The MBA in Media & Entertainment Management at Austin University provides you with a unique blend of necessary skills and knowledge to pursue a management career in companies venturing into digital technologies and thrive in the ever-changing entertainment, media, and sports industries.
You have a unique opportunity to work closely with diverse individuals, harnessing your intercultural skills throughout the MBA program. Our program prepares you with the necessary skills and knowledge to understand, manage or create business, leadership and financial careers at upper levels of management. Our program also provides the tools for business and leadership professionals to develop the right knowledge, attitudes and skill sets that will equip you to perform ethically, effectively and creatively in the entrepreneurial or corporate environment.
Our Master of Business Administration degree requires completion of twelve (12) courses for thirty-six (36) credits.
Dean’s Letter
Every day during your Austin University MBA experience, you will learn how to think critically, challenge the status quo, and collaborate with people very different from yourself to prepare you for business success. We call that the Austin University MBA difference. You will call it the opportunity of a lifetime.
A truly unique MBA experience
Within the Austin University MBA, you will find the ideal environment to realize your full potential and become a business leader for the 21st century. Working with other high-achieving participants, you will build your competencies in an energizing, collaborative community that mirrors the diversity of today’s global economy.
You will experience a perfect equation between our class size and an individualized approach to learning, ensuring that your ideas and input are valued and heard. This encouragement comes both from faculty and other students, in a supportive environment where everyone knows your name and participants form a close-knit community for life. Conversations with your peers from around the world will shape your viewpoint, enrich your experience and prepare you to work with people from many different backgrounds and cultures.
Student-oriented professors who are successful practitioners in their field will build upon your unique talents and shape your learning experience. Our faculty infuse a rare combination of broad experience, personal insights and the latest in advanced management thinking into their classes.
Armed with the latest knowledge of today, you will be well-prepared to solve the business problems of tomorrow. During our 12-month program for the Full-time MBA or 18-month program for the Part-time MBA, you will develop the core management skills needed to excel in any industry, anywhere in the world. And given our more personalized learning methodology, You will have the opportunity to go much deeper, with the flexibility to pursue specialized studies and hands-on learning in the sector of your choice.
The Austin University MBA program focuses on an entirely different approach to leadership. We believe that you must know yourself and your strengths to effectively lead others. After learning the theories of leadership, you will face your fears, develop critical thinking skills and challenge conventional wisdom in complex situations specifically designed to put those theories to the test. The result: newfound confidence in your abilities from applying what you learned to real life situations.
If you are a high achiever who dreams big, with the courage and passion to turn that dream into a reality, the Austin University MBA program is for you.
To your success,
Dr. Peter Alexander, Dean, Graduate School of Business
Strengths
A Unique Approach to Leadership Development
Current and future executives cannot just be distinct specialists in finance, marketing, strategy or operations. They need to have personal competencies that bridge functional expertise, displaying a comprehensive understanding of all areas of the organization and a capacity to work harmoniously across functions. Throughout your MBA year at Austin University, you are given a series of personal development workshops and seminars designed to allow reflection on your MBA experience, draw conclusions, and facilitate personal growth outside of the classroom. Leadership training requires a rigorous combination of academic theory and application. We teach you the theories behind successful leadership, and then provide you the ideal environment to put those theories to the test.
Concept
Becoming future business leaders entails more than being functional specialists in marketing, finance or operations. Today’s managers need a cross-functional perspective to bridge departmental, cultural and legal lines within a global organization. Our MBA program develops leaders through an innovative approach to theory, practice and personal development training that enables you to be successful in your business specialty.
Theory in Practice
What you learn from our faculty members will be instantly applicable in real-world situations. You will gain firsthand insights into their transformative research and a behind-the-scenes perspective from their extensive industry experience. With this knowledge in hand, you and your learning team will work to develop innovative solutions to real-world business problems. A series of hands-on opportunities develop your confidence to lead in a variety of circumstances, as well as teach you how to motivate others to work toward a common goal. These leadership opportunities prepare you for career success.
Entrepreneurship
At the very heart of our philosophy is the entrepreneurial mindset. Our courses will teach you to emphasize your individual initiative by identifying, valuing, and capturing opportunity no matter what field you choose.
Since entrepreneurship is most closely associated with starting a new business, you will learn key traits such as creativity, the ability to keep going in the face of hardship, and the social skills needed to build great teams.
