies and/or business simulations focused on the strategic objectives of the organization. 

Prerequisites: Completion of all core courses.

MBA Global Consulting Business Capstone – GBUS 6350

This globally based Management Consulting course focuses on top management strategy formation and administration by integrating and building upon the concepts taught in the core MBA curriculum. The client consulting engagement in this course is designed to allow students the opportunity to apply what has been learned to enhance organization performance in nonprofit, for-profit or public sectors. Students investigate the formulation, implementation and evaluation of organizational strategies that determine the character, direction, growth and success of the client organization, and design implementable changes to improve organizational performance. The project ends with a formal presentation to the client organization. Students must be in good academic standing to enroll in this course. This course requires mandatory travel to a foreign country for approximately 7–10 days. Specific travel documentation will be required in advance. 

Prerequisites: Completion of all core courses.

Concentrations:

Students will take three of the four courses in one of the below concentrations.

Entrepreneurship and Small Business Management  

COURSES:

• MGMT 6345 Entrepreneurship for 21 Century
• MGMT 6343 Managing Technology change
• MKTG 6325 Managing Social Media
• FINC 6316 Financial Statement Analysis Or Valuation

Global Business and Supply Chain Management

COURSES:

• GBUS 6301 Global Business Management
• MGMT 6252 Global Logistics and Supply Chain
• MGMT 6354 Global Purchasing and Sourcing
• MGMT 6356 Decision Support Model

Corporate Governance and Management

COURSES:

• MGMT 6348 Strategic Leadership Development
• FINC 6322 Corporate Governance
• MGMT 6323 Business Negotiation
• MGMT 6341 Digital Law Policy

Finance

COURSES:

• FINC 6304 Global Finance
• FINC 6316 Financial Statements Analysis
• FINC 6322 Corporate Governance, or Valuation.

Digital Management

COURSES:

• MGMT 6341 Digital Law and Policy
• MGMT 6343 Managing Technology Change
• MGMT 6345 Entrepreneurship for the 21st Century
• MGMT 6348 Strategic Leadership Development

In addition to the MBA program and our seven program concentrations, you’ll have the option to expand your knowledge, skills and credentials by pursuing certificates in Management, Business Finance and Operations Logistics.

Management

• Managing Dynamic Organizations
• Social Responsibility of Business
• Business Negotiations
• Marketing Management in a Digital Environment

Business Finance

• Accounting for Managers
• Finance for Managers
• Financial Statement Analysis
• Global Finance

Operations Logistics

• Big Data, Business Intelligence, and Analytics
• Global Logistics and Supply Chain Management
• Strategies in Operations Management
• Innovation and Disruption Management

Our MBA candidates gain real-life consulting experience under expert faculty supervision in their Capstone course. They are prepared to collaborate and deliver creative solutions to current relevant business challenges! 

MBA student teams at St. Edward’s have conducted projects for hundreds of local (Details) and international businesses (Details), offering industry and market research insights, fresh ideas and actionable recommendations. Whether you are a student in the program or an external partner, this is your opportunity to access strong talent and a potential hiring pool for your organization!

Working with our students on projects has three main benefits:

• We tackle projects or explore ideas you aren’t able to resource.
• You get to see our students in action, which helps you find proven talent to join your organization.
• In almost all cases, projects are overseen by experienced professionals with a track record of success.

How it works:

Student teams are ready to take on seven weeks-long projects for small, local businesses and national, international and publicly traded companies — as well as everything in between. The nature of your project drives who in the MBA program can help you move forward. Our students provide consulting in the areas of marketing, startup businesses, strategy, operation, supply chain, entrepreneurship, human resources and international business.

Interested? Please complete the MBA Consulting Project Application for US/Canadian companies and for International companies. Please download and submit to aswid@stedwards.edu.

Mary B. Dunn, PhD

Mary B. Dunn joined the faculty at St. Edward’s in 2012. She previously served on the faculty of the McCombs School of Business at The University of Texas at Austin and currently serves as our Chair for the Management Department. Mary completed her PhD in Organization Studies at the Carroll School of Management at Boston College. She received an MBA degree from the University of California, Irvine, and a BA from Colgate University in Hamilton, New York. Her scholarly research focuses on professionals’ social networks, learning and knowledge creation, as well as institutional logic and change in professions. Her work has been published in journals such as Administrative Science Quarterly, the Academy of Management Review, the Journal of Management, and the Management Teaching Review.

Omid Jadidi, PhD

Assistant Professor of Operations Management

Omid Jadidi’s research interests include big data analytics, supply chain management, stochastic inventory management, dynamic pricing, optimization and game theory. His research has been published in leading journals such as the International Journal of Production Economics, the European Journal of Operational Research, and Computers & Industrial Engineering. He also has more than five years of professional work experience as an industrial engineer in manufacturing and construction industries.

Adesegun Oyedele, PhD

Associate Professor of Marketing

Adesegun Oyedele holds an MBA from the University of Wales (Cardiff Business School) and an MS in business information systems from Central Michigan University. He received his PhD in Marketing from The University of Texas–Rio Grande Valley, alongside a certificate from the MIT Digital Marketing Analytics Executive Program. His current research interests are focused on marketing-technology integration, with specific reference to digital marketing, global marketing and entrepreneurship. Oyedele's research, published in journals such as the Journal of Services Marketing and the Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, contributes significantly to the understanding of digital marketing platforms and e-commerce.

