A Look Ahead to M.B.A. Courses for Fall

Globalization, international trade and pharmaceutical management are among the top M.B.A. courses on tap for the fall season. Many reflect the requirements of businesses surveyed by Rutgers, Montclair State, William Paterson and other universities.

“In this global electronic age, where there are fewer and fewer hurdles against trade in goods and services, it is critical for the U.S. to hold its own in graduate and other kinds of education,” says Sam Basu, dean of the Christos M. Cotsakos College of Business at William Paterson University in Wayne. The college has introduced three new M.B.A. degrees with concentrations in accounting, finance and music management, all starting in the fall.

Basu was in China two weeks ago, visiting universities there. He came back more convinced than ever of the importance of international marketing expertise and human resources management skills. William Paterson has an exchange program with the Zhejiang University of Technology in China’s southeastern Zhejiang province near Shanghai.

Cotsakos’ new M.B.A. concentrations in accounting and finance are “no-brainers,” says Basu, who became dean last August after serving as a professor of finance at California State University, East Bay. But the concentrations are “new to us and it is high time we caught on,” he says.

Adds Francis Cai, director of the M.B.A. program at Cotsakos: “We have worked with advisers from corporations to tailor these curriculum tracks to meet the demands of the real-world business environment.”

Basu is particularly excited about the concentration in music management that his college is introducing. “We are the first in the state and also on the East Coast to offer an M.B.A. in music management,” he says.

“There is an explosion of opportunities for ambitious entrepreneurs and professionals seeking careers in the fields of product development, marketing, digital distribution, artist management and more,” adds Steve Marcone, interim dean of the College of Arts and Communication at William Paterson University and director of its music-management program.

At the Rutgers Business School in Newark and New Brunswick, the changes in M.B.A. course offerings are based on two years of feedback from the Wall Street Journal/Harris Interactive Business School Survey, says Douglas Jones, associate dean of academic programs for the school. “The survey gave us feedback on our students from recruiters, and we also worked with our board of advisers on updating the curriculum,” says Jones.

Now in its sixth year, the survey claims to be the “only available benchmarking study that assists business schools in understanding recruiters’ needs and improving their relationships with them.” The latest survey covered 85 business schools that recruiters rated on 21 attributes including work ethic, commitment to corporate social responsibility and strategic thinking skills. Released in September, it ranked the Rutgers business school 39th among the country’s 51 top regional business schools.

Jones says changes in the Rutgers M.B.A. programs are designed to provide greater flexibility. The school will make more elective courses available by paring the core requirements from 35 credits to 19. Students can now “take more courses in finance, marketing, supply chain management and pharmaceutical management,” says Jones.

Rutgers is conscious of “employers wanting students to have a deeper knowledge than they normally have before they come to work,” he says. For example, the school’s concentration in supply chain management reflects its importance in the global economy and the fact that “New Jersey is the home to the headquarters of many global companies.” He says the concentration in pharmaceutical management will provide the practical equivalent of two years of work on the job.

For now, the changes at Rutgers Business School will be for full-time M.B.A. students. “We will do something a little different to recognize the needs of part-time students,” says Jones.

At Montclair State, two of three new M.B.A. courses reflect the growing importance of international trade with Asia. “Doing Business in Asia,” one of the new offerings, will look at how that continent is changing the nature of global competition among multinational corporations.

Jun Xia of the Department of International Business will teach the course covering issues including cultural influences and options for foreign companies to enter Asian markets. “International Market Entry Strategies,” another planned course, will focus on evaluating market opportunities and selecting product candidates.

A third new offering, titled “Services Marketing” will cover topics ranging from financial services to sports clubs and fitness chains. It will be taught by marketing professor Avinandan Mukerjee.

E-mail to shankar_p@njbiz.com