Curriculum

International Accounting

This course integrates (International Financial Reporting Standards) IFRS into a financial accounting course and leverages comparisons between US GAAP and IFRS to enhance the development of a "critical thinking" approach to financial accounting and reporting. The goal of the course is to enhance student understanding of the links between the underlying transactions, the application of reporting standards for those transactions, and the financial reports obtained. In addition, the course will provide students with a basic understanding of IFRS.

Management Accounting

This course focuses on the use of accounting information for management decision-making. Emphasis on concepts related to cost behavior, cost measurement, cost accumulation, and cost allocation. The course also emphasizes the use of various performance measurement methods to evaluate operational and management performance.

Financial Accounting 

First of a three-course sequence, the focus of which is preparation and analysis of corporate financial reports. Begins with a study of the inherent conflicts among managers, shareholders, creditors, employees, and other interested parties and introduces the role of financial reporting in providing relevant reliable information to these divergent users. Studies the measurement and reporting of revenue and expenses and the preparation and analysis of financial statements (including income statements, balance sheets, and cash flow).

Read and Interpret Financial Statements

This course is designed to make you an effective reader and interpreter of financial statements. Most of you have put in considerable time learning how to prepare financial statements. But, the knowledge base and skillset you have developed to become an effective preparer are not the same as those that you need to become an effective reader. Ergo, this course. Being able to effectively read and interpret financial statements is a crucial part of becoming a successful businessperson. The reason for this is simple: Successful businesspeople attract investors; investors want a return on their invested capital; and, financial statements are the primary source of information about what this return has been and will be. With this in mind, we begin the course by learning how to calculate and interpret return on invested capital (i.e., ROIC), its components and other key performance indicators (i.e., KPIs). Understanding how to calculate and interpret KPIs is important. But, KPIs are only as good as the accounting numbers underlying them. Hence, in the second part of the course we focus on how to evaluate accounting quality and, if necessary, make accounting adjustments that improve the informativeness of the reported numbers and the KPIs that are based on these numbers.

Business Valuation and Analysis

Use of financial statements to analyze business profitability, liquidity, solvency and valuation. Analysis focuses on developing an understanding of a company's operating strategies, industry position, and related economic characteristics. In addition to the listed prerequisites, students are strongly encouraged to have also taken ACCTG 6610.

Cultural Resources Management

This introductory course is designed to prepare students for a career in cultural resources management. Students will learn the basic skills required by government and private sector employers and develop familiarity with the goals of heritage preservation, management, and interpretation. Additional work may be required of graduate students.

Economic Anthropology

Sharing and saving, balanced reciprocity and market exchange, money and morality, economic redistribution and political power: a look at systems of property and exchange as part of culture, in societies ranging from tribal foragers to post-industrial consumers.

Community & Regional Analysis

Techniques, data sources, and skills for analyzing communities and regions. Analysis of current conditions, trends and forecasts using economic, biophysical, social and spatial data.

Leadership and Community Engagement

Hands on exploration of leadership and community engagement in the practice of planning and urban design. Students develop skills to support their own leadership and engagement styles while designing and conducting a community-engaged process.

Urban and Planning Theory

Survey of history and contemporary theories about planning practice. Students will gain a deeper appreciation for the profession's historical roots as well as be introduced to some of the "theoretical tools" used to analyze practice, processes and urban development.

City & Metropolitan Economics

Economic foundations and their application to such planning studies as city and metropolitan form, public facilities, housing, economic development and the environment.

Community Engagement in Planning

Students learn tools and strategies to gather experiential knowledge, engage a community, and structure collaboration with multiple stakeholders in a range of contexts, for example in rural communities, working-class neighborhoods and culturally diverse metropolitan regions.

Urban Design Principles

This course acquaints students with the principles of urban design focusing on the spatial arrangement, appearance and functionality of towns and cities, and in particular the shaping and uses of urban public space and their relation to private space.

GIS in Planning

The principles and concepts of geographic information systems (GIS) technology and its applications to planning problems through lectures, assigned readings and discussion. Laboratory sessions offer hands-on practice with GIS software. Together, these provide students with a working knowledge of GIS design principles and a software package for later use in other courses and professional practice.

Real Estate Market Analysis for Planning and Development

Processes and data sources used to analyze the markets for real estate development. Explores demographic, technological and economic trends affecting markets.

Negotiation and Dispute Resolution

Conventional legislative, administrative, and judicial means of resolving policy- and decision- making-related disputes in the public sector often produce less than satisfactory results. It is therefore not surprising that planners, policy-makers, developers, and environmental and justice advocates who are concerned about the fairness, efficiency, stability, and wisdom of public sector decision-making are searching for better ways of resolving public policy conflicts. Fortunately, recent advances in the theory and practice of negotiation and dispute resolution have great promise for supporting more collaborative and effective public sector decision-making and helping all involved parties meet their needs. This experiential course is designed for graduate students and advanced undergraduate students with no prior background or experience in the fields of negotiation or dispute resolution. Lectures, scenarios, case studies, and role-play simulation will be used to introduce students to the art and science of negotiation and consensus building. The class also provides an intensive opportunity for each student to build his or her individual negotiating capabilities. Occasional guest lectures by practitioners may be included to provide an opportunity for students to test some of the theoretical ideas presented in class against issues that arise in practice. This course builds on decades of research and work conducted by partners of the inter-university Program on Negotiation at Harvard Law School (PON) and the MIT-Harvard Public Disputes Program.

Introduction to Transportation Planning

Introduction to transportation planning issues, processes, and policies. Pre-requisite course for advanced transportation planning courses in City and Metropolitan Planning.

Studies in Communication

Experimental course with variable content. See current Class Schedule for topic.

Visual Rhetoric and Political Argumentation

The course explores the ways audiences and decision-makers write and talk about visual political argumentation in a host of venues, including television, archives, documentaries, billboards, photography, blogs, political campaigns, and museums. The focus will be on both domestic and international political usage of visual rhetoric.

Environmental Communication

This course examines all the ways we continually communicate (verbally and nonverbally, visually, and through actions and practices) about the natural world or environment around us. Environmental communication interprets and defines all that is beyond human and thus shapes individual and societal values and choices. It influences where we see “nature” and our relationship with it. The course analyzes and critiques pop culture communication about the environment (advertising, food, entertainment, consumption, and leisure), environmental ideology and identity (with roots in childhood), and mediated forms of environmental communication (mass media, public relations and government).

Environmental Communication, Special Topics

Course explores current topics in environmental communication and reflects current events and faculty expertise. Potential topics include the nuclear West, global environmental issues, health and environment, consumerism and environment, and climate change communication.

Public Relations Cases and Campaigns

Discussion of public relations problems based on case studies. Writing instruction and exercises.

International Communication

Examines the forces--physical, social, political, psychological, economic--that influence the movement of news, entertainment, and advertising worldwide. Includes such considerations as censorship, propaganda, media diplomacy, media imperialism. foreign correspondence, the use of the Internet, cables, and communication satellites.

Communication Technology and Culture

This course examines the ideological context of evolving communication technologies as they function to structure, maintain, and alter power relations in contemporary society. Special attention is given to a) social construction of gender, race, national identity, and class by and through communication technology; and b) the ideological valences of recent and emerging communication technologies.

Topics in Media Studies

Special Topics in media studies. See current Class Schedule for topic. 

Health, Communication, and Culture

Health and illness are as much cultural issues as they are biological phenomena. As such, communication plays a key role in our perceptions and practices around health. This course is designed to examine the relationships among health, culture, and communication, in four ways: (1) broad cultural assumptions and understandings of health and medicine, historically and today; (2) cultural differences in health communication, including and especially in provider-patient contexts; (3) mediated constructions of health, illness, and medicine; and (4) health campaigns and initiatives.

Health Campaigns and Media

This course aims to introduce the student to the theories, research and practice of health communication campaigns, including theories of health behavior change, campaign processes and stages (including planning, implementation, and evaluation), audience analysis, effective uses of media strategies (such as emotional appeal, framing) and media channels, and health promotion through media advocacy. Through this course the student will attain a solid knowledge about health communication campaign as well as develop the skill set that will be useful to a professional career in health communication.

Mass Communication Law

First Amendment origin and interpretations. Rights, regulation, and responsibilities of media. Case studies.

Freedom of Expression

Legal, political, and philosophical issues in systems of public communication under the First Amendment.

Communicating Climate Change

Scholars have called climate change the most difficult communication challenge of the century. Communication plays a major role at all levels of social change to address climate change and involves far more than simply providing more information. This course explores the major players in climate communication: the public, mass media, climate scientists and their deniers, and institutions. The course also examines the efficacy of social change at various levels of communication: individual, small groups and peer networks, activism, community and place-based, institutional, and cultural (including art, music and literature). Students practice friendly climate conversations and undertake communication action or research.

