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Master of Business Administration (MBA)

Franklin University MBA program banner, with link to program video.
Program OverviewProgram DetailsWhy Choose Franklin

Make the executive decisions that move business forward

It’s been said that the only certainty is change. And never has that been truer than in business and commerce. More than ever, change is sweeping, unexpected, and swift.

At the forefront of it all are executives who navigate uncertainty from a higher vantage point. They are the pioneers of disruptive business models, the visionaries of market opportunity, and the catalysts of sustainable competitive advantage.

You can be there, too. Franklin’s award-winning Master of Business Administration (MBA) will channel your talent by providing you with a holistic understanding of business so you can level-up your leadership and pioneer forward in an ever-changing global marketplace.

Stand out from the crowd with our globally recognized MBA

With an MBA from Franklin, you’ll stand out by earning your degree from a top-ranked program that’s been globally recognized for excellence. Our MBA Program recently received a “Best Value in Regionally Accredited Online MBAs” by GetEducated.com in 2012. Plus, our MBA degree, which is offered in the U.S. and many other countries, was awarded the European Medal and the "Highest Degree of Internationalization" ranking by Poland's Home and Market magazine.

And, Franklin's MBA Program is accredited by the International Assembly for Collegiate Business Education (IACBE), the leader in outcomes-based accreditation in business, so you know you're earning a respected degree with value in the workplace.

Complete your MBA in as few as 16 months

You can complete your MBA and reap the rewards of your degree in as few as 16 months. If you’re looking to enroll right away, there’s no GMAT or GRE requirement if you meet certain standards.

Our innovative curriculum will help you develop leadership foresight while gaining a management perspective of each functional area. And with our small, interactive classes you will engage in discussions with peers from richly diverse ages and backgrounds, providing a collaborative environment that adds depth to important concepts and helps you grow your personal and professional network.

Grow your leadership skills with hands-on learning

Through our MBA Program, you’ll experience practical, hands-on curriculum and real-world projects. In one of our projects, you’ll participate in a unique global business simulation competition. Your challenge is to craft and execute a competitive strategy as part of a team, resulting in a respected brand image that keeps your company in contention for global market leadership, and produces good financial performance as measured by earnings-per-share, return on investment (ROI), stock price appreciation, and credit rating.

This global competition stretches your skills, abilities, and thought leadership potential, and could put you in contention for the next global award. In 2011, a Franklin team finished first, winning the World Champions distinction from among 491 teams representing 51 colleges and universities around the globe.

Earn your degree from a university built for busy adults

Regionally accredited and nonprofit, Franklin was built from the ground-up to satisfy the needs of adult learners. Faculty with industry expertise means you gain relevant knowledge to apply directly to your current or future career, while our flexible course schedules help to balance your education with work, family, and life. Get started on your future today!

