Academics

Business management foundations certificate provides core skills for many fields

A new graduate business certificate being offered online through Penn State World Campus and led by the internationally ranked Penn State Smeal College of Business offers students and professionals in other fields the opportunity to earn a Penn State credential in core business management skills. Credit: Headway on UnsplashAll Rights Reserved.

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — A new graduate business certificate offers students and professionals in any field the opportunity to earn a Penn State credential in core business management skills.

The graduate certificate in business management foundations is being offered online through Penn State World Campus and led by the internationally ranked Penn State Smeal College of Business. Applications for the new certificate program are being accepted now.

“In today’s world, some business is required in almost every job,” said Brian Cameron, associate dean for professional graduate programs at Smeal. “This is a core of business courses that are commonly needed by people from many disciplines. You can craft it into whatever is relevant for your goals.”

Students in the 12-credit program choose four of six core courses that are most relevant to their needs, Cameron said. Courses are asynchronous, allowing students to work on their own schedules, and the program can be completed in as little as eight months.

The courses are:

  • Strategic Leading and Identity
  • Global Strategic Management
  • Financial Accounting
  • Managing and Leading People in Organizations
  • Financial Management
  • Marketing in a Global Environment

These courses are applicable to many nonbusiness fields, said Cameron, who is the founding director of the Center for Enterprise Architecture in the College of Information Sciences and Technology.

“Almost every discipline needs a little bit of business today,” he said.

The credits from the certificate may be applied toward one of several master’s degrees offered online through World Campus and Smeal if students apply and are accepted into one of those programs: the Online MBA, the master’s in corporate innovation and entrepreneurship or the master’s in strategic management and executive leadership.

Visit the Penn State World Campus website for more information about the new certificate.

Last Updated May 28, 2019

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