Career Management
With an newly minted MBA from Austin University, your career prospects multiply exponentially. You begin the transformation of your professional life at Austin Career Management Center (ACMC). The ACMC is here to help connect you with opportunities, from internships to full-time employment, and provide guidance throughout the cycles of your career.
If you are dedicated, tenacious, and innovative, with an endless curiosity for uncovering savvy business solutions, you’re ready to take on an MBA program that’s just like you.
Program Objectives
Because of the continuous explosion in digital technologies such as high-speed, high-bandwidth, low-cost internet connectivity and smart mobile devices, the digitization of media and entertainment is causing a major revolution in the ways in which society consumes media and experiences entertainment. In result, this revolution is driving a major transformation of traditional media and entertainment firms, enabling the emergence of new technology-based players and the creation of new high-growth sectors such as gaming and eSports.
Together, this radical transformation is creating a need for a new generation of managers and executives who can be effective leaders and responsible managers of this globally increasing economy. Taught by expert faculty and industry scholars, our MBA in Media, Entertainment and Sports Management will equip students with the knowledge to be insightful strategists, creative innovators, and effective operational managers.
From movies to music, from sports to publishing Austin University prepares students to work in a variety of functions from right here in San Francisco, to Los Angeles, and beyond. This program will help you to Master the Business of Media and Entertainment.
This specialized MBA program will help students quickly advance their careers, establish themselves as entrepreneurs, and thrive in the ever-changing entertainment, media and sports industries.
Program Prerequisites
To be considered for the MBA program at Austin University, you need to have:
– A bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university.
– Minimum GMAT score of 550 or minimum GRE score of 300.
– For non-native English speakers, TOEFL scores (95 minimum) or equivalent. Please ask our admissions office whether you qualify for a TOEFL waiver based on your professional or academic exposure to English.
– Completed online application.
– Personal interview on campus or by video conferencing.
Program Dates
Austin MBA is a 12-month, full-time, modular program.
Candidates meet on Austin University’s Northern California campus in San Ramon. The next MBA program begins on January 5, 2020; participants will graduate by December 29, 2020. Please see the admissions details for module dates, deadlines and requirements.
| Academic Period | Courses | Registration Open | Start Date | Last Day to Register/Add | Payment Due | End Date | Grades Due |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spring |
520 Strategic Marketing Management 505 Accounting and Finance for Decision making 501 Artificial Intelligence Management |
Jan 15 | Mar 05 | Mar 12 | Mar 19 | Jun 29 | Jul 09 |
| Summer |
502 Quantitative and Business research methods 510 Ethics and corporate Governance 515 Management and Accounting Information Systems |
May 14 | Jul 09 | Jul 16 | Jul 23 | Aug 31 | Sep 10 |
| Fall |
525 Managerial Economics 530 Legal Aspects of Business 535 Entrepreneurship Management |
Jul 10 | Sep 05 | Sep 15 | Sep 22 | Dec 22 | Jan 08 |
| Winter |
536 Strategic corporate Finance 541 International Business & Global Strategy Management 545 Capstone: Strategic Management |
Dec 04 | Jan 02 | Jan 12 | Jan 19 | Feb 23 | Mar 05 |
Travel and Personal Costs
You should budget enough to cover your travel to/from San Francisco and the accommodation in the San Francisco area.
You should budget enough money to cover your apartment, insurance, public transportation or bicycle, food, and entertainment. We recommend budgeting $2,000 to $3,000 a month.
MBA – Degree Plan
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| Course Number | Course Name | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| MBA 501 | Business Communications | 3 |
| MBA 502 | Accounting and Finance for Decision Making | 3 |
| MBA 504 | Organizational Leadership and Behavior | 3 |
| MBA 505 | Project Management | 3 |
| MBA 506 | Strategic Marketing Management | 3 |
| MBA 600 | Operations Strategy | 3 |
| MBA 631 | Media, Entertainment and Sports Analytics | 3 |
| MBA 641 | Media, Entertainment, and Sports Brand and Audience Development | 3 |
| MBA 651 | Digital Media and Entertainment | 3 |
| MBA 661 | Law, Intellectual Property, and Ethics for Media, Entertainment and Sports | 3 |
| MBA 671 | Media, Entertainment and Sports Talent Management and Representation | 3 |
| MBA 545 | Capstone: Strategic Management (Simulation-based course) | 3 |
Total Credits Required for the Master of Business Administration Degree (MBA): 36 Credits
MBA – Course Descriptions
MBA 501 Business Communications
This course is designed to improve students’ practical business communication skills. It introduces students to the implications and consequences of good and poor communication and offers valuable ways to optimize interpersonal interactions. This course will develop the student’s ability to use clear, concise and unambiguous communication styles. The course also introduces students to a variety of different writing challenges including minutes, technical writing, web page design and sales and promotional material generation.