Media Ethics

Professional ethics in media; emphasis on news work. Philosophical concepts, moral reasoning, and media values and principles. Current issues through case studies. Institutions through which media have addressed moral dilemmas.

Marxian Economics

Foundations of Marx's analysis; technical economic theory and historical critique of capitalism.

Feminist Economics

Theoretical and methodological issues associated with a feminist perspective on economics. Changing position of women in the world economy since the 19th century; patterns of gender discrimination in various economies; and centrality of women's work to capitalist development.

Poverty And Inequality

Economic theories of the causes of poverty and inequality, with a focus on the structure of the U.S. economy and recent economic trends. Policies to address these socioeconomic issues are addressed in light of theory.

Health Economics

Economic theories of the causes of poverty and inequality, with a focus on the structure of the U.S. economy and recent economic trends. Policies to address these socioeconomic issues are addressed in light of theory.

Public Finance

The economics of public services and their justification due to market failures. Modern welfare economics and its elaboration into cost-benefit analyses of public programs in theory and practice. Shortcomings of American government, including the tendency to overexpand, special interest politics, and budget deficits.

Game Theory

We will start with the foundations of game theory and then study a variety of different topics such as sequential and repeated games, games of incomplete information (Bayesian games), contest modeling, mechanism design, the history of game theory and evolutionary game theory.

Middle East Economic History

Genesis, functioning, and development of Middle Eastern economic systems from earliest times to the 19th century. Contribution of these systems to world economic development; emphasis on critical theoretical approaches to the study of Middle Eastern economic history.

China and the Global Economy

The emergence of China a new global economic player is one of the most significant developments of contemporary world. Will the rise of China lead to the restoration of her historical leadership over the global economy? Will China fail to realize her development ambition because of the serious and developing social and environmental problems? What are the implications of the rise of China for the rest of the world and for the global system as a whole? This course discusses the economic interactions between China and the modern world system over the past two centuries and evaluates the future trends.

Asian Economic History and Development

Traditional aspects, impact of external influences and indigenous developments of Asian economies; 19th and 20th century development and current policy. Emphasis frequently on subregional groups of nations.

Latin American Economic History and Development

Historic and contemporary economic problems in Latin America from the conquest to the present; dependency, independence and integration into world economy. Emphasis on new forms of dependency in the macro economy and on contemporary domestic social problems.

Industrialization and Economic Development: The American Case

Economic growth and development in United States from 19th through early 20th century. Growth due to industrialization and the accompanying evolution of economic institutions. Emphasis on understanding the particular sources and social consequences of American industrial development.

International Monetary Relations

The international monetary system and open economy macroeconomics (history, theory, and practice): alternative standards, exchange rates, interest rates, inflation and unemployment, macroeconomic policies, competitive monies, and the political economy of international monetary arrangements.

Capitalism and Socialism

Comparison of Utopian, Fabian, Marxian, and Democratic socialism and capitalism; comparison of Marxian and neo-Keynesian economic-growth theory; problems associated with central planning and free-market allocation.

International Trade and Policy

Theoretically sophisticated (undergraduate) treatment of issues and theory: determinants of the pattern of trade; tests of trade theory models; growth and international trade; multinational firms; tariffs, quotas, subsidies; common markets and free trade agreements; international movement of technology and labor.

Microeconomics for Master's Students

Calculus recommended. Non-economics majors with a strong math background contact instructor. Theoretical demand and supply issues with emphasis on application. Topics include intertemporal choice, uncertainty and insurance, risky assets, consumer surplus, household production theory, firm cost, production theory and duality, oligopoly firm theory, and general equilibrium and welfare economics.

Macroeconomics for Master's Students

For students in the economics master's program. Aggregate demand determination of income and employment, government stabilization policy, interest rates and monetary policy, demand-pull and cost-push inflation, stagflation, cyclical fluctuations, recession, political constraints on fiscal and monetary policy, macro growth, and income distribution. Analytical models and policy implications.

Special Topics

See current Class Schedule for Topic.

Political Economy and Critique I

A survey of the writings of Karl Marx and the foundations of Marxian economics.

Political Economy and Critique II

Theories and issues in modern Marxian economics.

International Economics I

Seminar topics may include basic theorems of modern theory of international trade; empirical testing; gains from trade; policy interventions; classical and heterodox alternatives; factor and technology transfer; trade and growth; regional trade agreements; trade and market structure; transnational enterprise; new trade theory.

Industrial Organization I

Graduate level theory of industrial organization. The course will emphasize game theoretic approaches to microeconomics. The course will cover some or all of the following topics: game theory, monopoly, oligopoly, mergers, vertical restraints, price discrimination, vertical integration, product differentiation, auctions, empirical analysis of market structure, technological change, antitrust law, and regulated industries.

Labor/Gender I

Course covers graduate-level labor economics theory with a focus on choice-theoretic (i.e. neoclassical) labor economics supplemented at the end with a three week segment on alternative approaches to labor economics.

Natural Resource Economics

Economic implication of mathematical ecology: dynamic equilibria of fishing and timber industries; depletion of nonrenewable resources; inter-generational equity; species' extinction, entrop and thermodynamics; the future of economic growth: limitation of neoclassical methodology applied to dynamic systems.

Econometrics

Ordinary least squares, maximum likelihood, constrained estimation, systems of equations, generalized least squares, and regression diagnostics. Application-oriented.

Introduction to Critical and Cultural Studies in Education

Examines the social, political, and economic context of schooling with an emphasis on historical and current problems, conflicts, and movements in education.

Assessment of Linguistically Diverse Populations

This course critically explores policies, procedures, and formal and informal measures used to assess the language proficiencies and academic achievement of linguistically diverse students in U.S. public schools. Including in this are the areas of English and native language competence; program placement, progress, and exit; and classroom-based assessments, as well as other forms of alternative assessments. Students enrolled in ECS 6645 will be expected to meet a higher standard of performance and may be assigned additional assignments. Meets Utah State Office of Education ESL Endorsement Standard IV on Assessment.

Language and Power

This course is a graduate level seminar that examines theories about language and discourse with a focus on the ways that language and discourse mediate social structures and individual practices. Students will gain a strong foundation in theories about language and discourse as well as an understanding of the many ways such theories have been applied to educational issues, including issues of literacy, educational access, and social justice. ECS 6653/7653 recommended but not required as a prerequisite.

Building Family-School Partnerships

The course is designed as a service-learning course to acquaint learners with the necessary background for effective development and application of partnerships between families, schools and communities. Emphasis is on continuous partnership efforts and understandings of contexts and ethics when working with linguistically and culturally diverse families, schools and communities. Requires 37 hours of school/community-based service learning hours. Students enrolled in ECS 6709 will be expected to meet a higher standard of performance and may be assigned additional assignments.

Language Policy and Planning

This course focuses on the influences and factors that contribute to language shift among speakers and communities of indigenous and immigrant languages worldwide; the language learning and identity issues that are implicated in these processes, and the complicated (and sometimes controversial) aspects of language maintenance and language revitalization efforts at the local level. Students will gain a strong foundation in the area of language policy and language planning and will be able to apply these theoretical concepts to an analysis of specific language planning efforts. Students are expected to conduct research on a specific case of language planning efforts. Students are expected to conduct research on a specific case of language loss, language shift, or language revitalization - drawing on course content and conducting additional research on a topic of their choice.

Juvenile (IN) Justice

The school-to-prison pipeline is an epidemic that is plaguing schools across the nation. A central aim of this graduate seminar is to critically examine the theoretical underpinnings that promote the school to prison pipeline and how it impacts young people’s lives both nationally and locally. In order to theoretically and conceptually understand why and how zero tolerance policies disproportionately target minoritized students, this seminar traces historical racial caste systems, and political and theoretical roots that provide the backdrop of such policies.

Pacific Islander Indigenous Education

This course will explore various topics within Indigenous education. Through a variety of mixed methods this seminar will examine previous and current educational policy and its affects on diverse Indigenous peoples. It will also examine education as a tool for empowerment, resistance, and healing within varied Indigenous communities. Course topics covered include: Native/Indigenous epistemology, decolonizing methodologies, settler colonialism, cultural reclamation, and critical pedagogy. In addition to the course materials, students will engage in service learning by partnering with a community engagement project associated with the Pacific Islander community. Participating in community engagement will allow students to actively participate in an Indigenous educational initiative that directly relates to the course content and discussions. Thus, this course will require participation in both the course and the community engagement project. Students are required to complete 20 hours of community engagement during scheduled weeks. Meets with ECS 5822,

Refugee Students/Education

This course will provide an understanding to the socio-cultural and education issues that refugee parents and their children encounter, particularly in this nation's public schools as well as schools overseas. It will also provide an understanding of the challenges as well as the rewards that teachers, educational administrators, and schools face as they grapple with issues concerning the education of refugee students. This course will also provide suggested solutions and recommendations that would provide optimal educational experiences for refugee students.

