OIM9526 #CX #XD Innovation
(Formerly MOB9526 #CX #UX #XD)
1.5 Intensive Elective Credits
This course will complement an existing graduate 1.5-credit elective called Strategies for Innovation and Growth. It is also a good complement to the Managing Technological Innovation course. As their titles suggest, the latter course is overwhelmingly focused on technology based products and hi-tech industries while the former is focused on how can large firms can create and sustain innovation and growth activities. This course will complement two existing graduate 1.5-credit electives (1) Leading Innovation @ Gorillas, Chimps & Monkeys and (2) Innovation Processes.
All countries go through life cycles-agriculture, manufacturing, services and knowledge. The majority of the developed world can be considered today to be primarily in the post-service knowledge based industries. Providing services in addition to goods, which were at one time a differentiator for most businesses are more or less commoditized today. Several trends have emerged over the last 15 years: (1) Move from Services to Experiences; (2) Emergence of new Digital and Networked Economies; (3) Information and Knowledge Intense Economies; (4) the rise of the new post-PC industry, also known as the TIME industry, i.e., the convergence of the Telecom, Information, Media and Entertainment industries and (5) new forms of Designing & Delivering Great Customer Experiences. This course explores the innovations that are driving all these trends as primarily applied to a broad section of service industries-Airlines, Retail, Hospitality, Healthcare, Financial, B2B, TIME and even Not-for-Profits.
This course will cover: understanding the customer psychology and perceptions in service interactions; explore concepts, methods and tools to dream, define, design and deliver great customer experiences; innovative strategies to use customer experience as a differentiator; and how the convergence of digital technologies - data, voice & video - is helping firms to engage customers in new and innovative ways.
This course is typically offered in the following semesters: Fall/Spring/Summer
- Program: Graduate
- Division: Operations and Information Management
- Level: Graduate Elective (Grad)
- Course Number: OIM9526
- Number of Credits: 1.5
SEN1337 A Crash Course in Surfing
(Student Instructor: Benji Cantera) There are few feelings that compare to the excitement after you catch your first wave, but acquiring the courage to take action can be daunting. In this interactive course, students will learn the basic information needed to not only talk about the surfing industry as a whole, but also embark on their own surfing journey in the future. Students will learn the history and current landscape of the surfing industry, the process of building a surfboard, what makes a good surf break, and the basics on how to surf. Presentations, guest lecturers, and in class hands-on activities will help students gain the confidence needed to take the next step in their lives!
Wednesdays 6:30 - 9:00 pm
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Other
- Course Number: SEN1337
- Number of Credits: 0
ANT4600 Accessing Health? Design, Inequality and the Politics of Place
4 Advanced Liberal Arts Credits
Health outcomes vary widely across the globe: there is a gap of more than 30 years in the life expectancies of the longest-lived and shortest-lived countries. Yet decades' and in some cases centuries' worth of projects to improve health outcomes have faltered. Why, amidst a plethora of potential solutions, do poor health and health inequality persist?
This course investigates the relationship between human health, the places where we live, and the management of health through design and planning. Illness is both a justification for the exercise of power and a consequence of the inequalities that power leaves in its wake. This creates an apparent paradox where expert technologies of biomedicine and planning seem to offer the promise of better lives but also re-inscribe illness in already unhealthy populations. We will examine the fragmented conceptions of the body, community, health, and place that both make these efforts possible and make them unlikely to succeed in achieving health equality.
The course explores the interaction between public health and planning norms and the everyday lives of people on the margin of these projects. We will pay particular attention to questions regarding how race, gender, and disability shape both health and experiences of place in the global South and North. After an overview of the humanistic social sciences' approaches to the relationship between health and place in weeks 1-2, the readings in the first half of the course are organized around top-down projects to create healthier populations and the everyday strategies of resistance that people who find themselves caught up in these projects employ. The readings in the second half of the course explore people's bottom-up efforts to forge a different relationship between place and health, with particular attention to the politics of design.
In this course, students will complete a two-part research project that explores how differently situated social groups seek to change places and their people in pursuit of health. In part one, you will draw on theories explored in this course to examine a "top-down" approach to the production of health. For instance, you might look at a particular city's urban planning policies, the work of a transnational NGO, the management of a forest, or an anti-Zika campaign. In part two, you will explore a "bottom-up" approach to health by documenting people's every day and grassroots practices for keeping or making themselves healthy. This could include but is not limited to guerrilla urbanism, disability activism, techniques of visibility/invisibility as everyday resistance, Black place-making, or food justice. You are not required to locate both parts of the project in the same place, nor are you required to organize both parts of the project around the same health problem. This project is an opportunity for you to explore a topic in which you are genuinely interested-so please let me know if you are feeling like you need some encouragement to choose the "riskier" option.
Prerequisites: Any combination of 2 intermediate liberal arts (HSS, CSP, LTA)
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: History and Society
- Level: Advanced Liberal Arts 4600 Requirement (UGrad),Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: ANT4600
- Number of Credits: 4
ACC3536 Accounting Analytics
4 Advanced Management CreditsStudents who have taken ACC3545 cannot take this course and vice versa
Data and analytics are being used to assist businesses in becoming more efficient and effective in their decision-making process. This course will improve your ability to critically analyze data in order to make better business decisions and to communicate this information effectively to your audience. Students will learn how to use analytics tools from the lens of a manager, a financial statement user, a tax analyst, an auditor, and a forensic accountant. The course will introduce you to various analytics software products, and provide an opportunity to interact with professionals in the field.
Prerequisites: Junior or Senior Class standing
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Accounting and Law
- Level: Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Management (UGrad)
- Course Number: ACC3546
- Number of Credits: 4
PRF1200: Acting Workshop
2 free elective credits
This course will introduce the methods and tools required for stage performance. Through various exercises, games, improvisation, and assignments you will create characters, gain an understanding of theatre terminology, and attempt to find not only meaning but also the performance potential of dramatic literature. Most importantly, you will develop the confidence to approach the craft of acting with the discipline and rigor required for compelling performance.
The art of acting not only requires you to call upon knowledge in history, languages, and literature but also to understand your capabilities physically and vocally. The lessons you will learn this semester in active listening, characterization, vocal capabilities (resonance, range, enunciation, and delivery), collaboration, and bodily awareness are some that you can use in any career and in any field.
Prerequisites: none
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Arts and Humanities
- Level: Free Elective (UGrad)
- Course Number: PRF1200
- Number of Credits: 2
ACC4530 Advanced Accounting
4 General CreditsThis course extends the in-depth study of accounting concepts and techniques which began in Intermediate Accounting I and II. Topics include business combinations and consolidation of financial statements, accounting for variable interest entities, translation and remeasurement of foreign currency-denominated financial statements and consolidation of foreign subsidiaries, governmental and not-for-profit accounting and accounting for partnerships.
Prerequisites: ACC3500 & ACC3501 as a pre-requisite
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Accounting and Law
- Level: Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Management (UGrad)
- Course Number: ACC4530
- Number of Credits: 4
OIM7502 Advanced Programming for Business Analytics
3 Elective Credits
Python is a general-purpose programming language that has rapidly become one of the most popular languages for data science. Python allows users to quickly and efficiently collect, clean, analyze, visualize and narrate using any kind of data (structured, semi-structured or un-structured); irrespective of how messy the data might be. In this course, students will advance their python skills for data science. Students use a variety of data to learn powerful ways to conduct data analytics and learn helpful data science tools along the way. This will equip students to conduct their own analyses towards the end of the course.
Prerequisites: OIM 6301
- Program: Graduate
- Division: Operations and Information Management
- Level: MSBA Elective (Grad),Graduate Elective (Grad)
- Course Number: OIM7502
- Number of Credits: 3
CSP2002 African American History and Foodways (HIS)
(Formerly CVA2002)
4 Intermediate Liberal Arts CreditsThe course covers the major periods, movements, and events that have shaped African American history and foodways. These include: the African slave trade; antebellum period; the civil war and reconstruction; World War I and the great migration; Harlem Renaissance and Garveyism; Great Depression; Spanish Civil War and World War II; Civil Rights and Black Power movements; industrialization, the growth of the prison industrial complex, and the _war on drugs_. The course will also include content on African American foodways from the African slave trade to the Black Power movement. Classes discuss the assigned reading with lively student participation. Out-of-class work includes readings, online exams, attending lectures, artistic presentations, and films, as well as independent research.
Prerequisites: (FCI1000 or AHS1000) and (WRT1001or RHT1000)
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: History and Society
- Level: Intermediate Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: CSP2002
- Number of Credits: 4
POL4601 Africa Rising?
4 Advanced Liberal Arts CreditsThis interdisciplinary course on contemporary Africa examines political, economic and social developments in the context of the now common mantra "Africa Rising." It takes a historical look at Africa's relations with global development actors and how these have impacted individual states and the entire continent. It includes a comparative analysis of Africa's partnership(s) with the different regions of the world (broadly categorized into East and West, Global South and Global North) and time spans (broadly grouped into colonial and post-colonial). It also examines processes, actors, events and partnerships within independent Africa and how they have contributed to the present state of the continent, which observers have described as rising. The course interrogates this observation. How truly is "Africa rising"? What is the cost of the rise? What does it mean for individuals, states and the entire continent? Why/how does it matter? The course focuses on these (and other important) questions, considering examples from various sectors, events, countries, bilateral and multilateral arrangements with African states and in relation to the rest of the world. It uses a variety of materials including texts, news and journal articles, as well as electronic and internet-based resources.
Prerequisites: Any combination of 2 ILA (HSS, LTA, CSP, LVA, CVA)
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: History and Society
- Level: Advanced Liberal Arts 4600 Requirement (UGrad),Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: POL4601
- Number of Credits: 4
LTA2010 African American Literature
4 Intermediate Liberal Arts CreditsThis course will introduce students to the African American literary tradition starting with the slave narrative and concluding with contemporary literary production. Along the way, we will consider the move from oral to written literatures, the aesthetic forms created and adapted by African American writers, and the role of African American letters in chronicling and shaping the experience of African American people. Our study will be informed by major historical moments -slavery, reconstruction, Jim Crow, the Great Migration from south to north, the Civil Rights and post-Civil rights eras-and we will read work by writers such as Frederick Douglass, Harriet Jacobs, W.E.B. DuBois, Booker T. Washington, Nella Larsen, Richard Wright, Zora Neale Hurston, Gwendolyn Brooks, James Baldwin, and Toni Morrison.
Prerequisites: (FCI1000 or AHS1000) and (WRT1001or RHT1000)
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Arts and Humanities
- Level: Intermediate Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: LTA2010
- Number of Credits: 4
HSS2032 African American History and Foodways
4 Intermediate Liberal ArtsAfrican History and Foodways will cover the major subjects, movements, and events that have shaped Africa since the 1400s. These include African crops and animals, African political institutions and wars, gender, the spread of Islam, slavery, European colonization, and African independence movements. One learns how to publish a blog and create podcast episodes with show notes. Deliverables, regular contributions to class discussions, public speaking, research, and group work are essential course components. Cooking is a part of live classes.
Prerequisites: (FCI1000 or AHS1000) and (WRT1001or RHT1000)
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: History and Society
- Level: Intermediate Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: HSS2032
- Number of Credits: 4
OIM3565 Agile Experimentation
4 Advanced Management Credits
Business leaders and entrepreneurs should be Agile digital experimenters, capable of innovating by combining available technologies and services into digital experiences. In this course, students will learn about Agile digital entrepreneurship and follow an Agile methodology to conceive and create an internet of things (IoT) solution with a clear value proposition.
Agile Experimentation (AgileEx) is an experiential course in which teams of students use agile methodologies to design and prototype viable innovations combining hardware and software elements. The course involves:
- Practicing Agile project management methodologies and software, and learning how to scale Agile environments from small startups to large organizations
- Designing and building IoT devices with sensors and actuators, and programming hardware (i.e., Arduino microcontrollers)
- Designing digital interfaces (e.g., interactions, app mockups, information flows) with software tools
- Running experiments and surveying customers to test hypotheses and improve the prototype
- Building an innovation that is a feasible and responsible market solution
- Presenting your work in a final pitch that showcases your prototype and its market viability
- Learning about emerging technologies
The course aims to train business graduates who are confident life-long learners of technology, can work in Agile environments, and can participate in the development of innovative and responsible technological solutions.
Prerequisites: SME2012
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Operations and Information Management
- Level: Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Management (UGrad)
- Course Number: OIM3565
- Number of Credits: 4
OIM7525 Agile Experimentation
1.5 Elective Credits
Agile Experimentation (AgileEx) is an experiential course in which teams of students use agile methodologies to design and prototype viable Internet of Things (IoT) innovations combining hardware and software components. The course involves:
- Practicing Agile/SCRUM project management methodologies and software, and learning how to scale Agile environments from small startups to large organizations
- Designing and building IoT (or wearable) devices with sensors and actuators, and programming hardware (i.e., Arduino boards)
- Designing digital interfaces and processes (e.g., app mockups, process diagrams) with software tools
- Running experiments and surveying customers to test hypotheses and iterate in the development of a prototype
- Building an innovation with a clear value proposition
- Learning about emerging technologies
- Presenting your work in a final pitch that showcases your prototype and its market viability
The course aims to train business graduates who are confident life-long learners of technology, can work in Agile environments, and can participate in the development of innovative technological solutions that integrate hardware and software components.
The course does not require programming, Agile, or software/hardware prototyping experience.
Prerequisites: None
- Program: Graduate
- Division: Operations and Information Management
- Level: MSBA Elective (Grad),Graduate Elective (Grad)
- Course Number: OIM7525
- Number of Credits: 1.5
EPS 7509: AI Pioneers: Creating the Future of Business
3 elective credit
This experiential seminar explores the rapidly evolving field of artificial intelligence (AI) and its potential for creating new business opportunities. Students will learn about cutting-edge technologies in AI, such as machine learning, computer vision, neural networks, and natural language processing. We will also cover recent developments in the AI industry and the impact of venture capital investment on AI startups. Throughout the course, students will have the opportunity to experiment with AI technologies and develop their own innovative projects. By the end of the course, students will have a deep understanding of the current state of AI and the potential for new business opportunities in this field. This course is ideal for students interested in the intersection of entrepreneurship and technology.
Prerequisites: None
- Program: Graduate
- Division: Entrepreneurship
- Level: Graduate Elective (Grad)
- Course Number: EPS7509
- Number of Credits: 3
FIN4545 Alternative Investments
4 Advanced Management Credits
This course provides an overview of alternative investments along with several non-traditional investment strategies. It is intended not only for finance and investment professionals, but also for those with an entrepreneurial and disruptor spirit. The course begins with a brief review of traditional investments of publicly traded stocks and bonds along with their limitations and imperfections. Students will then consider alternative investment vehicles such as private equity, venture capital, commodities, income producing real properties, licensing and royalty rights, cryptocurrencies, and social impact investing. We will also consider the move toward ESG investments (environment, social and governance) and their emphasized role in the alternative sphere. Students will analyze case studies involving The Endowment Model for Investing, Fund of Funds, Peer-to-Peer Lending, and Social Impact Investing, culminating in a team based capstone project. The course materials will challenge students to recognize investment anomalies that the marketplace has not recognized. The course will also provide an overview of the material for the Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst Program (CAIA) professional certification. Students will develop a robust knowledge base for careers in portfolio management, investment product development, compliance, consulting, and risk management.
Prerequisites: SME 2021 or FIN2000
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Finance
- Level: Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Management (UGrad)
- Course Number: FIN4545
- Number of Credits: 4
LIT4661 American Autobiography
4 Advanced Liberal Arts CreditsAutobiography, always popular, has reached new heights of acclaim in recent years - especially in the United States. Why do readers find it so attractive? Sensationalist, exhibitionist, self-serving, revelatory, probing: while it can be all of this and more, autobiography as a literary genre has its roots in a person's desire for expression and meaning. As its writers explain themselves to the world, they explain the world to themselves, imposing on it their views and causes. Autobiography can demonstrate how history is made in words, not found; how people make sense of their own lives. Reading a cross-section of such works written by authors living in what is now the United States compels us to question simplistic notions of what _America_ stands for, and to rediscover its promises and its meanings in its variety and conflict.
This is an upper-level liberal arts course. Readings range from Benjamin Franklin to the present.
Prerequisites: Any combination of 2 ILA (HSS, LTA, CSP, LVA, CVA)
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Arts and Humanities
- Level: Advanced Liberal Arts 4600 Requirement (UGrad),Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: LIT4661
- Number of Credits: 4
LIT4608 American Romanticism, Realism, and Naturalism
4 Advanced Liberal Arts CreditsThis course is a deep dive into literary works representing three major movements in American literature: Romanticism, Realism, and Naturalism. Romanticism is thematically concerned with nature and the common man, the frontier and immigration. Our study may include Thoreau, Whitman, and Morrison, as well as the genres of the gothic story and the slave narrative. Realism and Naturalism are often understood as reactions to Romanticism and are thematically concerned with man-made reality, objectivity and Darwinian ideas. Our study may include Wharton, Dreiser, and contemporary U.S. fiction.
Prerequisites: Any combination of 2 ILA (HSS, LTA, CSP, LVA, CVA)
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Arts and Humanities
- Level: Advanced Liberal Arts 4600 Requirement (UGrad),Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: LIT4608
- Number of Credits: 4
MOB3507 An Irish Journey: Leadership, Collaboration & Innovation in the Creative Ecosystem in Ireland
4 Advanced Management Credits (Elective Abroad)This course will provide undergraduate students a unique opportunity to experience and examine the current economic, social and political trends in the creative ecosystem in Ireland. We will directly engage and interact with Irish entrepreneurs, business executives, artists, performers, athletes and historians to strive to understand the ways in which creativity and innovation occur, flourish and extend far beyond the boundaries of this relatively small island nation. Our goal will be to immerse ourselves into the creative processes, systems, cultural norms and institutions that have led Ireland to gain the reputation and standing as one of the most innovative economies in the world.
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Management
- Level: Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Management (UGrad)
- Course Number: MOB3507
- Number of Credits: 4
OIM7546 Analytical Managers and Organization
3 Blended Credits
This course is designed to teach MBA students what it means to be an analytical manager, and how to build the capabilities required to be a highly analytical organization. It addresses the non-statistical topics in analytical decision-making at the individual level (including framing the problem and communicating the results), which should complement statistically oriented courses at Babson. It also addresses the key factors (in the DELTTA model-data, enterprise, leadership, targets, technology, and analysts) necessary to succeed with analytics at the organizational level. It incorporates new course content specifically relevant to big data and analytics based on it. The course specifically delves into how both large and entrepreneurial organizations are addressing big data and analytics, and focuses in particular on how digital and online firms use and manage analytics. We'll discuss various industries' and functions' use of analytics, but the only one addressed in any depth is web analytics for digitally-oriented businesses.
- Program: Graduate
- Division: Operations and Information Management
- Level: Graduate Elective (Grad)
- Course Number: OIM7546
- Number of Credits: 3
QTM6600 Analytics for Decision-Makers
1.5 Credits (MSAEL core)Data exploration and data-driven decision making are integral in identifying and validating business opportunities. Depending on the nature of the problem and the institutional context, techniques ranging from classical statistical methods (descriptive and inferential statistics) to more recent advances in big data and tools (Excel, R, Tableau) might provide the greatest utility and deepest insights. In this course, we encounter selection of these techniques and develop our ability to formulate analytics problems in ambiguous contexts, quantify performance of various solutions, and articulate the key results of our analysis to a non-technical audience, including using visualization methods.
Prerequisites: MOB6600 and EPS6600
- Program: Graduate
- Division: Mathematics Analytics Science and Technology
- Level: MSAEL (Grad)
- Course Number: QTM6600
- Number of Credits: 1.5
POL 4606: Ancient Athens and the Birth of Political Thought
4 advance liberal arts credits
Pericles famously called Athens the "school of Hellas," emphasizing the city's role as a leader in the Greek world and a hub of art, knowledge, and innovation. This study abroad class in Athens (and beyond) will explore the political thought of ancient Greece through an examination of key texts, archaeological sites, historical monuments, and theatrical performances. Students will engage with the ideas of Athenian philosophers and political leaders, including Plato, Aristotle, and Pericles, and will learn about the development of democracy and empire in Athens. The class will also take day trips to other sites within Greece, including Delphi, Epidaurus, Olympia, as well as the mines at Laurion, Mycenae, and Olympia. We will attend a theatrical performance in ancient Greek (with supertitles in English) at the ancient theater of Epidaurus and take a day trip to Aegina, an island known for its ancient sites - and beautiful beaches! Through a combination of guided tours, lectures, and discussions, students will gain an understanding of the ancient Greek political system and the philosophers who shaped it. Readings, discussions, and writing assignments will be assigned to provide context and background for the sites visited and to help students to develop critical thinking skills and an understanding of the historical, cultural, and political themes that are explored during the tour.​​​​​​​
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: History and Society
- Level: Advanced Liberal Arts 4600 Requirement (UGrad),Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: POL4606
- Number of Credits: 4
CSP 2037: Anthropology and Science Fiction: Close Encounters of the Cultural Kind
4 intermediate liberal arts
This course brings together anthropology and science fiction to explore how humans think about, narrate, and contest encounters across difference. Through a combination of scholarly texts, fiction, film, and other works, we will investigate how people in different times and places have made sense of what it means to be human in moments when multiple forms of personhood are present. We will investigate why societies tell stories about encounters with the Other, consider how cross-cultural encounters transform societies and their ways of imagining and managing change, and analyze how the idea of difference has shaped anthropology and science fiction. Students will create original works that reflect on and tell new stories about cross-cultural encounters.
Prerequisites: (FCI1000 or AHS1000) and (WRT1001or RHT1000)
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: History and Society
- Level: Intermediate Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: CSP2037
- Number of Credits: 4
ANT4605 Anthropology of Law
4 Advanced Liberal Arts Credits
Anthropology of law is a four-credit advanced History and Society course that explores cross-cultural variation within and among legal institutions. Through the medium of ethnography, as well as original primary-source research into court proceedings and legal disputes, we consider how law becomes a mechanism for the maintenance of social order at the same time that it can contribute to social inequity. We will address central questions in the anthropology of law: How does our cultural background influence how we conceptualize justice? What are the consequences of finding oneself between competing legal systems? Our focus will be to examine critically the social and cultural dynamics behind dispute resolution, corporate law, crime, torts, religious law, and international courts, as well as dilemmas around policing and other ways people encounter "the law" in everyday life. Case studies from diverse legal environments in both industrialized and small-scale societies will help place Western law traditions in a comparative, global perspective.
Prerequisites: Any combination of 2 ILA (HSS, LTA, CSP, LVA, CVA)
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: History and Society
- Level: Advanced Liberal Arts 4600 Requirement (UGrad),Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: ANT4605
- Number of Credits: 4
ANT4601 Anthropology of Migration
4 Advanced Liberal Arts Credits
Borders closed. Families torn apart. Refugees crowded into camps. Migrants hiding from authorities. These scenes have become all too common in today's world of increasing displacement, security crackdowns, and closed-door policies. This course introduces students beyond the headlines into the human stories and struggles of migration. We will examine the forces that compel people to leave their homes, the obstacles they face in crossing borders, the challenges of forging new lives in unfamiliar lands. Through ethnographic accounts, migrant narratives, and interactive discussion, we will gain insight into the courage, creativity, and resilience shown by migrants in the face of injustice. Students will gain a holistic perspective on migration by analyzing the historical, social, cultural, political, and economic dynamics that set migration in motion. We will critically investigate issues of identity, race, gender, human rights, and humanitarianism as they relate to migrants and refugees. Students will have opportunities to engage with local migrant communities. Ultimately, this course aims to develop informed global citizens, skilled in building empathy and articulating inclusive policies in contentious debates over migration. Students will gain analytical tools to humanize the headlines and contribute their voices to these defining issues of our time.
Prerequisites: Any Combination of 2 intermediate liberal arts (HSS, LTA, CSP)
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: History and Society
- Level: Advanced Liberal Arts 4600 Requirement (UGrad),Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: ANT4601
- Number of Credits: 4
CSP2005 Anthropology of Religion
(Formerly CVA2005)
4 Intermediate Liberal Arts CreditsAnthropology of religion is a four-credit intermediate History and Society course. From an ethnographic and qualitative perspective, we will explore religious expression around the globe, including the major Abrahamic traditions of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam but also Buddhism, Hinduism, African religions, and lesser-known faiths from small-scale, non-industrialized societies. Emphasis is placed on the analytic categories for understanding religious experiences and the prospects and challenges of cross-cultural comparison. We will adopt the techniques of anthropological inquiry to consider the social forces at work within religious life, including the political, colonial, gendered, and transnational dimensions of worship. Topics of ritual, mythology, witchcraft, magic, and science will guide our exploration of belief and spirituality beyond the formal boundaries of institutional religions. Experiential assignments, including participant observation and interviews with practitioners from unfamiliar spiritual traditions, are combined with in-depth written exercises to strengthen your intercultural and rhetorical competencies.
Prerequisites: (FCI1000 or AHS1000) and (WRT1001or RHT1000)
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: History and Society
- Level: Intermediate Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: CSP2005
- Number of Credits: 4
QTM3610 Applied Multivariate Statistics
(Formerly QTM2610)
4 Advanced Liberal Arts CreditsThis course extends the modeling tools presented in prior statistics courses and focuses on the application and validation of models developed using real data in the context of finance, economics, and marketing research. Examples of applications include modeling the impact of advertising on sales, admission yields for business schools, patterns of voting behavior and a variety of survey data. This course focuses on implementing data analysis techniques using a statistical software package and interpreting the results in a decision-making environment. Emphasis is placed on understanding the limitations of modeling approaches, as well as the diversity of potential applications in business.
Prerequisites: AQM2000
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Mathematics Analytics Science and Technology
- Level: Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: QTM3610
- Number of Credits: 4
SEN1334 Applying the Creative Cloud
(Student Instructor: Benjamin Stegeman) Any method of augmenting ideas to allow them to become more digestible can set entrepreneurs and other communicators apart from the masses. In this course, students will learn the basics of four Adobe Creative Cloud products--PhotoShop, Illustrator, Premiere Pro, and After Effects--along with how to apply them to different business settings. Students will learn the fundamentals: product mock-up design using flat art, product commercials, product photo editing, basic animations, and general visual presentation techniques. Although this course covers the fundamentals, all skill levels are welcome. Class sessions will consist of learning and practicing the functions of the software, and students will get hands-on experience by working on a small project.
Wednesdays, 6:30-9:00pm
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Other
- Course Number: SEN1334
- Number of Credits: 0
ARB4650 Arab Culture for Business
(Formerly Business Arabic)
4 Advanced Liberal Arts Credits
This course aims to help students acquire cultural intelligence and develop the tools necessary to learn about business culture of the Arab world and be aware of local traditions and sensitivities. It provides an understanding of Arab business etiquette and culture, and discusses related topics such as travel, dress codes, Islam and business, communication and negotiation styles, attitudes, and hierarchy in the workplace. Students survey countries like UAE, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Lebanon, Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia …etc. They use diverse forms of authentic and recent media and examine materials from different Arabic newspapers and media sources such as Al-Hayat, Al- Ahram and Al-Jazeera to comprehend practical business issues, cultural values and social etiquette in the Arab world and the Middle East.
The course is taught in English. No prior knowledge of Arabic is needed.
