The University of Oklahoma is launching new graduate programs in aerospace and defense through the Michael F. Price College of Business.
The college will offer two graduate-level programs through its Gene Rainbolt Graduate School of Business, located in Oklahoma City, beginning fall 2020.
The Executive MBA in Aerospace and Defense is a one-year, 32-credit-hour degree, and the Graduate Certificate in Aerospace and Defense is a six-month, 12-credit-hour program.
Both programs are designed to develop the managerial and leadership skills of the A&D workforce, including those without a business education.
“As Oklahoma’s flagship institution, one of our most important obligations to our state is to fuel its economic growth and foster new discoveries,” said OU Interim President Joseph Harroz Jr. “Oklahoma has a longstanding legacy of aerospace innovation, and these new programs will produce graduates whose expertise will further the exponential growth of the aerospace industry in Oklahoma and beyond.”
The Executive MBA includes 20 hours completed online, with an additional 12 hours of residency work. Online courses are offered in eight-week modules and are held two nights a week, from 7 to 9 p.m. Residency courses are offered in three one-week sessions, each held from Sunday to Saturday.
Two sessions will take place in Oklahoma City, and the third will be held internationally as a study abroad experience.
According to Wayne Thomas, interim dean of the Price College of Business, the Executive MBA program can be completed in a single year while students continue to work.
The 12-credit-hour Graduate Certificate program is entirely online with live instruction. Students will choose six business courses specific to the industry in areas such as financial management, legal environment, IT and cybersecurity, managing supply chain and logistics, project management, and global A&D strategy.
All coursework for the certificate is transferrable to the Executive MBA program, and the flexible, online delivery is tailored to the needs of those seeking the certificate while still meeting the needs of employers, university officials said.