For the MSBA, those core courses are waived and students do not begin their education in a cohort. After the first year there are no cohorts in either program, says Marino, because students take classes pertaining to their area of specialization, such as management, marketing or health care delivery. At SDSU 10 specialties are offered. To finish up, students either write a thesis or, more commonly, participate in something called The Culminating Experience. That is an integrative business analysis, kind of an MBA consulting program.
Students work for a company on a particular project, and make a written and oral presentation.
Kenneth Marino, director of SDSU's Graduate School of Business and dean of the College of Business. Classes meet two nights a week and occasionally during the day. In addition to running the programs, Marino teaches and, like most other faculty members, uses the case method. Teamwork is emphasized, almost to an extreme, with study groups that meet outside of class and teams within classes working on projects together. Some students wearily comment they are on a different team in every course, says Marino.