Multiculturalism and Diversity in Higher Education

This course is designed to help improve graduate students' understanding of the major theoretical, research, and practical issues related to multiculturalism and diversity in higher education. The course is helpful to students dealing with policy and/or conducting research that intersects gender, class, race/ethnicity, power, and/or sexuality in higher education. It provides an opportunity for students to become more reflective educational leaders and policymakers by challenging them to critically analyze how higher education influences the experiences of culturally diverse people.

Entrepreneurship

The purpose of this class is to help you learn about entrepreneurship and the various ways in which it shapes their lives. To do so, the course engages students on three levels. First, students take a high-level conceptual look at entrepreneurship as a phenomenon and learn what it is, why it exists, and how it influences the fabric of everyday life. Second, students take a hands-on approach that is focuses on teaching them to think like entrepreneurs. Third, the course helps students develop the networking skills they need to assemble teams as well as the managerial skills they need to create and launch a business.

Leading in the Entrepreneurship Firm

Entrepreneurship largely is a team-based activity. This lecture course is designed to allow students to understand how to build and lead an effective entrepreneurial team. It includes self-evaluation of strengths and weaknesses, personality type, strategies for correcting team problems, ways to be a good team member, methods of evaluating team members, and leadership strategies. The course will employ live simulations, role plays, and case studies to allow students to apply leadership theories in the entrepreneurial context.

Business Discovery and Creation

This course views entrepreneurship as a search for the roots of value - how it is created, and potentially how it is captured. Students will learn to generate theories of value and opportunities for entrepreneurial action, and apply different approaches to screening them. Additionally, students will learn how to identify, design, enact, and interpret experiments that reveal an opportunity's value. The course also will introduce students to methods of enrolling stakeholders such as co-founders and resource providers in supporting the endeavor. At the end of the course, students will be able to effectively wield a set of capabilities and distinctions that create (or reveal) value in entrepreneurial endeavors.

Business Model Innovation

Business Model Innovation establishes the links between entrepreneurship, innovation, and strategy by examining value creation, profit models, and competitive advantage. The course will cover the most common types of business models and push students to develop new models so that they may launch ventures that compete with incumbent firms in such a way as to maximize their opportunities to create sustainable competitive advantages. Students will apply course concepts to their own new venture ideas and areas of interest. In addition, students will learn how to use business model innovation to reinvigorate established firms.

Entrepreneurial Marketing

Developing the initial business concept to include market analysis and segmentation, customer research, product evaluation and development of a business concept. Students will conduct feasibility studies and conduct product and consumer research.

Forming and Funding the Entrepreneurial Firm

This course will address corporate formation and the trade-offs between LLCs, C corps, S corps, and proprietorship structures. Students will create capitalization tables, and learn how dilution arises from the issuance of new shares. The course simulates five different financing options: Crow Funding; Family, Friends, Fools and Feds; Angel Investors; Venture Capitalists; and IPOs. The pedagogical methods is experiential learning through live simulation. The class is organized into startup teams that will create different versions of a business plan to address the market's needs. Teams must make corporate formation decisions, allocate to founders and then to successive investors, create financial models, and prepare for an IPO. Through all financing rounds they must convince their peers to invest in their ventures.

Global Challenges for the Entrepreneur

The purposes of this course are (1) to help students identify global opportunities for entrepreneurial businesses and (2) to identify challenges associated with exploiting these opportunities, along with tools to address these challenges. Students will learn how to use global sourcing for entrepreneurial endeavors - contracts and alliances, import restrictions and regulations, common perils in global negotiations. In addition, students will learn how to sell products in international markets by learning how to identify potential markets, understanding export restrictions, building global teams, and best conditions for using contracts and alliances. The course will teach students how to build a global entrepreneurial firm.

Venture Foundations

The purpose of this five-week course is to teach you the foundation skills you will need to create a valuable business idea. The course accomplishes this task by engaging students on three levels. First, the course presents a high-level overview of the entrepreneurial system: What it is, how it works, and how, when and where students can plug in to it. Second, the course takes a hands-on approach using ideas from the class to start students on the road to learning how to think like entrepreneurs. Third, students learn networking skills, and how to assemble the teams they need to create and launch businesses.

Current Topics in Entrepreneurship

Topics vary according to current marketing environment and special interests/experience of instructor.

Lassonde Venture

This course provides students an unparalleled opportunity to apply knowledge and expertise to the commercial development of University technologies. Lectures and topics include venture capital and new venture finance, market research and due diligence, intellectual property and patent protection, technology transfer issues, as well as guest lectures from prominent business leaders and local entrepreneurs.

Tertulia

Varying topics in place-based study and environmentalism as a social movement. Readings and discussions to introduce students to current issues and debates in environmentalism, and to understand how local ecologies interact with globalization. Designed to build community among Environmental Humanities students and to integrate academic work and environmental activism.

U.S. Latino Diaspora

Course examines the historical creation and contemporary spread of the multicultural Latino/a diaspora from islands in the Caribbean to Central Mexico and beyond. Students will also learn about the indigenous, European, and African roots of Latino/a culture and history.

Asian Pacific American Politics

Survey of the historical and contemporary political experiences of Asian Americans and their pursuits of equal rights and opportunities in the U.S. political system.

Communication and Race

This course examines the complexities of race and ethnicity by focusing on how people communicate across racial and ethnic differences. This course also engages the dynamic nature of how multiple identities,contexts, and cultural forces complicate and impact understandings of race and ethnicity.

Chicana Feminist Theory

This course builds upon the material in La Chicana (ETHNC 3860) by exploring the theoretical contributions of contemporary Chicana scholars and applying these theories to works within anthropology, sociology, history, and cultural studies. We will study the writings of Chela Sandoval, Sonia Saldivar-Hull, Emma Perez, Gloria Anzaldua and other leading Chicana theorists to better understand a third space feminism that transcends national borders and ethnic identities. Some of the topics/concepts we will cover include colonization, diasporic subjectivities, (de)colonization methodologies, consciousness, and borderlands.

Conflict and Mediation

This highly interactive course introduces students to the process of meditation, from both the practitioner and the consumer perspectives. The course has a strong emphasis on enhancement of student's personal communication and negotiation skills. At the conclusion of the course, each student should be able to evaluate meditation as a possible career opportunity, to be able to utilize the appropriate mediation process as a consumer, and to develop and effectively employ mediation skills that will enhance the students' effectiveness in the negotiations in their professional and personal lives.

Family Violence

Multidisciplinary study of family violence and abuse including abuse and neglect of children, spouses, and the elderly; psychological, verbal, and sexual abuse, and courtship violence. Different theoretical perspectives for understanding violence in the family; current policy, treatment, and prevention efforts; controversies in studying family violence.

Family Problems

Examines the social science research in the area of family crisis. Specifically, this course examines problems associated with poverty, violence, divorce, delinquency, death etc.

Gender and Minorities Across the Lifespan

The primary objective of this class is to analyze the distinctive ways women and minorities experience major life events across the lifespan. The course has three sections: 1) child development as related to gender socialization and racial identity; 2) adolescence and its connection with teen pregnancy, racial attitudes among minority youths, and biculturalism and acculturation among minority adolescents; and 3) adult development and aging among women and elderly of color. Literatures are drawn from psychology, sociology, gender studies, race relations, and ethnic studies.

Special Topics in Consumer Studies and Family Economics

Specific content varies. See current Course Schedule for details.

Nonprofit Community Organizations

Survey Research Methods

This course provides students with skills necessary for understanding the survey research process used across the behavioral science disciplines with an emphasis on public policy issues. The goal is to familiarize students with survey design and analysis. Approaches include item construction, sampling, reliability, validity, and data analysis and interpretation.

Healthy Communities

A variety of disciplines offer insights into why we live in the place-based communities we currently inhabit their social, physical psychological, and policy contexts. Researchers also advocate for a variety of community criteria to provide healthy and viable settings for humans and the planet. This course examines research from a variety of disciplines, including psychology, sociology, public health, environmental health, and planning, to address threats to and meanings of healthy communities. Graduate students should enroll in FCS 6630 and will be held to a higher standard and/or more work.

