Thunder Leadership MBA

Attend classes part-time, on-campus with an engaged community of students from diverse fields and career backgrounds to benefit from face-to-face classroom experiences, personalized input from knowledgeable faculty, personalized leadership coaching, and experiential experiences with business executives.

Fall 2023 Schedule

One-year, full-time MBA Schedule designed for recent college graduates and career changers.

• Balanced, efficient schedule in which students take no more than 3 courses at any time.
• Evening course format allows for valuable guest lecturers, as well as networking opportunities through classmates who are working professionals with years of experience.
  
• Students’ days are available for job shadowing, internships, and other meaningful career exploration.
• Ten of the 12 courses are offered in 8-week terms, most meeting 5:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. once a week. Two courses offered in traditional 16-week semesters.

Fall 2023 Schedule

MBA 5123 – Effective Leadership & Communication

Based on the established foundations of the Authentic Leadership Model and utilizing the in-depth CDR Assessment Group program for self-assessment and leadership coaching, this course facilitates the development of interpersonal and team skills leaders need to function effectively. The primary focus is on integrated behavioral competencies demanded in organizations today: self-awareness, communication, negotiation, collaboration, and relationship building. Students will work through their own, individualized leadership profile assessments, evaluate effective leadership behaviors, and explore techniques and processes to communicate and negotiate effectively within organizations.

ACCT 5213 – Accounting for Business Decision Making

Emphasis on the application of accounting information for financial reporting and managerial decision making.

MGMT 5213 – Business Strategy for Creating Value

Focuses upon organizational, competitive, and environmental issues confronting organizations and how firms identify, seize, and defend opportunities in today’s dynamic and rapidly changing global economy.

ECON 5313 – Data Analysis for Business Decisions

Focuses on the identification and access of information sources and analyzing the information to make informed decisions and solve managerial problems. Topics include numerical and graphic description of data, confidence intervals, hypothesis testing, regression analysis and predictive modeling, linear allocation models and allocating resources, forecasting, and decision analysis. The course utilizes spreadsheet, statistical, and simulation software.

ECON 5413 – Managing at the Crossroads: The Global Economic Environment

Emphasizing the perspective of managers in the private sector, this course focuses on interactions of economic principles at work at the interfirm, intra-industry, and inter-industry levels (microeconomics), at the economy-wide level (macroeconomics), and at the global level (international economics).

MKTG 5103 – Strategic Marketing Decisions for Creating Value

This course is concerned with crafting marketing strategies and making marketing decisions. At the end of the course, students should be able to structure and solve rather complex marketing problems.

FIN 5303 – Financial Strategy and Decision Making

Fundamental concepts such as time value of money and risk-return relationships in finance are presented in detail. Financial decisions faced by modern business enterprises are analyzed in the framework of financial theories. These decisions include capital budgeting, long-term financing, dividend policy, short-term financial management, and performance evaluations.

IT 5603 Advanced Data Analytics and Artificial Intelligence

This course seeks to expand students’ knowledge of the role of technology and data in the decision making process and in the planning and management of organizations. Students gain understanding of Business Intelligence, Analytics, Data Science, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Decision Support Systems (DSS), Data Mining, Machine Learning, Predictive Analytics, Big Data, Cloud Computing, Robotics, Group DSS, Collaboration Systems, and the Internet of Things (IoT).

MGMT 5703 – Ethical, Societal, and Legal Environment of Business

This course examines areas of law and ethics that relate to the contemporary business environment. Areas of study include contracts, torts, white collar crime, product liability, anti-competitive practices, consumer protection, employment practices, business organizations, and the legal and ethical responsibilities.

MGMT 5713 – Strategic Leadership of the Organization

This course enhances the student’s ability to manage organizations and their members. The primary objective is to increase understanding of organizational behavior theory, research and practice at the individual, intragroup, and intergroup levels.

MBA 5113 – Special Topics in Business

Rotating variable topics course allowing students to develop expertise in a current business topic.

MGMT 6643 – Capstone Experience: Integrating and Applying Business Knowledge

Using a combination of simulations, cases, and/or live-case client projects this course integrates principles and concepts from all earlier course work. Emphasizes management of the enterprise as a process of integration using strategic processes and bound by the resources, environmental constraints, and ethical considerations of the enterprise.

Prerequisites are not required.

Applicants must demonstrate a basic understanding of analytical techniques and have strong communication skills. Low-cost MBA prep courses are available to enhance the understanding of key subject areas.

Applications are evaluated on an individual basis considering the following factors:

1. Academic background (transcript)
2. Professional experience (resume or CV)

For questions about the application process:

Cindy Treadway
Meinders Graduate Advisor
[email protected]
405-208-5154

*General Fees Waived for students receiving tuition assistance from Meinders Corporate Partners.

Active Military and Civilian Students who work at Tinker Air Force Base may be eligible to receive a special tuition rate of $300/credit hour and reduced University fees. Standard tuition is $590/credit and fees are $155/credit. Campus parking permit is waived for Tinker students.

Oklahoma City University is a military friendly school and participates in the Yellow Ribbon Program.

For Graduate Study in Business Administration

Sonic Corporation executives created the Bill Hutton Endowed Memorial Scholarship in 1992 as a tribute to Bill Hutton, a valued colleague. While studying for his MBA, Hutton served as Senior Director of field marketing for Sonic Corporation. He completed his degree in 1982. This scholarship assists students, like Hutton, who pursue an MBA while working.

The scholarship is designated for:

• MBA students who are US Citizens
• Working 25 or more hours per week while earning their degree
• Preference is given to applicants who have some work experience, are trying to improve their position through higher education, and are likely to remain in the Oklahoma business community.
• While financial need is not an absolute criterion, applicants should demonstrate some element of need to meet tuition expenses.

A Scholarship Committee, which includes Carol Hutton Cochran, MSB representatives and a past scholarship recipient, reviews applications and conducts personal interviews with selected scholarship finalists. Scholarship awards are granted for a maximum of 18 hours of tuition credit per academic year. Recipients must maintain a 3.0 grade point average to continue the scholarship the following year.

Applications are available by contacting Student Services in the Meinders School of Business at 405-208-4913. Applications may also be picked up in Student Services, Room 106.

Recipient will be announced at the annual Meinders School of Business Honors Convocation.

Located minutes from Downtown OKC, the business school contains cutting-edge technology in more than 12 teaching rooms, four executive classrooms, large and small conference rooms, four computer labs, including the Bloomberg Finance Lab for access to the latest investment data, breakout rooms for small-group meetings, and a 250-seat, theater-style auditorium.

For specific program questions, please contact:

Bob Greve, Ph.D.
Associate Dean
Associate Professor of Information Technology
C. R. Anthony Chair in Competitive Enterprise
[email protected]
405-208-5437

Cindy Treadway
Meinders Graduate Advisor
[email protected]
405-208-5154