Full-time MBA academics
Earn a groundbreaking MBA from America's most innovative university. In addition to the core functions you'd expect to learn in a top-ranked MBA program, the W. P. Carey Full-time MBA emphasizes leadership development and a broad range of tools that will help you steer any organization through uncertainty. Your future is our focus — join us to prepare for what’s next.
"W. P. Carey taught me how to tackle problems from several perspectives at once. Once you’ve learned that method, you start to apply it to everything that you do."
Matthew Totlis, Full-time MBA graduate
Curriculum
ASU has been named the No. 1 most innovative university in the country by U.S. News & World Report for over a decade. Nowhere is that innovation better represented than in the W. P. Carey Full-time MBA:
- Integrate data analytics in the core curriculum so you can lead in a data-rich world
- Partner with executive mentors to enhance your leadership competencies
- Create real-world solutions with a team through Experiential Learning Labs
- Develop a distinct voice and global perspective
While most MBA programs teach theory or empirics, the W. P. Carey Full-time MBA goes a step further, by putting those elements into practice. You won't just gain knowledge, you'll learn to apply it, both as a thought leader and through collective decision-making. And you'll unlock the values and principles of being a Net Investor, leaving your surroundings better than you found them.
Full-time MBA students learn how to apply data analytics to key business decisions, work with non-business ASU master's degree students on action-learning projects to build cross-functional skills, and develop design thinking and improvisation skills to manage ambiguity.
Summer internship
An internship is required between your first and second year in the Full-time MBA program. An internship allows you to showcase the skills you've acquired in the program with a potential future employer, and give you real-world experience in the field or function you're looking to pursue. Your W. P. Carey internship fulfills Curricular Practical Training requirements for F-1 student visa status.
Full-time MBA courses
Focuses on a system designed to help students take an active role in their career development through self-reflection, skills and values assessment, market research and identifying potential roadblocks to obtaining an internship or full-time role after graduation. Also introduces the concept of a personal narrative and provides experiential learning opportunities to refine their own personal narrative and understand how to fine-tune and tailor it for a variety of career applications.
Presents frameworks and approaches to equip students to recognize patterns in data and models, recommend actions and implement organizational changes. Students learn multiple concepts to improve decision making in organizations including the curation of data repositories for cross-functional analytics, recognition of decision biases, recommendation and communication of business process changes, and the establishment of iterative processes for decision analytics. Readings address decision-making dilemmas and challenges facing managers in analytics-rich business environments. Students get an immersive experience in analyzing the individual biases inherent in decision making, the informational requirements and the data analytics governance requirements to ensure effective deployment and continuous renewal of analytics culture at the enterprise level.
Studies ethical decisions; the role of business in society.
Teams you with senior executives to enhance leadership competencies through experiments in leadership and lunch and learn sessions, as well as coaching, mentoring, and career preparation outside of class.
Pairs MBA students with non-business ASU master’s degree students on action-learning projects that deliver cross-functional skills. Business doesn’t happen neatly between the clear-cut lines of traditional business school core courses. Business happens across all industries, disciplines, and economies.
Contemporary financial accounting and reporting systems; emphasizes the interpretation and evaluation of a company's external financial reports.
Prepares you to become more comfortable and skilled at dealing with ambiguous situations by building skills in design thinking, improvisation, super-flexibility, sense-making, rapid execution, and leading transformative change. Use experiential learning activities to experiment and recalibrate in real time, building immediate applied confidence and finesse.
Managerial accounting concepts and procedures for internal reporting applied to the decision making activities of the professional managers.
Develops your ability to communicate to multiple audiences, with training in presentation skills, public speaking, and writing, along with opportunities to practice your skills and receive peer and instructor feedback.
Applies microeconomic analysis to managerial decision making in areas of demand, production, cost, and pricing. Evaluates competitive strategies.
Theories and techniques used for business decisions in working capital management, capital budgeting, financial control and long-term financing.