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Arts and Humanities
- Level: Advanced Liberal Arts 4600 Requirement (UGrad),Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: ARB4650
- Number of Credits: 4
ARB4640 Arab Cinema and Culture
(Formerly ARB4600)
4 Advanced Liberal Arts CreditsThis course is designed as an advanced-level conversation class, with a strong cultural component. It explores Arab cinema from the colonial period to the present, and provides an in-depth exploration of "cultural identity" and "politics" in the Arab World. Although Egypt is considered the biggest film producer in the Arab world, the course aspires to represent various cinemas across the region, from Morocco and Algeria to Syria, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, and Palestine, introducing students to notable moments and phenomena in the history of these cinemas. The course will be taught in Arabic and all films will be in Arabic with English subtitle. In addition to film viewings, students will be required to read critical and theoretical articles that pertain to class discussion. These films and readings serve as the basis for debate, discussion and written analysis of issues relevant to the history, culture and politics of the Arab world and the Middle East. Films will be on reserve at Horn Library, and screenings will be scheduled.
Prerequisites: Students need to be at least at a high intermediate level
This course is open to advanced and heritage speakers of Arabic
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Arts and Humanities
- Level: Advanced Liberal Arts 4600 Requirement (UGrad),Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: ARB4640
- Number of Credits: 4
ARB4610 Arabic II: Culture, Cuisine and Communication
4 Advanced Liberal Arts Credits
Get ready for a culinary journey around the Arab world!
Arabic 4610 is designed to learn Arabic language and culture through food. It will help you enhance your linguistic and communicative skills by exploring food, traditions and cultural values. It will incorporate hands-on cooking projects and discussions about the significance of food in Arab culture. These projects aim to introduce you to the diverse dialects and rich cultures of the Arab World. They will also help you develop vocabulary, reading and writing, and enhance the spoken skills necessary for a variety of daily life activities such as sharing meals, talking about ethnic foods and favorite cuisines, buying grocery, inviting family and friends for a meal, and ordering at a restaurant. By exploring practices around food, you will observe Arab society and culture while using your senses and curiosity.
Projects might include: cooking at the Foundry, learning recipes, visit a local market, visit local Arab restaurants and/or cafés, learning about the history of Arab cuisine, researching the link between food and festivals, and much more.
Prerequisite: you may sign-up for this class if you have successfully completed ARB2200 or its equivalent, or you are a heritage speaker who can understand Arabic minimally.
Prerequisites: ARB2200
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Arts and Humanities
- Level: Advanced Liberal Arts 4600 Requirement (UGrad),Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: ARB4610
- Number of Credits: 4
LTA 2006: Art in Latin America
4 intermediate liberal arts credits
This course presents a panorama of art and culture in Latin America from ancient times to the present. Topics include Pre-Columbian Empires; Spanish Colonial Cities; Revolution, Reform and Modernism; Indigeneity, African diasporas, and Nationalism. Looking through the lens of art and architecture, the course pays special consideration to Latin America's enduring legacies and dynamic processes of change. This is an introductory survey intended for students of all academic and professional interests: no previous art history courses or experience with Latin America necessary.
Prerequisites: (AHS 1000 or FCI 1000) and (RHT1000 or WRT1001)
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Arts and Humanities
- Level: Intermediate Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: LTA2006
- Number of Credits: 4
ART 4605: Art in the Age of Enlightenment
4 advanced liberal arts credits
This class examines the history of art during the Age of Enlightenment (1600-1800), a time marked by revolutions in science, industry, philosophy, and the declaration of human rights. Students will learn about artists who grappled with the image of a changing world, picturing what was before inconceivable: a surgeon publicly dissecting a human body, a former slave turned politician, etcetera. Throughout the semester, students will critically assess how art shaped the founding ideologies of our modern world.
Prerequisites: Any combinations of 2 intermediate liberal arts (HSS, LTA, CSP)
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Arts and Humanities
- Level: Advanced Liberal Arts 4600 Requirement (UGrad),Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: ART4605
- Number of Credits: 4
OIM 6112: Artificial Intelligence Experimentation
MSEL Course
1.5 credits
Description:
Artificial Intelligence Experimentation is an experiential course where student teams leverage AI to design digital business concepts and apply Agile Product Management. Students will learn key skills, including how to:
1. Develop AI value propositions and business concepts
2. Practice agile product management
3. Prototype AI-related digital interfaces and solutions
4. Conduct experiments and iterate on solutions
The course does not require previous AI, programming, Agile, or software/hardware prototyping experience.
Prerequisites: None
- Program: Graduate
- Division: Operations and Information Management
- Course Number: OIM6112
- Number of Credits: 1.5
OIM7545 Artificial Intelligence for Business
3 Blended Credits
F2F Meeting Dates TBD
This course introduces students to cognitive technologies (another phrase for "artificial intelligence") and addresses their value and implementation in business. A variety of cognitive tools will be covered, from machine learning to natural language processing to "deep learning." Both the functions performed by these technologies and the business issues they generate-including the roles to be performed by humans in knowledge work processes of the future-will be addressed in the course.
Some instruction is provided by online videos on cognitive technologies. There will be several guest lectures from external experts on various cognitive technologies and management issues. No programming background is required, although students will need to study materials about how cognitive technologies work.
- Program: Graduate
- Division: Operations and Information Management
- Level: MSBA Elective (Grad),Graduate Elective (Grad)
- Course Number: OIM7545
- Number of Credits: 3
OIM3580 Artificial Intelligence in Business
4 Advanced Management Credits
This elective is intended to introduce you to a variety of different types of artificial intelligence and to many of the issues involved in their business application. We will cover a variety of AI tools, from machine learning to natural language processing to "deep learning." We will learn about both the functions performed by these technologies and the business issues they generate - including the roles to be performed by humans in organizations of the future.
Some introductory material is provided by online videos on AI in general. We will have several external experts as guest speakers during sessions. No programming or detailed technology background is required, although you should be interested in new technology and will need to study materials about how AI works.
The objective is to equip you to be a manager or professional who makes use of this technology, not a developer of it-or a translator of business requirements to professional data scientists. The course is also intended to encourage some students to go on for more technical training in AI. Specific learning objectives are listed for each session.
Prerequisites: SME2012
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Operations and Information Management
- Level: Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Management (UGrad)
- Course Number: OIM3580
- Number of Credits: 4
NST1011: Astrobiology
4 foundation liberal arts credits
Introduction to the new science of astrobiology, study of the origin and evolution of life on Earth, and the search for microbial and intelligent life elsewhere in the Universe. Study of the information necessary to make estimates of the probability of extraterrestrial life, what characteristics it might have and how we might expect to communicate with it if it exists.
Prerequisites: None
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Mathematics Analytics Science and Technology
- Level: Foundation Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: NST1011
- Number of Credits: 4
NST2070 Astrobiology and the Emergence of Complex Systems
4 Intermediate Liberal Arts CreditsThe prospects for simple and intelligent life beyond earth are discussed in terms of planetary science, molecular biology, complexity theory, evolution and thermodynamics. Discussions will focus on the processes leading to the emergence of complex systems as well as the biological and physical interdependencies of life and the environment.
Prerequisites: NST10XX
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Mathematics Analytics Science and Technology
- Level: Intermediate Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: NST2070
- Number of Credits: 4
NST1010 Astronomy
4 CreditsThe evolution and structure of the universe are explained using underlying basic physical principles along with the historical development of our present understanding. We will explore the instruments and data collection techniques used by astronomers and learn how they can be applied to solve problems in other disciplines.
Prerequisites: None
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Mathematics Analytics Science and Technology
- Level: Foundation Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: NST1010
- Number of Credits: 4
ACC4520 Auditing
4 General CreditsThis course examines the interrelation of audit standards, procedures, and internal control techniques with the final auditor's certificate; auditing techniques, statistical sampling methods, and the impact of electronic data processing (EDP) procedures on the auditor.
Prerequisites: ACC3500
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Accounting and Law
- Level: Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Management (UGrad)
- Course Number: ACC4520
- Number of Credits: 4
FIN7572 Babson College Fund
3 Elective CreditsThe Babson College Fund is a two-semester course, where selected students manage a portion of the Babson College endowment. The Babson College Fund Office selects undergraduate and graduate students to be analysts and portfolio managers.
By learning the basics of security analysis and portfolio management, it is hoped that students will be prepared to take jobs in the Investment Management and Investment Banking industries post-graduation.
The Program Director and Executives in Residence are committed to helping this pursuit as much as possible. The course also requires that students refine their networking skills and develop a proficiency in the analytical tools available through the Cutler Center to maximize their employment prospects.
Prerequisites: Program Director (Patrick Gregory) Permission
- Program: Graduate
- Division: Finance
- Level: MSF Elective (Grad),Graduate Elective (Grad)
- Course Number: FIN7572
- Number of Credits: 3
FIN4521 Babson College Fund I
4 General Elective CreditsThe Babson College Fund is a two-semester course, where selected students manage a portion of the Babson College endowment. The Babson College Fund Office selects undergraduate and graduate students to be analysts and portfolio managers.
By learning the basics of security analysis and portfolio management, it is hoped that students will be prepared to take jobs in the Investment Management and Investment Banking industries post-graduation.
The Program Director and Executives in Residence are committed to helping this pursuit as much as possible. The course also requires that students refine their networking skills and develop a proficiency in the analytical tools available through the Cutler Center to maximize their employment prospects.
Prerequisites: FIN 3520 and Program Director (Patrick Gregory) Permission
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Finance
- Level: Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Management (UGrad)
- Course Number: FIN4520
- Number of Credits: 4
FIN4521 Babson College Fund II
4 General Elective CreditsThe Babson College Fund is a two-semester course, where selected students manage a portion of the Babson College endowment. The Babson College Fund Office selects undergraduate and graduate students to be analysts and portfolio managers.
By learning the basics of security analysis and portfolio management, it is hoped that students will be prepared to take jobs in the Investment Management and Investment Banking industries post-graduation.
The Program Director and Executives in Residence are committed to helping this pursuit as much as possible. The course also requires that students refine their networking skills and develop a proficiency in the analytical tools available through the Cutler Center to maximize their employment prospects.
Prerequisites: FIN 3520 and Program Director (Patrick Gregory) Permission
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Finance
- Level: Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Management (UGrad)
- Course Number: FIN4521
- Number of Credits: 4
MBA7800 Babson Consulting Experience
3 Credits
If you have taken and passed MBA7201, you cannot register for MBA7800, as these two courses are equivalent
During the Fall Semester all MBA students will be enrolled in the Babson Consulting Experience (BCE) and assigned to a team of five to six other one-year students to work on consulting project for a partner organization. Guided by a faculty advisor (who also is the instructor of the course), BCE teams work directly with company representatives to address a real organizational opportunity or challenge and create value-added solutions.
A signature learning experience, BCE gives students an opportunity to deepen their understanding of conceptual and developmental tools learned in the classroom through hands-on applications in messy real-world contexts. Students will sharpen their ability to analyze and frame complex problems, and to effectively present insights and action recommendations, in both oral and written form. Finally, by working in teams and with external organizations, students will have many opportunities to practice the teamwork and leadership skills that they will need as you continue your professional development.
**It is strongly recommended that students take this course after completing a majority of the core courses.**
Prerequisites: Minimum of 12 credits completed
- Program: Graduate
- Division: Management
- Course Number: MBA7800
- Number of Credits: 3
EPS3514 Be the Change
2 General Credits
The course is designed for creative changemakers committed to utilizing their entrepreneurial leadership and global mindset to make a positive social impact and work towards social justice. Students will develop a deeper understanding of the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development goals and the issues that exist at the heart of the social problems social entrepreneurs aim to address. Students will explore the moral and ethical questions that face non-profit organizations social enterprises, and social entrepreneurs and learn motivation, approach, and best practices as it applies to social change makers. Students will be equipped with the tools and methods to apply their entrepreneurial mindset to advance equity and social justice and create a response to a social problem they would like to address.
Note: The Natalie Taylor Scholars will use what they create in this course and implement it in the Scholar in Action EPS3534-01.
Prerequisite: FME
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Entrepreneurship
- Level: Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Management (UGrad)
- Course Number: EPS3514
- Number of Credits: 2
ART1175 Beginning Painting Watercolor and Acrylic
4 General CreditsThis is an introductory level course designed to bring students through basic aspects of drawing in a wide range of media. No previous experience is required. Issues such as line, tone, mark making, gesture form, light sources, figure/ground relationships, and perspective to overall compositions will be addressed separately and in the many ways that they relate to one another in a drawing. Students will draw observationally from life and from their own drawings, learning how to use each of these concepts as tools in order to draw and see more analytically. We will work with a wide range of materials from basic graphite pencils and charcoal to ink washes, conte crayon on gesso treated paper, silverpoint, collage, and printmaking. Slides of various artists' work will be discussed in relation to concepts and processes explored in class. Student work will be discussed in group critiques with full class participation. Students should be committed to expanding their skills and can expect project deadlines. There will be some expense for materials.
Prerequisites: None
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Arts and Humanities
- Level: Free Elective (UGrad)
- Course Number: ART1175
- Number of Credits: 4
SEN1333 Beyond Babson! Navigating Responsible Adulthood
(Student Instructors: Amalya Khashimova and Kemper Watson) Nothing feels better than being efficient and in control. Acquiring the skills to feel that way, however, can take time, and students are all busy (beavers!). In this interactive course, students will learn strategies to save time and money, and to ensure they look and feel their absolute best as they transition into adult life. Students will learn the basics of dress, cooking, mixology, budgeting, and establishing routines to keep their selves and their spaces crisp. Fellow student experts and real-deal adults will help students gain the confidence to make it on their own!
Wednesdays, 6:30-9:00pm
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Other
- Course Number: SEN1333
- Number of Credits: 0
SEN1341 Beyond the Salesperson: The Future of Automotive Retailing
(Student Instructor: Matthew Safalow) It's 2023, and car dealerships still haven't figured out how to provide the ideal car buying experience. Customers become easily defeated by endless negotiation with salespeople, finance managers, and others. In fact, after members of Congress, car salespeople are ranked as the least trusted professionals in the US. In this course, students will explore the strategies of automotive retailers. We'll learn about electric vehicles, automotive finance, marketing, and sales, and we will hear from guest presenters from automakers and large dealership groups. Ultimately, students will redefine and imagine the future of car buying.
Tuesdays 6:30 - 9:00 pm
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Other
- Course Number: SEN1341
- Number of Credits: 0
SCN3600: Biomimicry Applying Natures Design for Business
4 advanced liberal arts credits
In this course we will investigate the tools and principles of biomimicry, which seek to sustainably solve current challenges by taking inspiration from how nature solves these same problems. Nature provides us with an incredible amount of research and development for effective problem-solving methodologies with the ultimate test for organisms being survival of the fittest. For the past 3.8 billion years, life has evolved strategies that are constantly integrated and optimized to create conditions conducive for life to continue. Successful examples of biomimicry include something as simple as Velcro (imitating burrs that stick to sheep) to cutting edge advancements like a bionic leaf producing hydrogen fuel from sunlight (imitating photosynthesis) and medical grade internal adhesives (imitating how mussels adhere underwater).
In this course we will begin by exploring design principles in biology, chemistry and physics and applying them to specific technological design strategies by asking questions like "How does nature make color?" and "How does nature water-proof something?" Then we will explore ecological design principles to understand how we can use nature's strategies of interconnectedness and cycling as a way to solve problems in businesses and organizations and move toward the circular economy. This course will emphasize the development of skills in critical thinking, synthesis of information, scientific literacy, hand-on exercises, and current topical issues in biomimicry.
Prerequisites: NST1XXX
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Mathematics Analytics Science and Technology
- Level: Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: SCN3600
- Number of Credits: 4
SCN 3603: Biotechnology and Innovation
4 advanced liberal arts credits
In Biotechnology and Innovation, students will explore the dynamic intersection of biotechnology and business, focusing on the impact that scientific research has had on the development of new products, services, and startups within the biotech industry. The global biotechnology market, currently valued at approximately $735 billion is predicted to reach over $1.1 trillion by 2026. This course will cover the fundamental scientific aspects of biotechnology and biotechnology entrepreneurship with a focus on the global problems that can be solved using biotechnology innovations. It will explore the pioneering scientific innovations using living cells and their molecules that drive the industry, including breakthroughs in genetic engineering, gene editing, regenerative and personalized medicine, synthetic biology and bioinformatics. Students will analyze how these scientific advancements translate into commercial opportunities. Case studies of successful biotech products and services that have reshaped healthcare, agriculture, food systems, environmental challenges, bioremediation, biofuel production and many other industrial applications will also be explored. This will allow students to gain insight into the processes by which scientific discoveries become marketable solutions. This course will leverage the fact that Massachusetts is the #1 hub of Biotechnology in the world, giving students the opportunity to work with an industry partner to help solve a real-world problem. Students will participate in a semester-long project where they meet with industry stakeholders to analyze a problem and propose actionable solutions. By the end of this course, students will have a thorough understanding of the basic foundational knowledge central to biotechnology, and a better understand how scientific research serves as the foundation of the development and commercialization of biotechnological innovations.
Prerequisites: NST 10%%
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Mathematics Analytics Science and Technology
- Level: Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: SCN3603
- Number of Credits: 4
CSP2030 Black American Music
(Formerly CVA2030 African American Music in the U.S.)
4 Intermediate Liberal Arts Credits
This course surveys music created by and about African Americans from the 19th century to the present, including spirituals, gospel, ragtime, blues, jazz, classical, R&B, rock and roll, soul, funk, disco, and rap. The course will emphasize: (1) African origins, and the historical and sociocultural contexts in which African American musical styles developed; (2) nontechnical musical analysis of the works studied; (3) the reciprocal relationships between African American music and other American music; and (4) the ways in which music participates in and shapes our national perceptions of and debates over race. No musical background required.
Prerequisites: (FCI1000 or AHS1000) and (WRT1001or RHT1000)
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Arts and Humanities
- Level: Intermediate Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: CSP2030
- Number of Credits: 4
OIM3560 Blockchain and Cryptocurrencies
4 Advanced Management Credits
This course is about an exciting new technology called the blockchain. The blockchain is the technology behind bitcoin and other forms of digital cash. In this course, you will learn about the algorithms and protocols that enable blockchain creation, the theory behind and the potential of cryptocurrencies, how blockchains are used to enforce smart contracts, and how many other blockchain applications work.
Prerequisites: None
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Operations and Information Management
- Level: Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Management (UGrad)
- Course Number: OIM3560
- Number of Credits: 4
OIM7565 Blockchain Ventures
1.5 Elective Credits
This course is for students wishing to explore blockchain technology (and specifically NFTs). Kicking off with a review of the technology's initial application, the cryptocurrency Bitcoin, students will gain an understanding of the commercial, technical and public policy fundamentals of blockchain technology, distributed ledgers and smart contracts in both open sourced and private applications. We then will deep dive into the Ethereum ecosystem, where we cover how it works, review 'the merge', and provide case studies of NFTs in gaming, music among other industries. Along the way, we will explore the markets and regulatory landscape for cryptocurrencies, DAOs, coin offerings, other tokens, as well as new forms of financing through crypto. An important distinction will be made between leveraging the technology of Blockchain into a business, and NFTs, which are a specific use of blockchain technology.
Prerequisites: None
- Program: Graduate
- Division: Operations and Information Management
- Level: MSBA Elective (Grad),Graduate Elective (Grad)
- Course Number: OIM7565
- Number of Credits: 1.5
SEN1342 Bop to the Top: Practicum in Artist Management
(Student Instructor: Divya Achanta) Baby, to be number one you got to raise the bar. Grind out [your] best, anything it takes to climb the ladder of success. Despite being active consumers of music, many of us do not get the opportunity to be a part of the industry. In this course, students will learn an overview of music-specific concepts tailored to their interests. With an emphasis on artist management, this seminar covers branding, touring, merchandising, and musical career development for singers like Tyler the Creator and Taylor Swift. Students will end with a capstone presentation making career-sustaining recommendations for an independent artist of their choice.
Wednesdays 6:30 - 9:00 pm
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Other
- Course Number: SEN1342
- Number of Credits: 0
MKT4515 Brand Management
4 CreditsBrand Management is an advanced marketing course that will prepare students to lead a brand-centered marketing team in the consumer products/services arena. The emphasis in the course is on marketing plans and day-to-day decision-making. Marketing decisions are usually made in a context of imperfect information, decision models that combine analysis with judgment, and a marketplace that is fast-changing. The course will prepare students to operate successfully in this real-world environment. The concept of _brand equity_ will be a unifying theme throughout.
Prerequisites: SME2011 or MKT2000
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Marketing
- Level: Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Management (UGrad)
- Course Number: MKT4515
- Number of Credits: 4
MKT7572 Brand Management
3 CreditsBrand Management is an advanced marketing course that will prepare students to lead a brand- centered marketing team in the consumer products/services arena. Branding and marketing decisions are usually made in a context of imperfect information, decision models that combine analysis with judgment, and a marketplace that is fast-changing. The emphasis in the course is to explore _what every brand/product manager needs to know_ to operate successfully in this real-world environment. The concept of _brand equity_ is the unique aspect of this course versus other marketing classes and will be a unifying theme throughout. Understanding how to build strong brands is the strategic imperative of the course.
This class will first cover the role market research plays in helping make informed brand decisions. Next, the course will explore key branding concepts and frameworks that lead to effective management of these brands. Finally, the course concludes with applying these key strategic branding concepts to the more tactical aspects of executing a brand's marketing efforts. In this final section of the course, we will devote 4 classes to building brands in the Web 2.0 world.
In addition, given the course's focus on _what every brand/product manager needs to know_, 4-5 contemporary branding experts in key fields, such as branding law and digital/social media, as well as senior marketing executives, will be guests in class, adding their current and relevant branding experiences to the class discussions.
Prerequisites: MKT7200 or MKT7800 or equivalent core
- Program: Graduate
- Division: Marketing
- Level: Graduate Elective (Grad)
- Course Number: MKT7572
- Number of Credits: 3
LAW3573 Building Contracts for New Ventures
4 General Credits
Every business operates in a supply chain in which it buys and sells goods and services. The links to these suppliers and customers are formalized in contracts, which is why all managers should know something about how to read and write a contract. This course will teach you how to do that. We will review basic principles of contract law and apply them in a wide variety of transactions. The course will be writing intensive and will equip you to do on the spot drafting and to understand drafts produced by your counterpart. This skill will enhance your ability to negotiate and structure deals. The foundation law course is a prerequisite, as is a solid ability to write.
Prerequisites: LAW1000
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Accounting and Law
- Level: Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Management (UGrad)
- Course Number: LAW3573
- Number of Credits: 4
EPS9508: Building a Corporate Innovation Capability: Strategy and Tactics
(Previously Corporate Innovation as a Profession: Designing Innovation Roles)
Corporate Intrapreneurs get by through breaking rules and seeking protection by senior leaders. It doesn't need to be this way. Companies are undertaking much more systematic approaches. To build a capability for truly Strategic Innovation that helps a company disrupt itself before others do, a new set of competencies and supporting management system must be instituted. In this course we will examine the elements of that management system and focus on two aspects that are most pressing in today's companies. The first is strategic, that is, Senior leadership's role in setting direction for and governing Strategic Innovation Initiatives, by defining and committing to Domains of Innovation Intent for the organization. The second is more tactical, and that is the issue of talent management. Leading edge companies are working to design innovation functions that require clearly defined innovation roles. We'll examine emerging roles for the corporate innovator, possible career paths, and newly designed tools for their selection and development.
- Program: Graduate
- Division: Entrepreneurship
- Level: Graduate Elective (Grad)
- Course Number: EPS9508
- Number of Credits: 3
MOB3523 Building an Inclusive Organization: Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging in the Workplace
4 Advanced Management Credits
People in the workplace are constantly interacting with peers, managers, and customers with very different backgrounds and experiences. This course is designed to help students navigate diverse settings more effectively and improve their ability to work within and lead diverse teams to build more inclusive organizations. It also offers students the opportunity to develop their critical thinking on topics such as identity, relationships across difference, bias, and equality of opportunity, and specifically, how these topics relate to organizational issues of equity, inclusion, belonging, and justice. Class sessions will be experiential and discussion based. Readings, self-reflection, guest lecturers, case studies, organizational audits, and a team project will also be emphasized.
For more information: Building an Inclusive Organization
Prerequisites: (FME1000 and FME1001) or (MOB1010 and EPS1000)
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Management
- Level: Advanced Management (UGrad)
- Course Number: MOB3523
- Number of Credits: 4
MOB7543 Building Inclusive Organizations
(Formerly Managing in a Diverse Workplace)
3 CreditsThis course focuses on how to build inclusive organizations for enhanced innovation and performance. We will explore this essential topic for today's business world through the lenses of social context, individual leadership, and organizational policy and culture. The course begins by examining the opportunities and challenges to building inclusive organizations. Next, the course takes the personal perspective, considering what entrepreneurial leaders can do to build an inclusive organization. The course concludes with a focus on organizational policies and culture -- and how inclusive workplace practices contribute to positive outcomes. The emphasis throughout the course will be on how building inclusive organizations provides an opportunity for individuals and organizations to develop and thrive. Students will work independently and in learning groups.
For more information click this link: www.kaltura.com/tiny/n728b
Prerequisites: None
- Program: Graduate
- Division: Management
- Level: Graduate Elective (Grad)
- Course Number: MOB7543
- Number of Credits: 3
ECN3645 Business and Economic Policy in Developing Countries
4 Advanced Liberal Arts CreditsThis course discusses the latest research in economics on the two fundamental questions of economic development: 1) why are some countries rich and some poor and what can be done about it, and 2) why are some individuals poor and remain poor for generations, and what can be done to alleviate poverty. In answering these questions, the course introduces students to the economic and political environment in poor countries. Topics include measures of development, economic growth, macroeconomic poverty traps (such as conflict, being landlocked, and low quality of institutions), foreign aid, and microeconomic poverty traps (such as poor nutrition and health, low educational endowments, and incomplete markets). The course introduces empirical strategies in economics to identify causal effect, such as randomized controlled trials, instrumental variable, difference-in-differences and regression discontinuity.
Prerequisites: (SME2031 or ECN2002) and ECN2000
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Economics
- Level: Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: ECN3645
- Number of Credits: 4
QTM7800 Business Analytics
2 Credits (Core MBA)If you have taken and passed QTM7200, you cannot register for QTM7800, as these two courses are equivalent
In the BA stream of the course, regression models are used to understand dependence relations and thereby improve the accuracy of predictive modeling. Sensitivity analyses are used to determine which factors drive our decisions, and, thus, determine which factors need to be carefully managed. In the OIM stream of the paired course, strategic tradeoffs are discussed to understand the operations and information models for a variety of settings (e.g., startups, nascent or established organizations) and thereby improve any model by utilizing resources (e.g., physical assets, people, data, digital technologies, markets) and processes for the flow of goods, people and information.
- Program: Graduate
- Division: Mathematics Analytics Science and Technology
- Course Number: QTM7800
- Number of Credits: 2
MSB6300 Business Analytics Field Project
3 Blended CreditsThe course will provide students with the opportunity to reinforce as many as possible of the program's learning goals by guiding and coaching them through the performance of analytical tasks that they can expect to encounter in the workplace following graduation. The course will consist of two principal components:
1. A formal curriculum, delivered in a blended format, that will teach students critical skills needed to plan and execute analytical projects, and then to communicate their results effectively to senior management and other stakeholders; and
2. A consulting project, coached by a faculty member, in which teams of students will perform an analytical task for an outside organization and present their work to executives from that organization.