MBA 502 Accounting and Finance for Decision Making
Accounting and Finance is the language of business, to be effective, everyone needs to be financially literate and able to interpret figures and understand what lies behind it. This course focuses on understanding how economic events like corporate investments, financing transactions and operating activities are recorded in the three main financial statements (i.e., the income statement, balance sheet, and statement of cash flows). Also, how to develop the technical skills needed to analyze corporate financial statements and disclosures for use in financial analysis. An essential part of the course is Understanding and analyzing actual annual reports, periodic public filing of financial statements by firms with the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) in forms such as 10-K (annual statements), other corporate disclosures, and analysts’ reports. We will analyze actual corporate financial statements almost every class.
MBA 504 Organizational Leadership and Behavior
This course provides students with an overview to the approach to organizational behavior as a whole. Its structure emphasizes the scope of theory, research and practice on organization behavior, culture and ethics. Students will also be exposed to the basic definition of a board of directors and to distinguish between different types of boards and understand what the role, functions and responsibilities of the board in an organization entail. This course helps the student to determine how the board of directors can assist the management with strategic planning to distinguish the difference between the daily management of a business and the strategic responsibilities of the board of directors. It will guide students to understand how coaching can be used to develop the team members and to develop the coaching skills that help improve individual performance.
MBA 505 Project Management
This course introduces the student to characteristics, problems, techniques, and methods of project management and also of decision-making in organizations using the Program Evaluation and Review Techniques (“PERT) method, software computer models and practices will be used to solve practical problems in an organization.
This course develops the competencies and skills for planning and controlling projects and understanding interpersonal issues that drive successful project outcomes. Focusing on the introduction of new products and processes, it examines the project management life cycle, defining project parameters, matrix management challenges, effective project management tools and techniques, and the role of a project manager.
MBA 506 Strategic Marketing Management
This course educates students to better understand unambiguous logics behind marketing strategy which ultimately can increase the profit of organizations. Strategic Marketing Management sketches the proper philosophy and practical procedures that tackles the challenges corporations are facing in such competitive market. The impact of an effective strategy is to reduce or resolve issues that corporations are facing.
Strategic decisions come from competent decision makers. Diagnosing and forecasting needed changes and implementing them effectively, contributes significantly to overall success of a company. Strategic Marketing Management is an important part of the core principles that brings much success to an organization. Students through this course will notice and discover the winning formulas for the market, learn how to use analyses to find preeminent solutions that can fulfill the unmet needs of the organization.
MBA 600 Operations Strategy
Operations strategy is about organizing people and resources to gain a competitive advantage in the delivery of products (both goods and services) to customers. This course approaches this challenge primarily from two perspectives: 1) how should a firm design their products so that they can be profitably offered; 2) how can a firm best organize and acquire resources to deliver its portfolio of products to customers. To be able to make intelligent decisions regarding these high-level choices, this course also provides a foundation of analytical methods. These methods give students a conceptual framework for understanding the linkage between how a firm manages its supply and how well that supply matches the firm’s resulting demand. Specific course topics include designing service systems, managing inventory and product variety, capacity planning, approaches to sourcing and supplier management, constructing global supply chains, managing sustainability initiatives, and revenue management. This course emphasizes both quantitative tools and qualitative frameworks. Neither is more important than the other.
MBA 631 Media, Entertainment and Sports Analytics
This course is designed to provide you with an overview of applied analytics concepts and functions within the media, entertainment and sports industries (MES). Students in this course will learn about how organizations within these interconnected industries utilize data and apply analytics to make more informed strategic business decisions that create a sustainable competitive advantage. Course topics will be presented and analyzed via a series of current issue case studies and collaborative workshops facilitated by the instructors of this course along with industry leaders. Students will also have an opportunity to work on a variety of practical application projects throughout the summer semester on topics such as dynamic and variable ticket pricing, corporate sponsorship valuation, customer relationship management, fan engagement, retention of season ticket holders, and social media and digital marketing analytics.
