2022-2023 Graduate Course Catalog 
    
    Mar 18, 2024  
2022-2023 Graduate Course Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

Martin J. Whitman School of Management


Alex McKelvie, Interim DeanPhotograph of Dean Anderson
721 University Avenue Suite 415
whitman.syr.edu

About the School

Welcome to the Whitman School of Management, a top-ranked business school with a diverse faculty and strong focus on leadership building and community engagement. At the Whitman School, students develop a strong business sense across all aspects of management, providing them with the skills, opportunities, and motivation necessary to compete in a global environment.

The Whitman School is a state-of-the-art business school in both programming and facility, reflecting both Syracuse University’s commitment and history of innovative business education and the Whitman School’s role as a cutting-edge, experiential learning environment. The Whitman School emphasizes preparing students for a world of accelerating change and this includes a modern and relevant curriculum, impressive co-curricular offerings, industry-focused certification programs such as supporting all students to be Microsoft Office Specialist: Excel certified, global travel, courses and networking opportunities in NYC, and the support of technological resources to ensure that students have the tools needed to be successful in the classroom. Students enrolled at the Whitman School enjoy the intimate and interconnected community of the Whitman School with all the resources and opportunities of a world-class research university, effectively getting the best of both worlds.

The Whitman School of Management continues to be ranked among the nation’s top business programs. U.S. News and World Report ranked both Whitman’s undergraduate and graduate programs among the best in the nation. The Whitman full-time residential and part-time, online MBA programs, were identified among the top AACSB-accredited online graduate programs by U.S. News and and World Report. Whitman’s entrepreneurship program has been ranked nationwide by the United States Association for Small Business and Entrepreneurship; Entrepreneur Magazine; The Princeton Review; Fortune Small Business; Bloomberg BusinessWeek, and U.S. News & World Report. Many of Whitman’s specialty programs have also been highly ranked by Bloomberg BusinessWeek, including accounting, corporate strategy, entrepreneurship, operations management, sustainability, business law, marketing management, supply chain management and ethics.

Accreditation Information

The Whitman School has been accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB International) since 1920.

Educational Vision, Mission and Core Values 

Common Purpose
We inspire students for a world of accelerating change.

Vision

We aspire to be a pre-eminent and inclusive school of management that:

  • Prepares students for professional success, engaged citizenship, and lifelong learning;
  • Produces high-impact research that advances business and society.

Mission

Whitman’s mission is to develop analytic, globally-minded, innovative and entrepreneurial leaders and professionals through the power of:

  • Transformative learning experiences;
  • Innovative ideas and high-impact research insights;
  • Collaborative networks of lifelong learning and discovery.

We strive to achieve our mission by:

  • Leveraging the breadth and richness of Syracuse University’s schools and colleges;
  • Focusing on domains that benefit student learning and in which we can excel;
  • Engaging with our academic, alumni, and industry partners.

Whitman’s Core Values:

INTEGRITY - We are an ethical community that values transparency, accountability, responsibility, respect and professionalism.
INCLUSION - We strive to be a student-centered community that is supportive of all. We are open-minded. We engage and encourage diverse backgrounds and viewpoints.
COLLABORATION - We believe the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. We value teamwork as the most successful way to reach our goals.
INNOVATION - We are forward-thinking with a global mindset, always exploring new and creative ideas that can bring positive changes to the world.
EXCELLENCE - We persevere, always challenging ourselves and each other to improve in pursuit of outstanding quality in processes and outcomes, leading to overall success.

Graduate Program Overview

Graduate programs in management have been offered since 1948, and distinguished alumni employed in private, public, and nonprofit sector organizations attest to their quality. As one of our more than 1,500 full- and part-time graduate students, the student benefits from the sense of community that exists within the relatively close-knit graduate student body, while still being able to take advantage of the resources offered by a major university of 30,000 students.

The Whitman School offers full-time Master’s programs in Professional Accounting , Business Analytics , Business Administration (MBA) , Entrepreneurship & Emerging Enterprises , Finance , Marketing , and Supply Chain Management  along with distance learning programs in Business Administration (iMBA)  and in Professional Accounting , Business Analytics , Entrepreneurship , and Supply Chain Management  (all MS programs).