Care of Refugees

This is a four-week elective course involving a variety of activities structured to teach the essential of caring for refugees. Students will gain knowledge, skills, and attitudes to care effectively for refugees as patients. Students will complete a clinical experience, gain an understanding of the refugee experience, complete required readings and pass a quiz successfully, write a paper on a news editorial/article, deliver a presentation, or conduct a service project, or assist with data collection followed by a reflections.

Intermediate Finance for Business Administration

This course provides in-depth coverage of topics covered in basic courses in Investments and corporate financial management. Corporate finance topics include: capital budgeting, capital structure, and dividend policy. Investment topics include: interest rate theory and valuation of derivative securities.

New Venture Finance

This course will cover topics involved with raising capital for new and growing businesses. Topics include venture capital, private placements, initial public offerings (IPOs), mezzanine debt, preferred stock, warrants, and other forms of new venture financing.

Investment Banking

This course will focus on the organization, products, and functions of investment banks. The topics include: financing in the global capital markets through bond, equity, and convertible transactions. Mergers and acquisitions will also be discussed in this course. Finally, the role of hedge funds, LBO funds, and investment bankers in corporate decision making will be reviewed.

Hedge Funds and Private Equity

Focuses on hedge funds and private equity, including venture capital and LBO funds, their influence on corporate decision-making and corporate measures that are taken to counter threats and exploit opportunities represented by these investors. Competition and cooperation between investment banks, LBO funds and hedge funds will also be analyzed. In addition, the course reviews innovative equity, debt and convertible transactions, with a focus on hedge fund investing and hedging strategies in relation to these securities.

Financial Management and Decision Making in a Corporation

This course will be taught using cases and guest speakers to review real-world financial decisions and the tools and logical approaches that are appropriate. It will center on problem solving and draw in the realities of working in a company setting.

Excel for the Financial Professional

This course explores the more advanced tools in Microsoft Excel that are applicable to the Finance profession. The course will cover Shortcut keys, Financial Modeling, Pivot Tables, Advanced Functions, What-Ifs, Scenarios, and Databases. Students will develop advanced Excel skills through a combination of participating in demonstrations of Excel tools and applying the skills they learn by using them to solve real world finance problems using Excel.

Personal Finance Planning

Through the use of case analysis, this course provides students with an opportunity to learn the principles, theories and processes relating to personal financial management.  While anyone could benefit from the course, it is most suitable for those preparing for a career as a Certified Financial Planner (CFP), a Certified Public Accountant (CPA), an attorney or individuals planning to advise on the financial affairs of individuals, families and small business owners. Topics include personal balance sheet assessment, understanding and improving cash-flows, debt analysis, budget creation, goal identification, investment analysis, retirement Income forecasting, education funding analysis, insurance planning, the impact of income tax, estate planning and small business owner issues.

Venture Capital

This course focuses on key topics when funding a startup company and/or fueling its growth such as valuation, equity and debt financing, analyzing risk in early stage companies, the fundraising process, investment psychology, deal structure, due diligence, the road to acquisition/IPO, trends and the fundraising ecosystem.

Advanced Venture Captial

This course is a deeper treatment of the concepts of FINAN 6300. It involves case discussions and analysis of companies seeking financing, the making of a successful fundraising pitch, components of risk, strategies around equity and debt financing for startups and growth companies, venture capital industry norms & trends, due diligence, capital structures, legal and financial considerations. It draws on industry experts and case studies involving real companies in various stages of growth.

Investments and Portfolio Management

Examine stocks, bonds, derivatives, and financial markets. Analytic treatment of portfolio selection and measurement of investment performance.

Financial Modeling

The course transitions students from understanding finance theory to implementing financial models based on real data and using statistics, probability and econometrics, quadratic optimization with matrix algebra, accounting, duration immunization and risk-neutral option modeling techniques. The models are built in Microsoft Excel through hands-on exercises in class and at home. The models covered include but are not limited to asset return calculations and statistics, efficient frontier and portfolio diversification theory, regression index models and investment performance analysis, discrete and closed-form option pricing models, bond valuation functions, duration matching and asset/liability management of pension portfolios, equity growth models, pro-forma accounting statement construction and leveraged buyout models.  To ensure success, students coming to the class should have already taken an investments class or should be taking it concurrently.

Financial Markets Laboratory

This class provides a “hands on” approach to financial markets through 10 trading sessions. Students gain invaluable experience while trading in different roles across different market structures. Once basic trading proficiency and understanding of markets is acquired, the class moves to exploring trading strategies and the usage of technology to implement them. Both quant and high-frequency trading strategies will be covered. Familiar topics from other finance classes are discussed, starting from the very basics up to more advanced topics, but through the lenses of the data generated from the classroom trading sessions. This data proves remarkably similar to the data one observes in large markets but with the benefit of having greater knowledge about individual incentives and the ‘fundamentals’ of the classroom economy. This approach allows for deeper analysis and a greater understanding of markets. The topics covered include Behavioral Finance, Prediction Market, Lending Markets, Market Bubbles and Crashes, Capital Asset Pricing Model, and High Frequency Trading.

Project Consulting

This course is a team project consulting course intended to enhance the students consulting and problem solving skills by working on actual business consulting assignments. Students will apply relevant tools and concepts learned in finance and other business courses in a team consulting environment. Students are admitted to this course on a case-by-case basis.

Foundations of Finance I

The first course in a two-course sequence on the fundamentals of advanced financial economics. Topics can include: investment decisions under certainty and Fisher separation; decision making under uncertainty; expected utility theory; state preference theory; first-best risk sharing; complete markets; portfolio theory; theory and tests of the CAPM; arbitrage and the APT; empirical factor models; conditional asset pricing models; option pricing; the efficient market hypothesis; the EMH, information, and event studies; and introduction to partial equilibrium under asymmetric information, with initial treatment of moral hazard and the agency problem and adverse selection and signalling. 

Foundations of Finance II

The second in a two-course sequence on the fundamentals of advanced financial economics. Topics can include: continued coverage of asymmetric information; theory and empirical evidence on capital structure; other aspects of financial policy; theory and empirical evidence on dividend policy; other aspects of payout policy; the Modigliani and Miller propositions; transaction cost economics and organization design, including the modified Coase theorem; behavioral finance; the limits to arbitrage; investment policy under uncertainty and real options; and the term structure of interest rates.

Microeconomics I

The first course in a two-course sequence on microeconomic theory, oriented towards Ph.D. students in the business school. Topics include: the theory of choice (preferences, utility functions, choice sets); classical demand theory, with coverage of utility maximization, expenditure minimization, demand the indirect utility function, the expenditure function, integrability, comparative statics, revealed preference, and aggregate demand; choice under uncertainty; classical producer theory, with coverage of profit maximization, cost minimization, duality, and aggregation; general equilibrium theory, with coverage of existence, the two welfare theorems, Edgeworth, time, and uncertainty; dynamic choice; social choice theory; and noncompetitive settings, with coverage of public goods and duopoly.

Microeconomics II: Game Theory

The second course in a two-course sequence on microeconomic theory, oriented towards Ph.D. students in the business school. The course, built around a rigorous introduction to non-cooperative game theory, develops the relevant tools and results from the theory and applies those results and tools to interesting, relevant examples. Topics include: games in normal form, with coverage of dominance, equilibrium, and randomization; Bayesian games in normal form, extensive form games; dynamic games of incomplete information and signaling games; repeated games, with Folk theorems; and mechanism design and the revelation principle.

Econometrics I

The first course in a two-course sequence in econometrics. Designed to give doctoral students the tools and methods to conduct empirical research. Topics include: discrete and continuous random variables; probability theory; combinatorics; marginal and conditional probability; independence; moments; transformations; Bayes Theorem; convergence, law of large numbers, central limit theorem; maximum likelihood; method of moments; Bayesian inference; sufficient statistics; sampling distributions; confidence intervals; consistency and unbiasedness; Fisher; Rao-Blackwell; hypothesis testing; asymptotics of MLE; Simpson’s paradox; linear regression; omitted variables, misspecification, and instrumental variables; hypothesis testing; Hausman test; asymptotics of OLS and GLS; quantile regression; nonlinear estimators; inference with Monte Carlo simulations; bootstrapping; and clustering.

Econometrics II

The second course in a two-course sequence in econometrics. Designed to give doctoral students the tools to conduct empirical research. Topics include: research design; causality; potential outcomes framework; clustering and multiway clustering; difference in difference estimators; panel data; fixed effects and random effects; non-linear estimation;, maximum likelihood; censored data; truncated data; tobit; Heckman selection; applications of instrumental variables; stationary ARMA; VARMA; forecasting; cointegration; Bayesian approaches to research; more quantile regressions; and nonlinear hypothesis testing.