MBA 641 Media, Entertainment, and Sports Brand and Audience Development
The world of media, entertainment and sports has been growing increasingly challenging, from the disruption each face in the digital age to the audience transformations of the global 21st century. Generational, technological, and other forces increasingly require organizations to transform as they pursue their audiences. This course will examine the emerging hurdles that executives in media, entertainment and sports face in such an environment, along with examples of emerging strategic solutions. The students will draw on their oral and written presentation skills and will be highly involved in bringing the course material to life. Emphasis is placed on the practical application of branding and audience development concepts to media, entertainment and sports.
MBA 651 Digital Media and Entertainment
In this new digital age, media and entertainment firms must increasingly turn their attention to the technological developments that shape their business strategy and competitive position. Digital distribution, cloud computing, social media, and mobile technologies are transforming the way businesses operate in the industry. At the same time, managers must be alert to the external forces that shape their technological innovations. The increasing complexity for M&E firms to complete in this dynamic environment offers opportunities, but it also comes with significant risks. In this course, students will develop a deep understanding of the strategic issues surrounding digital innovation in the M&E industry, and how they shape managerial decisions. In addition, it examines ways in which managers and executives can employ leading practices to compete.
MBA 661 Law, Intellectual Property, and Ethics for Media, Entertainment and Sports
This course is designed to enable students to expend their knowledge of the legal, regulatory, IP management, and ethical issues that apply to the entertainment, media, and sports sectors, and that impact the business and organizational dynamics of organizations that operate within these sections. Students will learn about substantive legal concepts in the core areas of law that apply to the entertainment, media, and sports sectors, including constitutional, employment, antitrust, labor, intellectual property, agency, and contract and business law. The purpose of the course is to provide graduate students with an understanding of the legal issues involved in the operation and management of MES organizations, and to equip students with the skills and strategies needed to effectively work with business executives and lawyers to resolve these issues. The course will focus on the practical applications of laws, rules, and regulations to situations current students will likely face, and decisions current students will likely need to make, as sport, media, and entertainment business managers. The course will also explore the ethical issues surrounding these managerial decisions. In-class discussions on current legal issues and emerging legal topics in media, entertainment and sports will constitute a significant portion of this class.
MBA 671 Media, Entertainment and Sports Talent Management and Representation
Business executives in media, entertainment and sports (MES) must navigate constantly evolving technologies and channels of distribution to manage and represent talent as an integral part of their business functions. The purpose of this course is to examine the trajectory of athletes and artists in MES, and to provide insights on how to manage and advise talent. The course will examine organizational structures and roles of agents, managers, lawyers, and HR managers, elaborate on the foundation and principles of deal structures, as well as negotiation, mediation, arbitration, and other resolution processes. Cases will be discussed across industry sectors like music publishing, music streaming, film, TV, and others, to develop practical skill-building exercises in negotiation of agreements and resolving financial and contractual issues. Also covered will be the different standards and ethical practices, codes of conduct, including current and emerging topics in the field.
MBA 545 Capstone: Strategic Management (Simulation-based course)
This simulation-based course provides students with the opportunity to get the experience of running an Artificial intelligence business as a member of the company’s top management team. Class will be divided into teams, each team will formulate and implement strategies that require the effective integration of various business functions – production, marketing, R&D, HRM, and finance – within a practical strategic decision-making framework. students will be able to experience decision making under conditions of uncertainty, the trade-offs necessary among different business functions, and the impact of decisions on the company’s performance in a highly competitive marketplace.
Tuition and fees
MBA tuition and fees at Austin University
Becoming future business leaders entails more than being functional specialists in marketing, finance, or operations. Today’s Managers need a cross-functional perspective to bridge departmental, cultural, and legal, and lines within a global organization. The Austin University MBA programs develops leaders through an innovative approach to theory, practice, and personal development training.
MBA tuition and fees: $ 42,000
The program tuition and fees include teaching fees, required cases and books, e-learning resources, lunch, snacks, and coffee while on campus.
Significant scholarships available. To learn more, please click here >
Dr. Peter Alexander
Dean, Graduate School of Business
Phone 925.272-7370
Email pa@austin.university
“We believe that we are all in this together is a far better philosophy than you are on your own.”
– Bill Clinton, the 42nd President of the United States of America
“We believe that we are all in this together is a far better philosophy than you are on your own.”
– Bill Clinton, the 42nd President of the United States of America
PROGRAM CORE VALUES
Firsthand insights | Behind-the-scenes perspectives | Innovative solutions | Real-world business problems