Gain The Skills Employers Desire

  • Executive Leadership & Business Strategy
    • Clearly articulate the organizational mission, vision and values, and develop strategic plans for organization-wide implementation
    • Develop, communicate, and implement priorities, goals, and objectives in accordance with the strategic plans
    • Coordinate efforts across business lines and functions, harnessing organizational synergies and ensuring strategic alignment
    • Analyze competitive environments and industry value chains to identify areas for disruptive innovation
    • Create and monitor strategies to ensure long-term financial viability
    • Identify key metrics and develop reporting systems to measure performance across functional units, identifying growth and efficiency opportunities
    • Develop organizational core competencies, positioning organizations to create competitive advantages in evolving industries
    • Oversee product-line strategies, generating prioritized, actionable insights from consumer and industry research
    • Collaborate on development and delivery of new ideas and/or renewal proposals for key client relationships
    • Apply effective change management strategies to help leadership, employees, and other stakeholders successfully embrace organizational changes and improve performance
  • Financial Management
    • Manage high-level financial and analytical analyses, including planning, budgeting, forecasting, and reporting
    • Conduct proactive, insightful analyses to identify key operational issues, drive value and change, and improve profitability
    • Develop keen understanding of key business drivers and build robust financial models to project future cash flows and balance sheets
    • Analyze financial statements and compute financial ratios to illustrate trends and make comparisons for use in decision making
    • Conduct monthly and quarterly analyses of financial results vs. forecasts, budgets, and prior year outcomes
    • Drive improvements in revenue growth and profitability, addressing budget vs. forecast gaps
    • Provide analyses of product performance, including variances to budget and/or forecast
    • Prepare financial- and business-related research and analyses on financial and expense performance, costing, budgeting, rate of return, depreciation, and working capital
    • Develop frameworks, models, and financial metrics to help facilitate decision making on a variety of business issues and/or problems
    • Analyze industry trends and business conditions, using findings to prepare corresponding financial forecasts
    • Conduct analyses of operating and financial metrics, including actual results vs. planned and forecasted, to perpetuate forward-thinking improvement recommendations
  • Marketing Management
    • Review all elements of the marketing mix, including product formulation, price, packaging, and promotion to build brand equity and optimize sales, market share, and profitability
    • Implement multi-year brand category growth strategies, leveraging product development and marketing innovations
    • Develop and execute annual marketing plans to achieve market share, volume, and profit objectives
    • Create a unique and ownable market positions relative to competitors with clear points of differentiation
    • Leverage the full marketing mix, executing on compelling tactics that ingrain brand position and key differentiators into the minds of target audiences
    • Determine the most effective media mix across traditional and digital channels, balancing direct response initiatives with building long-term brand equity
    • Closely monitor and analyze sales volumes, market share trends, and competitive activity
    • Assure effectiveness of marketing programs by completing post-promotion analyses of data, comparing results to established objectives
    • Collaborate with internal teams to drive success via customer engagement, competitive positioning, pricing, and promotional activities
    • Promote strategic priorities and drive brand reputation through development and management of leadership events and speaking opportunities
  • Financial & Managerial Accounting
    • Maintain accounting standards, ensuring compliance with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP)
    • Prepare consolidated financial statements, including balance sheets, income statements, and statements of cash flow
    • Prepare account reconciliation, analyzing accounts for unusual fluctuations
    • Consolidate and submit financial transaction reports, summarizing current activities and projected financial positions
    • Analyze financial statements, performing analysis of accounts, variances, trends, and ratios
    • Collaborate with business development in tracking and reporting sales efforts
    • Determine how changes in business and organizational structure impact reporting and operating results
    • Analyze transactions to identify issues, determine root causes of variances, and recommend appropriate corrective action
    • Ensure integrity of financial data for decision support and cost accounting systems, maintaining cost standards
    • Provide costing reports and insight to support change in resource allocations, work methods, and materials
    • Recommend and implement process, systems, and reporting improvements to provide more visibility into financial results
    • Develop and execute cost-effective actions and expense-saving initiatives in support of financial objectives
    • Use accounting principles and practices to inform and recommend process improvement changes
  • Operations & Project Management
    • Establish a culture of innovation and process excellence, identifying process improvement opportunities that increase productivity, reduce costs, and improve customer satisfaction
    • Create and maintain project-based documentation, including timelines, budget, project plans, risk assessments, performance requirements, and status reports
    • Evolve business process landscapes in anticipation of changing business needs
    • Supervise, support, and evaluate operations, including participating in professional development planning and implementation
    • Create and apply process improvement and re-engineering methodologies and principles to meet requirements and deliver efficient processes
    • Ensure consistency and integration of plan processes with overall organizational initiatives
    • Identify, analyze, and execute a broad range of projects involving corporate strategy, acquisitions, and/or partnerships
    • Oversee implementation of operational strategies to drive organizational success and transformation, delivering insights and actionable recommendations
    • Translate project objectives into team assignments, specific tasks, and measurable milestones, establishing operational objectives and work plans
  • Human Capital Management
    • Drive best-in-class talent management and succession planning processes, ensuring the right talent, for the right roles, at the right time
    • Attract, recruit, manage, and inspire A-list employees who can help move organizations forward
    • Identify key forces impacting future workforce, such as skill shortages, economic conditions, and business strategy changes
    • Understand current workforce in terms of metrics and trends, developing key insights into the “story behind the data”
    • Develop, coach, and retain high-performance team members, empowering individuals to elevate levels of responsibility, span of control, and performance
    • Design and facilitate organizational interventions, such as leadership and team development, change management, organization design, and strategy deployment

Career Opportunities

  • Financial Analyst

    Financial Analysts assess and interpret financial information in order to make investment and financing decisions, ranging from capital funding to equities to mergers and acquisitions.