Advanced Capital Markets

This is an advanced class on asset pricing theory and empirical tests. Topics can include: review of basic asset pricing theory (utility, risk, portfolio theory, CAPM, Markov and martingale processes, absence of arbitrage, Walrasian equilibrium, complete markets and dynamic completeness, Radner equilibrium, noisy rational expectations, empirical evidence, the experimental approach); .intertemporal asset pricing (Lucas, foresight, representative agent, robustness, GMM and Euler equations, alternative preferences, continuous time, options, term structure, beliefs); financial data; sources of bias in asset pricing tests; linear factor models; consumption-based asset pricing models; explanations of the value premium; long run risk; rare disasters; behavioral models; and the term structure of interest rates.

Advanced Corporate Finance

An advanced course on recent theoretical developments and empirical evidence pertaining to corporate finance. Topics can include: financial policy and capital structure (security design, financial distress, behavioral aspects, dynamics); payout policy (dividends, repurchases); capital raising (equity and debt markets, IPOs, SEOs, private placements, bank lending, venture capital, private equity); financial intermediation; investment policy (decision rules, internal capital markets, corporate diversification); internal corporate governance and organization design (agency, catering, executive compensation, boards and directors, managerial myopia, culture); corporate control (ownership structure, voting, takeovers and the market for corporate control, regulation ); managerial labor markets (career concerns, tournaments, learning); other external governance (product markets, rating agencies, regulators, legal rules); event study methods; behavioral corporate finance; and legal traditions, law, and finance.

Gender Theory and Community Organizing

The purpose of this course is to introduce students to the field of Gender Theory & Community Organizing. The course is divided into broad sections that will expose students to the general areas that encompass its field of study. The prevailing themes of this course are in multiple social justice theories to understand how institutions produce oppression by undermining human wellbeing and self determination and how to organize communities to support gender justice. This is a course that develops students’ ability to develop their own praxis and participate in making positive change in the community.

Race, Disability, and Illness

How do some bodies and minds come to be seen as deviant or and others as normal? What makes some subjects worthy of care and others disposable? How have the rubrics of “health” and “treatment” historically operated to discipline black and brown bodies? This course approaches narratives of race, disability, and illness through the frameworks of critical disability, critical ethnic, and feminist-of-color studies. It explores how illness, debility, and precarity are produced in and as racial violence. We will consider the categories of health and illness as historical products of medical knowledge and practices, studying the legacies of scientific racism, medical experimentation, and reproductive control. We will also examine contemporary iterations of environmental racism, tracing forms of structural inequality and violence that targets people of color—namely those who are poor and working class, queer and gender non-conforming, women, and (im)migrants. Finally, it asks what legacies of resistance we might find in various forms of art and cultural production, as well as in movements for racial, economic, and disability justice. We will approach these questions through a range of critical essays, novels, poetry, artwork, and community engagement.

Advanced Geography Data Analysis

Geographical research increasingly generates large and complex datasets that may cover both space and time, and multiple methods have been developed to analyze these data. The course is designed to introduce students to 1) a suite of techniques for the analysis of such diverse datasets; 2) the interpretation of results generated; and 3) the appropriate (and inappropriate) use of these methods. Topics will include advanced regression analysis, the analysis of multivariate datasets, spatial analysis and time series and time series analysis. Theory will be taught during lectures, but emphasis will be placed on the practical application of these techniques and best-use practices in the analysis of research datasets. The majority of topics will be accomplished by in-class lab exercises using the statistical software R, as well as take-home exercises. In addition, students will undertake a short research project using one or more of the techniques covered. The course will include a discussion component each week, allowing a review of the methods covered and presentation of real-world examples of their application.

Introduction to GIS & Cartography

This course is an introduction to the major concepts and applications of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and cartography. GIS is a system for management, analysis, and display of geographic information. In this course you will learn about spatial information, digital data, and how GIS is used as a tool to represent features, examine relationships between features, and display information. In lecture we will cover principles and concepts and learn about the applications and uses of GIS, as well as covering the principles of cartography/map design and geo-visualization. The labs are designed to apply the concepts with hands on exercises while becoming familiar with, and learning the functionality of, ArcGIS software.

Advanced Methods in GIS

This course explores the practice of using a geographic information system (GIS) to support geographic inquiry and decision making. Students will strengthen their technical knowledge of the common tasks that a geographic analyst faces in applying a GIS to a variety of spatial problems. The lab sections offer an opportunity to gain hands-on experience using a leading commercial GIS to complete a series of real-world projects.

Geospatial Big Data

This course teaches three essential skills for solving geographic problems using big data and modern computing infrastructure: 1) managing geospatial data (database), 2) leveraging the web (web GIS), and 3) using cloud-based computing services (cloud computing). Scientists, governments and businesses collect spatial data at increasing volume, velocity, and variety due to technological developments such as GPS, mobile devices and remote sensing. However, spatial data involves complex objects and relationships that cannot be accommodated easily by standard database management systems. This course teaches the fundamentals of database design and data management to support GIS and other spatial applications. With the internet being the main source of information and communication for many people, the demand for accessing information via maps is increasing at a rapid pace. GIS are quickly moving towards a web-based environment where everyone can access GIS data/functionality regardless of location and GIS skill level. This course provides an overview of web GIS and associated techniques to leverage web technologies for spatial analysis. Cloud computing is a fundamental component of modern IT infrastructure and application design. Students learn about design and implementation of cloud computing environments and apply the concepts in a lab environment.

Geoprocessing with Python

Geospatial Intelligence and Security

This course explores theoretical and applied topics of geography, geospatial intelligence, and security. It focuses on spatial thinking/reasoning, as well as geospatial technologies as implemented to enhance security in various areas including conflict and terrorism, disasters, disease, and crime. Students will learn about the capabilities of geospatial technologies and spatial data in human security applications, as well as sensitivities and uncertainties in using these tools. Experience with GIS and remote sensing is not necessary, but it can enhance this course.

Seminar in Geographic Problems

Selected geographic problems. Faculty research specializations in which seminars may be offered include biogeography, climate variability, counterurbanization, field and laboratory methods in remote sensing, geographic information systems (GIS), mathematical methods, quaternary field studies, reconstructing historical environments, remote sensing theory and applications, soils, theories of development, urban trends, and regional analysis.

Global Health Promotion

The course will introduce students to the main concepts of the global health field. It is divided into four parts: principles and goals of global health; crosscutting global health issues; the burden of disease; and, cooperating to improve global health. Students will get an overview of the determinants of health, and how health status is measured, and students will also review the burden of disease, risk factors, and key measures to address the burden of disease in cost-effective ways. The course will cover key concepts and frameworks but be very practical in orientation. The course will be global in coverage but with an important focus on the developing world and on the health of the poor.

Global Islam

This course follows the history of Islam from its origins to the present day with a special focus on Muslims living outside of the Middle East. We will look at Muslim lives, beliefs, and cultures in places as diverse as Central Asia, China, Malaysia and Indonesia, sub-Saharan Africa, and modern Europe and North America. Religious topics discusses include relations between Muslims and non-Muslims, Sufism, various forms of Shi'ism, syncretic Southeast Asian traditions, and extremism worldwide.

Asia in the World

A course on Asian history with thematic relevance for World History. Topics vary according to instructor.

Environmental History of India

This course examines India and South Asia's Environmental history from the ancient Harappan civilization (ca. 2500BC) to the present. The region's natural diversity spans from Himalayan snowcaps to tropical forests, from arid deserts to lush jungles. Intersecting this natural world, South Asia has been home to a wide variety of political bodies, from great indigenous empires (like that of the Maurayas, Guptas and Vijayanagar) to European colonial powers led by Portuguese, Dutch French and British forces.

Environmental History of China

Overview of the history of China's environment beginning with the philosophical foundations for thinking about nature and human interaction with the environment and then covering changes in the environment, shifting policies, and approaches to environmental problems from medieval times through the present.

Seminar in Modern Europe

A graduate-level research seminar in Modern Europe.

Seminar in the History of Colonialism

This seminar will introduce graduate students to topics and methodologies in the history of colonialism and imperialism. The subject matter of the course will vary according to the instructor.

International Diplomacy, Networking & Mentoring

This course will prepare students for the practical realities of careers with international business firms, government agencies and INGOs. It will provide students with necessary understandings and skills for effectively meeting and working with organizational representatives from different countries and prepare them to engage in professional international networking –a necessary activity for finding positions and advancing their careers in international organizations. Students will be required to apply knowledge and take necessary steps to build their own networks and build and maintain professional relationships.

Immigration Law

Through the study of statutory and case law as well as historical and contemporary theories and debates about immigration, this course provides a review of immigration and asylum law and policy. The course explores issues such as the meaning of membership in the "national community" and obligations of members to those deemed outsiders. We will analyze these issues through the examination of asylum law, types of entries by foreigners, deportation, exclusion, immigrant and non-immigrant status, employment law, and citizenship.

