Concentrations + Certificates
Concentrations + Certificates - Daytime MBA
Sharpen your focus
Specialized concentrations provide you the option to deepen your educational experience, so you’re more fully prepared for the specific challenges of your career. While a concentration is not required, you may choose one or two in any major functional or topical area. It’s a way to further refine the business and leadership skills you need to capture the hearts, minds, and hands of entire organizations.
Concentrations
Decision Sciences
Learn to master the key analytical tools that are used in the majority of industries and functions. Gain expertise in constructing decision tree models to evaluate different R&D projects, using regression models to forecast sales, building optimization models for production or distribution systems, or using game theory to analyze the impact of launching a new product in a competitive marketplace. Because of its flexibility, the Decision Sciences concentration is an ideal complement to concentrations in finance, marketing, operations, or consulting.
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
Gain skills to navigate the current and future work place in which diversity of all forms (demographic, cognitive, and cultural) will be a critical source of firm success. Focus in-depth on how to create a diverse and inclusive workforce. Develop a significant understanding of stereotyping and prejudice (including those based on race, gender, nationality, culture, and sexual orientation, among others) and structural influences on opportunities and support. Learn specific business practices that support equitable hiring and promotion, and that create inclusive environments.
This complements other concentrations that center on an industry or specific function.
Get Specifics ABOUT The DIVERSITY, EQUITY, AND INCLUSION Concentration
Energy & Environment
Learn to understand the dynamics of the new energy economy, to balance corporate sustainability considerations with business objectives, to manage risk and innovation, and to act on energy and environmental challenges in innovative ways.
Fuqua deliberately pairs energy and environment together because we know that today these challenges are inextricably linked. This concentration is a good choice if you want to work in the energy sector—whether oil and gas, renewables, utilities, or energy consulting. It’s also a good fit if you wish to be a leader in corporate sustainability or will be guiding corporate social responsibility practices in a business setting.
Energy Finance
Dive deeper on issues of project finance, markets and trading, corporate finance, and risk management, and master the key fundamentals of today’s global energy markets. Fuqua is the only MBA program in the Businessweek top 10 schools to offer a major or concentration in Energy Finance.
Entrepreneurship & Innovation
Gain the skills necessary to successfully chart an entrepreneurial career path. For example, learn to identify and assess potential opportunities and environments, acquire and protect the key resources that are necessary to pursue these opportunities, and develop strategies to generate market interest. On the managerial side, learn to lead organizational operations, handle necessary transitions, and foster growth.
Get Specifics About The Entrepreneurship & Innovation Concentration
Finance
Dive deeper and gain the knowledge and skills required to thrive in the world of finance. Fuqua offers three concentrations in this area:
- Finance (Corporate) prepares you for career paths in: Corporate Finance, Investment Banking, Venture Capital, and Private Equity.
- Finance (Investment) is designed for career paths in: Asset Management, Private Wealth Management, and Research, Sales, & Trading
- Dual Finance (Corporate and Investment) is a stronger choice if your goals will require a broader set of learning and skills.
Financial Analysis / Accounting
Be ready to leverage a range of accounting knowledge for business decisions, strategy, litigation support, equity analysis, commercial banking, investment banking, or financial positions in corporations. The accounting courses will provide you a solid foundation for preparation of pro forma financial statements, reading and analyzing financial reports, analyzing of cost drivers and costs and valuation techniques. The non-accounting courses augment your accounting knowledge with insight into the drivers of profitability within and across industries and help you better manipulate and analyze financial data.
Get Specifics About The Financial Analysis / Accounting Concentration
FinTech (Financial Technology)
Operate on the cutting edge of financial technology. Leverage your deeper understanding of innovation, entrepreneurship, resource acquisition, and go-to-market strategies to improve the delivery and use of financial services, or to develop and launch competitive or disruptive crypto-currencies vs. bitcoin. You can focus either on startups that are creating new FinTech applications, or traditional organizations seeking to build a FinTech advantage in their industry or sector.
Leadership & Ethics
Deepen and broaden your leadership and ethics training so you’re ready to step into managerial positions soon after graduation or later in your career. Gain knowledge and tools that equip you to become a respected leader capable of developing and implementing new ideas and business concepts, while maintaining the highest standards of an organization.