Managing the marketing function; market and environmental analysis; marketing planning, strategy, and control concepts. Development and management of marketing programs.
Understand the human side of organizations through management theories and applications. Develops knowledge and skills for successful management of self and others.
Explores supply chain management topics including environmental, project and supply chain processes. Additionally, covers processes in the areas of new product introduction development; quality control; TQM (Total Quality Mgt).
Explores the general manager as organizational leader. Focuses on competitive advantage and how each functional area contributes to it.
Fundamentals of statistical analysis to aid management decision making.
Formulation of strategy and policy in the organization, emphasizing the integration of decisions in the functional areas.
Customize your MBA
The W. P. Carey Full-time MBA is rooted in transformation. Concentrations and concurrent degrees provide a range of ways to customize your education and experience at W. P. Carey.
Full-time MBA concentrations
Because of the rapid rate of change across industries, our curriculum is constantly re-examined to meet the needs of hiring companies. Customize your MBA to match your career goals with nine distinct MBA concentrations, covering traditional business disciplines and emerging fields. MBA concentrations allow you to gain deep expertise in the areas that matter to you most.
Unlock unprecedented opportunities in today's data-driven business world by specializing in artificial intelligence (AI); through the W. P. Carey Full-time MBA, you’ll be equipped with cutting-edge knowledge in business intelligence and AI applications, empowering you to innovate, optimize, and lead in any industry.
Position yourself at the forefront of a rapidly evolving business landscape. With a concentration in AI, you'll harness data-driven insights, optimize decision-making processes, and innovate business models. In addition to integrating AI into business strategies, managing AI-related infrastructure, and understanding the ethical and societal implications of AI adoption. The curriculum provides a holistic approach to leveraging technology for competitive advantage and business transformation.
To enact rapid business transformation and create greater competitive advantage, organizations are transforming massive amounts of data into business insights. The business analytics concentration equips you with the quantitative and analytical skills to succeed in this new data-driven economy.
Enhance your knowledge in applied analytics, developing effective problem-framing and problem-solving skills to strategically evaluate and apply descriptive, predictive, and prescriptive models and methods for business decision-making. The business analytics concentration offers flexible, domain-specific business analytics electives in information management, supply chain management, and marketing.
The consulting industry represents a diverse portfolio of professional services firms that help their clients improve performance by providing objective advice and assistance related to the strategy, Information Technology, Financial Resources, Talent and Human Resources, and Operations of an organization.
Critical to the success of a consultant is not only the ability to develop the content expertise in one or more of these areas, but also the ability to utilize skills in relationship building and negotiation to become a trusted advisor. Consultants are typically assigned to work on specific projects, often executed in a team-based setting working alongside their clients. With a Full-time MBA area of emphasis in Consulting, you will develop both the hard and soft skills required to be client-ready Day 1.
Entrepreneurship has been, and will continue to be, one of the key engines of global economic growth. Because entrepreneurship is not a one-size-fits-all proposition that happens along a pre-determined timeline, the entrepreneurship concentration focuses on developing your mindset and your toolkit, whether you will launch your own startup, join others in their new venture, work intrapreneurially within a larger organization, or even a combination of these over time.
Our core course in entrepreneurship, combined with five required specialization courses and related electives, will develop your skills in the following areas: idea generation, opportunity assessment, concept development, resource determination and acquisition, funding opportunities, managing growth, and harvesting the business. This concentration will put you in the shoes of an entrepreneur, deepening your critical thinking and experiential learning while you learn to make decisions in real time with limited information.
With its distinct focus on corporate finance, the W. P. Carey MBA with a concentration in finance offers unique perspectives on investment decisions, the management of business and financial risk, and resource allocation for the most positive impact on shareholder value.
The concentration in information management develops managerial insights on how digital innovations can disrupt existing business models and enable organizational transformations. You will acquire the technology savvy needed to navigate the dual purpose of organizational investments in IT – operations enablement and transformative innovations.