Global Perspectives on Counterterrorism

This course will take an in-depth look at counterterrorism in China, Columbia, India, Israel, Russia, Spain and the United States. The course will examine the competing conceptions and definitions of terrorism at the national and international level and the institutions and processes designed to execute the "Global War on Terrorism." This course will include the study of the balance between national security interests and civil liberties found in the following topical areas: relevant Supreme Court decisions in the surveyed nations, legislative provisions in response to acts of terrorism, operational counter-terrorism considerations (including targeted killing), intelligence gathering (including interrogations), policy recommendations, the use of military tribunals or civil courts in trying suspected terrorists, the emerging law regarding enemy combatants and their detention, and the arguable need for new self-defense doctrines at the global level. In addition to the regularly scheduled class time, the class includes a full day scenario based counterterrorism simulation exercise in which students role play decision makers (US and international) addressing legal, policy, intelligence (gathering and analysis) and operational counterterrorism dilemmas using multiple media resources. NOTE: Participation in the all-day simulation exercise is mandatory for all students enrolled.

International Tax

This seminar covers the major international tax issues relating to inbound investment (i.e., investment and business activity in the United States by non-U.S. persons) and outbound investments (i.e., investment and business activity by U.S. persons outside the United States). Coverage includes residence, business and investment activity of foreign persons in the U.S., the foreign tax credit, interest and expense allocation, transfer pricing, controlled foreign corporation, and dividend exemption rules. Attention to the interaction of U.S. domestic law and bilateral income tax treaties will be considered throughout. Students will draft a Seminar Paper on a tax or international tax law or policy issue.

Copyright Law

This course will focus on the legal protection of creative works through copyright and related rights. Topics covered typically include the copyrightable subject matter, ownership of copyright, purposes and goals of copyright, originality, fixation, formalities, and the various rights, limitations, and remedies provided by copyright.

Managing and Leading in Organizations

In this course, students learn to effectively manage and lead others. Students focus of developing an awareness of communication modes and how to maneuver in a variety of contexts. Topics include self-awareness and understanding, effective verbal and nonverbal communication, giving and receiving feedback, and understanding and managing workplace conflict.

Management Communication

Managerial Negotiation

This course examines processes and techniques of negotiating in organizational settings. Students develop negotiation skills through extensive case analyses, role-playing, and simulations. Negotiations examined in the class include negotiating between individuals, buyers and sellers, bosses and subordinates, departments and groups, and large collectivities such as labor and management. There is a fee for this class to cover the copyright costs of the negotiation exercises.

Competitive Advantage Through People

This course focuses on organizing and managing people to achieve sustainable competitive advantage. The people-centered management strategies used by high performance firms will be examined, emphasizing both research and leading-edge practice. The following topics will be explored: attracting, developing, motivating and retaining talent to support strategic objectives; designing high performance organizations; knowledge management; recruitment and selection processes; building a flexible and capable workforce; designing reward systems; managing work/life balance; measuring and communicating performance; understanding the legal environment; and leading an organizational transformation.

Business Ethics

This course focuses on the following: A) Students will be made aware of the demands that emanate from stakeholders and are placed on business firms. B) As prospective managers, students need to understand appropriate business responses and management approaches for dealing with social, political, environmental, technological, and global issues and stakeholders. C) to have an appreciation for ethical issues and the influence these issues have on management decision-making, behavior, politics, and practices. D) To help students to understand that the entire question of business's legitimacy as an institution in a global and diverse society is at stake and must be addressed from both a business and societal perspective. E) To assist students to understand that the increasing extent to which social, ethical, public, and global issues must be considered from a strategic perspective is crucial in such courses. F) To enable students to become more knowledgeable and effective contributors to groups and organizations in which they participate. G) To develop insight into the multi-faceted nature of ethical behavior in business, exploring the conflicts that arise from such aspects as self-interest, power, incurred obligations, competition, and fair return, diversity, stating the truth, rights of individuals, and rights of management. H) To develop a consciousness for management's responsibility in the resolution of key problems facing society, such as ecology, racial discrimination, urban blight, financing education, efficiency in government and international relations. I) To assist students to develop personal guidelines on how to handle ethical conflicts.

Managing Groups/Teams

This MBA elective will further students' understanding of the benefits and challenges of using groups and teams to perform work in organizations. The class builds on the Team Foundations (MGT 6050) core class. This class will involve both substantial experiential and theoretical components. The class will cover topics including conflict management and resolution, information management, interpersonal communication, performance feedback, and the role of technology in groups. From a practical standpoint, the course will address common problems faced by groups, such as confronting non-performing individuals, designing reward structures for groups, overcoming weak leadership, managing differential commitment by members, and the effective use of technology to enhance member coordination and group work.

Non-Profit Consulting

Non-profits are complex businesses, built on a foundation of ethical action grounded in the public trust. Starting, growing, and leading non-profits creates challenges that are in some cases more complex than those facing the private sector. Social entrepreneurs are individuals leading non-for-profit organizations who develop innovative solutions to long standing issues, are strategic, and manage their internal operations effectively. Non-profits are confronted not only with fundamental business decisions, but also with ethical issues inherent in their role in our society: addressing the needs of multiple constituencies, balancing values against the requirements of effective management, and creating the greatest common good with limited resources. This course gives students a broad overview of the ethical and overall business leadership challenges of the non-profit sector, while providing non-profit organizations with the specific consulting skills they need as they strive to better meet the needs of the community.

Marketing Management

This course builds on concepts learned in MKTG 3010 through the use of real-world case studies with a focus on marketing strategy implementation. Experience the power of applying tools such as target marketing, differentiation, and branding. Study actual case histories and decisions made by real managers and executives. Throughout the course, you will practice the application of marketing strategy via a computer simulation. Students may take MKTG 5000 at any point after completing MKTG 3010.

Advanced Marketing Strategies

Provides an advanced forum for students to deepen their understanding of contemporary marketing and to develop skills for successful segmentation and targeting. Topics include areas such as new product development and introduction, B2B and B2C strategies, and using cluster analysis with primary data for segmentation strategies.

Content Marketing, Social Media and Search Engine Optimization

This course covers the fundamental techniques companies use to "get found" on the Internet and build a credible online brand presence through content marketing, social media, and search engine optimization (SEO). Through a mixture of lectures, case studies, and projects students will learn core concepts relating to online brand management, social media marketing, and content development. Students will gain an understanding of the role of content and social media in SEO and learn about leveraging current Internet marketing channels including social networks, blogger outreach, content networks, and more.

Digital Campaign Management and Analytics

This course teaches cutting-edge processes related to the research, planning, and execution of online marketing campaigns as well as optimization and analytics methodology. Students will learn the intricacies of current monetization strategies in cost per click, cost per impression, affiliate and direct relationships, paid social insertions and their respective campaign development and execution. Advanced Internet marketing techniques such as re-targeting, social strategy, and dialogue marketing will be discussed and students will learn how campaign effectiveness is tied out through data analysis. Tools including Google Analytics, Google Adwords, and Adobe SiteCatalyst will be covered.

Analytics Applications of Machine Learning

Business Analytics is a strategic asset that offers unique opportunities for competitive advantage. It lives at the crossroads of business and technology. As technologies transform the marketplace, companies across the globe are collecting an enormous amount of data that can be used to predict the consequences of alternative courses of action and guide decision-making. The objective of this course is to i) demystify the world of big data analytics and ii) show applications of analytic tools across everyday business decisions. Some of the topics discussed will be applications of supervised, unsupervised machine learning, outlier analysis, and adaptive learning.

Enterpreneurial Marketing

In this course students apply the principles of marketing that they have been taught in MKTG 6090 to the special case of small businesses, which have limited financial and human resources and thus cannot use the same marketing tactics that are available to large firms. Student teams analyze the marketing strategies and programs of a local small business throughout the semester, culminating in the development of a marketing program and plan that better utilizes the firm's resources to grow the business. This plan is presented to the business during finals week.

Marketing to Organizations

Case and discussion based course that focuses on firms that are engaged in marketing to organizations. Examines how to identify competitive marketing advantages, assess market needs, and leverage or sustain these advantages.

Consumer Behavior

This course examines how insights from research in behavioral economics, judgment and decision making, and social psychology can enable businesses to develop more effective and targeted marketing strategies. Central themes include a detailed analysis of how humans form preferences and beliefs as well as how a variety of motives and situational forces can affect consumer choices and evaluations. Combined, these topics have important implications for consumer-directed marketing. Students will gain an understanding of core concepts from behavioral science and will also gain experience in applying these ideas toward addressing marketing problems.