- Program: Graduate
- Division: Other
- Level: MSBA Elective (Grad)
- Course Number: MSB6300
- Number of Credits: 3
LTA2031 Top Performers: Business in American Drama
4 Intermediate Liberal Arts CreditsEver since Willy Loman walked on stage with his sample cases in Arthur Miller's 1949 masterpiece Death of a Salesman, it has been thought axiomatic that American playwrights have painted a bleak portrait of sales professionals in particular and businesspeople generally. But a close look at American dramatic treatments of business shows something more complicated. Over the past century American playwrights have located in the world of business and the world of drama a shared preoccupation with the sometimes tricky distinctions between word and act, authenticity and performance, the _real_ and the symbolic. This course will look at a selection of American plays from the early twentieth century to the present, focusing on those plays' treatment of business and economic life. In addition to close scrutiny of dramatic texts and theatrical performances, we will also explore the role of performance in business. In other words, we'll look at both business in American drama and drama in American business. Your performance will be assessed through two papers, a mid-term and a final exam.
This course is typically offered in the following semesters: Fall
Prerequisites: (FCI1000 or AHS1000) and (WRT1001or RHT1000)
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Arts and Humanities
- Level: Intermediate Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: LTA2031
- Number of Credits: 4
OIM3545 Business Intelligence and Data Analytics
4 Credits
This course is about how organizations, and their employees can successfully collect, evaluate and apply information to become better decision makers. It starts with basic concepts regarding business data needs and ends with hands-on experience using Business Intelligence (BI) tools. It takes a variety of experts to start and run a business - financial, operational, marketing, accounting, human relations, managerial, etc. Each knowledge base requires up-to-date information to plot strategy or keep it on track. Our ability to capture large volumes of data often outstrips our ability to evaluate and apply the data as management information. These are the challenges we will address in this course so that you can become an intelligent gatherer and user of data in your chosen field.
Prerequisites: SME2012 or OIM2000
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Operations and Information Management
- Level: Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Management (UGrad)
- Course Number: OIM3545
- Number of Credits: 4
LAW1000 Business Law & Ethics
(Formerly Business Law)
Foundation Requirement
4 Credits
This course provides students, as future business managers and leaders, with broad exposure to important areas of business law and with an introduction to business ethics. Legal and business considerations often are closely related. Students need a good working knowledge of legal and ethical principles in order to succeed in the business world. Law can be used to create and capture value for business activities as well as to mitigate legal and business risks.
Course goal #1 is to enable students to identify when they face legal issues in their professional lives and understand how to find additional information and/or consult intelligently with an attorney about them. Goal #2 is for students to be able to manage a business and its legal environment effectively. This includes understanding the significance of various legal and ethical issues, knowing how to manage and resolve legal disputes, knowing how to effectively structure businesses and deals, learning how to use the law to their advantage, and perhaps even when and how to try to change existing law. Goal #3 is to consider the limitations of the law and the role of ethical business principles and practices in sound decision making. To these ends, students read and analyze legal and ethics materials, apply precedents to new situations, complete group and individual projects, and practice analyzing, thinking, speaking and writing in a logical manner.
Business Law furthers three out of four overall learning goals of the undergraduate program
Collaboration - group projects such as negotiating contracts or conducting risk analyses and developing recommendations Communication - writing-intensive course involving writing assignments (research papers, contracts, analyses) and extensive Socratic dialogue in class through law case method teaching Problem solving - continual application of precedent to analyze fact situations and identify the application of legal principles to resolve the legal dispute in question, as well as the use of law as a larger policy tool to address wider social issues and problems. This course also has learning objectives specific to law and ethics. By the end of the course, students should be able to:
Understand substantive legal rules as well as procedural rules, institutions, and mechanisms; Appreciate the complex relationship between law and ethics; Identify ethical issues commonly arising in business and personal situations and understand and employ an ethical framework to manage these issues; Evaluate the ongoing role of law as a means of channeling human behavior in an interdependent society; Use law as a tool for understanding and solving business and social problems; and Utilize legal reasoning and understand how to make and defend basic legal arguments by drawing upon a broad range of relevant sources of legal authority.
Prerequisites: None
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Accounting and Law
- Level: Foundation Management (UGrad)
- Course Number: LAW1000
- Number of Credits: 4
ECN7515 Business Model Innovation to Compete in the Digital Economy
3 Elective Credits
Recent surveys to Top Management Teams show that business model innovation is at the forefront of their thoughts and challenges, both in startups and established companies. This course provides the tools to design and operate innovative business models.
The tools to be learned should help students understand how to think about business model innovation, respond to the entry of disruptive business models, and decide whether the company should operate single or multiple business models. We also analyze business model transformation and innovation in entrepreneurial organizations and how these organizations can use business model innovation to challenge established companies even in mature industries.
Examples of questions to be asked in the course are: How can a startup disrupt industries such as dairy, pharmaceutical, retail, financial, wine, and biotechnology? What are the fundamental issues to consider when designing business models that require different customer groups simultaneously? How to build sustainable models? What are the conditions to implement a business model innovation in an organization? How can the simultaneous operation of more than one business model promote a hard-to-imitate competitive advantage?
Regardless of your intended career path, understanding business models is essential. In investment banking or private equity, you need to understand the "engine" (i.e., the business model) that produces profits. In consulting, you need to solve organizational problems, which is very hard without understanding how the business model works. In industry, regardless of the company, economic sector, and position, you need to understand the context in which you operate and how your actions fit into the firm's policies, assets, and decision-making. In entrepreneurship, business model innovation is a powerful tool to succeed.
Prerequisites: None
- Program: Graduate
- Division: Economics
- Level: Graduate Elective (Grad)
- Course Number: ECN7515
- Number of Credits: 3
ECN7575 Business Models, Competitiveness, and the Changing European Environment
3 Elective Abroad CreditsProgram fee is paid to Glavin Office - program fee includes: accommodations, breakfast, ground transportation, program planned meals and cultural excursions. Not included: tuition, international flight, single room supplement (additional $500), visa costs, additional meals and personal expenses.
ECN 7575 explores competitive and strategic dimensions of companies doing business in the European Union (EU) in the context of EU competitiveness, institutions, policies, history and culture. This course studies ways that companies organize and define core competencies to build successful global brands. It further examines emerging trends, opportunities, and challenges for business and business creation in Italy and in the EU. ECN7575 explores how companies adapt and take advantage of business model disruptions, such as changes in technology and EU regulation, in light of current market dynamics. This course is grounded in economic fundamentals of relevant market definition, competitiveness in different geographies, firm behavior and performance, and provides students with opportunities to evaluate how companies position themselves for success in global markets based on their business model and strategic choices.
ECN 7575 is divided into two parts: two on-campus lectures (WebEx available for Blended Learning students) and a week-long site visit to Italy. In Italy, students will visit 5-6 companies to study challenges and opportunities they are facing in the context of the EU, its institutions, and global competition. Past company visits include among others: Amazon, PayPal, Lamborghini, Ferrari, Ducati, Ermenegildo Zegna, Armani, Eataly, Brembo and DHL. In addition, several faculty from Bocconi University will offer lectures and case discussions pertaining to the current developments in the EU and the European Competitiveness court and relate them to relevant company visits. Applications discussed will also include luxury brand management, integrated supply chains, and consequences of specific business model choices for valuation, revenue potential, and brand equity objectives. Last but not least, several activities are planned that will allow students to engage in and embrace Italian history and culture. Past excursions include a night at La Scala, a guided tour of Milan, a viewing of Leonardo DaVinci's The Last Supper, and attending a soccer game at San Siro.
Prerequisites: ECN7200, ECN7201, ECN7500 or ECN7505
- Program: Graduate
- Division: Economics
- Level: MSF Elective (Grad),Graduate Elective (Grad)
- Course Number: ECN7575
- Number of Credits: 3
COM3511 Business Presentations
(Formerly MOB3511)
2 General CreditsIf you took and passed MOB3511, you cannot register for COM3511, as these two courses are equivalent
This is a performance course designed to build upon basic presentation skills and concepts. Focus will be directed toward presentation strategies for informative and persuasive speeches for business settings. Students will present virtual and in-class, high-impact presentations. The course will enforce communication concepts to allow students to become effective critical thinkers as creators and consumers of messages.
Prerequisites: RHT II
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Marketing
- Level: Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Management (UGrad)
- Course Number: COM3511
- Number of Credits: 2
COM3500 Business Storytelling
4 Advanced Management Credits
This 4-credit course provides students with the opportunity to research and explore areas of business interest by engaging with and re-telling the stories of entrepreneurs. In this course, students will have the opportunity to learn about an area of entrepreneurial interest directly from entrepreneurs through guest lectures, one-on-one interviews, and secondary research. The goal of this course is to immerse students in the stories of entrepreneurs and to provide them with the business communication competence to retell these stories to a wider business audience.
Students will attend guest lectures by entrepreneurial leaders who will discuss their experiences and provide students with material to help them find and craft effective entrepreneurial stories. Students will develop skills in project planning, interview technique, recording and transcribing, and they will explore the ethical and legal considerations of presenting the stories and ideas of others. Students will complete 4-6 blog posts of varying length and topic to a predetermined business audience. Students will complete shorter activities (background subject research, designing interview protocols, peer review, editing exercises, business audience analysis) to support their business blog portfolio. Students will also consider how digital writing environments help writers address multiple audiences.
The course will culminate in the public presentation of their pieces as part of a digital takeover of one of Babson's storytelling channels.
Prerequisites: SME Courses
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Marketing
- Level: Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Management (UGrad)
- Course Number: COM3500
- Number of Credits: 4
ECN7550 Business Strategy and Game Theory 3 Elective Credits This course makes extensive use of Game Theory (in addition to applied economics and other emerging strategic models) to provide a systematic and rigorous approach for formulating winning strategies for creating and capturing value in the context of interdependence and uncertainty. This course will empower you with the knowledge and skills to frame the strategic questions for data analysis and turn data into strategic insight and foresight for agile startups as well as for large corporations. Case studies are used to illustrate successful application of strategies. The teaching method utilizes simulations, gaming, and practical, case-based discussions. Topics include: threats and opportunities in the supply chain, the dynamics of pricing rivalry, entry decisions/entry deterrence, mergers and acquisitions, strategic commitment, negotiating, bidding, and managing innovation for sustaining competitive advantage. Antitrust issues are also addressed.
Prerequisites: None
- Program: Graduate
- Division: Economics
- Level: MSBA Elective (Grad),Graduate Elective (Grad)
- Course Number: ECN7550
- Number of Credits: 3
COM3511 Business Presentations
(Formerly MOB3511 Business Presentations)
2 General CreditsStudents who took this as MOB3511 cannot register for this courseThis is a performance course designed to build upon basic presentation skills and concepts. Focus will be directed toward presentation strategies for informative and persuasive speeches for business settings. Students will present virtual and in-class, high-impact presentations. The course will enforce communication concepts to allow students to become effective critical thinkers as creators and consumers of messages.
Prerequisites: RHT1001 or WRT2000
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Marketing
- Level: Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Management (UGrad)
- Course Number: COM3521
- Number of Credits: 2
COM3522 Business Writing
4 Advanced Management Credits
Business Writing is an interdisciplinary writing course designed to improve the business communication competency of undergraduate students. In this course students will gain the tools necessary to produce effective business writing in a variety of multi-modal contexts. Students will read, discuss, and respond to materials that provide historical context for business communication norms and genres and present research-driven strategies for communicating effectively to a variety of audiences. Students will complete practice cases where they will be expected to apply a problem-solving approach to producing audience-driven, goal-oriented business communication genres. These cases will build toward a larger service learning project with an external partner in order to deepen their understanding of business norms and practices.
Prerequisites: MKT2000
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Marketing
- Level: Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Management (UGrad)
- Course Number: COM3522
- Number of Credits: 4
EPS7545 The Entrepreneurial Extension: Buying a Small Business
1.5 CreditsThis course will delve deeply into the challenges, process, and risks of buying a small business. Students will explore the intricacies of planning, evaluating and negotiating to buy a small business from a family-controlled or privately-owned enterprise. All aspects of financing and equity structure alternatives plus the industry peculiarities of acquiring a small business will be explored via cases, discussion, and an individual research paper.
This course is geared specifically to buying a small business and links with EPS7530 (M&A for Entrepreneurs) which focuses on a broad understanding of middle-market company M&A and is geared to students looking to buy a business in the future or students entering the corporate or advisory world.
Prerequisites: None
**It is recommended that students also take EPS7530 (M&A for Entrepreneurs) in order to develop a deep understanding of the M&A process**
- Program: Graduate
- Division: Entrepreneurship
- Level: Graduate Elective (Grad)
- Course Number: EPS7545
- Number of Credits: 1.5
EPS7546 Buying a Small Business: The Search Experience
1.5 CreditsThis course compliments EPS 7545 (Buying a Small Business) and EPS 7530 (M&A for Entrepreneurs) by allowing students interested in buying a business the opportunity to conduct a live search under the supervision of their Professor. Enrollment in or successful completion of either of the courses listed above is a prerequisite for this course.
The latter stage of the MBA program is an excellent time to conduct a business search. Students can learn from their experiences, share lessons with fellow students and actually find a serious business acquisition opportunity within a three-month semester.
The course will include group seminars and private sessions with the Professor for planning and review of the individual search plan. Students are expected to spend 30-40 hours during the semester conducting a serious search.
Group seminars will cover the following areas:
- Self Assessment
- Definition of the Search Objectives
- Preparation of a Business Plan for the Search
- Preparation of a Communications and Target Plan
- Opportunity Risk and Opportunity Process
- Strategies for Information, Due Diligence & Negotiations
- Keeping the Deal Alive
- The Closing Process
Prerequisites: Students who enroll in this course must be currently enrolled in EPS7530 or EPS7545 or have completed one of these courses in a prior semester AND also have completed EPS7200 or equivalent core
- Program: Graduate
- Division: Entrepreneurship
- Level: Graduate Elective (Grad)
- Course Number: EPS7546
- Number of Credits: 1.5
HIS4616 Cambodia: Rebuilding Culture and Economy After Genocide
4 Advanced Liberal Arts Credits
In this action-oriented seminar students will explore the historical, political, and cultural events that shape Cambodian politics, culture and economy in Cambodia and the Cambodian diaspora today. After a brief historical introduction including the 600 years of Angkor civilization, Buddhism, and French colonialism, we will study the Khmer Rouge genocide (1975-1979) and its aftermath, and the current revival of society, economy, music, film, and dance. Our texts will include histories, memoirs, films, fieldtrips (as possible during Covid-19) and interviews in Lowell, MA - the second largest Cambodian-American community in the U.S. Students may be able to include a service learning component by teaching English online to 7-9th graders in a rural Cambodian school.
Prerequisites: Any combination of 2 ILA (HSS, LTA, CSP, LVA, CVA)
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: History and Society
- Level: Advanced Liberal Arts 4600 Requirement (UGrad),Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: HIS4616
- Number of Credits: 4
FIN7502 Capital Markets
3 Elective CreditsThis course provides a survey of modern capital markets and a framework for understanding their continuing transformation. The course is suitable either for a person looking to make a career in finance or a generalist looking to broaden their knowledge of financial markets. The course begins by studying the fixed income markets, concentrating on Treasury bonds and the determinants of the yield curve. The course also considers certain derivatives, such as options and interest rate swaps. Mortgage markets are studied by analyzing structured mortgage products as well as the role financial intermediaries play in mortgage finance. The course proceeds to consider the causes and the effects of the credit crisis on various markets and intermediaries, including investment and commercial banks, and the shadow banking system. The course then turns to the equity markets. In this section, we first consider corporate control contests, including a takeover of a U.S. firm by foreign bidder. We analyze the market for money management products, including mutual funds, and exchange-traded funds (ETFs), and robo-advisers. The course concludes by considering traditional vs. new mechanisms for the trading of stocks, including electronic markets and high frequency trading.
Prerequisites: FIN7200, FIN7800 or MSF Program
- Program: Graduate
- Division: Finance
- Level: MSF Elective (Grad),Graduate Elective (Grad)
- Course Number: FIN7502
- Number of Credits: 3
MBA7402 Capstone: Corporate Entrepreneurship
6 CreditsThe Corporate Entrepreneurship capstone course has three learning objectives:
-Integrate and apply accumulated learning experiences since the beginning of the Blended Learning MBA program
-Explore creativity, innovation, and entrepreneurship in greater depth-in corporate and in greenfield settings
-Develop a penetrating understanding of the process required to create something of significant value out of almost nothing
Students form teams and develop a business plan based on either a project identified within their companies or a greenfield project.
- Program: Graduate
- Division: Other
- Course Number: MBA7402
- Number of Credits: 6
MOB2322 Career Exploration Lab
1 Non-Academic CreditThis course is designed as a companion learning course for students engaged in an internship experience. The goal of the course is to help students enrich their career learning through facilitated analysis and reflection on their work experience. Students will apply key career concepts to their own situations and be challenged to compare and contrast their experience with that of their peers.
NOTE: The format for this course is self-directed over the course of the internship. You are responsible for completing each deliverable on time. Students must have secured an internship prior to registration in the course (internships will not be provided).
Prerequisites: completion of FME
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Other
- Level: Free Elective (UGrad)
- Course Number: MOB2322
- Number of Credits: 1
MOB3531 Career Launch: Internship Experience Lab
2 Advanced Management Credits
This course is open to all students who have secured internships that occur concurrently with the course , and is designed to enrich the internship experience by facilitating deliberate observation, reflection, and integration of learning with the actual workplace internship experience. To achieve this goal, students will complete assignments related to emotional intelligence, communication, teamwork, critical thinking, leadership, professionalism, and career management and relate these topics to their internship experience.
This course offers a unique opportunity for students to explore their roles in organizations while simultaneously building and enhancing their professional competencies. The curriculum is structured to work in lockstep with students' work experience, providing guidance and mentorship to succeed in their internship, explore and assess career readiness, evaluate organizational values and leadership, and practice professional behavior. Learning in this course will include readings, assessments, written reflections, group discussions, peer engagement, and supervisor feedback.
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Prerequisites: (FME 1000) or ( MOB 1010)
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Management
- Level: Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Management (UGrad)
- Course Number: MOB3531
- Number of Credits: 2
QTM2000 Case Studies in Business Analytics
4 Intermediate Liberal Arts CreditsThis course builds on the modeling skills acquired in the QTM core with special emphasis on case studies in Business Analytics - the science of iterative exploration of data that can be used to gain insights and optimize business processes. Data visualization and predictive analytics techniques are used to investigate the relationships between items of interest to improve the understanding of complex managerial models with sometimes large data sets to aid decision-making. These techniques and methods are introduced with widely used commercial statistical packages for data mining and predictive analytics, in the context of real-world applications from diverse business areas such as marketing, finance, and operations. Students will gain exposure to a variety of software packages, including R, the most popular open-source package used by analytics practitioners around the world. Topics covered include advanced methods for data visualization, logistic regression, decision tree learning methods, clustering, and association rules. Case studies draw on examples ranging from database marketing to financial forecasting. This course satisfies one of the core requirements towards the new Business Analytics concentration. It may also be used as an advanced liberal arts elective or an elective in the Quantitative Methods or Statistical Modeling concentrations.
Prerequisites: QTM1010 (or QTM2420)
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Mathematics Analytics Science and Technology
- Level: Intermediate Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: QTM2000
- Number of Credits: 4
NST2060 Case Studies in Drug Development Systems
4 Intermediate Liberal Arts CreditsDrug development is a dynamic, multidisciplinary industry that encompasses the discovery, scientific, clinical and economic assessment of a new compound's safety, efficacy, potential side effects and requires the collaboration and innovation of scientists, chemists, clinicians, statisticians, lawmakers, business leaders and entrepreneurs. Over the last 30 years, the idealized goal of drug discovery has been to identify a specific chemical substance that is highly specific for a single molecular target and arrests or stems the advancement of disease. Although the goal is highly specific and the process seems linear, there are many contributing, and often unforeseen factors that inform drug design, the drug development pipeline and the eventual success or failure of a given drug candidate. In this course, we will take a systems approach to identify and describe all of the contributing elements of identifying, characterizing and bringing a drug to market, to define the physiological, biological, economic and regulatory systems that characterize the process and to outline the social, economic and environmental considerations of a sustainable and productive model for drug development.
Prerequisites: NST10XX (NST 1)
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Mathematics Analytics Science and Technology
- Level: Intermediate Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: NST2060
- Number of Credits: 4
NST2020 Case Studies in Ecosystems Management
4 Intermediate Liberal Arts CreditsSuccessful businesses must fully appreciate and understand sustainable management strategies for our vital natural resources. Here we will focus on understanding the ecological principles of natural resource management while exploring new strategies for environmental conservation.
Prerequisites: NST10%
This course is not equivalent to HSS2080. Please disregard the note indicating equivalency. The system is not able to correct this at this time.
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Mathematics Analytics Science and Technology
- Level: Intermediate Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: NST2020
- Number of Credits: 4
SOC4615 Childhood and Youth
4 Advanced Liberal Arts CreditsThis course exercises the sociological imagination in understanding how children are molded by social institutions and interactions, as well as the manner in which children utilize agency to react to, change, and reproduce their own social realities. By examining childhood, students will gain an understanding of how inequalities and opportunities are pervasive shapers of children's realities and adulthood outcomes, from both interpersonal and structural levels. Through in-class discussions and writing assignments, students will explore and critique theories of childhood. Reflecting on the perspectives of children as socialized beings and as social actors, we will analyze the intersecting roles of the family, culture, education, authority, gender, race, social class, and ideology in shaping childhood.
Prerequisites: Any combination of 2 ILA (HSS, LTA, CSP, LVA, CVA)
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: History and Society
- Level: Advanced Liberal Arts 4600 Requirement (UGrad),Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: SOC4615
- Number of Credits: 4
HSS2013 China Today: The Dragon Rises
4 Intermediate Liberal Arts CreditsThis intermediate history course will introduce you to China's dynamic present within the context of the complex legacy of the Chinese past. We will examine the historical, cultural, political, and economic development of post 1949 China, with brief introductions to relevant aspects of the imperial past. You will gain a nuanced appreciation for the incredible economic growth of China from 1990 to the present, and the concomitant problems of state-society relations, human rights, minority relations, the environment, and the gaps between the rich and the poor and the urban and rural citizens. We will take advantage of Boston's resources through site visits to view Chinese art, undertake a scavenger hunt in Chinatown, and enjoy Chinese food. We will explore China through the use of scholarship, fiction, maps, memoir, art, film, and music.
Prerequisites: (FCI1000 or AHS1000) and (WRT1001or RHT1000)
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: History and Society
- Level: Intermediate Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: HSS2013
- Number of Credits: 4
CHN2200 Chinese I
4 General CreditsAn introduction to practical and functional knowledge of modern Mandarin Chinese. Emphasis on developing proficiency in fundamental language skills: listening, speaking, reading and writing, using basic expressions and sentence patterns. Computer programs for pronunciation, listening comprehension, grammar and writing Chinese characters will be used extensively.
Prerequisites: None
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Arts and Humanities
- Level: Free Elective (UGrad)
- Course Number: CHN2200
- Number of Credits: 4
CHN4610 Chinese II
4 Advanced Liberal Arts CreditsA continuation of the fall semester, an introduction to practical and functional knowledge of modern Mandarin Chinese. Emphasis on developing proficiency in fundamental language skills: listening, speaking, reading and writing, using basic expressions and sentence patterns. Computer programs for pronunciation, listening comprehension, grammar and writing Chinese characters will be used extensively.
Prerequisites: CHN1210 or CHN2200
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Arts and Humanities
- Level: Advanced Liberal Arts 4600 Requirement (UGrad),Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: CHN4610
- Number of Credits: 4
NST1070 Climate and Human Health
4 CreditsThis course investigates the interaction between the spheres of natural science and human health. Human activities impact the global climate and the resultant climate change impacts human health, both directly and indirectly. This course focuses on the background of various global health issues and their links to climate using the scientific method and multiple data-driven activities to evaluate research questions. We will also evaluate the integrity of scientific data, assessing reliable sources of information with respect to transparency and scientific bias.
Specific topics covered in this course include the connections between global changes such as sea level and temperature rise with human impacts including increasing climate migration, spread of infectious disease, and threats to food security. We will also investigate connections between industrialized agricultural, fossil fuel use, and the deterioration of water and air quality. Finally, we address the prominent role of environmental racism in the human health and climate connection. In taking this course, students will gain a broader understanding about the long-term effects of their actions, both on themselves as individuals and on other global citizens, and recognize opportunities for individual and systemic changes that result in a more sustainable world.
Prerequisites: None
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Mathematics Analytics Science and Technology
- Level: Foundation Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: NST1070
- Number of Credits: 4
ECN3664 College FED Challenge
2 Advanced Liberal Arts Elective CreditsThis course exposes selected students to a rigorous exploration of advanced macroeconomic and monetary economic concepts, with a special emphasis on the conduct of monetary policy by the U.S. Federal Reserve. During the semester, students will research appropriate economic topics and make policy-oriented presentations. All aspects of the course will emphasize teamwork. The culminating experience of the course will be participation in the College Fed Challenge where students will present a fifteen minute monetary policy recommendation to a panel of local economists at the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston. The presentation is followed by a 15 minutes question and answer session.
Prerequisites: ECN3615
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Economics
- Level: Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: ECN3664
- Number of Credits: 2
SEN1338 Color Anarchy!
(Student Instructor: Angie Kalsi) Color is all around us and influences our everyday lives. From the clothes we wear to the way we decorate our living environments, the colors we choose to surround ourselves with greatly influence our mood, our decision-making, and even the opinions of those around us. In this course, students will re-learn what they thought they knew about color. They will be encouraged to challenge their own expectations of what color and design can be. In this course, we will be creating!
Tuesdays 6:30 - 9:00 pm
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Other
- Course Number: SEN1338
- Number of Credits: 0
FLM4671 Comic Form in Film
4 Advanced Liberal Arts CreditsThis course explores the history and theory of comic form as it applies to movies from the silent film era to the present. Beginning with silent comedies and progressing to more recent films, we will consider such topics as comedy's roots in ancient ritual; recurring comic character types and genre conventions; irony, satire, anarchy, and surrealism as comic principles; and dark comedy. Course readings will introduce students to narrative theories, aesthetic and philosophical questions, and analytical models that address the purposes and strategies of comic form.
Prerequisites: Any combination of 2 ILA (HSS, LTA, CSP, LVA, CVA)
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Arts and Humanities
- Level: Advanced Liberal Arts 4600 Requirement (UGrad),Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: FLM4671
- Number of Credits: 4
SEN 1345: Coming of Age Narratives: The Art of TV, Film and Popular Culture
Instructor: Kristina Dang
This seminar will explore the genre of coming-of-age TV shows with themes such as love and sex, gender, substance use, wealth and class, and generational trauma. We will watch shows such as Degrassi, Euphoria, Gossip Girl, Glee, and One Tree Hill. Through engaging lectures and interactive discussions, students will be able to contextualize the TV shows they watch. Additionally, students will contribute to conversations by sharing TV shows they enjoy. By the end of the course, we will have a profound appreciation for the art of visual storytelling and depiction of real-life experiences in pop culture.