The courses also strengthen essential problem-solving and problem-framing skills needed for a consulting career and for making critical decisions about effectively incorporating technology into enterprise-level, organizational, and functional strategy and operations.
Blending marketing strategy with services marketing and management, the W. P. Carey Full-time MBA concentration in marketing delivers distinctive knowledge and skills sought by firms across industries that use service for a competitive advantage.
This concentration is fueled by the expertise of the W. P. Carey School’s internationally respected Center for Services Leadership. Dozens of the center’s Fortune 500 partner firms sponsor applied projects for students and hire graduates.
Shape the future of real estate development with the W. P. Carey Full-time MBA concentration in real estate. This concentration immerses you in every aspect of real estate development — from property development to financial analysis and project management — equipping you to lead transformative projects that resonate with communities and drive industry innovation.
The Full-time MBA concentration in real estate will help prepare you to excel in a competitive field while balancing profitability with social responsibility. With insights drawn from the W. P. Carey School’s renowned master’s degree in real estate development, you’ll master the skills to tackle complex development challenges and lead projects that are environmentally respectful, socially responsible, and artfully designed.
Note: The REA classes are part of a full immersion, block class cohort Master of Real Estate Development program. As such, class times may vary depending upon program scheduling. Please be aware that not all electives will be available in person due to conflicts with MBA core courses; MBA students who select this concentration will take their REA courses online.
The W. P. Carey Full-time MBA with a concentration in supply chain management incorporates core business knowledge with the broad expertise of one of the top-ranked supply chain programs in the United States. Integrating all aspects of products and their service life cycles, from design to delivery to disposal, you’ll learn to be a strategic thinker, excellent analyst, effective communicator, and team leader focused on cost savings and increasing revenue.
Concurrent degrees
Set yourself apart. Concurrent degree options allow you to pursue a highly ranked W. P. Carey MBA and another master’s degree in less time and for less expense than earning them separately — maximizing your time in graduate school. Because of the size and interdisciplinary nature of ASU, the possibilities are endless, but the following concurrent degrees are among the most popular:
- MBA/Juris Doctor
- MBA/Master of Science in Business Analytics
- MBA/Master of Legal Studies
- MBA/MD Mayo Clinic School of Medicine
- MBA/Master of Science in Information Systems Management
- MBA/Master of Science in Finance
- MBA/Master of Architecture
Leadership development
The W. P. Carey Full-time MBA cultivates leadership traits through coursework, team exercises, self-assessment, your summer internship, and more. A self-assessment the summer prior to the program and team-building at orientation will help you identify your strengths and weaknesses as a leader and set concrete goals for growth.
"Executive Connections was a huge part of my journey, both at W. P. Carey and after I graduated. I've stayed connected with a lot of the mentors post-graduation. I met with 4 to 6 different Executive Connections mentors throughout my first year alone.
I was trying to understand their experiences and what areas of marketing might be interesting to me. I also tapped into them as far as interviewing tips and what companies I should be pursuing. I think that gave me a leg up and allowed me to fine tune my resume, enhance my interviewing skills, and ultimately secure the internship I wanted."
Megan Hucek , Full-time MBA graduate
Throughout your MBA journey, you’ll explore team leadership, organizational behavior, and ethics to become a more thoughtful and decisive leader. In your first semester, you’ll build an Individual Development Plan, which is crucial to the principles examined in the second year of the program and your final leadership assessment.
>> Student clubs and organizations, applied projects with partner firms, mentorship from proven business leaders through Executive Connections, internships, and volunteerism offer you an array of opportunities to become a better and more resourceful leader.
Take a closer look at the Full-time MBA experienceFaculty
Learn from dedicated, passionate teachers, practitioners and thought leaders. As world-renowned researchers and experts who consult companies around the globe, W. P. Carey faculty bring learning to life. W. P. Carey faculty members regularly contribute to and edit prestigious academic journals, and their expertise is sought by such media outlets as The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Bloomberg Businessweek, USA Today, CNN, and NPR.
View our directory to learn more about esteemed faculty members of the W. P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University.