Brand Management

All facets of branding and brand management explored through lecture, cases, projects and guest speakers.

Marketing Research

Develops ability to design research to support marketing and business decisions. Stresses design of research strategy, data collection, use of multivariate statistics and computer analysis. Stresses elements of research common not just to marketing but all business research areas.

Project & Process Management

Process and project management are two distinct and critical skill sets required of today's top managers and leading companies. Mastery of these two disciplines allows teams to effectively manage their processes and formally execute projects in order to deliver within defined time, cost, and scope constraints. Documented, repeatable and well-managed processes result in increased employee/customer satisfaction, business continuity, and efficient operations. In this course, students will learn how to approach a process improvement project by understanding how to map and document processes, assess their readiness for improvement, identify requirements, set up and execute a formal project, and evaluate the results. The course is applicable to all industries, but has an emphasis on information systems and technology projects.

Global Supply Chain Management

With rapid globalization, the production and delivery of services and goods increasingly involves multiple firms, and multiple units within a firm, spread across multiple continents. In Global Supply Chain Management (Global-SCM), we study how to improve performance of the individual firm as well as the supply chain network. Three important dimensions of any supply chain are (i) material flows (inventories), (ii) information flows, and (iii) the nature of the contractual arrangements among the various entities in the supply chain (incentives). How to align the Inventories-Information-Incentives (I3) of a supply chain operating in a global context is an important theme of this course. We will study the varied issues relating to Global-SCM through lectures, a variety of cases and games. Global-SCM is an essential course for any would-be consultant or entrepreneur, and for anyone aspiring to a senior management position.

Six Sigma

Six Sigma is a philosophy and set of concrete tools designed to reduce variation in all critical processes to achieve continuous and breakthrough improvements that impact the bottom line of organization and increase customer satisfaction. In this course, we will study the five phase DMAIC (Design-Measure-Analyze-Improve-Control) approach in detail with a combination of lecture, small group breakout sessions, and hands on practice. Course topics will include a review of statistics, process improvement tools, statistical process control, measurement system evaluation, capability analysis and design of experiments. Statistical software such as Minitab will be required and used throughout the class.

Data Analysis and Decision Making I

This course will develop decision making abilities with data-analysis and decision models. Applications will be in the business functional areas. Students will use computers to solve business problems. Course topics will include advanced statistical analysis, regression models, decision analysis basics, and portfolio management.

Quality Management I

Introduction to the principles of quality management, with an emphasis on cross-functional problem solving. Topics include system design to control the quality of products and services, customer driven quality, leadership, employee participation and training, and strategic quality planning.

Supply Chain Management

Production of services and goods typically involves many process steps that are spread across multiple firms or departments. In supply chain management (SCM) we examine how to improve performance by considering the actions of multiple members within this chain of activities. SCM addresses not only the flow of materials from upstream to downstream members in the supply chain, but also the flow of information and funds. Advancements in information technology allow the supply chain to achieve performance improvements previously beyond reach, and may change the optimal structure of the supply chain. Class discussion is motivated by case studies that examine successful emerging supply chain strategies.

Project Management

Project management has become the way of life in many industries. Whether it is development of a new product, organizational-wide implementation of a new IT tool, or execution of a merger, project management skills are required to manage cross-functional teams subject to strict deadlines and tight budget constraints. In this course we discuss all three phases of project management: project conception, execution, and closure. Issues related to project leadership, budgeting, and scheduling will be addressed in the course, and case discussions will highlight state of the art project management practices. Project management software will be introduced (possibly including group project using MS Project Software).

Special Topics in Operations Management

Topics vary according to current marketing environment and special interest/experience of instructor.

Quantitative Analysis in Political Science

Application of statistical techniques for the analysis of political data including inferential statistics, contingency tables, and regression analysis.

Study of Politics

This course provides an introduction to the discipline of political science and the graduate study of politics. Course content includes history of the discipline and theoretical approaches within the study of politics.

New Democracies

A cross-regional comparison of the problems and results of new democracies in industrializing societies.

European Union

This course is an analysis of the European Union with emphasis upon the organization's historical development, its acquisition of member states' governmental functions, and the prospects for the organization's future as an economic and political international actor.

Nationalism and Ethnic Conflict

This course seeks to address one of the crucial issues of our age, the cultural pluralism embedded in most civil societies and the integrative impulses and the forces of disintegration-nationalism and ethnicity.

Political Violence and Terrorism

Discussion of theories of violence from political, psychological, socioeconomic, religious, and other perspectives. This course will also focus on the role of the media and state-sponsored violence.

International Relations of Africa

Examines political and economic relations among African states and between African states and the rest of the world. Topics include Africa's colonial history, rise of nationalism, and Africa's position in the world economy. Emphasis is placed on several African countries.

International Relations of the Middle East

Explores various international relations theories, such as realism, dependency, identity theory, and alliance formation to the behavior of Middle East states, the Arab-Israeli conflict, and the post-Cold War Middle East.

Democracy in Latin America

Before 1980 nearly all countries in Latin America were governed by authoritarian regimes; today the vast majority of them are stable democracies. This course examines the causes and consequences of democratization in Latin America, with a focus on comparing democratic systems in the region.

Global Governance

Concentrates on the history and functions of public (IGO) and private (NGO) international organizations. Special efforts will be devoted to examining the changing roles of both IGOs and NGOs with relations to both member and non-member states.

American Foreign Policy

U.S. government machinery for formulation and conduct of foreign policy. Appraisal of U.S. policy in Europe, Asia, Latin America, Africa, and the Middle East.

Chinese Foreign Policy

Sources, motivations, and strategies of contemporary Chinese foreign policy. Focuses on post-Mao era.

Foundations of International Security

Focuses on the evolution of international security from the Cold War to the post-Cold War era. Topics include concepts and approaches in understanding international security; differing interpretations of security including economic, human rights, military, and political dimensions.

Rise of Global Capitalism

Explores the factors and conditions that lead countries to decide whether and how to promote the development of their industries and economies. Emphasis is placed on the similar and different ways political forces influence the structure and process of industrial development in the countries studied.

Theory of International Relations

Analysis of theories of international relations, such as Realism, Liberalism, Constructivism; using major works and current theoretical research. Recommended introduction to upper-division students.

Field Seminar in International Relations

Provides graduate students with a survey of the major approaches and theories of international relations.

Special Topics

Special Topics in Political Science. See current course catalog for more information.

Applied Quantitative Methods in Public Policy

Course involves the analysis of quantitative date, the application of statistics for understanding and conducting public policy research and the use of statistical software. Specific topics include descriptive statistics for discrete and continuous variables, probability theory, hypothesis testing, bivariate associations, ordinary least squares regression and logistic regression. Emphasis is on interpretation of findings. Graduate students will be held to a higher standard of performance.

Administrative Theory

Administrative history, scientific management, human relations movement, bureaucracy, formal/informal organization, comparative administration, decision making, motivation, leadership, participative management, organization development, innovation.

Public Policy Theories and Applications

Introduction to policy process in U.S.; needs and demands for public action; organization and nature of political support; process and problems of decision making in major policy areas.

Environmental and Sustainability Policy

Ways government action or inaction affects problems of sustainability, resource scarcity, environmental health and safety, natural aesthetics, and economic growth.

Public HR Management

Merit system, human resource planning, classification, recruitment, testing, selection, training, compensation, EEO, productivity, performance appraisal, promotion, discipline, labor relations, health and safety, and employee rights.

Public Budget & Finance

Organization, techniques, and politics of administrative planning, budget preparation and legislative appropriations, and control systems in public administration. Program budgeting, benefit-cost, and other analytic techniques of public planning and budgeting. Fiscal and monetary policy, nature of capitalism in a mixed economy, problems of labor, agriculture, and the poor.

Public and Nonprofit Media

Public and media relations specific to nonprofit and government settings. Analysis and exploration of mediums, audience identification, message effectiveness, and internal and external relations. Social media and message distribution will be discussed.

Nonprofit and Nongovernmental Organizations

This course examines the history, values, theories, and philosophies of the nonprofit and nongovernmental organizations. Differences and relationships among the nonprofit, public and private sectors will be discussed.

Program and Policy Evaluation

Systematic introduction to program and policy evaluation as a basis for accountability. Introduces alternative approaches to evaluation. Emphasis is placed on strategies for impact assessment (including randomized designs and non-randomized designs), measuring efficiency, examining short-term and long-term consequences, identifying both intended and unintended impacts, and the social, political, and ethical context of evaluation.

Nonprofit Financial Management

This course explores money management systems in nonprofit organizations from the standpoint of roles and functions relating to oversight, accounting principles and concepts (including fund accounting), analysis of financial statements, reporting practices, and management of financial planning, budgeting, cash flows, short/long-term financing, and endowment policies and practices.