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Other
- Course Number: SEN1345
- Number of Credits: 0
COM7503 Communicating and Collaborating in Virtual Teams
3 Elective CreditsIn this fully online course, students will learn how to successfully collaborate and communicate in virtual teams. Students will begin by reading and discussing course readings on organizational and global communication; virtual communication; and theoretical frameworks of the use of AI technologies in order to build a working knowledge of current collaboration technologies and effective communication in different contexts. Using this knowledge as a backdrop, students will explore and analyze the impact that these technologies have on business and communication. Students will apply their communication knowledge to a practical experience with existing virtual collaboration tools through shorter group assignments, guest speakers, interviews with remote workers, and a longer writing and oral presentation final project.
During the course, students will be expected to hold virtual class and group meetings, use and evaluate collaboration and project management tools, reflect on their virtual communication and leadership experiences, lead weekly remote group work, and write a final professional research report analyzing the communicative and collaborative effectiveness of state-of-the-art technology used in today's corporate environment.
In this revamped offering, our Babson students will be paired with Nord University (Norway) students for half of the Spring semester to engage in an exciting VE/COIL project. VE/COIL, which stands for Virtual Exchange/Collaborative Online International Learning, is an emerging global exchange opportunity for students and faculty to collaborate across institutions. Students will complete a consulting project for Yara International, a Norwegian company. In this project, students from Babson will partner with Nord University students virtually in a true global experiential learning environment.
Prerequisites: None
- Program: Graduate
- Division: Marketing
- Level: Graduate Elective (Grad)
- Course Number: COM7503
- Number of Credits: 3
MKT3501 Communicating for Consumer Behavior Change
4 Free Elective CreditsIn this course, students learn and draw upon interdisciplinary theories in psychology, marketing and persuasion/influence to explore the nature of behavioral change at the individual, consumer and societal levels. Centered around a major social marketing project, students will test theories of persuasive communication and choice architecture to explore how to use the knowledge of human experience to shape behavior for social good.
Prerequisites: MKT 2000
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Marketing
- Level: Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Management (UGrad)
- Course Number: MKT3501
- Number of Credits: 4
COM3504 Communicating in Global Virtual Teams
(Formerly MOB3504)
4 Advanced Management CreditsIf you took and passed MOB3504, you cannot register for COM3504, as these two courses are equivalent
In this course, students will learn how to successfully engage, collaborate and communicate in global virtual teams. Students will begin by reading and discussing assigned course reading on global communication, virtual collaboration, organizational communication, and writing in groups in preparation for a major cross-institutional global project.
In collaboration with Marshall School of Business at USC, students will participate in the 6-week global Virtual Business Professional (VBP), project, which puts students in diverse international teams using Slack's communication platform to complete a written social media assessment project for Google, Amazon, or Starbucks. At the conclusion of the project, faculty teaching in the program will choose the best report for each company. Google, Amazon, and Starbucks are partnering with the project and a representative from each company will pick one of the three winners.
Students will be expected to hold virtual meetings, use project management tools, create online presentations, and write a final report using state-of-the-art technology used in today's corporate environment. The VBP project runs from approximately week 4 to week 9 of the academic semester. During this time, class work will include discussing experiences working in the project, identifying and considering shared challenges, and engaging with scholarly and popular reading that can help students in the project.
Prerequisites: None
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Marketing
- Level: Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Management (UGrad)
- Course Number: COM3504
- Number of Credits: 4
POL4645 Comparative Latin American Politics
4 Advanced Liberal Arts Credits
Comparative politics is a core subfield of Political Science and International Relations. The study of comparative politics has a lively and engaging body of scholars who are dedicated to understanding the potentials and limitations of democracy. The field has developed many interesting areas of research focusing on the comparison of political systems, national institutions, gender rights, environmental issues, and economic development.
This is an advanced level course, focused on contemporary Latin American politics. The course begins with an introduction to theories and methods of comparative politics, and a brief overview of basic concepts in political science such as different forms of government, electoral systems, and democratic systems. The course then discusses six central themes in comparative politics in Latin America: Party Systems and Political Representation, Economic Development and Inequality, Environmental Policies, Gender Policies, Regional Migration, and Foreign Relations. In each of these six themes, we will use cases from various Latin American countries for an in-depth discussion.
Prerequisites: Any combination of 2 ILA (HSS, LTA, CSP, LVA, CVA)
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: History and Society
- Level: Advanced Liberal Arts 4600 Requirement (UGrad),Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: POL4645
- Number of Credits: 4
HSS2033 Comparative Politics
4 Intermediate Liberal Arts CreditsComparative politics is a field that seeks to understand political dynamics within states and to understand a variety of political phenomena common in many countries. This course will use such cases as Britain, France, Russia, China, Iran, India, and Brazil to look at issues of nationalism, economic policies, institutional design, development, and social change. Comparative Politics is also characterized by a methodology that seeks to illuminate the reasons for similarities and differences across countries and provide some tools to think more critically about various political claims and proposals.
Prerequisites: (FCI1000 or AHS1000) and (WRT1001or RHT1000)
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: History and Society
- Level: Intermediate Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: HSS2033
- Number of Credits: 4
OIM9530 Competing on Analytics
1.5 Intensive Elective Credits
Meeting Dates TBD
Drop Deadline TBD
McKinsey Global Institute is predicting a shortage of over a million managers and analysts with the analytics know-how to make effective decisions. In this course, you will learn about some of the most important analytics-related trends, how enterprises and entire industries are being transformed by analytics, and how to build a competitive data strategy and team. We will also discuss various approaches and tools for analyzing structured and unstructured data.
To complement our strategy discussion, we will explore some popular business intelligence tools. You will have the opportunity to get "hands-on" with a few of these tools.
The highlight of this course will be an industry-specific team project employing concepts and best practices discussed in class.
Note (1): If you have professional analytics experience, please contact the professor in advance of registering to assure alignment with your interests and needs.
Note (2): You will need a reasonably current PC or Mac. Mac users will need to download an app from the Apple AppStore. Details will be provided in advance of class.
- Program: Graduate
- Division: Operations and Information Management
- Level: MSF Elective (Grad),Graduate Elective (Grad)
- Course Number: OIM9530
- Number of Credits: 1.5
OIM3600 Computer Science for Business Students
4 Advanced Liberal Arts Credits
This course, Introduction to Computer Science for Business Students, is designed for business students who are interested in learning about the fundamental concepts of computer science. The course covers a wide range of topics including hardware, the internet, programming in Scratch and Python, basic algorithms, web development using HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, SQL, and Flask. In addition, the course also covers important concepts in cybersecurity. Throughout the course, students will work on multiple projects including a final capstone project that integrates and applies the knowledge and skills learned in the previous sessions. Group work and projects are significant elements of the course, as students will have the opportunity to collaborate and learn from each other in a team setting. By the end of the course, students should have a strong foundation in computer science and be able to apply these concepts in a business context.
Prerequisites: None
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Operations and Information Management
- Level: Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: OIM3600
- Number of Credits: 4
HUM4620 Constructing and Performing the Self
4 Advanced Liberal Arts CreditsIn Constructing and Performing the Self students will examine and attempt to answer the most fundamental of questions: Who am I? A question this significant cannot be adequately answered by any one approach, thus the course brings together two very different approaches to guide the investigation. Psychological studies of identity marshal the tools and methods of science to develop and test theories that describe and explain the self. Theater studies bring interpretative and aesthetic perspectives to represent and reveal identity. In this course, these two approaches will be purposely inter-mingled: the questions asked and the answers derived will be informed equally by psychology and theater. Students will see, on a daily basis, how each field informs, supports, and speaks to the other. While there are some class sessions and assignments explicitly grounded in only one field to build students' fluency, the major activities of the semester will require both.
Given how personally applicable both psychology and theater are, students' own sense of identity will be the central text in this course. Like Tom in The Glass Menagerie, students are both the main character in their own life stories and also the narrator of them. This course aims for true interdisciplinary integration, and students will be called upon to use and apply the theoretical work as they build and create an original solo performance about a key moment in their lives. Our hope is that by semester's end students will have taken a concrete step forward in understanding and articulating their sense of self and feel comfortable and confident in their ability to perform for a live, public audience.
Students are asked to alternate between four roles in this course: scholar, writer, actor, and critic.
- Scholars consume information in analytical ways and produce new knowledge that is deeply grounded in their foundational knowledge.
- Writers produce new works, both analytical and creative, that take a novel position and support it.
- Actors give life to both old and new characters, conveying their shifting objectives over time to impact an audience.
- Critics evaluate texts (in our case, performances) with a constructive, thoughtful, and respectful approach that brings new insights.
Some days students will only adopt one role, other students will be asked to oscillate between the
them.
Prerequisites: Any combination of 2 ILA (HSS, LTA, CSP, LVA, CVA)
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Arts and Humanities
- Level: Advanced Liberal Arts 4600 Requirement (UGrad),Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: HUM4620
- Number of Credits: 4
MKT7550 Consumer Behavior
3 CreditsIn-depth analysis of factors that affect purchase decisions in the marketplace. Applies behavioral and social science concepts to the study of buyer behavior. Focuses on the use of knowledge of buyer behavior in marketing decisions. Emphasizes theory, application, and ultimate consumer and organizational buyer behavior. Special attention given to exploring and evaluating buyer behavior research, the role of models in explaining behavior, influence of buyer behavior on development of marketing programs, and issues of consumer protection as they affect marketing strategy.
Prerequisites: MKT7200 or MKT7800
- Program: Graduate
- Division: Marketing
- Level: Graduate Elective (Grad)
- Course Number: MKT7550
- Number of Credits: 3
MKT3510 Consumer Insights and Research
(Formerly Marketing Research)
4 General CreditsThis course provides students with hands-on experience with marketing research and analysis. Marketing research is simply an organized way of developing and providing information for decision-making purposes. The quality of information depends on the care exercised at each step of the marketing research process. These steps include problem definition, research design, data collection methods, questionnaire design, measurement, sampling, data analysis, data interpretation. The class will discuss key elements and issues in marketing research including sources of data, data collection techniques and analytical approaches for providing information to be used in managers' decision. The first part of the class will focus on research process and design. In this section students will learn how to formulate a research problem, determine a research design, evaluate methods for data collection and develop instruments for data collection. The second part of the class will focus on how to analyze the data and recommend the appropriate action to management.
Prerequisites: SME2011 or MKT2000
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Marketing
- Level: Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Management (UGrad)
- Course Number: MKT3510
- Number of Credits: 4
MKT3550 Consumer Psychology and Shopper Marketing
(Formerly Consumer Behavior)
4 General CreditsThis interdisciplinary course discusses how the consumer is the focus of the marketing system. Drawing on research from sociology, psychology, strategy and economics, this course focuses on the factors that shape consumer needs and influence buying behavior. The content of the course explores individual behavioral variables (needs, motives, perceptions, attitudes, personality, and learning) and group influences (social groups and culture) as they affect the consumer decision-making process. The objective of the course is to help students understand how to analyze marketing programs, especially the communications mix and market segmentation, to improve consumer satisfaction.
Prerequisites: SME2011 or MKT2000
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Marketing
- Level: Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Management (UGrad)
- Course Number: MKT3550
- Number of Credits: 4
HUM4640 Contagious Cultures: Narrative, Film, Society
(Formerly Literature and Film of Contagion)
4 Advanced Liberal Arts Credits
Wherever you live in the world, it is almost certain that your life has been affected if not profoundly transformed over the past two years. The experience of living through such a vast contagion prompted me to think not about illness (I think we're exhausted by that), but about the spreadability and transmission of all sorts of infectious content. In this course, we will look very little at narratives of actual physical contagions. Instead, we will study contagion-as-metaphor for the expansion of a wide range of ideas and movements that propagate, spread, go viral, catch on, etcetera. Through narrative and film, discussion and debate, we will consider such overt topics as humor, laughter, and fear, but also beliefs, environmental contagion, cheating, social media, scapegoating and cancel culture, hair and fashion styles, protest, hope, and happiness, among other possibilities. Why and how do we aspire to some concepts going "viral," while striving to contain others? How is the speed and profusion of transmission of things other than disease both a positive and a negative aspect of our contemporary world?
Prerequisites: Any combination of 2 ILA (HSS, LTA, CSP, LVA, CVA)
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Arts and Humanities
- Level: Advanced Liberal Arts 4600 Requirement (UGrad),Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: HUM4640
- Number of Credits: 4
ECN3650 Contemporary Economic Systems
4 Advanced Liberal Arts Elective CreditsAt the heart of contemporary economic debates is the question: what role should government play in the economy? This course provides a framework for understanding the real world implications and outcomes of these debates in the context of economic theories, policies and systems. The course begins with an exploration of the major economic theories as they have emerged through time and the problems each theory has sought to address. The course explores the big ideas in economics from free markets to communism to managed markets, and covers the core debates surrounding the relevance of fiscal, monetary, trade and policy/regulatory policies. The course then uses several policy and country case studies to explore the application of these ideas to pressing issues such as structural unemployment, inequality, civil conflict, climate change and the impacts of trade, focusing as well on the potential role of businesses and entrepreneurs in addressing these issues. Emphasizing fact-based analysis in assessing the goals and outcomes of diverse policies, the course builds critical thinking skills and helps prepare students for leadership roles in a dynamic global business environment.
Prerequisites: (SME2031 or ECN2002) and ECN2000
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Economics
- Level: Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: ECN3650
- Number of Credits: 4
LIT4605 Contemporary World Literature: The Writing of the Unreal
4 Advanced Liberal Arts CreditsStudents who have taken VA2036 are not permitted to take LIT4605This course examines contemporary world literature through the specific prism of _the unreal_. Writers from Latin America, the Caribbean, East Asia, Europe, Africa, and the Middle East will be examined in their rich experiments with surrealism, anti-realism, and hyper-realism. Moreover, this course will explore the enigmatic conceptual territories of the dream, the nightmare, the fantasy, the illusion, the hallucination, the mirage, the vision, and the simulation as breakaway zones of the global literary imagination. To achieve this task, we will evaluate authors as diverse as Franz Kafka, Ghada Samman, Haruki Murakami, Clarice Lispector, Jose Saramago, Naguib Mahfouz, Kobo Abe, Juan Rulfo, Vi Khi Nao, and Reinaldo Arenas, interrogating their different approaches to the creation of phantasmatic, strange, and unknown spaces.
Prerequisites: Any combination of 2 ILA (HSS, LTA, CSP, LVA, CVA)
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Arts and Humanities
- Level: Advanced Liberal Arts 4600 Requirement (UGrad),Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: LIT4605
- Number of Credits: 4
EPS7507 Corporate Entrepreneurship
3 Credits Corporations caught up in the web of commoditization and stagnation have come to realize that they need entrepreneurial capabilities to create new platforms of business that will be the promise of the future. Yet overall, these efforts have produced uneven success. Although entrepreneurs in organizations can benefit from the resources, experience, financial assets and networks of the large company, they are constrained by its bureaucratic practices. Recent evidence points to corporate leaders' renewed attention to developing management systems that work with, rather than against intrapreneurs. In this course we will examine various approaches companies have taken to build this organizational capability. We examine five different approaches and consider the shortcomings or each. We will build the rationale for why innovation must become an organizational function if a company truly wishes to compete for the Future. We focus at the organizational level rather than the individual project level, seeking insights about how organizations can institutionalize structures and processes for entrepreneurship, even within a dominant culture of operational excellence that, of necessity, pervades most large established firms.
- Program: Graduate
- Division: Entrepreneurship
- Level: Graduate Elective (Grad)
- Course Number: EPS7507
- Number of Credits: 3
FIN7516 Corporate Finance: Evaluating Opportunities
(Formerly Strategic Corporate Investment)
3 Elective CreditsIf you have taken and passed FIN7506, you cannot register for FIN7516, as these two courses are equivalent
This course is designed for those interested in evaluating complex long-term strategic investment proposals and valuing firms and subsidiaries for merger and acquisition purposes. Building on the foundation of the finance core, it explores finance theory to identify pitfalls, common mistakes, and best practices in corporate valuation. It expands valuation skills by introducing the equity approach and the adjusted present value (APV) valuation method, the preferred approach when capital structure is changing over time (e.g. in private equity transactions). It also covers the identification and valuation of real options embedded in strategic initiatives.
Prerequisites: FIN7200 or FIN7800
- Program: Graduate
- Division: Finance
- Level: MSF Core (Grad),MSF Elective (Grad),Graduate Elective (Grad)
- Course Number: FIN7516
- Number of Credits: 3
FIN7511 Corporate Finance: Raising Capital
(Formerly Financing the Firm)
3 Elective Credits
This course is designed to help students develop analytical and communication tools and skills to build and present financing strategies and manage the right hand side of the balance sheet. It explores the theoretical and practical issues of capital structure design and considers firm financing alternatives, including equity, long-term debt, hybrid securities, leasing, securitization, project finance, and It also examines the processes through which securities are issued and capital is raised, such as angel financing, venture capital and private equity, and public offerings. The course also explores share repurchase, dividend policy, and risk management.
Prerequisites: FIN7200 or FIN7800
- Program: Graduate
- Division: Finance
- Level: MSF Elective (Grad),Graduate Elective (Grad)
- Course Number: FIN7511
- Number of Credits: 3
FIN3515 Corporate Financial Management
4 General Elective CreditsThis course is designed for students interested in corporate financial management. Its principal goals are to provide the concepts and techniques required to make long-term investment and financing decisions within the firm. At the end of the course, students will be able to make real asset investment decisions by valuing a proposed investment project or acquisition. Students will also be able to qualitatively and quantitatively assess the appropriateness of a firm's financing policy. Topics covered include alternative valuation methods, estimating cost of capital, real options, capital structure, and corporate payout policy.
Prerequisites: SME2021 or FIN
Recommended: ACC3502
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Finance
- Level: Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Management (UGrad)
- Course Number: FIN3515
- Number of Credits: 4
FIN4510 Corporate Finance Modeling and Decision Tools
4 General CreditsThis course is designed to provide a practical application of corporate finance skills to a variety of analyses commonly performed by investment bank and commercial bank financial analysts. Mergers and acquisitions, initial public offerings, private equity placements, senior and mezzanine debt issuances, leveraged buyouts, and other common financial transactions will be covered. We will explore the process of each transaction and place heavy emphasis on the role of the financial analyst in analyzing each situation. Students will gather source data and build and apply models typically used in practice by investment banks, commercial banks, and corporate finance consultants. The course is designed for those interested in careers in investment banking, commercial banking, corporate finance consulting, and strategic planning.
Prerequisites: SME2021 or FIN2000
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Finance
- Level: Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Management (UGrad)
- Course Number: FIN4510
- Number of Credits: 4
FIN4540 Corporate Financial Strategy
4 General Elective CreditsWith the quickening rate of technological, demographic, institutional, and political change and globalization, managers, consultants, and investment bankers face increasingly turbulent and complex business environments. This course investigates the use of financial instruments and strategies to achieve a sustainable competitive advantage and create value. The course explores the relationships among corporate strategy, corporate finance, and financial innovation, and should be of interest to managers who aspire to use financial strategy and tools to support their strategic choices and to those who will be advising corporations on how to achieve their financial goals.
Prerequisites: SME2021
Recommended: ACC3502
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Finance
- Level: Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Management (UGrad)
- Course Number: FIN4540
- Number of Credits: 4
MOB3524: Crafting a Meaningful Career
4 advanced management credits
One reason many of you came to Babson was to launch your careers. This class explores what it means to craft a career that is meaningful and can sustain you over the course of your life. We will also think about what it means to develop the careers of others. In this course, we take an evidence-based, critical approach to designing, evaluating, and updating our careers. We will use concepts you have learned previously in your Babson curriculum - like ET&A and design thinking - and apply them to designing careers, yours and others', so that they can be meaningful and sustainable. The class involves regular journaling, an intensive design workshop, a "hands-on" planning session with Babson CCD, and a final project to reinforce course concepts.
For more information: https://babson.instructuremedia.com/embed/155ca07f-2f36-4998-9d21-589a178ad4b0
Prerequisites: (FME1000 and FME1001) or (EPS1000 and MOB1010)
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Management
- Level: Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Management (UGrad)
- Course Number: MOB3524
- Number of Credits: 4
MOB7200 Creating and Leading Effective Organizations
2 CreditsCreating and Leading Effective Organizations (CLEO) - This course studies the core issues of entrepreneurial leadership: how to get things done when you can't give orders, how to develop influence and build effective teams and organizations, and how to design and implement management structures and processes for high performance. There will be opportunity for practicing influence, stakeholder analysis and action planning skills.
- Program: Graduate
- Division: Management
- Course Number: MOB7200
- Number of Credits: 2
MOB6110 Creating Entrepreneurial Leaders
MSEL Course
3 CreditsCreating You is designed to prepare students for the lifelong process of building and managing their career in a global context. Becoming an entrepreneurial leader is a process of self-discovery and self-creation that is enhanced by time for active experimentation and reflection. This course will guide students through the process of developing their professional identity and foster the skills necessary to navigate the journey after graduation.
- Program: Graduate
- Division: Management
- Course Number: MOB6110
- Number of Credits: 3
EPS7503 Creating Epic Organizations
3 Elective CreditsThis course welcomes students who seek an intellectual and professional "sandbox" to pursue "EPIC" opportunities for themselves or for their companies. EPIC opportunities empower you and others to pursue big, bold initiatives, pioneer new technologies, markets, or business models, inspire new solutions to address the UN Global Goals, and require courage to tackle different problems. You will wrestle with managerial and societal issues that call for entrepreneurial leaders to take a stand and chart a new path with EPIC initiatives.
In this course, you will study historical and contemporary examples, role models, and scenarios of EPIC opportunities and pursuits. You will examine both academic research and practical resources to understand the core principles of operating with an EPIC mindset. You will learn a set of EPIC tools to apply immediately in your own ventures, workplace, or careers. You will create an action plan that outlines how you intend to pursue an EPIC opportunity - now or in the future.
Prerequisites: None
- Program: Graduate
- Division: Entrepreneurship
- Level: Graduate Elective (Grad)
- Course Number: EPS7503
- Number of Credits: 3
***This course will take place for 4 1/2 days over Spring Break. Exact days and times TBA***
OIM3615 Creating Tech-Savvy Entrepreneurs: A Tech Entrepreneurship Boot Camp
2 Advanced Liberal Arts Credits
The objective of this boot camp is to create an environment for entrepreneurs learn about the role of technology in entrepreneurial endeavors. The role of technology, specifically, information technology, in the context of entrepreneurship is two-fold. On one side, technology is necessary for the management and execution of the venture. On the other hand, technology may be the very focus of the entrepreneurial venture. For both cases, we believe that entrepreneurs need exposure to the foundational concepts of building a technology product. The boot camp is hence designed to cover such foundation concepts including design thinking, agile management, and code development. The boot camp will help entrepreneurs develop an appreciation for these foundational concepts as well as understand how to leverage these concepts for entrepreneurial success.
Prerequisites: None
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Operations and Information Management
- Level: Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: OIM3615
- Number of Credits: 2
SCN3689 Crime Science
4 Advanced Liberal Arts CreditsThis course examines the role that the modern natural sciences play in analyzing physical evidence collected at a crime scene. It begins by defining forensic science and understanding why the government has placed special qualifiers on scientific expert witnesses and their testimony. Students will survey the sciences used in a modern crime lab to understand the principles behind the analyses. Historical and current crimes and their trials as well as a mock crime scene will highlight lecture material. Disciplines that will be covered include Toxicology, Controlled Substances, Arson, DNA, Blood Splatter, Friction Ridge, Ballistics, and Crime Scene Processing.
Prerequisites: NST1
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Mathematics Analytics Science and Technology
- Level: Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: SCN3689
- Number of Credits: 4
CSP 2006: Critical Philosophy of Race
4 advanced liberal arts credit
This course will survey the history of philosophy and race and critical philosophies of race. The first half of the course will begin with a study of the use of Aristotle's Politics as it was taken up by 15th and 16th century theologians in the Spanish and Portuguese empires in the context of the colonization of the Americas. We will then look at early modern philosophy and the shift away from theologically based hierarchies to "scientific" analyses of race as they were developed alongside the Enlightenment political values of individual freedom and republicanism as promised in social contract theory. The first half of the course will end with a case study of the international abolitionist movement. The second half of the course will look specifically at the philosophies of race within the United States as a settler colonial nation. We will look at the social construction of "whiteness" as it coalesced around specific labor and property relations, the prison industrial complex, and contemporary decolonial and abolitionist political philosophy.
Prerequisite: WRT1001 and FCI1000
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Arts and Humanities
- Level: Intermediate Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: CSP2006
- Number of Credits: 4
EPS9551 Critical Questions Facing Business Families: A Coaching Retreat
1.5 Intensive Elective CreditsHow do I move from a parent-child to a professional-peer relationship with my parents?
Topics include, how to build relationship capital in the family, living with your family history, understanding the goals for effective communication, developing next stage communication skills, learning to have hard conversations, how to stop acting like a child, how to get your parents to start acting like a peer, giving and taking feedback in the family, creating a self-coaching family team, creating sibling unity, having successful family meetings, and many more.
- Program: Graduate
- Division: Entrepreneurship
- Level: Graduate Elective (Grad)
- Course Number: EPS9551
- Number of Credits: 1.5
POL4630 Critical Race and Indigenous Studies
4 Advanced Liberal Arts CreditsWhat is race? Who are Indigenous people? What is white supremacy? What is settler colonialism? These questions form the general basis for a class that will bring together Critical Race Studies and Critical Indigenous Studies. A uniting premise of both of these types of "studies" is that race and racial injustice and Indigenous people's claims and experience of marginalization continue to shape political, social, economic, and cultural life. In other words, we do not live in a post-racial or a post-colonial society - white supremacy and settler colonialism persist. This, however, does not end the discussion. Instead, it raises many questions about the history of race as a social and political construct and of the role of Indigenous political struggle and settler colonial rule. This approach also requires us to understand what white supremacy and settler colonialism mean, theoretically and in practice, on their own and in relationship to each other. Along with these concepts, the course will introduce students to such concepts as whiteness as a political identity, the Black radical tradition, the model-minority myth, racial capitalism, intersectionality, queer theory, and many others. Much of the material for the course focuses on the history and present of the U.S. context, but this does not limit the direction the course can take in class discussion and, more importantly, in the papers and projects students produce to fulfill the class requirements.
Prerequisites: Any combination of 2 ILA (HSS, LTA, CSP, LVA, CVA)
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: History and Society
- Level: Advanced Liberal Arts 4600 Requirement (UGrad),Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: POL4630
- Number of Credits: 4
OLN7500 Engineering for Humanity: Helping Elders Age in Place Through Partnerships For Healthy Living (Olin College Spring 2013 Course, specially aimed at 3-College students)Olin College: Engr 2141/AHSE 2141
Instructors: Caitrin Lynch and Ela Ben-Ur
Day/Time: Mondays and Thursdays, 12:30-3 [time can be shifted slightly to accommodate
commute time and lunch; contact the profs]
Do you want to make a positive difference in the lives of older adults in the local
community? We're looking for students with passion to help others and with diverse
backgrounds in arts, humanities, social sciences, business, and/or technical fields. This
innovative, intergenerational course is a partnership between college/graduate students
and local senior citizens. It is co-taught by two Olin College professors with experience in anthropology, design, and mechanical engineering, and will take place at Olin College and in the local communities (home visits and fieldtrips). We will partner Wellesley-Babson-Olin student teams with local senior citizen volunteers, and ultimately the students will design real, implemented solutions to specific everyday problems.
