MBA SPECIALIZATIONS
THE FUTURE OF BUSINESS
The Villanova Professional MBA program includes seven innovative specialization areas to supplement your MBA degree.
While you can certainly pursue a general MBA without a specialization, you may choose to take advantage of this unique opportunity to focus your studies on an area or two that align even more closely with your long-term career goals.
If you’re not sure yet if you’re interested in our MBA specializations, there’s no need to commit now. You can decide once you’ve started the program, add one later on or talk to others within our community on how to choose an MBA specialization best for you.
You are required to complete 48 credits to graduate. You must take 7.5 elective credits to earn a specialization along with your degree. You will also obtain a digital credential badge when completing your Professional MBA specialization. The badge is no additional cost and can be downloaded and shared across digital platforms.
A deep understanding of artificial intelligence and machine learning will give you a competitive advantage in the ever-changing world of business. Brands are leaning heavily toward innovation, and looking for intelligent paths to automation and first-to-market ideas in AI that provide a return on investment and a desire to do more. This specialization provides opportunities to:
- Build prototype intelligent systems
- Understand natural language processing
- Expand knowledge on robotics and automation
- Understand the ethics of Artificial Intelligence
Mining data is vital for collecting insights into customer behaviors, product performance, business projections and even sports analytics. As businesses find new ways to collect data, they’re looking for those with the skill to analyze, predict and validate the decisions they make every single day. This specialization provides opportunities to:
- Manage and visualize data
- Develop predictive modeling
- Mine data for quantitative insight
- Utilize the latest trends in data
Fiscal decisions are made at every size business every single day. Understanding the financial and operational implications of any investment, from technology to talent, requires a business leader with a proven track record in corporate finance and smart investments, as well as deep insight into how the financial markets operate. This specialization provides opportunities to:
- Excel at understanding corporate finance
- Immerse yourself in the financial markets
- Learn how businesses make and finance investments
- Develop a foundation for making solid financial and operational business decisions
Whether you’ll be working overseas or managing the unique challenges of a global business, this specialization will prepare you with the leadership and management skills to excel internationally. By developing an understanding of complex global business issues, you’ll position yourself as a unique candidate to businesses all over the world. This specialization provides opportunities to:
- Develop managerial skills to work across cultures and countries
- Grow your decision-making abilities with a global mindset
- Study the dynamics of geographies and industries impacted by globalization
A career marketer needs a firm grasp on how to develop and implement marketing plans and must be willing and able to evolve strategically as technology and automation take over. With a specialization in marketing, you’ll learn how to access and analyze data in order to brand businesses in the consumer and B2B sectors, as well as develop a deeper understanding of direct to market strategy. This specialization provides opportunities to:
- Analyze consumer data and trends
- Problem solve and communicate results
- Develop and implement marketing strategy
- Manage product pricing, promotion and distribution while driving revenue
Becoming a great leader not only requires strong strategic decision making skills, but also the ability to listen, pivot and even reverse course when it's necessary. A great leader isn’t afraid of failure, it’s seen as an opportunity to take that learning and rebound stronger and smarter than ever. This specialization provides opportunities to:
- Build your skill sets for executive decision making
- Learn policy formulation and implementation
- Prepare you to participate and lead strategic conversations
A focus on sustainability positions you with a unique understanding of the issues that are dangerously affecting our global ecosystem every day. By using a life cycle lens and STEEP (Social, Technology, Economic, Environment and Political) framework, you’ll be exposed to the challenges of climate change, public policy, socio-economic equity, eco-efficient material use and other sustainable solutions. This specialization provides opportunities to:
- Evaluate global challenge and opportunities using STEEP
- Implement sustainable solutions on a global and macro level
- Manage climate change issues through policy and socio-economic lenses