    View Salary Trends
  • Marketing Manager

    Marketing Managers plan and implement marketing communication activities such as advertising in order to generate income, increase profit, and retain loyal customers.

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  • General Manager

    General Managers manage staffing and resources in one or more business areas, ensuring smooth, efficient operation.

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  • Cost Accounting Analyst

    Cost Accounting Analysts research and assess project, department, and business costs, providing insight into anticipated expenses and determining profitability margins.

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  • Production Manager

    Production Managers direct financial and logistical support of projects and programs, including budgeting, staffing, vendor negotiation, materials delivery, and scheduling.

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  • Brand Manager

    Brand Managers lead the marketing strategies and activities of one or more brands, helping build awareness and popularity to increase market share.

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  • Project Manager

    Project Managers oversee project activities and teams to ensure that project goals, timelines and budgets are met.

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  • Sales Manager

    Sales Managers direct the business development activities of sales personnel, ensuring revenue targets are are met or exceeded.

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Employment Outlook

In 2010 there were 7.5 million job openings related to Business Administration. It is estimated that in 2020 there will be 8.6 million.

In 2010 there were 7.5 million job openings related to Business Administration. It is estimated that in 2020 there will be 8.6 million.
Occupations Job Openings (2010) Expected Growth
(2010-2020)
Chief Executives 20,797 10.5%
General and Operations Managers 58,545 2.3%
Sales Managers 24,002 17.5%
Administrative Services Managers 10,263 12.0%
Industrial Production Managers 9,555 9.3%
Transportation, Storage, and Distribution Managers 5,456 12.0%
Social and Community Service Managers 5,792 19.7%
Managers 85,096 22.0%
Cost Estimators 9,934 22.0%
Management Analysts 64,644 31.6%
First-Line Supervisors of Housekeeping and Janitorial Workers 7,280 1.4%
Gaming Supervisors 2,199 20.5%
First-Line Supervisors of Personal Service Workers 14,495 18.5%

Source information provided by Economic Modeling Specialists International (EMSI)

Our Recipe For Your Success

Academic & Industry Experts

Classes are taught and designed by credentialed professionals with real-world experience.
 

  • Programs are designed by combining the insight of industry leaders with the academic expertise of our faculty, ensuring what you learn translates into on-the-job success.

  • Academic concepts and theories are brought to life through our teaching faculty’s professional expertise, and can be immediately applied in your career.

  • Faculty with industry experience teach our courses, not graduate students or life-time academics, so you learn not only the theories behind the practice but also how to apply them in real-world situations.

Relevant & Consistent Curriculum

What you learn is a reflection of the program you choose, not the format in which it’s applied.
 

  • All programs are designed for learning outcomes to flow from the program level into actual coursework.

  • This top-down approach allows credentialed professionals to customize assignments based on trending industry topics without deviating from a program’s core outcomes.

  • Regardless of your professor or the format of your class, you receive the same quality education.

Hands-On Learning Experience

Franklin's coursework teaches not only theories and concepts, but also how they apply to practical situations.

 

  • Professional course designers ensure that class activities such as learning simulations, case studies, interactive videos, and group exercises are relevant and appropriate.

  • A curriculum development team is dedicated to making sure all courses are intuitively designed so content is taught in a logical manner that facilitates your success in the classroom and beyond.

Continuously Evolving Programs

Consistent program reviews ensure our programs stay at the forefront of industry trends.
 

  • Survey results and feedback from student and faculty assessments are reviewed regularly so that our programs are always improving and up-to-date.

  • A structured review process helps identify industry gaps that guide curriculum enhancements allowing our academic and industry experts to regularly implement new industry trends.

  • Regular assessment provides hard data that is used to improve student learning and teaching methods.

Get the details

Read course descriptions, learn about degree options, and meet program faculty.

View Program Details