Projects will be customized to meet the needs of the senior citizen partners. Possible projects: students might design a device to help someone who has difficulty reaching up to change a light bulb, something to help hold a newspaper steady with shaky hands, or something to enable someone to get clothes out of a dryer that is difficult to stoop down to reach. The class meets 2x/week; some sessions are devoted to co-design with the client population or to team meetings, other sessions involve guest speakers and fieldtrips, others are for discussion of topics relevant to aging and/or design. No prerequisites; a sense of adventure highly recommended.
More info? See http://e4h.olin.edu/spring2013.html
Questions? Contact Caitrin Lynch clynch@olin.edu
Prerequisites: None
- Program: Graduate
- Division: Other
- Level: Graduate Elective (Grad)
- Course Number: OLN7500
- Number of Credits: 2
EPS3518 Crowdfunding
4 General CreditsThis hands-on workshop gives students the opportunity to plan a crowdfunding campaign for a creative project or entrepreneurial venture. Online crowdfunding builds community around innovative projects by organizing stakeholders and leveraging in-person and online social networks. Goals of crowdfunding include stakeholder alignment, concept testing, product pre-selling and venture de-risking. Students work individually or as part of a team to design a crowdfunding campaign which at students' discretion may be executed following the workshop. Students are expected to meet high standards and the focal point of the course is the production and refinement of a pitch video developed based on stakeholder engagement and opportunity shaping. The course integrates emerging research on crowdfunding and ongoing developments in the industry.
Prerequisites: Students must be at least second semester sophomores.
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Entrepreneurship
- Level: Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Management (UGrad)
- Course Number: EPS3518
- Number of Credits: 4
QTM3674 Cryptology/Coding/Theory
4 Advanced Liberal Arts CreditsCryptology includes the study of both cryptography, the science of developing _secret codes_ or ciphers for secure and confidential communication, and cryptanalysis, the breaking of ciphers. Coding theory consists of mathematical techniques for detecting and correcting errors that occur during data transmission. These topics are critical to secure and reliable information exchange, with applications ranging from e-commerce to the transmission of photographs from deep space to military operations. Through this exploration into the technical, social, and historical aspects of cryptology and coding theory, students will learn and extensively use basic concepts from number theory, finite field and ring theory, matrix algebra, and the software package GAP. Highlighted topics include the RSA cryptosystem, digital signatures, DES, linear and cyclic codes, and the coding theory based McEliece cryptosystem. This course is suitable for students with one year of university-level mathematics, or the equivalent; it should also be interesting for upperclassman from a variety of majors.
Prerequisites: AQM1000
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Mathematics Analytics Science and Technology
- Level: Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: QTM3674
- Number of Credits: 4
CSP2051
4 Credits
Prerequisites: (FCI1000 or AHS1000) and (WRT1001or RHT1000)
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: History and Society
- Level: Intermediate Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: CSP2051
- Number of Credits: 4
CSP2050
4 Credits
Prerequisites: (FCI1000 or AHS1000) and (WRT1001or RHT1000)
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: History and Society
- Level: Intermediate Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: CSP2050
- Number of Credits: 4
EPS3539: Cultivating Entrepreneurial Youth Leaders
4 Advanced Management Credits
Through the Cultivating Entrepreneurial Youth Leaders course, Babson undergraduate students will learn how they can help middle and high school students develop stronger agency, entrepreneurial self-efficacy, and empower young changemakers in Costa Rica. The course provides Babson students with the opportunity to learn key elements of teaching entrepreneurship and serving as coaches for youth, using a proven curriculum developed by Babson's Youth Impact Lab, EPIC (Entrepreneurship Program for Innovators and Changemakers). EPIC is a youth entrepreneurship program that teaches social entrepreneurship skills framed by the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (Global Goals) to youth to increase their resiliency and entrepreneurial self-efficacy. EPIC is designed to help middle school and high school students understand what it means to be a social entrepreneur, empowering them to make positive change in their lives, communities, and the world.
EPIC balances entrepreneurial concepts with social-emotional skills, or "soft skills." This unique combination, framed by the UNSDGs, helps youth develop grit, resiliency, a growth mindset, social awareness, social entrepreneurial intention, critical thinking, and self-reflection skills that can:
- Increase high school graduation rates
- Improve academic achievement
- Strengthen employability
- Raise earning potential
- Decrease mental health issues, drug and alcohol use, incarceration rates
​Prerequisites: (FME1000 and FME 1001) or (MOB1010 and EPS1000)
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Entrepreneurship
- Level: Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Management (UGrad)
- Course Number: EPS3539
- Number of Credits: 4
CVA2008 Cultural Anthropology
4 Intermediate Liberal Arts CreditsIntroduction to Cultural Anthropology is a four credit intermediate History and Society course. The central focus of this course is the phenomenon of culture, that remarkable accomplishment that makes humans unique among all other species. We will use the concept of culture to investigate the question of what it means to be human. A major area of focus will be upon the ways cultural meanings are generated, shared, symbolized, ritualized, contested and altered in the face of different types of challenges. We will also study the relationship of cultural meaning to different economic, kinship and political systems. Throughout the course, as we study a variety of unfamiliar societies, we will continually refer back to our own societies with the goal of looking at our own ways of doing things with a new frame of mind. This frame of mind, or anthropological perspective, searches for the internal logics and constellations of values and beliefs that underpin all societies and subcultures. Central to this course is a succession of small fieldwork projects. This course will particularly strengthen your multicultural and rhetorical competencies
This course is typically offered in the following semesters: Fall
Prerequisites: (FCI1000 or AHS1000) and (WRT1001or RHT1000)
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: History and Society
- Level: Intermediate Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: CVA2008
- Number of Credits: 4
CSP2008 Cultural Anthropology
(Formerly CVA2008)
4 Intermediate Liberal Arts CreditsIntroduction to Cultural Anthropology is a four credit intermediate History and Society course. The central focus of this course is the phenomenon of culture, that remarkable accomplishment that makes humans unique among all other species. We will use the concept of culture to investigate the question of what it means to be human. A major area of focus will be upon the ways cultural meanings are generated, shared, symbolized, ritualized, contested and altered in the face of different types of challenges. We will also study the relationship of cultural meaning to different economic, kinship and political systems. Throughout the course, as we study a variety of unfamiliar societies, we will continually refer back to our own societies with the goal of looking at our own ways of doing things with a new frame of mind. This frame of mind, or anthropological perspective, searches for the internal logics and constellations of values and beliefs that underpin all societies and subcultures. Central to this course is a succession of small fieldwork projects. This course will particularly strengthen your multicultural and rhetorical competencies
This course is typically offered in the following semesters: Fall
Prerequisites: (FCI1000 or AHS1000) and (WRT1001or RHT1000)
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: History and Society
- Level: Intermediate Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: CSP2008
- Number of Credits: 4
LTA2039 Curiosity in Literature
4 Intermediate Liberal Arts CreditsCuriosity contains within it a contradiction; it is our drive to know battling against our fear of the unknown, and it has played a major role in literature for a very long time. In this course, we will read texts that span several continents and centuries as we study curiosity and ask ourselves myriad questions. Why did the definition of curiosity change from negative to positive in the 14th century? Is curiosity hubristic tinkering or social responsibility? How is curiosity valued? Is the valuation of curiosity dependent on what is being sought? Is curiosity linked to gender? Who is rewarded for possessing it? Who is punished? If curiosity killed the cat, why? We will study Greek Myths and Fairy Tales as well as the following authors: John Milton, Christopher Marlowe, Mary Shelley, Edgar Allan Poe, Sigmund Freud, Agatha Christie, Anne Sexton, and Patricia Highsmith. We will also view Alfred Hitchcock's film Vertigo.
This course is typically offered in the following semesters: Spring
Prerequisites: RHT and AHS
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Arts and Humanities
- Level: Intermediate Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: LTA2039
- Number of Credits: 4
MKT3574 Customer Acquisition and Persuasion
(Formerly Managing the Sales Process)
4 Advanced Management CreditsCustomer acquisition and retention is the driver of revenue and hence the lifeblood of every company. Therefore, organizations continuously seek people with strong persuasion skills. College graduates often become sales professionals, business development executives, customer relationship managers, or end up in positions that complement these roles. In addition, many entrepreneurs realize, often too late, the critical role of professional selling for the growth and survival of their nascent ventures. This course will equip students with the knowledge and skills to excel in professional selling, business development, and entrepreneurship.
Prerequisites: MKT 2000
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Marketing
- Level: Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Management (UGrad)
- Course Number: MKT3574
- Number of Credits: 4
MBA9502 Customer Acquisition and Persuasion
(Formerly Selling Ideas, Products and Services to Executives)
1.5 CreditsThe growth of business revenue depends directly on a firm's ability to create additional value for
current and potential customers. This course will focus on the professional selling process, to include identifying opportunities, gaining access to and engaging decision makers, asking high gain questions, building long term relationships with decision makers and influencers, presenting winning proposals, handling resistance and objections, completing the sale or obtaining commitments and following up. The course will use the value creation methodology to identify solution options aimed at creating value and enhancing the other party's (e.g., customers) competitiveness. The course will use a number of inputs to share current academic thinking and best practice. Course participants will also be challenged to apply the learning to potential opportunities. The art and science of ethically and effectively convincing another party about self, ideas, solutions, products, services, etc., is an imperative for everyone, whether in family or social settings, profit or not-for-profit ventures. It's a life skill. This course is therefore for everyone.
Prerequisites: None
- Program: Graduate
- Division: Other
- Course Number: MBA9502
- Number of Credits: 1.5
OIM3620 Cybersecurity
4 Advanced Liberal Arts Credits
Teaches students the relevance of purpose to and means behind establishing higher security levels for computers and associated networks. The nature of various security breaches including hacker attacks, email worms and computer viruses are explored. Management's responses including policy and procedure creation, risk management assessment and personnel training program design among others are examined. The tools of both security violators and protectors are explored. This course probes deeply into technical aspects of the hardware and software required to support computer networks. The course uses a combination of readings, case studies, class discussion and guest speakers for learning.
Prerequisites: (SME2012 or OIM2000) and (QTM1000 or AQM1000)
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Operations and Information Management
- Level: Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: OIM3620
- Number of Credits: 4
OIM7556 Cybersecurity
1.5 Elective Credits
The course is designed for the next generation managers who need to appreciate both the technical aspects and business impacts of cybersecurity in the enterprise. Different types of security break from a manager's perspective are explored. Students will also learn to design or support cybersecurity initiatives such as a risk management, policy creation, incident response and continuous improvement. The course uses a combination of readings and current events, class discussion and quest speakers for learning.
Prerequisites: None
- Program: Graduate
- Division: Operations and Information Management
- Level: MSBA Elective (Grad),Graduate Elective (Grad)
- Course Number: OIM7556
- Number of Credits: 1.5
QTM6110 Data Exploration (Quantitative Methods)
MSEL Course
1.5 CreditsData is valuable when it is used to make good decisions and avoid bad ones. We consider the value of data as a resource by studying how the variety of information available can be displayed, interpreted and communicated. Students will see the different approaches suggested by both traditional statistical methods and the recent advances in big data analytics. The course will emphasize the ways in which managers and entrepreneurs are both producers and consumers of data.
- Program: Graduate
- Division: Mathematics Analytics Science and Technology
- Course Number: QTM6110
- Number of Credits: 1.5
QTM 3600: Data Science Field Project
4 Advanced Liberal arts credits
The course will provide students with the opportunity to reinforce their skills in data science, including but not limited to data acquisition, data preparation/wrangling, exploratory data analysis/visualization, model building, testing, presentation, and deployment by coaching them through a real-world, data-intensive project. The course will consist of two main components:
- A structured curriculum designed to enhance students' data science and analytics skills for implementing analytical projects and effectively communicating their results to management and other stakeholders;
- A consulting project in which student teams will be tasked with solving a real-world problem presented by an external organization or partner, utilizing techniques and methodologies from data science and analytics. Under the supervision of the instructor, student teams will work on the assigned problem throughout the semester, communicating with the external organization/partner during the project and presenting their results periodically throughout the project. Despite being a group project, the workload will demand each student to dedicate significantly more time to the course compared to AQM courses that do not involve work with an external organization/partner.
This course satisfies the Advanced Experiential learning requirement through an extensive project involving an external organization/partner.
Prerequisites: AQM 2000 (QTM 2000 in the older curriculum)
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Mathematics Analytics Science and Technology
- Level: Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: QTM3600
- Number of Credits: 4
QTM7200 Data, Models and Decisions
2 CreditsData, Models and Decisions (DMD) - This course is concerned with identifying variation, measuring it, and managing it to make informed decisions. Topics include: numerical and graphical description of data, confidence intervals, hypothesis testing, regression, decision analysis, and simulation. Applications to Economics, Finance, Marketing, and Operations illustrate the use of these quantitative tools in applied contexts. The course utilizes spreadsheet, statistical, and simulation software.
- Program: Graduate
- Division: Mathematics Analytics Science and Technology
- Course Number: QTM7200
- Number of Credits: 2
STR7509 Decisions, Decisions, Decisions - How Managers Make Good and Bad Choices
3 CreditsMBA students are exposed to a wide variety of concepts and tools which should enable them to make intelligent decisions. However, the decision-making performance of corporate managers, most of them trained in these concepts and tools, is very uneven.
This course will seek to enable a student to understand some key factors that can influence the quality of decision making. Using case examples from both business and government, the course will build on a basic understanding of analysis and decision making to expose participants to the circumstances that can limit the effectiveness of the techniques they have learned and help them understand the challenges they will face as members of leadership teams making complex choices throughout their careers. Students will also learn about the factors involved in providing information for decision-making, and the roles that information technology plays in decision situations.
At the conclusion of the course, students will have an appreciation for the factors they will encounter in leadership roles and the methods they can employ to ensure that they contribute to the making of good decisions. Their exposure to the broad topics presented should also acquaint them with areas which may draw their interest for more intensive study in specific academic disciplines.
Prerequisites: None
- Program: Graduate
- Division: Management
- Level: Graduate Elective (Grad)
- Course Number: STR7509
- Number of Credits: 3
HSS2025 Decolonization and Revolution in the 20th Century
4 Intermediate CreditsThe 20th Century is viewed by most historians as the most violent and tempestuous century in human history. In particular, this narrative is largely dominated by the two great wars and the Cold War. However, what made those conflicts so important was not just their impact on Europe and the Western World, but how those conflicts catalyzed mass movements globally. This class examines the history of decolonization and revolution in the 20th Century, and how the world wars and the Cold War impacted processes of nationalism, independence, decolonization and revolution. Starting with the rise of Turkey and the Bolshevik revolution during the first world war, we will then analyze the independence movements that sprouted from the vestiges of the second world war, particularly those of China and India, as well as the emergence of Apartheid in South Africa. We will also explore the impact of the Cold War on revolution and decolonization, especially Vietnam and Algeria. Finally, the course will analyze how more recent revolutions, such as those in Iran and Israel /Palestine, are rooted in longer historical processes which highlight the continuing legacy of Imperialism and revolutionary resistance to imperialism in the contemporary world. The course will use a variety of books, articles, movies, and music to analyze this deep, violent, and often conflicted aspect of human history.
Prerequisites: (FCI1000 or AHS1000) and (WRT1001or RHT1000)
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: History and Society
- Level: Intermediate Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: HSS2025
- Number of Credits: 4
QTM 3601: Deep Learning in Business
4 advanced liberal arts credits
This course is dedicated to learning a type of artificial intelligence through building neural network models that mimic the human brain to solve complex business problems, which involves a variety of data types like text, image, sequential, etc. The course will build on analytical concepts learned from the AQM2000 (Predictive Business Analytics) course and introduce other unsupervised and self-supervised machine learning concepts in types of neural networks, natural language processes, and reinforcement learning. Each concept contains topics like model building and parameter tuning through optimization, regularization, etc. These advanced topics will be discussed in the context of practical real-world applications such as prediction, classification, image recognition, text analysis, gaming, etc. The implementation of the introduced topics will be carried out in Python programming language.
Prerequisites: AQM 2000
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Mathematics Analytics Science and Technology
- Level: Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: QTM3601
- Number of Credits: 4
FIN7550 Derivatives: Theory and Practice
3 CreditsThis course examines the pricing and use of derivatives in depth. It will cover the mathematical underpinnings of forwards, futures, options, swaps and more exotic derivatives, as well as the practical uses of these derivatives to hedge and manage risk. This course will cover the Black-Scholes option pricing formula, binomial trees and risk-neutral pricing. Applications include financial hedging of foreign exchange risk, commodity risk, and interest rate risk; as well as portfolio immunization techniques.
Prerequisites: FIN7200 or FIN7800
- Program: Graduate
- Division: Finance
- Level: MSBA Elective (Grad),MSF Elective (Grad),Graduate Elective (Grad)
- Course Number: FIN7550
- Number of Credits: 3
OIM3517 Design Thinking and Problem Solving for Business Impact
4 Advanced Management Credits
This course enables you to work directly with the senior management at Blount Fine Foods.
Blount Fine Foods is a family-owned and operated manufacturer, marketer, and developer of fresh prepared foods. While best known for soup, the company produces hundreds of premium prepared food products for restaurants, retailers, and club stores nationwide.
Students will have the opportunity to work on new product development across the company. Examples of current product lines include the preparation and delivery of prepackaged food items such as: soups, meal bowls, side dishes, and mac & cheese. The course content will include expanding student knowledge on product lines, capabilities, pricing, consumer preferences as well as their go to market strategy. It is ideal for any students wanting to develop their consulting skills in product development, technology, operations, and management.
Skills learned include tactical approaches (such as project management) and business problem solving models as well as strategic tools and processes (design thinking and competitive assessments). This innovative, action-learning course gives you the opportunity to work with senior leaders at a very successful company using the newest Design Thinking and Problem-Solving methods. There will be a pitch competition at the end of the course.
Prerequisites: FME1000 and FME1001 or EPS1000 and MOB1010
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Operations and Information Management
- Level: Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Management (UGrad)
- Course Number: OIM3517
- Number of Credits: 4
LTA2075 Design for Living
4 Intermediate Liberal Arts CreditsExplores how profoundly our lives are shaped by the designs of graphics we see, objects we use and buildings we move through every day. Students will gain increased understanding of the role good and bad design plays in affecting them and in shaping the world in which they live.
Prerequisites: (FCI1000 or AHS1000) and (WRT1001or RHT1000)
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Arts and Humanities
- Level: Intermediate Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: LTA2075
- Number of Credits: 4
EPS4515 Affordable Design and Entrepreneurship (ADE)
4 General Credits
Students must be Juniors or Seniors to take this course
This course engages students in community-based, participatory design and action. Teams partner with communities and organizations to achieve positive social and environmental impact with a strong justice framing, working for change in areas like air quality, community development, food processing, global health, and rights and privacy (addressing mass incarceration) over several semesters.
Guided by an experienced faculty advisor, teams make change through design for impact, social entrepreneurship, community organizing, participatory research, political advocacy and other practices. All teams practice social benefit analysis, theory of change, assumption testing, cross-cultural engagement tools, dissemination of innovation methods, and ethical norms.
Students regularly engage stakeholders in inclusive processes, in person and virtually, to observe, strategize, plan, co-design, prototype, test, and implement approaches supported by a significant project budget and student fundraising. There are often opportunities to travel locally, nationally, or internationally to work with partners.
Students are exposed to mindsets and dispositions for working with integrity and responsibility in their stakeholders' contexts through guided exercises, case studies, guest speakers, readings, and reflections. Students learn and apply changemaking practices through project work, and gain essential experience building relationships across difference and developing their own self- and cultural awareness.
This course is part of the BOW collaboration, offered jointly between Babson and Olin, and open to
Wellesley students. Prerequisites: FME1000, Junior standing (students must be juniors or seniors to take the course).
Prerequisites: FME1000
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Entrepreneurship
- Level: Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Management (UGrad)
- Course Number: EPS4515
- Number of Credits: 4
ACC7503 Designing a Business for Profitability
3 Elective CreditsIf you have taken and passed ACC7201, you cannot register for ACC7503, as these two courses are equivalent
This course is focused on the connection between strategy execution and profitability. Students develop skills in quantitatively grounded logical analysis in order to be able to:
- Judge the financial feasibility of plans for launching new businesses or for redesigning existing ones.
- Grow profitable and sustainable ventures.
- Create business models that make money.
- Integrate analytics and Industry 4.0 concepts to make business decisions.
Prerequisites: None
- Program: Graduate
- Division: Accounting and Law
- Level: Graduate Elective (Grad)
- Course Number: ACC7503
- Number of Credits: 3
SEN1201 Designing Presentations to Tell Powerful Stories(Senior Instructor: Amy Malinowski) It is approximated that there are more than 30 million PowerPoint presentations made each day. That is a lot of time and resources spent presenting-especially if much of that time is wasted on really awful presentations. To communicate effectively, you first have to identify the audience, then organize a coherent narrative, and finally create and deliver that narrative powerfully both orally and visually. This creative process is often something we make no time for but is crucial if we want to design a presentation that will really resonate. In this course, students will learn the process and technical skills needed to design truly great presentations
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Other
- Course Number: SEN1201
- Number of Credits: 0
LVA2072 Detective Fiction, Noir, and Social Criticism
4 Intermediate Liberal Arts CreditsThis course explores the uses and genre development of detective fiction and film noir and their functions as social commentary, applying examples from different times and places - in the United States, Latin America, and Europe. What do these works have in common, and what separates them? How do they reflect or interrogate the cultures that produced them? Why has detective fiction (in its various incarnations) remained so popular? We consider revisions of the genre in the so-called "hardboiled" or serial "pulp fiction" of the 1930s and 1940s, as well as its representation in film noir. We analyze later versions of the genre through films such as Chinatown and Blade Runner, and recent alterations in neo-noir films, evaluating them in relation to contemporary culture. Short works by canonical Latin American authors such as Borges and GarcÃa Márquez, among others, provide an introduction to Latin American crime fiction. Through the works of current and popular writers and filmmakers we consider the legacies of dictatorship in Spain and Latin America, and the genre's use in investigating and exposing a conflictive past (or fear of what one might find). We will look at the female detective in varied works. How is she different (if she is?) from her male counterparts? And we examine how detective fiction can function to parody or subvert the possibility of an ordered solution, or the completion of justice.
Prerequisites: (FCI1000 or AHS1000) and (WRT1001or RHT1000)
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Arts and Humanities
- Level: Intermediate Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: LVA2072
- Number of Credits: 4
LTA2072 Detective Fiction, Noir, and Social Criticism
4 Intermediate Liberal Arts CreditsThis course explores the uses and genre development of detective fiction and film noir and their functions as social commentary, applying examples from different times and places - in the United States, Latin America, and Europe. What do these works have in common, and what separates them? How do they reflect or interrogate the cultures that produced them? Why has detective fiction (in its various incarnations) remained so popular? We consider revisions of the genre in the so-called "hardboiled" or serial "pulp fiction" of the 1930s and 1940s, as well as its representation in film noir. We analyze later versions of the genre through films such as Chinatown and Blade Runner, and recent alterations in neo-noir films, evaluating them in relation to contemporary culture. Short works by canonical Latin American authors such as Borges and GarcÃa Márquez, among others, provide an introduction to Latin American crime fiction. Through the works of current and popular writers and filmmakers we consider the legacies of dictatorship in Spain and Latin America, and the genre's use in investigating and exposing a conflictive past (or fear of what one might find). We will look at the female detective in varied works. How is she different (if she is?) from her male counterparts? And we examine how detective fiction can function to parody or subvert the possibility of an ordered solution, or the completion of justice.
Prerequisites: (FCI1000 or AHS1000) and (WRT1001or RHT1000)
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Arts and Humanities
- Level: Intermediate Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: LTA2072
- Number of Credits: 4
MKT3502 Developing Effective Advertising
4 Advanced Management Credits
Developing Effective Advertising is an immersion in "creative thinking" in a "virtual" internship experience in a "virtual" best-of-breed advertising agency where students learn about developing effective advertising alongside some of the most talented and experienced advertising professionals in the industry. The "virtual" ad agency internship experience provides students with "real-world" learning in all aspects of current advertising and firsthand exposure to exciting career paths they may not otherwise encounter in a conventional advertising course.
Students learn about effective advertising by application of concepts, principles and fundamentals vis-Ã -vis lectures, readings, discussions, interactive exercises, case analysis, team projects and featured guest speakers from blue chip advertising agencies and media companies in the U.S., including Google, Cayenne Creative, MullenLowe U.S., NAIL Communications, Mediahub Worldwide, PHD Media, Wheelhouse Executive Recruiters and Babson College.
Students work together in 3 different assigned teams over the course of the semester and are assigned 3 team projects. Students also have individual assignments (readings, discussion board contributions and one mid-term paper) to complete. Methods of assessment is evenly balanced between individual and team assignments.
Prerequisites: MKT 2000
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Marketing
- Level: Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Management (UGrad)
- Course Number: MKT3502
- Number of Credits: 4
MKT4530 Digital Analytics
4 Advanced Management Credits
The consumer buying journey continues to evolve, particularly as consumers become more comfortable and experience the benefits of using digital and mobile platforms to support all facets of the buying process. This rapidly expanding digital ecosystem generates an enormous amount of data. This course will explore how organizations can utilize the latest digital analytics techniques to turn structured and unstructured big data, into extremely valuable customer and marketing insights. This course is designed to complement Babson's Marketing Analytics course and covers entirely different topics and materials specifically focused within the digital sphere.
Students will utilize industry-leading digital analytics tools to collect and analyze consumer data to support decision-making and the development of marketing strategies that are informed by the insights. This includes the use of social media analytics platforms to listen to the voice of the customer, monitor consumer sentiment, and perform a comprehensive share of voice competitor analysis. Students will also use a web analytics platform to learn how to track, segment and measure the online and mobile device usage behaviors of customers and visitors. Students will also learn how to construct digital marketing experiments, perform A/B testing, and measure the ROI of digital campaigns. The course design includes official certifications in each of the digital analytics platforms used in the course.
Prerequisites: SME2011 or MKT2000
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Marketing
- Level: Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Management (UGrad)
- Course Number: MKT4530
- Number of Credits: 4
MKT3515 Digital Marketing
4 General Elective CreditsThis course is intended to prepare students to lead marketing initiatives in digital environments, where companies and professionals are transforming the way to provide value to consumers, and to develop mutually beneficial relationships with them. Lectures, readings, case discussions and project assignments will offer both an integrative management perspective and a comprehensive framework on digital marketing. The course will cover a wide spectrum of topics, including marketing strategic approaches on the Internet, e-CRM, e-marketing research, digital positioning and branding, managing social networks, integrated communications on digital media, new pricing approaches, digital competition, virtual merchandising, and e-commerce strategies. Upon completion of the course, students will have acquired competencies in designing marketing programmes that develop the innovative potential of online consumers and social networks.