Oyedele's journey into academia began at St. Cloud State University teaching digital marketing, integrated marketing communication and international marketing. This background laid the foundation for his expertise in digital marketing and analytics, enhanced through graduate coursework, industry practice, teaching, self-training, collaborative research and knowledge sharing. With years of experience in designing and teaching both undergraduate and graduate digital marketing courses, he specializes in startup business models, integrated marketing communication and digital branding, and international entrepreneurship. His passion for real-world project integration into coursework has made his classroom a model for experiential learning.

Oyedele values teaching and research at St. Edward’s due to its commitment to shared values, sustainability and AI literacy, which is enhanced by being part of an AACSB-accredited business school and the dynamic Austin community. The AACSB accreditation signifies a standard of excellence in business education, supporting the university’s advanced and dynamic digital marketing and analytics curriculum that emphasizes experiential learning and prepares students for immediate industry engagement upon graduation.  

Robert Ryan, MBA

Adjunct Faculty

With over 35 years of management experience and leadership in both high-growth start-ups and publicly traded companies, Ryan has consistently dedicated his career to pursuing principled excellence. His successful track record has been proven as an operational leader in roles such as VP of sales and marketing, divisional GM, and start-up CEO, with a passion for strategic team building. Ryan now enjoys transferring his knowledge and inspiring students as a professor at St. Edwards. Areas of academic emphasis are entrepreneurship, management, strategy and business ethics.

Amir Sedeh, PhD

Assistant Professor of Management

Amir Sedeh holds a PhD in Strategic Management and International Business from Old Dominion University. His research explores how institutional frameworks shape entrepreneurship, with a keen interest in the dynamics of social entrepreneurship. As an experienced educator, Dr. Sedeh has taught numerous MBA and undergraduate strategic management, consulting, and entrepreneurship courses. His extensive background as a consultant, strategic management expert, and entrepreneur infuses his academic work with real-world insights, enriching the learning experience for his students.

Sung W. Suh, PhD

Associate Professor of Finance

Sung Won Suh earned his doctoral degree in Real Estate Finance (2016) and master’s degree in Real Estate (2006) at Cornell University. He received a master’s degree in Architecture (1997) and a bachelor’s degree in Architecture (1995) at Seoul National University in South Korea. Before undertaking of his PhD, he was an active real estate practitioner working for Halla Construction and Development Corp. for eight years as a project manager and a research fellow in South Korea. The MBA courses that he teaches include Finance for Managers, Global Finance and Financial Statement Analysis.

Amr A. Swid, PhD

MBA Program Director 

Amr A. Swid’s teaching philosophy is focused on students’ engagement using experiential learning activities and technology. Prior to his appointment at The Bill Munday School of Business, he was an assistant professor of Management and director of Experiential Education at the New York Institute of Technology. He also held several administrative roles in New York and other global campuses. 

As a certified experiential educator, Swid has successfully led and organized curricular/extracurricular activities such as study abroad, international workshops and the “Corporate Challenge.” In addition to the USA, Swid has taught and provided global consultation services in the UK, UAE and Bahrain. He has won multiple awards, including the Presidential Engagement Award and the Dean’s Distinguished Service Award. Before his academic career, he had more than 11 years of successful industry work experience at the giant multinational pharmaceutical company, Eli Lilly, in several overseas management and marketing assignments.s

Kathleen M. Wilburn, PhD

Professor of Management

Kathleen M. Wilburn teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in management. In the undergraduate program, she teaches Social Responsibility of Business, Social Enterprise and International Management. In the MBA program, she teaches Social Responsibility of Business and Managing Technology Change. She uses her research in corporate social responsibility as the ethical lens for her courses. Wilburn came to St. Edward’s after many years in the corporate and government sectors as a manager and shares what she learned with students. She also taught as an adjunct instructor for 20 years. 

Jane Xie, PhD

Professor of Finance

Jane Xie’s current research interests include corporate governance, executive compensation and turnover, and institutional investors. She has taught courses in corporate finance, investments, international finance, entrepreneurial finance, personal finance and financial accounting.

Tuition

At $44,712, St. Edward’s flexible MBA is a smart investment. The skills learned in this program prepare you for career advancement across a variety of industries. Tuition* includes all course fees but does not include books, comprehensive fees or other course materials. Once accepted to the program, you are required to submit a $500 non-refundable tuition deposit. Deposits are applied toward tuition and secure your place in the upcoming class.

*Tuition is subject to change at the discretion of the St. Edward’s University Board of Trustees.

Financial Aid

St. Edward’s University Financial Aid Office provides information about financial aid opportunities available to graduate students.

Please visit our Financial Aid page or call us at (512) 387-3110 if you are interested in additional details.

To apply for the MBA program, students are required to have a bachelor’s degree from an accredited university and complete the application process. For application dates and to submit an application, go to the Graduate Application Page. 

Need more information? Please contact an Enrollment Counselor at (512) 326-7501.