Management
Fine-tune your skills in order to manage people and processes. In contrast to concentrations that focus on depth in a technical area, this concentration refines your general expertise to help you enhance the performance of people and organizations. Relevant skills include organizing for effective decisions, building strong interpersonal relationships, motivating others, and running successful teams.
Ideal if you plan to:
- Manage others immediately upon graduation
- Work in the technical field but manage others in the future
- Pursue a career in management consulting
Marketing
Get an in-depth understanding of the concepts, tools, and practice of today’s marketing world. You’ll learn to capture the voice of the customer, deliver value via product, price, place, and promotion, and choose and maintain relationships with everyone from customers to suppliers, and even competitors. Whether you’re planning a career as a marketer or your goals include positions in which marketing plays a central role, you’ll be ready.
Operations Management
The Operations Management concentration equips you with the concepts and tools needed to use key levers for designing and managing an organization’s recurring business processes. You'll dive deeper into the fundamental principles underlying state-of-the-art operations management practices, including:
- Business analytics
- Service operations
- Supply chain management
- Inventory and manufacturing
- Retailing
- Lean operations
The Operations Management concentration prepares you not only for a career in operations, but also for careers in consulting, entrepreneurship, and general management.
Social Entrepreneurship
Gain the concepts and tools needed to use your MBA skills to make positive social impact as an entrepreneur. The core MBA program provides a strong foundation for anyone looking to become a successful sector leader. However, if you wish to use your talents for positive change, you’ll need to approach your work with a new level of thoughtfulness while recognizing the unique challenges, opportunities, and qualities associated with spending your life working to create social value.
Supports careers in:
- Social entrepreneurship
- Executive roles in social-purpose organizations
- Philanthropy
- Board membership
- Leadership of volunteers in their communities and the social sector
- B Corps and for-profit social ventures
Get Specifics About the Social Entrepreneurship Concentration
Strategy
Master the ideas and expertise you’ll need if you’re looking for a career with leading strategy consulting firms, or if you’re interested in strategic planning or general management positions requiring similar skills.
Certificates
A certificate allows you to branch out within the curriculum to further specialize in a particular area. We offer two certificates within the program. Please note that if you plan to work toward a certificate, you may pursue no more than one concentration.
Certificate in Finance
The Certificate of Academic Excellence in Finance distinguishes anyone who focuses in the discipline and attains excellent grades in finance courses.
Preparation for management and leadership roles in:
- Consulting
- Banking
- Venture capital
- Entrepreneurship
- Philanthropy
- Board membership and service
Certificate in Health Sector Management (HSM)
Enhance your strategic thinking, functional skills, and overall understanding of the healthcare industry and be better equipped to lead in this ever-changing landscape. HSM layers the interdisciplinary study of the health sector onto your curriculum, providing a multitude of extra– and co–curricular events and programming that serve to augment your coursework and knowledge within the health care industry.
Preparation for management and leadership roles in:
- Health systems
- Pharmaceutical
- Consulting
- Medical device
- Health policy
- Venture capital
- Entrepreneurship and innovation
- Biotechnology
- Research and development
Functional Concentrations
Decision Sciences
Marketing
Operations
Strategic Consulting
FinTech
Topical Concentrations
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
Entrepreneurship
Energy and the Environment
Social Entrepreneurship
Leadership
Combinations Allowed
Up to two concentrations:
1 concentration + 1 certificate;
Class Requirement
Six electives per concentration
Timing for Eligibility
Choose First Year Fall 2/Spring Term
Breaking Down Fuqua's Health Care Programming
Why I Chose the MSTeM Track as an International MBA Candidate
Explore This Program
Program Format
Team up in 6-week terms.
Curriculum
Design your own experience from 100+ electives.
Concentrations + Certificates
Enhance your skills in a focus area.
Dual Degrees
Combine your MBA with another Duke program.
Global Opportunities
Get outside your comfort zone by exploring a new culture.
Experiential Learning
Develop your abilities beyond the classroom.
Career Development
Leverage our resources to power your job search.
Program Location
Enjoy one of the nation’s most exciting—and livable—cities.
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