Prerequisites: SME2011 or MKT2000
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Marketing
- Level: Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Management (UGrad)
- Course Number: MKT3515
- Number of Credits: 4
MKT7542 Digital Marketing
3 Elective CreditsThis course is designed to serve as both a survey and an applied approach to the field of digital marketing. In this course, we will approach digital marketing from three lenses: owned, paid, and earned media. Owned Media are the digital assets and brand image the firm manages (e.g., websites, social media, blogs, etc.). Paid Media are what the firm pays for to reach consumers using tools such as display ads, email marketing, and search marketing. Earned Media are what the firm gains through customer and community activity (e.g., e-word of mouth, communities, etc.) throughout the Internet. The course will present current trends and strategies on how to use and integrate these three media as well as build basic technical skills needed in the digital space (e.g., adwords advertising, SEO, etc.) Upon completion of the course, students will have an understanding of how to apply various marketing models and strategy to develop a strong digital presence using a variety of marketing content and digital tools. In addition to articles and book chapters to inform our thinking, we will also use case studies, professional certifications, and an online simulation to build a solid base in digital marketing.
Prerequisites: MKT7200 or MKT7800
- Program: Graduate
- Division: Marketing
- Level: MSBA Elective (Grad),Graduate Elective (Grad)
- Course Number: MKT7542
- Number of Credits: 3
OIM2000 Digital Technology for Entrepreneurs
(Formerly Technology and Business Innovation)
4 Intermediate Management Credits
This course introduces Babson's business students to foundational digital technology concepts, how this technology is used to capture, manage, and create value from data, and the significant role that technology and data play in new product, service, and process innovation.
Participants in the global workplace are increasingly expected to comfortably work with modern technology tools and data. Business leaders will further be expected to leverage the influx of new business models and opportunities as digital, physical, and biological spheres come together in exciting new ways. Related to these changes will be a continuous and ever-expanding deluge of data that needs to be managed, leveraged, and protected by all.
Being tech and data savvy will enable you to build stronger relationships with your customers, partners, and suppliers, and to increase your value in the workplace.
Prerequisites: FME1000
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Operations and Information Management
- Level: Intermediate Management (UGrad)
- Course Number: OIM2000
- Number of Credits: 4
OIM7505 Digital Transformation
3 Elective Credits
The digitalization of products, processes, and business models is accelerating the rate of change in every industry and how organizations deliver value. While the majority of organizations report having initiated digital transformation efforts, studies highlight that fewer than 30% of these digital initiatives deliver positive results. However, no single digital transformation strategy applies to every company's situation, as digital transformation depends as much on the business context and organizational design, culture, and talent as it does on digital technologies.
In this course, we will use the case method to explore digital transformation efforts for a number of organizations across a variety of industries, and learn about the emerging technologies (e.g., AI, blockchain, extended reality, robotics) driving their transformation. Students will gain critical-thinking skills, work in groups, learn to apply different perspectives and frameworks to analyze complex business scenarios, and practice communication skills. Case analyses and in-class discussions will be complemented with a digital transformation consulting project.
Prerequisites: OIM7800
- Program: Graduate
- Division: Operations and Information Management
- Level: Graduate Elective (Grad)
- Course Number: OIM7505
- Number of Credits: 3
MBA7401 Disruptive Change and Enterprise Transformation
(Formerly Business Model Innovation)
1.5 CreditsIndustry: Rapid changes in science and technology, a great rebalancing if not fundamental resetting of the global social and economic order, the blurring of traditional boundaries between industry sectors, shifting attitudes towards business and globalization, and greater concern for the environment, to name but a few of the major forces disrupting the world around us, are unleashing major tectonic shifts in multiple industries such as agriculture, clothing and apparel, education, energy, finance, healthcare, manufacturing, media and entertainment, mining and excavation, retailing, telecommunications, transportation, utilities, and even government and nonprofits. During the multi-decade span of one's career, a business manager and leader can very reasonably expect to be in the throes of such tectonic shifts at least once if not multiple times and must be prepared not just to survive but energetically thrive. During this 3-day interactive, executive-style workshop, students will learn to make sense of the bigger forces and narrower trends driving ecosystem-wide change, envision alternative scenarios for the future, identify implied strategic imperatives for an incumbent enterprise of their choice, and explore necessary transformations in the enterprise. Student learning will be facilitated by an hand-on, integrative approach that seamlessly weaves together concepts and tools from the MBA core curriculum as well the disciplines of entrepreneurship, innovation, technology, finance, marketing, operations, leadership, strategy, social concern, and sustainability. By way of context for student work and learning, students will be able to choose from any of the following five settings: agriculture, currency and payment systems, fashion and apparel, healthcare, and media.
- Program: Graduate
- Division: Other
- Level: Graduate Elective (Grad)
- Course Number: MBA7401
- Number of Credits: 1.5
LIT4604 Documentary Poetry: Engaging Reality
4 Advanced Liberal Arts CreditsHow do contemporary poets engage their work with what's real in the world? How can poetry describe, define, explain, and/or challenge the information, the facts, the multitude of voices that surround and at times overwhelm us? Documentary poetry, an increasingly popular poetic form, engages as its subject matter real events from history, and may apply data from a range of realms: science, economics, literature, politics, psychology, current events, personal life. While documentary poets use this form as a way to think, research, explore, and satisfy curiosity, they are also potentially engaged in modes of inquiry, even skepticism. Thus documentary poems may result in the discovery of alternative approaches to meaning, new ways of understanding and telling stories, even sites of social change and activism. In addition, documentary poets tend to go beyond the traditionally poetic by applying to their poems mixed genres and media, including direct quotations, letters, diaries, court transcripts, medical records, images, testimonials, even embedded graphics. In this course, we will examine the origins of this form and study pivotal poems and poets in its development using work from a recent anthology of documentary poems as well as from several single-author poetry collections by poets Patricia Smith, Claudia Rankine, Tarfia Faizullah, Maggie Nelson, C.D. Wright, and Martha Collins. Students will write short analytical responses and an essay, but they will also craft and share their own original documentary poems as a way of understanding the form and its potential in their own lives for inquiry and discovery.
Prerequisites: Any combination of 2 ILA (HSS, LTA, CSP, LVA, CVA)
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Arts and Humanities
- Level: Advanced Liberal Arts 4600 Requirement (UGrad),Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: LIT4604
- Number of Credits: 4
MBA7501 Doing Business Globally: Highways and Landmines
1.5 Elective CreditsDoing Business Globally: Highways and Landmines (DGB) is a 1.5 credit course that combines Accounting, Economics, Entrepreneurship, Finance, and other disciplines. This course will focus on identifying opportunities, assessing and navigating risks, harvesting rewards, and understanding the economic environment of export countries. It has been developed with the AACSB's following statement in mind: _The shift toward more experiential learning and business engagement will mean that business schools may be seen increasingly as learning laboratories rather than as the traditional classroom learning environment." (AACSB, A Collective Vision for Business Education (https://www.aacsb.edu/vision, 2016) p. 9.)
Among the disciplines and topics for this course will be:
-Accounting: Accounting will focus on allocating income streams, foreign exchange transactions, positions, and exposures, and international tax issues (i.e., both income tax, VAT, and U.S. sales tax),
-Entrepreneurship: Entrepreneurship will focus on assessing risks, choosing the right export market, common mistakes, competitor analysis, creating and reinforcing value networks, customer support, distributor relationships, financing, focusing on your core, identifying opportunities, logistics, prepping before going global, supplier relationships, supply chain issues, understanding the complexities, customer loyalty, and working capital concerns,
-Economics: International macroeconomics will focus on reading the economic and financial pulse beat of export markets. It will explain the interrelationship among the nation's or currency area's credit market, goods and services market, and foreign exchange market. Among the major macroeconomic performance indicators are real gross domestic product, inflation, unemployment, interest rates, exchange rates, balance of payments, stock market, banking system, government budget balances, foreign direct investment, and environmental quality.
-Finance: Finance will focus on hedging global risks, such as foreign exchange, interest rate, and counterparty exposures.
-Other: Among the other areas we intend to cover are cultural issues, customs' duties and international trade document, e-commerce strategies, insurance, law, legal obstacles, marketing, pricing, regulation, and compliance
Prerequisites: None
- Program: Graduate
- Division: Other
- Level: Graduate Elective (Grad)
- Course Number: MBA7501
- Number of Credits: 1.5
LTA2003 Dramatizing the American Dream (LIT)
4 Intermediate Liberal Arts CreditsThe American Dream is an indispensable, ubiquitous, and driving notion in this country. Its lure has brought millions of immigrants to our shores, given authors fodder for stories and novels, and allowed advertisers to sell the bigger car, the grander home, the better wardrobe. But what exactly is the American Dream? What are its tenets? Who gets to enjoy it? This course will examine how both male and female playwrights such as Susan Glaspell, Clifford Odets, Lorraine Hansberry, Sam Shepard, and Wendy Wasserstein have answered these questions in their dramatizations of the American Dream. As we study and watch various performances of the American Dream, we will take into account the voice telling the story and question the authority, privilege, and experience of that voice. We will evaluate how the plays speak to the American Dream, to each other, and to us. This course will require two papers, a mid-term and final exam.
Prerequisites: (FCI1000 or AHS1000) and (WRT1001or RHT1000)
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Arts and Humanities
- Level: Intermediate Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: LTA2003
- Number of Credits: 4
CSP2009 East Asian Cultures
(Formerly CVA2009)
4 Intermediate Liberal Arts CreditsWelcome to Cultures and Values 2009, an intermediate level Liberal Arts course which will introduce you to the cultures of East Asia. This course builds on the themes and techniques in the H&S and A&H Foundation courses to analyze our subject using the materials and methodology of history pursued in an interdisciplinary manner. We will focus on the cultures of East Asia, China, Japan, and Korea; with thematic examples from ancient, medieval and modern periods. East Asia is integrated due to location and the influence that China had on the cultures of Japan and Korea. We will begin our study with the major ways of thinking in ancient China-Confucianism, Daoism, Buddhism, with some consideration of Legalism, and Militarism. The ethical structures, ideas, concepts and vocabulary in part one will inform and be assumed in our study of Japan and Korea. We will next study the uses of Chinese Ethics in Japan and Korea, Shinto in Japan, and Shamanism in Korea. Although these three cultures have elements in common, Japan and Korea developed in unique ways and in no way should be seen as pale imitations of Chinese culture. We begin our study analyzing written (Chinese) classical texts, which became classics throughout East Asia. These are elite cultural documents, but we will also consider their impact on popular culture. The fourth section of the course will consider East Asia as a cultural unit. We will interrogate the cultural constructions of identity and meaning in these cultures and the political and social contexts in which these were found. We will consider the impact of modernization and globalization, and the change and continuity within East Asian cultures. Some attention will be given to the cultural impact from and on the West. We approach this course through readings in philosophy, religion, anthropology, art, literature, film, and music.
This course is typically offered in the following semesters: Spring or Summer
Prerequisites: (FCI1000 or AHS1000) and (WRT1001or RHT1000)
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: History and Society
- Level: Intermediate Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: CSP2009
- Number of Credits: 4
SCN3602: Eclipses on Earth
4 Advanced Liberal Arts Credits
This course will involve an in-depth exploration of the Sun-Earth-Moon system and how that system results in eclipses. From understanding how the relationship between the Sun, Earth, and Moon generate eclipses, we will discuss the different types of eclipses, and explore the prediction of eclipses. We will consider the historical explanations and uses of eclipses in both the social and scientific realms. We will also examine the history of solar observations to understand safe solar viewing practices. This course is designed to fulfill the advanced experiential component of the curriculum as well. In teams you will work with local teachers and libraries to develop ways of teaching about eclipses to K-12 students and a general audience. You will also assist in developing safe solar viewing plans for your external "clients" on the eclipse day.
Prerequisites: NST 10XX
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Mathematics Analytics Science and Technology
- Level: Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: SCN3602
- Number of Credits: 4
SCN3615 Ecology of Animal Behavior
4 Advanced Lib Arts CreditsThe study of the nature, variety and function of the fundamental types of animal behaviors. Communication, habitat selection, predation and antipredator defense, reproductive strategies, tactics and mating systems, and play and social behaviors will be compared and analyzed, and applications to human behavior will be discussed.
Prerequisites: NST10%
% - Wildcard
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Mathematics Analytics Science and Technology
- Level: Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: SCN3615
- Number of Credits: 4
ECN3620 Econometrics
4 Advanced Liberal Arts Elective CreditsThis hands-on course is designed to provide students with a comprehensive introduction to the field of Econometrics. The course will be applied in nature and will be directed to undergraduate students that seek to further their understanding of how to use economic and statistical theory to develop economic models and forecast key financial and economic measures of performance while learning to assess the strengths and weaknesses of those models. These techniques can improve corporate financial planning, marketing, sales forecasts, production planning, legal consulting and many other decisions where better predictions in light of uncertainty can reduce costs, raise profits and lead to better decision making.
Prerequisites: (SME2031 or ECN2002)
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Economics
- Level: Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: ECN3620
- Number of Credits: 4
ECN7520 Economic and Financial Forecasting
3 Credits If you have taken and passed QTM9501, you cannot register for ECN7520, as these two courses are equivalent
Do you anticipate making or evaluating economic and business forecasts in your career? This _hands-on_ course provides students a comprehensive introduction to the field of forecasting and econometrics. It covers three main areas of forecasting: basic statistical methods, structural models, and time series models. Throughout the course we will focus on applied examples and use software to forecast key economic and business measures of performance (such as asset pricing, investment risk, interest rates, unemployment rates, industry level and firm level sales, revenues and other variables) while learning to assess the strengths and weaknesses of these forecasts.
These techniques can improve corporate financial planning, marketing, sales forecasts, production planning, and many other decisions where better predictions in light of uncertainty can reduce costs, raise profits and lead to better decision-making.
Prerequisites: None
- Program: Graduate
- Division: Economics
- Level: MSF Elective (Grad),Graduate Elective (Grad)
- Course Number: ECN7520
- Number of Credits: 3
ECN7500 Economic Analysis for Business Decisions
3 Elective CreditsIf you have taken and passed ECN7200 you cannot register for ECN7500 as these two courses are equivalent
Running a successful business requires decision-making that is informed by an understanding of the market environment in which the firm operates. Business leaders and entrepreneurs need analytical skills and the ability to anticipate market dynamics if they are going to manage for growth. Economic Analysis for Business Decisions provides students strategic and tactical competencies such as: sizing market demand, identifying market opportunities, differentiating products and services effectively, strategic pricing, cost modeling, determining optimal firm size and identifying sources of market power. With these competencies in hand, students will then develop the ability to determine the best competitive strategies based on a clear understanding of an industry's structure and behavior, and the firm's advantages within the larger market. Students will use game theory to model strategic behavior, consider the firm's responsibilities and the government's role in correcting market failures, and will leave the course with an ability to create business models that will grow stakeholder value.
Prerequisites: None
- Program: Graduate
- Division: Economics
- Level: MSBA Elective (Grad),Graduate Elective (Grad)
- Course Number: ECN7500
- Number of Credits: 3
SCN3630 Economics Botany
Advanced Liberal ArtsThis course will investigate the relationship between plants and society. Without plants and plant products humans would be hungry, naked, and lacking oxygen to breath. We will begin by exploring the basics of different plant parts and how plants grow and reproduce. We will then examine plants as sources of food, materials, perfumes, drugs, and medicines. Throughout the course we will discuss the role plants have played in influencing economics, language, politics, and religion. Current topics of particular interest for this course include the debate over genetically engineered crops, the development of new pharmaceutical medicines, the changes in human diet, and the use of plant products in new technologies. This course will emphasize the development of skills in critical thinking, synthesis of information, science literacy, hand-on exercises, and current topical issues in plant biology.
Prerequisites: NST I
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Mathematics Analytics Science and Technology
- Level: Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: SCN3630
- Number of Credits: 4
ECN7550 Business Strategy and Game Theory 3 Elective Credits This course makes extensive use of Game Theory (in addition to applied economics and other emerging strategic models) to provide a systematic and rigorous approach for formulating winning strategies for creating and capturing value in the context of interdependence and uncertainty. This course will empower you with the knowledge and skills to frame the strategic questions for data analysis and turn data into strategic insight and foresight for agile startups as well as for large corporations. Case studies are used to illustrate successful application of strategies. The teaching method utilizes simulations, gaming, and practical, case-based discussions. Topics include: threats and opportunities in the supply chain, the dynamics of pricing rivalry, entry decisions/entry deterrence, mergers and acquisitions, strategic commitment, negotiating, bidding, and managing innovation for sustaining competitive advantage. Antitrust issues are also addressed.
Prerequisites: None
- Program: Graduate
- Division: Economics
- Level: MSBA Elective (Grad),Graduate Elective (Grad)
- Course Number: ECN7550
- Number of Credits: 3
ECN3663 Economics of Education
4 Advanced Liberal Arts CreditsHuman capital development is a critical and expensive social investment, leading to intense debates about education policies, such as public funding for private schools, access to "free" community college, and college student-loan burdens. We will examine education's critical role in growth, development, equitable outcomes, and economic well-being for individuals and societies. We will apply economic theories, methods, and frameworks to analyze educational problems, considering potential goals of efficiency, adequacy, and equity; to discuss policy context and implications; and to explore innovation in educational settings.
Prerequisites: SME2031 or ECN2002
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Economics
- Level: Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: ECN3663
- Number of Credits: 4
ECN3671 The Economics of Labor Markets
4 Advanced Liberal Arts Elective CreditsLabor earnings provide over sixty percent of household income in the United States, driving the U.S. economy just as labor drives economies around the globe. The theoretical foundations for analyzing labor demand and supply will be the starting point for examining a range of labor market topics such as human capital investment, wage determination and inequality, the impact of robotics and artificial intelligence on employment, the choice between work and household production, the effect of unions on the labor market, labor mobility and migration, labor market discrimination, and the effects of taxation, regulation, unemployment insurance and other government policies on labor market outcomes.
Prerequisites: SME2031 or ECN2002
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Economics
- Level: Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: ECN3671
- Number of Credits: 4
EPS8573 Entrepreneurship Intensity Track (EIT)
Regular Speaker: EIR Rich Palmer
****THIS COURSE REQUIRES ACCEPTANCE INTO THE EIT PROGRAM. Registration is manual for students who have been accepted into the program****Students selected for the EIT: Entrepreneurship Intensity Track course will engage in rigorous practice and a reality-based curriculum that includes both classroom and outside class activity. Students will also work with an outside mentor to help them execute on their business concept. As such, the emphasis of the course is not idea conception or creation but execution of an already formed concept from your prior courses and experiences. EIT is focused on developing and enhancing the student's knowledge and experience in order to maximize their prospects for starting a successful business during the course or soon after completion. The course combines readings, discussions, lectures, conceptual tools, and guest speakers, all with an emphasis on the practical steps that students need to get their business up and running. Given this, EIT is not an introductory course focused on the beginning of the entrepreneurial experience, but instead focuses on idea refinement, execution, launch, and growth.
For more information please click here.
Prerequisites: Completion of one of the following courses: EPS7500 or EPS7530 or EPS7545 or EPS7546
- Program: Graduate
- Division: Entrepreneurship
- Level: Graduate Elective (Grad)
- Course Number: EPS8573
- Number of Credits: 3
NST1030 Electronics
4 Foundation Liberal Arts CreditsElectronic devices transform the way people work and communicate. This course will focus on understanding the inner workings of those devices to provide a background on what they can and cannot do. We will also explore the impact of resource limitations on electronics, and how electronics can contribute to solving some resource issues.
Prerequisites: None
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Mathematics Analytics Science and Technology
- Level: Foundation Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: NST1030
- Number of Credits: 4
FRN2200 Elementary French for Business Professionals
4 Free Elective Credits
FRN 2200 is a fast-paced beginner course that emphasizes real-world applications of the French language. Through a variety of authentic materials and in-class activities, students develop their reading, writing, speaking, and listening skills. Students will explore aspects of French society, such as the fashion industry, the stock exchange, and the country's beloved soccer culture. A project-based class, students will develop business skills in French related to networking, interviewing, marketing, and trading through creating a portfolio that will grow in sequential semesters.
No previous experience with French is needed. This course is not open to native speakers of French.
Prerequisites: None
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Arts and Humanities
- Level: Free Elective (UGrad)
- Course Number: FRN2200
- Number of Credits: 4
NST1020 Energy and the Environment
4 CreditsAs the world's current energy demand continues to rise, it is critical to understand the causes, impacts, and possible solutions to our current global energy crisis. This course will focus on the technologies associated with renewable forms of energy and their potential for future success.
Prerequisites: None
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Mathematics Analytics Science and Technology
- Level: Foundation Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: NST1020
- Number of Credits: 4
OIM3525 Enterprise 2.0: Building Social Networks to Improve Business Performance
4 Advanced Management Credits
Enterprise 2.0 is the term to describe organizations that use social media technologies (e.g., Facebook, Twitter, YouTube), strategies, and business practices that enable emergent collaboration. Many organizations are now interested in capturing, distributing and applying the knowledge of their employees for business benefit. Also, companies need to keep track of knowledge outside of their corporate walls, for example, understanding market trends and being aware of what customers are saying about their products. Ultimately, the goal of Enterprise 2.0 is to break down traditional information silos and allow employees and managers to tap into the right people and expertise when they need it.
In this course we will discuss the current state of the Enterprise 2.0 movement. We will also explore how social collaboration tools (often referred to as social media and Web 2.0) are being used by organizations to leverage the "wisdom of the crowds." Organizations are increasingly using tools such as blogs, wikis, social tagging, and social networking tools to achieve emergent collaboration and to break down information silos. Knowledge workers are also using social technologies to build their personal brand and personal network.
Student projects will emphasize a "hands-on" approach to understanding the latest social technologies. We will use social network analysis (SNA) software, a methodology to analyze the structure of social networks, or the people-to-people connections in organizations. SNA is an increasingly popular application used by both management consultants and internal organizational practices (e.g., knowledge management, IS, HR, R&D) to understand information flows and "influencers" inside and outside a company. Another project will have students create a social media campaign for an organization, including providing metrics on how to evaluate the success of the campaign. We will also experiment with mobile applications, such as location-based services (e.g., Foursquare, SCVNGR) on smartphones.
Prerequisites: FME1000 & FME1001
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Operations and Information Management
- Level: Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Management (UGrad)
- Course Number: OIM3525
- Number of Credits: 4
OIM7515 Enterprise 2.0 Building Social Networks to Improve Business Performance
3 Credits
Enterprise 2.0 is the term to describe organizations that use social platforms and technologies that enable emergent collaboration. Organizations must now capture, distribute and apply the knowledge of their employees for business benefit. Also, companies need to keep track of knowledge outside of their corporate walls, for example, understanding market trends and being aware of what customers are saying about their products. Ultimately, the goal of Enterprise 2.0 is to break down traditional information silos and allow employees and managers to tap into the right people and expertise when they need it.
In this course we will discuss the current state of the Enterprise 2.0 movement including how it pertains the current reality of hybrid work. The goal is to go "beyond the hype" and provide a science and methodology to measure the value of these social platforms, including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, the Metaverse, Microsoft Teams, and Slack. We will explore how social collaboration tools are being used by organizations to identify subject-matter experts, find unstructured knowledge when they need it and to leverage the "wisdom of the crowds" for experimentation and learning.
Student projects will emphasize a "hands-on" approach to understanding the latest social platforms. We will use organizational network analysis (ONA) software, a methodology to analyze the structure of social networks, or the people-to-people connections in organizations. ONA is an increasingly popular application used by both management consultants and internal organizational practices to understand information flows and "influencers" inside and outside a company. We will also explore personal network analysis (PNA) using EgoNet software and social listening platforms, such as NUVI, to understand customer influencers.
Prerequisites: None
- Program: Graduate
- Division: Operations and Information Management
- Level: MSBA Elective (Grad),Graduate Elective (Grad)
- Course Number: OIM7515
- Number of Credits: 3
ECN6111 Entrepreneurial Economics
MSEL Course
This course applies economic theory to decisions faced by entrepreneurs such as pricing, investment, data usage, and ethics. A primary focus of this course will be on using data to improve strategic decision making. Students will be encouraged to think about the strategic implications of decisions and to use both theory and data to support, validate, and revise decisions as needed. Entrepreneurial leaders are challenged in the global marketplace to effectively communicate not only the results of analysis but the rationale for decisions. Through both individual and group work, students will conduct market analysis and present the results while also interacting with their peers to provide constructive practical critiques.
- Program: Graduate
- Division: Economics
- Course Number: ECN6111
- Number of Credits: 1.5
EPS3551 Entrepreneurial Families
(Formerly Family Entrepreneurship Amplifier)
4 General Elective CreditsIf you come from a family business or have an interest in starting a business with a family member or members, this course is designed for you. The course is like no other offered at Babson or elsewhere in the world. In this course, you will work directly with your family as part of the learning process. Together you will learn about how and why families are responsible for over 75% of global entrepreneurial activity and how your family can be more successful in its entrepreneurial efforts. You will learn about succession, ownership structures, family business strategy, family and business governance, conflict management and communication. You will strengthen your ability to work with your family, build your confidence and increase your family's understanding of the value you can bring to the business. You will also learn from your peers and their families establishing relationships that will endure long after you graduate. If you know that you want to lead the family business, this course will provide a foundation for your future. If you are uncertain about joining the family business, this course will help provide clarity for your decision. If you have no desire to join the family business and prefer creating your own venture or opportunity, this course will help you to leverage the knowledge and resources within your family in order to increase the likelihood of your success.
For more information please watch this video.
Prerequisites: FME or equivalent
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Entrepreneurship
- Level: Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Management (UGrad)
- Course Number: EPS3551
- Number of Credits: 4
EPS4510 Entrepreneurial Finance
(Formerly EPS3511)
4 General CreditsHow much money should I raise? Who should I raise it from and how? What do I do with the money once I have it? This course focuses on the various aspects of funding and managing entrepreneurial ventures through the various stages of business growth. The class will utilize videos, cases, simulation and experiential learning techniques to explain how to finance the entrepreneurial firm, investment analysis and decision making, and managing company finances through growth, crisis and harvesting. Frequent guests ranging from entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, banking and legal professionals will bring the entrepreneurial experience to life in this course which utilizes the "flipped classroom" methodology of teaching.
Prerequisites: (SME2001 and SME2002 and SME2011 and SME2012 and SME2021 and SME2031) or (ACC2002 and OIM2001 and MKT2000 and OIM2000 and FIN2000 and ECN2002)
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Entrepreneurship
- Level: Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Management (UGrad)
- Course Number: EPS4510
- Number of Credits: 4
MBA7507 Leading Enterprise Change: Entrepreneurial Leadership and Innovation
3 Credits
This course will go deep into the principles of innovation - disruptive, product (Agile), process (Lean), customer experience (Design Thinking), and business model innovations. Participants will learn how key tools like Agile, Lean and Design Thinking become the corner stone of innovation projects and processes that help teams to become more effective and help executives to build an innovation culture. Today, even the most conservative of industries are being pushed to transform themselves towards digital excellence. We will see several examples of firms that have gone through this transformation. Strategy, Innovation, and Culture are inseparable and they are the three key weapons of every entrepreneurial leader confronting ever increasing VUCA (volatile, uncertain, complex, ambiguous) environments. This course provides the participants a set of strong principles and common language for leading their teams and their enterprises through uncharted terrains. When this course is offered exclusively for firms in the healthcare industry, the case studies and the assignments will be chosen appropriately.
