USC Marshall Offers Summer Program for Non-Business Students

LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--To give non-business students the chance to acquire those essential skills, the USC Marshall School of Business is now offering a Summer Business Program (http://www.marshall.usc.edu/summer). The intensive, four-week certificate program will run July 8 through Aug. 2, 2013.

The program is open to recent college graduates (within two years of graduation) and college juniors or seniors in non-business majors, including international students. Classes are held on USC’s University Park Campus.

All courses are taught by USC Marshall faculty members and emphasize the core elements of Marshall’s internationally recognized and highly ranked business degree program. Designed to introduce the concepts, tools and principles of business management, the Summer Business Program curriculum covers several subjects: leadership and communication, business strategy and organizations, business finance and managerial accounting, business marketing and operations.

Karla Wiseman, assistant dean and executive director of executive education at the USC Marshall School of Business, emphasized the range of professional interests that could benefit from the program. "The Summer Business Program gives students tools they probably didn’t get with their non-business degree and can use in any position — whether they plan to work as a curator at an art museum and need to manage a budget, or as a service provider in a nonprofit and need to understand strategy and organizational behavior," Wiseman said.

The Summer Business Program is about learning the language and building a foundation of knowledge in business, according to Wiseman. Students can expect to understand the complex nature of business decision-making, the entrepreneurial mindset, integrative thinking, innovation and negotiation. The curriculum also emphasizes effective presentation and communication skills.

Those who successfully complete the program will earn a non-credit USC Summer Business Program certificate. Certificates are awarded based on attendance, participation, mastery of the material and completion of a final project.

The Summer Business Program is a full-time commitment, with class sessions from 9 a.m. to noon and 1 to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday; a third session from 6 to 8 p.m. can include guest speakers, interview techniques and resume reviews. Students will also have assignments outside the classroom.

The $9,500 fee covers program tuition, on-campus lodging and on-campus meal plan. Admission deadline is April 30. Admissions are rolling, and decisions are made on a first-come, first-served basis.