Public Administration and Ethics

Integration of courses and administrative experience; application of ethical theories to public administration practice; required major research paper on ethical issues in government.

Health Communications

The purpose of this graduate course is to provide in depth study of health communications as a strategy for improving the health status of individuals and populations. The culture of health, or lack thereof, can be a function of mass and multimedia which can have positive and negative implications for the public’s health. This seminar will explore theory-driven interventions at both the individual level, as well as population-based approaches. Content will include best practices in: provider-patient communication; improving health literacy; Internet/Mhealth and information technology/electronic messaging; media edutainment or enter-education; health journalism/media advocacy; risk communication; and social marketing. Students will develop health communication interventions as an important element to achieving greater empowerment of individuals and communities.

Community Health Assessment

Assessing community needs, being able to identify strengths and weaknesses, and working collaboratively with stakeholders are important skills for any public health professional. This course familiarizes students with concepts and approaches for community health assessment and analysis. The course will include strategies, methods and measures for assessing the health of a community. Special focus will be placed on the application of qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods as well as Community Based Participatory approaches.

Epidemiology

Basic principles of epidemiology, including fundamentals of epidemiologic study design and data resources with emphasis on determining causation of chronic disease. Students will learn to explain the role of quantitative and qualitative methods in describing and assessing a population’s health, as well as the importance of evidence-based practice in the field of public health.

Public Health Management & Practice

Provides students with the opportunity to apply principles of leadership, governance, and management while applying negotiation and mediation skills to address organizational or community challenges in a public health setting. Students will learn basic principles and tools for budget and resource management, discuss multiple dimensions of the policy-making process, and propose strategies to identify stakeholders and build partnerships to influence public health outcomes. An emphasis will be placed on the importance of advocacy for political, social, or economic policies and programs that will improve health in diverse populations.

International Public Health Issues

Current issues in international health relevant to public health and primary care providers. Problems in economics, technology transfer, child survival, primary health care, maternal health, and ethics are presented in an international context.

Global Health

Provides students with an understanding of population health on a global basis. Focuses mostly on health issues in developing countries. Helps students identify disease patterns while exploring how culture affects illness and learning about behavior change, health systems, and policy development. Uses epidemiology, demography, sociology, and anthropology throughout the course.

Public Health Program Planning, Evaluation and Implementation

This course is devoted to understanding the rapidly evolving area of planning and evaluation. The goal of the course is to give the student a working knowledge of how to apply evidence based public health in planning, implementing, and evaluating health programs. Students will be equipped with the skills to design a population-based program or intervention, effectively evaluate policies and their impact on public health/ health equity, and finally develop skills in assessing population needs that affect communities’ health.

Social and Behavioral Science in Public Health

This course will consider disease and illness within socio-cultural contexts. Emphasis will be placed on the ethical, behavioral, psychological, social, cultural, political and economic factors that influence the prevention/treatment of medical and public health problems and theories of health behavior that inform public health practice. The student will develop abilities to assess population needs that affect communities’ health, form effective communication strategies and develop important cultural competence in communicating public health content. Furthermore, students will be able to demonstrate the means by which structural bias, social inequalities and racism undermine health equity at organizational, community and social levels.

Health Disparities and Public Health

This course focuses on the impact of health disparities on public health. Disparities related to all facets of life can affect health status and health behaviors. Students will learn to identify connections between individual- and community-level health disparities and community health.

Post-Disaster Community Health

This graduate level public health course provides students with knowledge and skills to address the impact of public health emergencies on the health of communities both in the US and Globally. At the end of the course students will be able to assess the health related needs of an affected population and formulate plans to address critical health parameters such as shelter, water, food, sanitation, as well as health care needs.

Statistical Packages for Public Policy

This course is designed to train advanced graduate students to examine policy issues and address policy research questions using three statistical software packages commonly used in the public and nonprofit sector; Excel, SPSS and R. The course is divided into two equal parts. The first part prepares students to use Excel and SPSS to examine, clean, label and merge data to answer pertinent public policy questions. The second half of the course introduces students to a workflow methodology for quantitative projects and teaches students how to use the R statistical programming language to explore and manage data, to model a quantitative project, and to communicate through visualization in R.

Applied Quantitative Methods

Course involves the analysis of quantitative date, the application of statistics for understanding and conducting public policy research and the use of statistical software. Specific topics include descriptive statistics for discrete and continuous variables, probability theory, hypothesis testing, bivariate associations, ordinary least squares regression and logistic regression. Emphasis is on interpretation of findings. Graduate students will be held to a higher standard of performance.

Survey Research Methods

This course provides students with skills necessary for understanding the survey research process used across the behavioral science disciplines with an emphasis on public policy issues. The goal is to familiarize students with survey design and analysis. Approaches include item construction, sampling, reliability, validity, and data analysis and interpretation.

Public Policy Research

Interpretation and synthesis of published research materials for the purpose of guiding public policy. Emphasis placed on critiquing the research designs and statistical approaches used in light of the public policy questions being addressed. Examples drawn from a range of policy areas.

Practice with Immigrant and Refugee Communities

This community-engaged course applies a local to global lens to capture issues of immigration and integration. Students will gain an understanding of different migration pathways, models of integration, and social systems that support or limit well-being for immigrants and refugees. Students will engage with local leaders from diverse backgrounds and disciplines to develop knowledge and skills that promote healthy integration at the individual, community and institutional level. Completion of this class fulfills one of the requirements of the Global Social Work Concentration.

Issues in Women's Health

The purpose of the course is to provide students with an overview of key issues in the field of women's health. Students will develop conceptual skills to evaluate how social, cultural, and policy issues impact and are impacted by women's health issues.

US Latino Diaspora

U.S. Latino Diaspora is designed for students interested in examining the historical creation and contemporary spread of the multicultural Latina/o Diaspora from islands in the Caribbean, to Central México and beyond. Various activities in and out of the classroom will provide students with knowledge about the indigenous, European, and African roots of Latina/o culture and history.

Statistics I

Technique of multiple regression; its application, models, extension, and interpretation.

Statistics II

Techniques of data analysis, and when and how to apply techniques. Interpreting results in nonstatistical terms and applying computer packages such as SPSS. Techniques for data reduction, classification, and causal analysis (i.e., LISREL). Assumptions of the model and consequences when assumptions are violated.

Political Sociology

This graduate-level seminar provides an overview of macro-sociological research on the national state, with an emphasis on key theoretical developments and empirical applications. The existence of states seems natural, as does their authority to collect taxes, raise armies, and regulate economies. This seminar seeks to de-naturalize the state. The approach is macro and comparative; the objective is to trace the emergence, diffusion and functions of modern states and the state system. Possible topics include formation and expansion; the nature and practice of sovereignty; the rise and transformation of citizenship; the role of social movements in shaping states and societies; the relationship between states and markets; the development and possible decline of welfare states; and the future of the state in a globalizing world.

Special Topics

This course is designed to make available on a one-time basis courses or workshops on topics outside the existing Sociology curriculum.

Strategic Management

This course teaches students important theories in strategy and allows them to apply the theories to real business situations through the extensive use of cases. Students learn key frameworks and analytical tools that help managers allocate company resources, and develop strategies to gain competitive advantages over rival firms. Course topics include industry analysis, internal analysis, business level strategies, diversification, strategic alliances, and mergers and acquisitions. The course carries a substantial reading and writing load. Students are expected to actively participate in class and case discussions.

Advanced Strategic Management

This course focuses on understanding the key functional, business, and corporate decisions that affect the long-term position of the firm. The central concept of this course is competitive strategy, involving the use of critical resources over long periods of time to attain specific goals and objectives. Students look at both the internal structure of the firm and the external dynamics of the macro and industry environments. Taught primarily through cases and involves substantial class discussion and writing.

Profiles of Leadership

Entrepreneurship requires leadership. This class is designed to familiarize students with the current challenges and trends of growing a business in today’s economy. Students learn not only through lectures and readings, but also from frequent presentations by distinguished entrepreneurs and business leaders who share their real-world experiences. This business elective has no prerequisites and is open to all majors at the University of Utah.

Global Changes and Society

The purpose of this course is to develop an interdisciplinary perspective to explore the complex systems of environmental change and the links to society through a project-based approach. This course will encourage students (a) to analyze critically - and reflect deeply about - the complex interconnections among social, economic, and environmental systems; (b) to appreciate the value of diverse perspectives and collaborative approaches to sustainability; and (c) imagine and implement visions of sustainable practices and values through the translation of knowledge of sustainability into interdisciplinary actions for sustainability.