- Program: Graduate
- Division: Operations and Information Management
- Level: Graduate Elective (Grad)
- Course Number: MBA7507
- Number of Credits: 3
EPS1220 Entrepreneurial Leadership Field Studies
4 Free Elective Credits
This course is designed specifically for Arthur M. Blank School of Entrepreneurial Leadership Scholars (AMBSEL Scholars) and for other Scholars (e.g., Weisman, Presidential, Posse, etc.) by instructor consent.
Entrepreneurial leadership theories and frameworks, considered to be distinct from other forms of leadership, are still at the nascent stage of development. Babson Professor Scott Taylor and his colleagues are currently developing an entrepreneurial leadership model that includes the following constructs: "leader internal clarity", "leader opportunity seeking behavior", "leader outward focus", "follower motivation effect", and "recognizing and exploiting entrepreneurial opportunities". Each of these constructs will be explored by students through discussions of assigned readings and qualitative research in the form of entrepreneur interviews and a case research project which includes a written case and teaching note. Students will develop qualitative research skills (e.g., interview techniques) through in class lectures and asynchronous videos that have already been produced by Professor Shay. The learning-focused activities and assignments, especially the field-based entrepreneur interview and case research project, are designed to enhance student (and the field's) understanding of the unique nature of entrepreneurial leadership and to develop the student's own entrepreneurial leadership skills. Student course deliverables (entrepreneur interview and case study) will provide insights to advance our understanding of entrepreneurial leadership as well as teaching materials for classroom use. The entrepreneur interviews and case studies will be submitted for inclusion in Babson's case resources and possibly for publication in peer-reviewed journals such as Case Research Journal.
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Entrepreneurship
- Level: Free Elective (UGrad)
- Course Number: EPS1220
- Number of Credits: 4
EPS3543: Entrepreneurial Opportunities in AI
4 advanced managements credits
This experiential seminar explores the rapidly evolving field of artificial intelligence (AI) and its potential for creating new business opportunities. Students will learn about cutting-edge technologies in AI, such as machine learning, computer vision, neural networks, and natural language processing. We will also cover recent developments in the AI industry and the impact of venture capital investment on AI startups. Throughout the course, students will have the opportunity to experiment with AI technologies and develop their own innovative projects. By the end of the course, students will have a deep understanding of the current state of AI and the potential for new business opportunities in this field. This course is ideal for students interested in the intersection of entrepreneurship and technology.
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Entrepreneurship
- Level: Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Management (UGrad)
- Course Number: EPS3543
- Number of Credits: 4
EPS7800 Entrepreneurship
2 Credits (Core MBA)If you have taken and passed EPS7200, you cannot register for EPS7800, as these two courses are equivalent
Through the Entrepreneurship components of the course, you will explore and practice the concepts of creativity, innovation, and entrepreneurship, and how these three concepts come together to create the future. You will examine the importance of creativity in this process, and how it fosters an innovative and entrepreneurial approach to identifying, solving and acting on management challenges. You will build an ET&A toolkit to create and evaluate entrepreneurial opportunities, marshal resources, and form teams driven by creativity, leadership, and smart action. You will explore questions about value exploration and value appropriation - for yourself and for others in society. In sum, this course is a journey through the fuzzy front-end of early-stage entrepreneurial activity. This course is not intended to be a complete overview of entrepreneurship. It makes no effort to deal with all the complex issues of entrepreneurial practice. Topics such as managing growth, franchising, entrepreneurial finance, corporate entrepreneurship, family entrepreneurship, or buying businesses are not covered in the course. Other courses offered during your MBA program go into greater depth in many of these issues. This course is an immersion experience for finding, creating, and evaluating early-stage opportunities for value creation. It also expands your horizons about how to determine what is valuable not only for yourself, but for others across people, organizations, and society in new and creative ways.
- Program: Graduate
- Division: Entrepreneurship
- Course Number: EPS7800
- Number of Credits: 2
EPS3501 Entrepreneurship and Opportunity
4 General CreditsEPS3501, EPS3502, EPS3503, EPS3530, EPS3508 and EPS4520 are all equivalent courses. Students can take only ONE of these courses.
Before spending time and money on launching a new venture, it is important to understand if you should launch that particular venture. In fact, some of the main causes of new venture failure are the lack of product-market fit and cash flow problems resulting from underestimating the costs of the venture. This course concentrates on identifying and evaluating opportunities for new business to ensure that the venture has the potential to meet the individual entrepreneur's goals. Students will work on venture ideas to learn how to determine if there is a sufficient market, what that market requires to be willing to pay for a solution and what it will take for the entrepreneur to deliver that solution. Students will gain first-hand experience with market and customer research as well as a better understanding of what they need to do to determine if an idea represents a true opportunity for them. Students will leave the class being better able to understand their own personal entrepreneurial capacity and the process and tools that they can use for evaluating any venture idea that they may have in the future. Student teams will conduct both primary and secondary research on a venture idea of their choice.
Prerequisites: (SME2021 or FIN2000) and (SME2011 or MKT2000) and (SME2031 or ECN2002)
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Entrepreneurship
- Level: Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Management (UGrad)
- Course Number: EPS3501
- Number of Credits: 4
EPS7200 Entrepreneurship & Opportunity
2 CreditsEntrepreneurship & Opportunity (E&O) - This course provides an overview of the entrepreneurship method that will enable you to create, identify, assess, shape, and act on opportunities in a variety of contexts and organizations. The method, called Entrepreneurial Thought & Action (ETA), is teachable and learnable, but is not predictable. This is a results-oriented course that emphasizes early action in order to test and refine new venture concepts.
- Program: Graduate
- Division: Entrepreneurship
- Course Number: EPS7200
- Number of Credits: 2
EPS3513 Entrepreneurship in Fashion
4 CreditsEntrepreneurship in fashion explores the challenges to entrepreneurs in the fashion industry with a view toward understanding opportunities, the changing nature of design to distribution technologies and processes, and the resources required to successfully launch and grow new ventures and corporate innovations. This course will examine past, current, and leading-edge business models while building entrepreneurial thought and action skills in the fashion context to create economic and social value. Students will focus on areas of interest in the fashion industry and design business models around opportunity spaces. The course examines current business cases. Speakers from the fashion industry will be invited to converse with students about experience and opportunities in fashion.
Prerequisites: FME1001
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Entrepreneurship
- Level: Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Management (UGrad)
- Course Number: EPS3513
- Number of Credits: 4
EPS3509 Entrepreneurship New Ventures in Fashion
4 Elective Abroad CreditsEntrepreneurial leaders in Fashion excel in being innovative and resourceful with respect to creating new designs that capturing customer attention, attracting high quality human and financial capital, and building business partnerships that ensure their products get to market in a timely way. The Fashion business cycle demands that ventures gather timely customer information, make the most of limited resources, and manage uncertainty in changing market conditions. In this course, students will have the opportunity to apply their classroom knowledge and past professional experiences to practice these facets of entrepreneurial leadership in London, England. The course is built around a Design Challenge - including preparation, research and thought about opportunities and the fashion industry and an intense, one-week exercise that invites students to create a solution to address an underserved customer/market niche while visiting leading British companies and cultural attractions.
As a part of the field work associated with the Design Challenge, students will participate in local excursions to leading businesses, start-ups, incubators, design companies, and cultural destinations. You will meet British and Global entrepreneurs, managers, Full-Circle Economy/Environmental leaders, and other experts in fashion design and production. You will also interact with different facets of everyday life in London as you collect information, develop an opportunity, rapidly prototype solutions, and validate your findings. The goal is to provide ample opportunities for you to immerse yourselves in the dynamic London fashion culture and expose yourselves to the design- friendly ways pioneered by British companies and leaders. At the end of the week, student teams will present their solutions to a panel of Fashion Faculty. The course is designed for students who have a strong interest in entrepreneurship, fashion, innovation, fashion technology, or design and wish to participate in a dynamic cross-cultural learning experience.
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Entrepreneurship
- Level: Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Management (UGrad)
- Course Number: EPS3509
- Number of Credits: 4
EPS6300 Entrepreneurship, Analytics, and Strategy of the Firm
3 Blended CreditsThis course provides an overview of the entrepreneurship method that will enable students to create, identify, assess, shape, and act on opportunities in a variety of contexts and organizations, while also introducing students to the use of analytics throughout the lifecycle of business applications. The method, called Entrepreneurial Thought and Action (ET&A), is teachable and learnable, but is not predictable. This is a results-oriented course that emphasizes early action in order to test and refine new venture concepts. Topics will include: innovation uncertainty in the corporate environment, Design Thinking, Shareholder Value and EVA//Multi Business Strategy in Large Corporations, Industry Analysis, Ecosystems and Competitive Positioning and How Big Companies Make Decisions.
Prerequisites: Admission in to the MSBA program. CAM students should contact Graduate Academic Services to pursue enrollment in this course.
- Program: Graduate
- Division: Entrepreneurship
- Level: MSBA Core (Grad)
- Course Number: EPS6300
- Number of Credits: 3
ECN3675 Environmental Economics - Policy and Analysis
4 Advanced Liberal Arts Elective CreditsAvoiding environmental catastrophe in the next century requires that business leaders and policy makers value, both inherently and quantitatively, the impact of production and consumption choices on natural resources and the environment. Students in this course will consider the tension between the resource needs of current versus future generations and will use microeconomic models to analyze non-renewable energy resources, our access to clean water and our ability to control pollution, among other topics. Students will leave this course knowing how to evaluate economic and environmental tradeoffs in the context of the most pressing resource issues, and understanding the impact of potential policies that affect environmental outcomes, including market-based approaches.
Prerequisites: ECN2000 and (SME2031 or ECN2002)
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Economics
- Level: Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: ECN3675
- Number of Credits: 4
CSP2036 Environmental Justice
(Formerly CVA2036)
4 Intermediate Liberal Arts Credits
The objective of this course is to understand, explore, and analyze the inequities and power dynamics associated with many types of environmental (in)justice. Depending on the instructor, the focus may be on waste and consumption; global health; city design etc. in relation to issues of justice. How can we reimagine solutions for environmental justice? By thinking critically about these issues, we will challenge our thinking about environmental justice and why it matters today and in the future.
Prerequisites: (FCI1000 or AHS1000) and (WRT1001or RHT1000)
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: History and Society
- Level: Intermediate Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: CSP2036
- Number of Credits: 4
LAW 3604: Environmental Law & Policy
4 Advanced liberal arts credits
This course provides an overview of environmental law - and, consistent with Babson's curricular approach, its wider context as it relates to the natural environment, society, and entrepreneurial activity. In terms of core legal content, we will focus on common law principles, federal statutes and regulatory frameworks in the United States, and aspects of other government policy that relate to the natural environment. International frameworks and treaties will be covered. Implementation and enforcement issues will also be investigated, as well as "soft law" approaches such as regulation-by-disclosure.
This course fits Babson's curricular themes such as integrated sustainability. Specifically: this course will endeavor to consider the legal content against the background of existential crises in ecosystems, and with an eye to how legal frameworks either hinder or enable entrepreneurial activity to eliminate harms cause by human activity. We will also consider the legal content as it relates to other sustainability courses, and current cases and controversies in the news.
Prerequisites: LAW 1000
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Accounting and Law
- Level: Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: LAW3604
- Number of Credits: 4
HSS2040 Environmental Politics
4 Intermediate Liberal Arts CreditsEnvironmental issues are inherently multidisciplinary. They intersect with a variety of other knowledge areas, such as economics, finance, politics, and sociology. To better understand these interactions, we require the ability to think holistically. This course provides some tools that helps us understand how environmental issues are connected to a wide range of topics. It is designed for business students, and it looks at the many roles played by the private sector in environmental governance. The central part of the course focuses on political challenges related to environmental issues: Who has influence over environmental decisions? How are decisions made? How are natural resources managed? The course is organized in four building blocks: Water-Food-Energy, Environmental Governance and International Relations, Sustainable Development, and Politics of Climate Change. All of them draw on contemporary debates about global environmental politics, and each building block uses case studies to contextualize the topics under discussion.
Prerequisites: (FCI1000 or AHS1000) and (WRT1001or RHT1000)
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: History and Society
- Level: Intermediate Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: HSS2040
- Number of Credits: 4
SEN1314 Equine Business Management
(Senior Instructor: Elizabeth Monteith) Students in Equine Business Management will apply principles of Babson's outstanding business education to the equestrian industry. The business of horses is a diverse and historical trade, ripe for innovation that Babson entrepreneurs can provide. In this seminar, we will study competitive governing organizations (such as the United States Equestrian Federation), stables, racing syndicates, and more. Students will also be introduced to many of the equine-related jobs available to business students. No former equine experience is required, just bring your passion and willingness to learn!
Course Schedule:
Class 1 - Wednesday, January 27
Class 2 - Wednesday, February 3
Class 3 - Wednesday, February 10
Class 4 - Wednesday, February 17
Class 5 - Wednesday, February 24
Class 6 - Senior Seminar Showcase: Tuesday or Wednesday evening, 3/1 or 3/2. Details to be confirmed by first day of class.
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Other
- Course Number: SEN1314
- Number of Credits: 0
FIN7503 Equities
3 Elective CreditsThis course will address both theoretical and practical issues that arise in equity analysis and portfolio management. Students will develop a framework for equity investing that includes idea generation, security analysis, valuation techniques (e.g. Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) and relative value analysis (COMPCO)), equity portfolio construction, and performance measurement. Equity valuation and equity portfolio management are as much art as science so the course will focus on the challenges equity professionals face in the pursuit of alpha.
Prerequisites: FIN7200, FIN7800 or MSF program
- Program: Graduate
- Division: Finance
- Level: MSF Core (Grad),Graduate Elective (Grad)
- Course Number: FIN7503
- Number of Credits: 3
CSP2001 Introduction to Ethics
(Formerly CVA2001)
4 Intermediate Liberal Arts Credits
Discussions relate morality to the life and circumstances of contemporary society by offering a solid grounding in the major concepts of ethical theory and in the basic skills for analyzing ethical issues and making sound moral judgments.
This course is typically offered in the following semesters: Fall and Spring
Prerequisites: (FCI1000 or AHS1000) and (WRT1001or RHT1000)
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Arts and Humanities
- Level: Intermediate Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: CSP2001
- Number of Credits: 4
OIM7503 Experiment to Scale
3 Elective Credits
Innovators in all industries are searching for ways to bring products and services to market at an even faster pace and to scale. However, companies face a myriad of challenges that make such growth difficult, namely: environmental uncertainty, unquestioned industry standards, and seemingly stagnant organizational cultures. And while ideating and prototyping new ideas becomes more manageable for firms, bringing those ideas to scale is still elusive Experimentation has recently been revered as the way forward to address these challenges. In this course, students will study historical and more recent experimentation techniques from technology and operations management. Students will compare and contrast these techniques and apply them to a project.
- Program: Graduate
- Division: Operations and Information Management
- Level: Graduate Elective (Grad)
- Course Number: OIM7503
- Number of Credits: 3
ENG4615 Expository Writing
2 Advanced Liberal Arts Credits
This advanced writing course has two main goals. One: reviewing the fundamentals of grammar, style, and voice will help you face future writing situations in the professional world with greater confidence. Two: expanding your repertoire of expressive choices will help you articulate ideas more clearly and will connect you more effectively with intended audiences.
This is an "expository," not a "creative" writing course, with a focus on the tasks of explanation and persuasion, and on the genre of the essay. But it will also push generic boundaries and examine the role of creativity and imagination in non-fiction prose.
Prerequisites: Any combination of 2 ILA (HSS, LTA, CSP, LVA, CVA)
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Arts and Humanities
- Level: Advanced Liberal Arts 4600 Requirement (UGrad),Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: ENG4615
- Number of Credits: 2
EPS9553 Family Business to Next Stage of Growth
1.5 Credits
Meeting Dates TBD
Drop Deadline TBD
Growth is the necessary condition for a trans-generational enterprising family. This course will explore the challenges and complexity of growth in the generational context of the family. The inflection point question, _How do we take the family business to the next stage of growth?_ requires that families discover the _power of f_ in wealth creation. The question of growth raises additional questions for reflection and conversation:
Do you have a compelling multi-generational vision for growth?
What is the difference between an enterprising family and traditional family business?
What are the constraints to growth in your family business?
How does the family context create a unique _entrepreneurship to the power of f_?
What is your _power of f_ familiness advance performance model?
How does your governance support or constrain growth?
How do your planning capabilities support growth?
How do you align the family risk profile for growth?
What do you do if family shareholders don't want to grow (but don't know it)?
How do you establish an ownership strategic options continuum to support growth?
The Inflection Point Question Course is a Friday/Saturday _family retreat_ format that provides personalized coaching to participants based upon their individual family cases - family members are welcome to join students. The Goal is to stimulate deeper personal and professional Reflection…facilitate peer collegial Conversation…set participants up for Collaborative decision making in the family…and lead to an action plan for Execution by the students on their goals.
- Program: Graduate
- Division: Entrepreneurship
- Level: Graduate Elective (Grad)
- Course Number: EPS9553
- Number of Credits: 1.5
MKT 3503: Fan Behavior
4 Advanced Liberal Arts Credits
This course provides an in-depth analysis of audience behavior in sports and entertainment. Students will learn how to use data analytics to understand fan behavior, preferences, and engagement patterns, and how to develop effective marketing strategies to maximize revenue and fan loyalty.
COURSE LEARNING OBJECTIVES
1. Understand the fundamentals of audience analytics and consumer behavior in sports and entertainment.
2. Learn how to collect, analyze, interpret, and present fan data using various quantitative and qualitative research methods (communication).
3. Develop skills in data visualization, data storytelling, and data-driven decision-making.
4. Explore the latest trends and technologies in audience analytics and consumer behavior in sports and entertainment.
5. Apply the knowledge and skills learned in the course to real-world scenarios (problem solving).
6. Utilize knowledge from this course in an applied project (problem solving).
7. Interact with industry professionals in the areas of audience analytics and consumer behavior in sports and entertainment (collaboration).
Prerequisites: MKT 2000
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Marketing
- Level: Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Management (UGrad)
- Course Number: MKT3503
- Number of Credits: 4
SEN1339 Feeding Yourself in College and Beyond
(Student Instructor: Shalom Mensah) Food is nourishment that we all need, but it can also tell many stories and unite groups of people. This class will supplement your knowledge of cooking, and give you the confidence to get in the kitchen to make yourself an amazing dish that you will be proud of and happy to eat. In addition to being a cooking class, this class is aimed at discussing the ways that each cook can take small steps to incorporate a sustainable approach to their cooking: making stock, composting, and grocery shopping efficiently. Each week, we will eat what we cook. Whether you have never been in the kitchen to make yourself a meal, or you cook everyone once in a while, this is a class for you.
Tuesdays 6:30 - 9:00 pm
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Other
- Course Number: SEN1339
- Number of Credits: 0
HUM4604: Feminish, Gender and Philosophies of Liberation
4 Advanced Liberal Arts credits
This course will overview the history of modern feminist philosophy from the seventeenth century to the present. We will focus on the emergence of feminism within in the context of colonialism, the trans-Atlantic slave trade, the development of the modern nation state, and various revolutions. While much of the course will look at international examples and texts, we will also look at the specificities of the feminist movement in the United States from within indigenous struggles for sovereignty, the abolitionist movement, and feminist work specific to Boston. We will also study the emergence of LGBT movements in conversation with feminist struggles, as well as the emergence of transfeminism. The course is broken up into three units: Unit 1 will focus on the history of feminist philosophy and activism; Unit 2 looks at the modern racial and colonial history of gender; and Unit 3 focuses on contemporary abolitionist and decolonial forms of feminism as philosophies of liberation. There will be an in-class mid-term before spring break after we finish Unit 1, and the course will conclude with a final research paper.
Prerequsites: Any Combinations of 2 Intermediate Liberal Arts (HSS, CSP, LTA)
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Arts and Humanities
- Level: Advanced Liberal Arts 4600 Requirement (UGrad),Advanced Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: HUM4604
- Number of Credits: 4
FIN7800 Finance
2 Credits (Core MBA)If you have taken and passed FIN7200, you cannot register for FIN7800, as these two courses are equivalent
This course provides an introduction to the principles and practices of financial decision making. It introduces the foundation concepts of the time value of money, the valuation of securities, and forecasting. These concepts are used to show how managers can analyze the risk and return of capital investment proposals and identify those projects that are expected to create shareholder value. The concepts also are used to estimate the value of an enterprise for purposes of initial public offering (IPO) and corporate acquisitions. Financial modeling will be at the heart of the course using Excel.
Students are strongly encouraged to complete ACC7800 prior to taking this course.
- Program: Graduate
- Division: Finance
- Course Number: FIN7800
- Number of Credits: 2
ACC7577 Finance for Non-Financial Professionals
3 Elective CreditsThis finance course bridges the gap between functional business knowledge and practical financial information. By connecting your company strategy to its financial implications, you increase the value of your organization and become a more effective business leader. Topics covered include: understanding financial statements, using finance to improve decision-making, projecting cashflows, and assessing organizational performance. The curriculum focuses on universal business problems that are specific to your needs, and teaches you how to immediately apply that information in ways that are relevant to your job.
- Program: Graduate
- Division: Accounting and Law
- Level: Graduate Elective (Grad)
- Course Number: ACC7577
- Number of Credits: 3
FIN7517 Finance and Sustainability
(Formerly Finance in a World of Changing Values)
3 Elective CreditsThis course extends the rigor of traditional financial theory to the concept of sustainability. There is broad and growing interest in socially conscious, mission, green and/or triple-bottom line investing. The course will concentrate on practical applications through case analysis and supporting theory will be presented through lectures and course notes. The United Nation's Principles of Responsible Investment as well as mainstream certifications, such as the CFA Institute's certificate in ESG and the GARP Sustainability and Climate Risk certificate, will serve as a backdrop for the course. Students will have the opportunity to enhance their understanding of sustainable finance and to apply financial principles for decision-making through discussion, case analysis, and student presentations. In addition, students will be challenged to find their own place in the inevitable future of the field of sustainable finance, whether as an informed observer or as an active participant.
Prerequisites: FIN7200 or FIN7800
- Program: Graduate
- Division: Finance
- Level: MSF Elective (Grad),Graduate Elective (Grad)
- Course Number: FIN7517
- Number of Credits: 3
FIN6110 Finance for Entrepreneurs
MSEL Course
1.5 Credits
This course will translate established principles and tools from corporate finance into the entrepreneurial environment. Specific topics include milestones and staging, alternative forms of funding, forecasting for new ventures, financial strategy, and valuation. Through hands on workshops and case studies, students will learn how to negotiate funding terms and establish metrics that will maximize the value of their entrepreneurial investment.
- Program: Graduate
- Division: Finance
- Course Number: FIN6110
- Number of Credits: 1.5
FIN7525 Finance for New Ventures
3 Elective CreditsFIN7525 is meant for entrepreneurs and small business owners that want a detailed understanding of the financial implications of strategic decisions as they start and grow their ventures. The focus is on forecasting integrated financial statements, valuation, and deal structure. The course covers equity investment (angels and VCs) from both the entrepreneur's and investor's perspectives, including pre- and post-money value, capitalization tables, dilution, and liquidation preferences. The impact of debt financing on financial statements and returns is also covered. Valuation methods include discounted cash flow, multiples, and the VC method. Risk management techniques incorporating staging, milestones, real options, and simulation are used to better assess uncertainty and then structure transactions to mitigate risk.
Prerequisites: FIN7200 OR FIN7800
- Program: Graduate
- Division: Finance
- Level: MSF Elective (Grad),Graduate Elective (Grad)
- Course Number: FIN7525
- Number of Credits: 3
ECN7510 Financial and Macroeconomics Data Analysis
3 Elective CreditsThere are numerous challenges to competently modeling/forecasting financial and macroeconomic variables. Basic statistical analysis may yield misleading results for various reasons including time-varying volatility, structural change, and outliers. Time series data is also often "non-stationary" which, if not addressed, can lead to spurious regression or "nonsense correlations". Analysis of "big data" meanwhile can promote model selection bias where the effects in the final model are overstated. Moreover, the relationship of cause and effect between variables is often two-way, where both variables affect each other. In this class, you will learn several methods to address these problems including: cointegration (to address non-stationarity), vector autoregression (to allow for interdependence between variables), and a machine learning algorithm to conduct unbiased model selection from "big data" while addressing outliers and structural change.
Prerequisites: None
- Program: Graduate
- Division: Economics
- Level: MSBA Elective (Grad),MSF Elective (Grad),Graduate Elective (Grad)
- Course Number: ECN7510
- Number of Credits: 3
ACC7800 Financial and Sustainability Reporting
(Formerly Financial Reporting)
2 Credits (Core MBA)If you have taken and passed ACC7200, you cannot register for ACC7800, as these two courses are equivalent
The purpose of this course is to review the concepts surrounding financial and environmental, social, and governance (ESG) reporting and to emphasize the importance of being an informed user of financial and ESG information for any entrepreneurial leader. Whether you are involved in an existing business or starting your own, working in the not-for-profit sector or managing your personal finances, you will need to be able to incorporate financial information into your decision-making process. We will be constructing financial statements, analyzing them across companies and industries, and providing linkages to entrepreneurial and strategic decision making. We will also be exploring how the reporting of ESG factors integrates with financial reports to provide useful information for evaluating risks and the long-term sustainability of a business.
**It is strongly recommended that students complete this course prior to taking FIN7800**
- Program: Graduate
- Division: Accounting and Law
- Course Number: ACC7800
- Number of Credits: 2
FIN6200 Financial Data Analysis and Practice
3 CreditsThis course trains students how to use different data sets for research, how to develop appropriate financial memos and reports for various audiences, and provides some introduction to different aspects of the finance profession. At least four different datasets such as (but not limited to) CRSP, Compustat, Bloomberg, and Capital IQ will be introduced. Students will learn how to access and download data, analyze the data, create reports, and provide written and oral reports to different financial and non-financial audiences. In addition, students will be made aware of professional practices and standards in different financial professions to prepare students for rapid entry into the workplace.
For More Information:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eIX4FKDDkbI&feature=youtu.be
- Program: Graduate
- Division: Finance
- Level: MSF Core (Grad)
- Course Number: FIN6200
- Number of Credits: 3
FIN3560 Financial Markets and Instruments
4 General Elective Credits
This course provides students with an understanding of many important financial instruments and the financial markets in which they trade. The topics covered include the major financial markets and their associated structures, quantitative techniques for valuing various financial securities and their cash flow streams, and factors affecting interest rates. This course also provides an introduction to derivatives and risk management. Topics include: instruments/markets, bond markets, equity markets, security firms and investment banks, issuing securities, organized exchanges, bond and stock valuation, interest rate determination (term structure), bond duration, foreign exchange, mortgages, risk management, an introduction to derivatives (including options, futures, and swaps), pay off profiles and an introduction to Black-Scholes.
Prerequisites: SME2021 or FIN2000
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Finance
- Level: Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Management (UGrad)
- Course Number: FIN3560
- Number of Credits: 4
ACC3510 Financial Planning and Cost Control
4 General CreditsExplore cost systems and control for operations in profit and nonprofit organizations, and
budgetary considerations and variance analysis, including their relation to fiscal planning and
administration.