Full-Time MBA

Students in the Whitman MBA program at Syracuse University receive a well-rounded education that incorporates both the theoretical background and practical experience needed to succeed in today’s ever-changing global economy. The experiential learning component encourages students to apply classroom learning to business problems, connect with decision makers, and deliver tangible results that add value to sponsoring organizations. Students build an experiential portfolio through internships, consulting, specialized courses, community engagement, and other practical experiences that make them more valuable in the marketplace. Students successfully completing concentrations in accounting, business analytics, finance, marketing, and supply chain management are classified as STEM-designated. This allows international students on an F-1 visa to extend their time in OPT (Optional Practical Training) from 12 to 36 months in the U.S. This makes graduates from STEM-designated programs more hirable, and they gain valuable experience relevant to their field of study.

iMBA (Distance Learning)

Syracuse University’s online MBA is a distance learning MBA program for working professionals offered by the Whitman School of Management. For more than 30 years the Whitman School has delivered an MBA through a uniquely flexible format combining in-person residencies and distance learning. Residencies are held on the SU campus and in other sites in the U.S. and abroad. Asynchronous coursework is designed to immerse students through rich, high-quality video and dynamic, interactive content.  Live sessions of 15-20 students are held each week with faculty via Zoom to allow faculty and students to discuss course material, cases, problems, projects, etc.

The online MBA program features the same curricular content, faculty, and degree as the full-time MBA program at the Whitman School. 

The degree awarded to online MBA program graduates is accredited by the AACSB International and is identical to the MBA degree awarded other Whitman School MBA graduates.

MS Professional Accounting

The MS in Professional Accounting program at the Whitman School of Management produces graduates with the highest level of professionalism who satisfy the educational requirements for CPA licensure in New York and many other states. This rigorous program attracts students with a background in accounting and those with education in other disciplines. If entering with a bachelor’s degree in accounting, students complete 30-credits in one year while those without a degree in accounting are required to take up to an additional year of study depending on the student’s previous business and accounting coursework.

Whitman MS in Professional Accounting students take advanced courses in financial statement analysis, international accounting, advanced auditing, taxes and business strategy, and analytics, along with a variety of electives to complement their career goals. The curriculum prepares students for the expanding roles accounting professionals play in business strategy, consulting, information management, planning, and decision-making.

The MS in Professional Accounting program has been designated as a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) program.

MS Professional Accounting (Distance Learning)

The online M.S. in Professional Accounting is the Whitman School of Management at Syracuse University’s program for working professionals. The online program features the same curriculum content and faculty as the full-time MS in Professional Accounting program at Whitman.  Depending on your educational background, you will be placed into one of three sequences of study:

  • Accounting Sequence (30 Credits) - For students who hold an undergraduate degree in accounting.
  • Business Sequence (33-42 Credits) - For students who hold an undergraduate degree in business.
  • Foundational Sequence (45-48 Credits) - For students who hold an undergraduate degree in any subject other than business or accounting.

The online M.S. in Professional Accounting delivers the Whitman School’s curriculum through a combination of flexible online learning and personal connections.

  • Weekly classes are hosted live online
  • Course content is immersive and can be completed from anywhere
  • Courses are designed and delivered by Whitman faculty
  • Students have access to comprehensive support every step of the way

The MS in Professional Accounting program has been designated as a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) program.

MS Business Analytics

The MS in Business Analytics challenges students to develop an interdisciplinary understanding of the applications of analytics to the fields of accounting, finance, marketing, and supply chain management through techniques in data collection, data visualization, statistical and pattern analysis, and data mining. The curriculum leverages an understanding of business applications from the Whitman School of Management combined with in depth technical offerings of the School of Engineering and Computer Science and the School of Information Studies.

The MS in Business Analytics program has been designated as a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) program.

MS Business Analytics (Distance Learning)

The online M.S. in Business Analytics is the Master of Science in Business Analytics program delivered online by the Martin J. Whitman School of Management at Syracuse University. The program helps data-driven thinkers develop or sharpen their abilities to interpret complex data and guide their organizations in making more informed and actionable decisions.

