Newly Added MBA Specializations Designed with 'Future-Proofing' in Mind
September 15, 2017
Contact: Office of Government and Public Affairs
Phone: 410.837.5739
The University of Baltimore's Merrick School of Business is introducing three new MBA specializations this fall, each designed to give students a leg up in "future-proofing" their careers in some of the strongest industries with significant hiring opportunities for fresh talent.
Most of the new specializations target Maryland’s growing tech sector, and each encompasses the transformative nature of technology on business, the economy and cyber risk management.
The newly announced specializations are:
- Cyber Security and Organizational Resilience, which focuses on mitigating risk and managing threats to business infrastructure, continuity, reputation and more;
- Data Analytics, which drills down into complex data sources to expose gaps, fraud, risks or opportunities to move companies forward;
- Digital Business, which examines digital innovations such as social media, block-chain technology and smart embedded devices, all of which are rapidly transforming a variety of industries across the globe and challenging institutions and organizational structures, while driving a new skillset that is needed for a successful workforce.
"Maryland is home to eight cyber assets, from federal agencies to universities, and each of them is hyper focused on the threats facing us today," said Murray Dalziel, dean of the Merrick School of Business. "But we know that today's MBA student is not satisfied to merely react to this new environment. So we designed these specializations, and updated our existing course content, to help our students 'future-proof' their careers. This means that these leaders of tomorrow’s business environment can be confident that what they learn at UB will continue to hold value years from now, even as technology continues to evolve and the economy changes with it."
Dalziel notes that Maryland has more than 3,600 manufacturing companies and 1,200 private- sector cyber security companies. Combined, these two industries employ nearly 150,000 Marylanders. The state also is a hotbed of software services, electronics, and telecommunications firms, plus a critical mass of government organizations with tech security at the top of their to-do list, such as the U.S. Cyber Command, the National Institute of Standards and Technology's National Cybersecurity Center of Excellence, and Lockheed Martin’s NexGen Cyber & Innovation Center. All told, there are 11,600 information technology businesses, and a workforce of 115,550 industry-related workers, all within the state’s borders.
"It's fair to say that cyber is a true economic sector, from security to smart devices to e-commerce and electronic transactions. If you're seeking an advanced degree, it's sensible to consider the implications," he said.
While they were creating these new specializations, the faculty in the Merrick School of Business revamped three traditional specializations in the MBA program—finance, international business, and marketing—with important updates to courses and requirements.
The newly redesigned specialization in Managing Financial Performance has improved the traditional finance specialization with a stronger emphasis on advanced accounting and information security management. The specialization in Global Management puts a heavier emphasis on the totality of global business management and operations, and the updated Marketing specialization adds courses and topics that marketers are experiencing in today’s environment.
Learn more about the MBA in the University of Baltimore's Merrick School of Business.
The University of Baltimore is a member of the University System of Maryland and comprises the College of Public Affairs, the Merrick School of Business, the UB School of Law and the Yale Gordon College of Arts and Sciences.