Through a combination of interactive online classes, rich media coursework, and collaborative social connections with peers and faculty, students hone their decision-making skills and learn to use analytic tools to drive positive outcomes for businesses.

The MS in Business Analytics program has been designated as a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) program.

MS Entrepreneurship and Emerging Enterprise

The 30-credit MS in Entrepreneurship and Emerging Enterprise program provides a rigorous immersion into the nature of entrepreneurship and the entrepreneurial process. Combining core content with a strong commitment to experiential learning, the program is targeted to students with a passion for entrepreneurship in for-profit, social, corporate and family business contexts.

The MS in Entrepreneurship and Emerging Enterprise program is designed for students interested in creating growth-oriented for-profit or non-profit ventures, working as a corporate entrepreneur or in a family business. Special emphasis is placed on students from professional disciplines.

MS Entrepreneurship (Distance Learning)

The 30-credit online M.S. in Entrepreneurship program prepares current and aspiring entrepreneurs with the business foundation and networking opportunities to start a new venture, effectively manage a company, or innovate within an organization.

MS in Finance

The MS in Finance program has a rigorous curriculum that prepares students to be leaders in the dynamic, fast-paced, and intellectually challenging world of finance. The program’s core courses explore the nature of capital markets as they relate to organizational goals and provide an understanding of how broad principles of finance and quantitative methods can be applied to create investment strategies.

The MS in Finance program is flexible and allows students to customize their degree by taking elective courses in any of the following areas: statistics, accounting, economics, investments, risk management, real estate, international business, and corporate finance. With a state-of-the-art trading room, Whitman MS in Finance students have personal access to current market data, live news feeds, software for analysis, and other resources used by professionals in the field, including Bloomberg terminals and Factset data through Whitman’s Ballentine Investment Institute.

The MS in Finance program has been designated as a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) program.

MS Marketing

Marketing is the business function of creating, communicating and delivering value to customers with whom the firm seeks to establish and maintain profitable long-term relationships. Effective marketing in today’s dynamic and complex marketplace requires sophisticated strategic thinking that creatively matches a firm’s unique capabilities with profitable market opportunities based upon solid analysis of market data and coordinated implementation of product, pricing, distribution and promotion policies. The Master of Science in Marketing degree program focuses on rigorous development of these competencies to prepare current and aspiring marketing professionals to play leading roles in the field of marketing. The program consists of business foundation courses (3 credits), required marketing core courses (6 credits), selectives (6 credits) and electives (15 credits), for a total of 30 credits. The required and elective courses supporting the program are and will continue to be regularly offered on campus.

The MS in Marketing program has been designated as a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) program.

MS Supply Chain Management

The Whitman School is home to the first supply chain program in the country, established in 1919. With an emphasis on managing risk and uncertainty in today’s global supply chains, this 30 credit-hour program consists of the Management Foundation, the Supply Chain Management core, one of several Supply Chain Management “selective” courses, and a culminating experience. Students who have satisfactorily completed the equivalent of any of the required foundation courses in their undergraduate coursework may substitute courses chosen from the approved selective course list.

The MS in Supply Chain Management program has been designated as a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) program.

MS Supply Chain Management (Distance Learning)

The online M.S. in Supply Chain Management is is designed for working professionals.  The program features similar curriculum content and faculty as the full-time MS in Supply Chain Management program at Whitman. 

The MS in Supply Chain Management program has been designated as a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) program.

Graduate Admissions & Financial Aid

Admission

Candidates with a bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university are eligible for admission. Full-time MBA, and MS in Business Analytics , Entrepreneurship & Emerging Enterprises, Finance, Marketing and Supply Chain Management candidates may apply for fall term admission only. MS Professional Accounting    candidates may apply for fall or spring admission. Online MBA and M.S. candidates may apply for January, April, July, and October admission.

Although no specific undergraduate majors are required for admission, the transition to the rigors of a graduate management program is facilitated by a basic knowledge of economics, mathematics, and the social sciences.

Full-time work experience before applying for admission to our graduate programs is a decided plus. This experience provides a frame of reference that enables students to relate the concepts and theories presented in class to the real world.

Financial Aid

All full-time Whitman graduate candidates are considered for a Whitman merit-based scholarship. Financial need is not taken into account in the selection process. The awarding process takes into consideration all of the materials submitted in the candidate’s admission application. 

Students may apply for several loan programs to cover the cost of attendance such as the Federal Direct Unsubsidized Loan, the Federal PLUS Loan, or various alternative/private education loans. Students must be enrolled at least half-time during each term in which they wish to borrow an educational loan.

Additional Information

Detailed information about application deadlines, admissions requirements, programs, courses, facilities, costs, financial aid, student activities, and services can be found online at whitman.syr.edu. It also includes instructions for submitting an application for admission.

Students interested in graduate management programs at Syracuse should consult the web site for complete information.

Graduate Career Services

The Whitman Career Center works closely with full-time, on-campus students to create a personalized career plan that integrates academic training with experiential learning and the acquisition of internship placements that sets students on the right path for achieving their career goals. On-boarding begins at the point of admissions with students tackling assignments that create awareness of their strengths, and the application of their experiences to their future goals. At orientation, students address assignments that continue to build a career plan that supports internship placement, selection of a concentration, and identification of experiential learning options The goal of these efforts is to provide students a holistic viewpoint of their career assets, and the development of lifetime career management skills.

Armed with a career plan, students have access to the SU posting board called “Handshake” where employment opportunities are listed for student review and application. The Whitman School uses this and other systems as a means to promote our students as candidates to businesses throughout the world. Students are also encouraged to take advantage of national career fairs as a means to promote their careers, and to acquire internships and permanent employment.

From the beginning of your degree program through graduation, the Whitman Career Center works in partnership with you to assist you in achieving your career goals.

Graduate Internships

Graduate internships provide opportunities for full-time MBA students to gain practical, professionally related experience. These opportunities integrate classroom instruction with activities in the business world.

Internships may be for a semester full time, a semester part time, or a summer full time. Companies are asked to provide challenging project-related internships, which may be either salaried or non-salaried. The intern may combine academic credit with the experience by completing a three-credit independent research project under the direction of a faculty member.

Study Abroad and Global Internships

As a pervasive theme in every Whitman School of Management program, managing in a global setting takes on special meaning for Syracuse students who may elect to spend time in one of the Syracuse study centers, attend shorter residency programs around the world, or work on global projects. Students take course credits, work in pre-arranged internships, or experience the cultural and business environments in London, New York City, Shanghai, and Singapore. Recent international residency programs have included Costa Rica, Dubai, Dublin, Florence, Hong Kong, London, Panama and Seoul, among others.

Syracuse students have interned overseas with financial firms such as Morgan Stanley and National Westminster Bank in London, multinationals such as Johnson & Johnson and General Electric in Singapore, and assist in operating small and medium-sized enterprises in China. Interested students should apply early and plan their programs of study to allow for a summer away from campus.

Facilities

The Whitman School of Management’s 160,000-square-foot sustainable building opened in 2005, with a central focus on students and creating an environment that promotes a culture of collegiality and a high-tech, world-class learning experience. To provide that experience, the Whitman School creates an open community atmosphere with advanced resources and team-oriented learning spaces, including:

  • 22 classrooms
  • 200-seat auditorium
  • 20 team meeting rooms each for graduate and undergraduate students
  • three-story, 4000-square-foot Grand Hall
  • undergraduate and graduate computer clusters
  • 74 faculty offices
  • a faculty research center
  • an Investment Research Center
  • a center for entrepreneurial start-ups
  • a 100-seat cafe
  • a special-events room with outdoor terrace

The Whitman School of Management’s building is dedicated to sustainability, providing environmentally friendly resources and features for an enhanced “green” experience.

Research Centers & Institutes

The Whitman School building boasts many spaces for innovative and collaborative research that provide experiential learning and prepare students for careers across a broad range of business areas. Sophisticated software and integrated technology coupled with advanced workshops and seminars create an ideal learning atmosphere. Whitman’s diverse research centers and institutes include:

Programs

Master’s

Doctorate

Combined Degree

Certificate of Advanced Study