Prerequisites: ACC 2002
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Accounting and Law
- Level: Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Management (UGrad)
- Course Number: ACC3510
- Number of Credits: 4
FIN 4508: Financial Planning and Wealth Management
4 advanced management credits
This course will provide an Experiential Learning experience for students in the financial planning and wealth management industry. During the semester students teams will obtain hands-on consulting experience across various projects providing investment solutions, marketing guidance, and other assignments as designed by four financial planning firms. Every effort will be made to have the firms be run by members of the Babson Community. Weekly updates on the project assignment to the instructor will be a requirement of the course.
Prerequisites: One 3000 Level Finance Course
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Finance
- Level: Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Management (UGrad)
- Course Number: FIN4508
- Number of Credits: 4
ACC7200 Financial Reporting
2 CreditsFinancial Reporting (FINACC) - Whether you are starting your own business, working in the not-for-profit sector, managing your personal finances, or working for a large corporation, you will need to be able to incorporate financial information into your decision making process. The purpose of this course is to review the concepts surrounding financial reporting and to emphasize the importance of being an informed user of financial information. Financial reports will also be analyzed across companies, industries, and countries, providing linkages to entrepreneurial and strategic decision making. The course also addresses the ethical responsibility managers have to carry out their fiduciary responsibility to all stakeholders of the company, including the growth in corporate social responsibility reporting and how companies are incorporating this information into their reports and websites.
- Program: Graduate
- Division: Accounting and Law
- Course Number: ACC7200
- Number of Credits: 2
ACC3502 Financial Reporting and Analysis
(Formerly Intermediate Accounting for Finance)
General CreditStudents who have taken ACC3500 and/or ACC3501 cannot take ACC3502
This course is especially designed for finance majors who want to become more proficient in the financial accounting skills necessary to effectively read and interpret financial reports. The course is recommended for students interested in careers in financial management and Wall Street. Topics such as inventory, deferred taxes, inter-corporate investments, and pensions will be explored through study of accounting principles, transaction analysis, financial statement disclosure, and through financial statement analysis as it applies to corporate finance, credit analysis, and aspects of investment banking.
Prerequisites: (SME2031 or ECN2002) and (SME2001 or ACC2002)
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Accounting and Law
- Level: Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Management (UGrad)
- Course Number: ACC3502
- Number of Credits: 4
QTM3625 Financial Modeling Using Simulation and Optimization with Applications to Finance, Marketing, and Management
4 Advanced Liberal Arts CreditsThis course is an introduction to quantitative techniques that enable marketing, finance, and management professionals to make optimal decisions under uncertainty. While theoretical background for these techniques is provided, the focus is on their applications and mastering software that is widely used in industry, such as Excel, Solver, @RISK, and MATLAB. Topics include simulation of important probability distributions, bootstrapping, random walks, linear and nonlinear optimization. Lectures draw on examples such as asset allocation under different definitions of risk; index tracking; scenario approaches to project and portfolio management; hedging and arbitrage; and derivative pricing.
Prerequisites: AQM2000
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Mathematics Analytics Science and Technology
- Level: Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: QTM3625
- Number of Credits: 4
FIN4505 Financial Trading Strategies and Risk Management
4 General CreditsIn this course, students learn to develop and implement institutional (firm-level) financial trading strategies. These strategies are guided by quantitative models that identify, quantify, and manage risks and expected return. In so doing, students learn how to make decisions in an uncertain environment. The course is based on an experiential learning approach, in which trading simulation software provides a platform for delivering learning-by-doing cases. Specific cases covered in the course include: agency trading; principal (liability) trading; algorithmic market making; managing risk capital with value-at-risk; transportation, storage, and production arbitrage in commodity futures markets; and agricultural hedging. The course also covers fundamental concepts in market microstructure, such as bid-ask spreads, price discovery, information asymmetry, liquidity, and inventory risk.
Prerequisites: SME2021 or FIN2000
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Finance
- Level: Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Management (UGrad)
- Course Number: FIN4505
- Number of Credits: 4
FIN7545 Financial Trading Strategies
3 Elective CreditsIn this course, students learn to develop and implement institutional (firm-level) financial trading strategies. These strategies are guided by quantitative models that identify, quantify, and manage risks and expected return. In so doing, students learn how to make decisions in an uncertain environment. The course is based on an experiential learning approach, in which trading simulation software provides a platform for delivering learning-by-doing cases. Specific cases covered in the course include: agency trading; principal (liability) trading; algorithmic market making; managing risk capital with value-at-risk; transportation, storage, and production arbitrage in commodity futures markets; and agricultural hedging. The course also covers fundamental concepts in market microstructure, such as bid-ask spreads, price discovery, information asymmetry, liquidity, and inventory risk.
- Program: Graduate
- Division: Finance
- Level: MSBA Elective (Grad),MSF Elective (Grad),Graduate Elective (Grad)
- Course Number: FIN7545
- Number of Credits: 3
FIN3535 Financing and Valuing Sustainability
4 General CreditsThis course will examine the intersection of sustainability, corporate social responsibility and socially responsible investing with the traditional theories and tools of finance. Students will learn to describe the sustainability landscape and then analyze sustainable technologies, strategies, and business models from the perspective of managers, entrepreneurs, and investors. Basic financial tools such as discounted cash flow, capital budgeting, capital structure, and risk/return will be used to evaluate the feasibility and financial implications of sustainable products and practices in a variety of industries and applications. Students will learn how to balance the needs of all stakeholders in organizations to create both financial and social value.
Prerequisites: SME2021 Finance
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Finance
- Level: Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Management (UGrad)
- Course Number: FIN3535
- Number of Credits: 4
EPS7510 Financing Your Entrepreneurial Business
(Formerly Entrepreneurial Finance)
3 CreditsFocuses on raising seed and growth capital from venture capital, business angels, investment banking, and commercial banking sources; and financial problems unique to the small- and medium-sized firm undergoing rapid growth. Examines actual proposals made to venture capital firms, particularly in terms of their financial viability. Course also examines financial management for entrepreneurs over the life of a business project. Includes financing start-ups, financial planning for the nonpublic smaller enterprise, going public, selling out, bankruptcy, sources of capital, and other related topics.
Prerequisites: None
- Program: Graduate
- Division: Entrepreneurship
- Level: Graduate Elective (Grad)
- Course Number: EPS7510
- Number of Credits: 3
FIN3502 FinTech
4 Advanced Management Credits
The financial services industry is changing rapidly with the emergence of financial technology (FinTech). This course is designed to introduce key financial technology and its applications in financial services. Students will develop a broad and solid understanding of the recent innovations in FinTech, and their benefits and limitations. Students will also have hands-on problem-solving experiences that are useful in the FinTech venture. Ultimately, this course aims to help students identify entrepreneurial opportunities in FinTech and equip them with relevant knowledge and skills. The course will use a mixture of lectures, hands-on programming, case studies, guest speakers, and group projects. This course emphasizes and builds on Entrepreneurial Thought & Action, and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in the context of the financial services industry.
Learning objectives for this course:
- Understand key financial technology, including artificial intelligence (AI) & machine learning (ML) & natural language processing (NPL), blockchain & cryptocurrency, smart contract & ethereum. Develop relevant programing skills.
- Explore recent innovations in the financial services industry, including payment, credit, capital markets, insurance, SMB, and real estate.
- Assess the value creation of FinTech. Analyze the limitations and challenges of FinTech (e.g., inclusion, regulation)
- Identify entrepreneurial opportunities in the FinTech space. Propose a FinTech startup idea and develop a business plan.
Evaluation of undergraduate program learning goals:
- Collaboration: Students will work in teams to prepare for the final project report and presentation.
- Communication: The course will be highly interactive. Students need to actively participate in case studies and guest lectures. The final project will require students to pitch a startup idea both through a written report and a presentation. The quality of the written project and oral presentation will be used as a key evaluation criterion.
- Problem-Solving: Students will develop problem-solving skills through hands-on programming and assignments, case studies, and final projects. Students will be able to apply knowledge and skills learned from this course to identify real opportunities and challenges in the FinTech industry, propose new startup ideas, and develop business plans.
Prerequisites: SME2021
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Finance
- Level: Advanced Management (UGrad)
- Course Number: FIN3502
- Number of Credits: 4
FIN7532 FINTECH
3 Elective Credits
The financial services industry is changing rapidly with the emergence of financial technology (FinTech). This course is designed to introduce key financial technology and its applications in financial services. Students will develop a broad and solid understanding of the recent innovations in FinTech, and their benefits and limitations. Students will also have hands-on problem-solving experiences that are useful in the FinTech venture. Ultimately, this course aims to help students identify entrepreneurial opportunities in FinTech and equip them with relevant knowledge and skills. The course will use a mixture of lectures, case studies, guest speakers, and group projects. This course emphasizes and builds on Entrepreneurial Thought & Action, and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in the context of the financial services industry.
Prerequisites: None
- Program: Graduate
- Division: Finance
- Level: MSBA Elective (Grad),MSF Elective (Grad),Graduate Elective (Grad)
- Course Number: FIN7532
- Number of Credits: 3
SEN1344: First Impressions: How to Present Your Best Self
Instructor: Nairi Enright 
Have you felt the pressure of having to make a first impression? Have you spent hours recounting your conversation with someone and wishing you could have presented yourself differently? If these two experiences resonate with you, this seminar will prove useful to you and help you gain invaluable skills for communicating with others for the first time. In this course, we will explore the qualities that make a strong first impression in a variety of settings, from interviews to networking events to casual social outings. We will use case studies based on real-life scenarios. Students will practice using effective conversation strategies and reflect on their own interactions in order to feel comfortable and confident as communicators. 
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Other
- Course Number: SEN1344
- Number of Credits: 0
FYS1000 First Year Seminar
1 Credit
This course will challenge students to critically examine important aspects of college student life, such as engaging in scholarly dialogue, becoming a proactive learner, and valuing a diverse and inclusive environment. Students will also be asked to reflect on their own abilities and how they can make an impact on campus and beyond. Additionally, students will develop important relationships with fellow students, peer leaders, faculty, and administrators. Students will earn a grade and one academic credit for their successful participation in this program.
Participation in FYS is a graduation requirement for all Babson students.
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Other
- Level: Foundation Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: FYS1000
- Number of Credits: 1
FIN7513 Fixed Income (Formerly Fixed Income Portfolio Management)
3 Elective CreditsThis advanced quantitative course is designed for students interested in fixed income portfolio management, as well as students interested in the sales and trading of fixed income securities and their related structured products. Topics covered include: (i) bond pricing and day count conventions; (ii) relative value and yield curve construction; (iii) duration, basis point value, and convexity; (iv) pricing and hedging of interest rate currency swaps; (v) Treasury bond futures, conversion factors, and the concepts of cheapest-to-deliver and implied repo; (vi) the repo (GC and special) market; (vii) credit risk and the pricing of high yield bonds and credit default swaps; and (viii) securitization, mortgage-backed securities, and collateralized mortgage obligations.
Prerequisites: FIN7200 OR FIN7800
- Program: Graduate
- Division: Finance
- Level: MSF Core (Grad),Graduate Elective (Grad)
- Course Number: FIN7513
- Number of Credits: 3
FIN4535 Fixed Income and Structured Products
4 General CreditsThis advanced quantitative course is designed for students interested in the sales and trading of fixed income securities and their related structured products, as well as students interested in fixed income portfolio management. Topics covered include: (i) bond pricing and day count conventions; (ii) relative value and yield curve construction; (iii) duration and convexity; (iv) pricing and hedging of interest rate swaps; (v) Treasury bond futures, conversion factors, and the concepts of cheapest-to-deliver and implied repo; (vi) the repo (GC and special) market; (vii) credit risk and the pricing of high yield bonds and credit default swaps; and (viii) securitization, mortgage-backed securities, and collateralized mortgage obligations. Course enrollment will be limited to enable extensive in-class usage of Bloomberg and other Cutler Center resources.
Prerequisites: SME2021
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Finance
- Level: Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Management (UGrad)
- Course Number: FIN4535
- Number of Credits: 4
CSP2090 Food and the African American Canon
(Formerly CVA2090)
4 Intermediate Liberal Arts CreditsThis 4 credit history and foodways course discusses food and space in restaurants, dining cars, street venders and wherever food is made and sold (by whom), and eaten (by whom) at the center. The course will include readings in James Weldon Johnson's The Autobiography of a Colored Man, Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man, Zora Hurston's Their Eyes Where Watching God, John Washington's The Chaneysville Incident, Paule Marshall's classic essay From The Poets in the Kitchen, and Richard Wright's Man of All Work. Readings on segregated restaurants come from James Baldwin's Notes of a Native Son, and in No Name in the Street. A chapter on Ntzoake Shange's novel, Sassafrass, Cypress, and Indigo and her novel Liliane.
Prerequisites: (FCI1000 or AHS1000) and (WRT1001or RHT1000)
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: History and Society
- Level: Intermediate Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: CSP2090
- Number of Credits: 4
EPS9507 Food Entrepreneurship
3 Elective Credits
There is disruption everywhere in food! With challenges due to COVID, there are global food shortages, supply chain interruptions, and innovations in food science that affect how food entrepreneurs identify or create opportunities, launch and grow ventures. Once alternative foods are now mainstream, large food companies are struggling to reinvent themselves and consumers are driving significant change. There is a proliferation of start-ups, food science and technology innovations as well as rising awareness for food priorities, nutrition, education and health.
This experiential elective focuses on the food entrepreneur's journey from idea to launch. We begin with an exploration of your personal passions in the food industry, then examine global megatrends in food where needs, gaps and opportunities are identified. In teams, students will design a new initiative to meet this need/opportunity. Students will engage with food industry experts, consumers and other stakeholders to develop and explore their new initiative as a solution to a food related problem or opportunity. Students will obtain feedback on these initiatives, develop a prototype and experiment with the business model. Resource acquisition strategies and metrics for these new initiatives' food will be developed and investigated. New initiatives may be a program, non-profit, corporate venture or new venture, and can be in any sector related to food- including the following:
growing (e.g. agriculture, production, nutrition)
making (e.g. producing food in restaurants, beverages, consumer packaged goods)
moving (e.g. food services, distribution, shipping, packaging, delivery)
selling (e.g. wholesaling, marketing, retailing, ecommerce)
serving (e.g. staffing, feeding, food health)
disposing (e.g. food waste, packaging, composting)
In addition to working on your own initiatives, students will also co-create solutions to a real-world business problem facing food entrepreneurs who will visit the class. Further, using Babson's Entrepreneurial Thought & Action (ET&A) method, each student will consider the dynamics and interconnectedness of the food industry through a series of individual activities in each of the six food sectors, sharing their experiences and reflections. Be prepared to share family recipes, participate in a "chopped challenge" and measure your food waste. Bring your appetite for learning and food!
- Program: Graduate
- Division: Entrepreneurship
- Level: Graduate Elective (Grad)
- Course Number: EPS9507
- Number of Credits: 3
FME1000 Foundation of Management & Entrepreneurship
4 CreditsThis full-year, introductory course exposes students to key entrepreneurship, marketing, business management and organizational behavior concepts. Central to the course is a _learn by doing" approach in which students teams develop and implement an actual business that the College funds. Profits generated by the business activity are used to support a charitable project that the students also coordinate. Through these activities students will have a personal opportunity to explore the challenges and complexities of creating social as well as economic value. In the organizational behavior stream of this section of FME, students will explore their personal entrepreneurial leadership capabilities and how to work with and through others and effectively participate in their business organizations. This section of FME will meet Babson's undergraduate requirements for a semester long course in organizational behavior.
Prerequisites: None
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Other
- Level: Foundation Management (UGrad)
- Course Number: FME1000
- Number of Credits: 4
FME1001 Foundation Management & Entrepreneurship (2 semesters)
4 CreditsThis full-year, introductory course exposes students to key management and information systems principles, vocabulary, and techniques. Central to the course is a _learn by doing_ approach and sensitivity toward social responsibility and ethical behavior. Students organize into groups of 30 and are responsible for developing and implementing an actual business that the College funds. Profits generated by the business activity are used to support a charitable project that the students must coordinate as well. Students are introduced to the central concepts of finance, accounting, management, operations, and human resource management. In addition, they learn how information systems are used to manage and control business organizations and how to use productivity tools such as spreadsheet and database programs to manage business organizations more effectively.
Prerequisites: FME1000 and ACC1000 (may be taken concurrently)
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Other
- Level: Foundation Management (UGrad)
- Course Number: FME1001
- Number of Credits: 4
LTA2032 Foundations of Western Art
4 Intermediate Liberal Arts CreditsThis course is designed to introduce students to painting, architecture, and sculpture from the
Renaissance to the early 20th century and to give students an understanding of the general principles governing the visual arts. Topics such as the role of the artist, the functions of art in society, and the nature of visual language, among others, will be discussed as major artists and their works are presented in this survey of Western art. Class lectures and discussions are based on the presentation of slides.
This course is typically offered in the following semesters: Spring or Fall
Prerequisites: (FCI1000 or AHS1000) and (WRT1001or RHT1000)
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Arts and Humanities
- Level: Intermediate Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: LTA2032
- Number of Credits: 4
EPS1000 Foundations of Entrepreneurial Management
(Formerly MOB1000)
The content of EPS1000 is equivalent to the material covered in FME 1000 and FME 1001. Students who are enrolled in FME therefore cannot enroll in this course.
In EPS 1000, Foundations of Entrepreneurial Management, you will learn how entrepreneurs think and act through the method of Entrepreneurial Thought & Action (ET&A). Through this experience, you will learn how to develop a value proposition, apply market research tools, prototype, build a business model, and pitch an entrepreneurial opportunity that creates social, environmental and economic benefits. You will develop skills in applying that knowledge through a team-based project in which you will explore and shape a new venture opportunity. EPS 1000 will provide you with a foundation to move on to intermediate-level coursework and pursue your own entrepreneurial dreams.
Prerequisites: None
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Entrepreneurship
- Level: Foundation Management (UGrad)
- Course Number: EPS1000
- Number of Credits: 4
AQM1000 Foundations of Business Analytics
4 Foundation Liberal Arts Credits
The course introduces the necessary quantitative methods that are prerequisites to follow-on courses in AQM and in Babson's integrated core business offerings. Statistical software and the use of spreadsheets are integrated throughout so that students better appreciate the importance of using modern technological tools for effective model building and decision-making. The initial third of the course focuses on basic frequentist statistical methods, their conceptual underpinning, such as variability and uncertainty, and their use in the real world. Topics include data visualization, data collection, descriptive statistics, elementary probability rules and distributions, sampling distributions, confidence intervals, and hypothesis testing. The remainder of the course is dedicated to decision-making problems in a managerial context using algebraic, spreadsheet, graphical, and statistical models. Topics include introductions to linear regression, time series analysis, and simulation. The course emphasizes the effective communication of quantitative results through written, visual, and oral means.
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Mathematics Analytics Science and Technology
- Level: Foundation Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: AQM1000
- Number of Credits: 4
FCI1000 Foundations of Critical Inquiry
4 Credits
The Foundations of Critical Inquiry course, a theme-based course of study at the 1000 level, engages an interdisciplinary style of reasoning, interpreting, and understanding. As an introduction to the liberal arts, the course examines the processes by which individuals and societies create meaning. While there is a selection of themes through which this is explored, each course pays special attention to issues of identity and systems of power. This space for critical inquiry also allows students to reflect on their own agency. Currently, students may choose one of the following themes:
Justice and Inequality
Memory and Forgetting
Nature and Environment
Self in Context
Click Here for a more detailed description.
Prerequisites: None
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: History and Society
- Level: Foundation Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: FCI1000
- Number of Credits: 4
EPS7556 Foundations of Family Entrepreneurship
3 Credits This course provided a broad overview of topics that are relevant to understanding the nature and dynamics of entrepreneurial families. The course will cover such topics as; defining family entrepreneurship versus family business, identifying the pervasiveness of family entrepreneurship and its economic and social contributions, governance and succession in entrepreneurial families, the management of change and transgenerational value creation, conflict management, and the development and allocation of financial and human assets.
For more information please view this video. Prerequisites: None
- Program: Graduate
- Division: Entrepreneurship
- Level: Graduate Elective (Grad)
- Course Number: EPS7556
- Number of Credits: 3
OIM3508 Foundations of Project Management
2 Advanced Management Credits
This course is an approved elective for the Operations Management concentration.
According to the Project Management Institute (PMI), there are nearly 250,000 open project management jobs each year across seven project-intensive industries: business services, construction, finance and insurance, information services, manufacturing, oil and gas, and utilities. As more work becomes project-based, projects grow in complexity, and clients demand accountability and efficiency, graduates with project management skills will be in increasingly high demand. In this course, you will learn foundational skills for leading cross functional teams using up-to-date PM best practices, methodologies, and tools. This course is applicable across career paths such as consulting, information technology, entrepreneurship, new product development and many others. Students will be exposed to both the technical and behavioral skills required to effectively lead project teams -- whether as an official "Project Manager" or an unofficial leader temporarily charged with leading a project implementation.
Foundations of Project Management focuses on what is often referred to as the traditional or "waterfall" approach to project management. Taught primarily via case study discussion, course content is consistent with PMP (Project Management Professional) certification principles. CIO magazine ranked the PMP as the top project management certification, as it demonstrates candidates have the specific skills and experience employers seek. This course satisfies 22 of the 23 educational hours required by PMI to apply for the junior-level PMP certification exam (known as the CAPM); the other hour was satisfied by the PM-related content in the SME prerequisites (below).
Foundations of Project Management makes an attractive future pairing with the "Foundations of Agile" course offering.
Prerequisites: SME2001 and SME2002 and SME2011 and SME2012
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Operations and Information Management
- Level: Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Management (UGrad)
- Course Number: OIM3508
- Number of Credits: 2
EPS7534 Franchising, Licensing & Distributorship Collaborative Business Models
3 Elective CreditsIf you have taken and passed EPS7571, you cannot register for EPS7534, as these two courses are equivalent
This course focuses on the process, challenges and opportunities in franchising, which is a $2T part of the U.S. economy and a multi-trillion-dollar market worldwide. _Franchising_ is a very specific term referring to a business that licenses its brand, operating model and provides support to franchisees who pay a number of fees and then invest their own capital to build the corporate brand. The course is practical in approach and touches on a large number of issues in seven weeks. Previous exposure to franchising, M&A or small business is not assumed.
For more information: https://babson.webex.com/webappng/sites/babson/recording/ac84a20eebe8103abbfa005056812cb9/playback
Prerequisites: EPS7200 or EPS7800
- Program: Graduate
- Division: Entrepreneurship
- Level: Graduate Elective (Grad)
- Course Number: EPS7534
- Number of Credits: 3
FRN4615 French Cinema and Conversation
(Formerly Social Justice in France)
4 Advanced Liberal Arts Credits
This course is designed as a conversation class, with a strong cultural component. The major course materials are contemporary French & Francophone language films and short readings. Through the lens of ethical questions and concerns that surface in these films, students will study issues relevant to the history, culture, and politics of the French-Speaking World. Films and readings serve as the basis for debate, discussion, and written analysis. This course aims to ease the path towards greater fluency through improvements in accuracy and more spontaneous communication.
Open to students with an Intermediate level of French, or higher.
Prerequisites: FRN4620, or equivalent proficiency as demonstrated through a placement test.
Placement test: https://www.babson.edu/academics/academic-divisions/arts-and-humanities/languages-and-global-cultures/language-placement-test/
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Arts and Humanities
- Level: Advanced Liberal Arts 4600 Requirement (UGrad),Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: FRN4615
- Number of Credits: 4
FRN4610 French II
4 Advanced Liberal Arts CreditsFRN4610 French II is a fast-paced course that builds on the knowledge gained in FRN2200 French I. Students will continue to expand their vocabulary and communication skills as they gain confidence in their abilities to communicate in spoken and written French. Conversation and listening activities in class will be supplemented by a variety of readings and written assignments. In addition, discussions of authentic texts, short films, and cultural experiences will help students gain a deeper appreciation for French and Francophone people and cultures.
Not open to native speakers
Prerequisites: FRN2200 French I, or similar proficiency as indicated by a placement test
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Arts and Humanities
- Level: Advanced Liberal Arts 4600 Requirement (UGrad),Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: FRN4610
- Number of Credits: 4
FRN4620 French III
4 Advanced Liberal Arts Credits
FRN 4620 is an intermediate language and culture course aimed at improving students' comprehension and expression in French. We will continue to reinforce language skills acquired at the beginning levels (French I and II) and work towards building fluency in the language. Students will learn about topics such as immigration, the French school system, the auto industry, and globalization through short texts, films, debates, presentations, and news articles from contemporary French and Francophone sources. A project-based class, students will develop business skills in French related to negotiating, persuading, advising, and forecasting.
Prerequisites: FRN2200 and/or FRN4610 or equivalent proficiency as demonstrated through a placement test or by instructor's permission. Not open to fluent speakers of French.
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Arts and Humanities
- Level: Advanced Liberal Arts 4600 Requirement (UGrad),Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: FRN4620
- Number of Credits: 4
OIM7511 Future Lab: Complex Problem Solving for Social Impact
3 Elective Credits
Sinan Erzurumlu, Faculty Director at FutureLab & Prof. of Innovation and Ops Mngment
Cheryl Kiser, Executive Director, The Lewis Institute & Babson Social Innovation Lab
FutureLab combines the entrepreneurial mindset and social design principles to engage students, organizations and community to explore pioneering entrepreneurial challenges and create economic and social/environmental progress for selected partner organizations. The FutureLab is a discovery and action-learning lab. It involves experiential learning in service to address challenges in real time and in real contexts. As a FutureLab student partner, you will collaborate with an ensemble of faculty members and partner organizations to explore their challenges and develop solutions for social impact at scale. You should be prepared to engage in an active learning environment and apply principles of complex problem solving for social impact.
Given the increasing preference shown by employers for demonstrated problem solving experience, this lab will provide you with the opportunity to add a very realistic problem-solving experience to the portfolio of qualifications on your resumes. We envision regular, ongoing interaction with our partners, with details to be determined in collaboration with these partners. You will gain skills in creativity, critical thinking, innovation, complex problem solving, social change, entrepreneurial leadership and influence. Depending on the demands of the project, you will apply these skills towards framing the problem and co-creating solutions with community and partner organization.
The 14-week lab experience is designed for active learning, experimenting, generating and launching an implementation plan. Student partners of prior semesters addressed various problems, such as improving the efficiency and effectiveness of key patient care processes for a major academic medical center and analyzing the mobility challenges of older adults for governmental organizations. It is important to know that this is a team-based engagement and anticipate the flexible investment of time and effort that high-performance teams and deep work often demands. This Lab requires a high willingness to work in a flexible timeframe and framework. Student partners may be interviewed prior to class by the Lab faculty team.
- Program: Graduate
- Division: Operations and Information Management
- Level: Graduate Elective (Grad)
- Course Number: OIM7511
- Number of Credits: 3
OIM7512 Future Lab: Design-led Innovation
3 Elective Credits
The FutureLab is a discovery and action-learning lab. It involves experiential learning in service to address challenges in real time and in real contexts. As a FutureLab student partner, you will collaborate with an ensemble of faculty members and partner organizations to explore their challenges and develop solutions for social impact at scale. You should be prepared to engage in self-paced team projects in an active learning environment. You will combine the entrepreneurial mindset and apply principles of complex problem solving for social impact.
Given the increasing preference shown by employers for demonstrated problem solving experience, this lab will provide you with the opportunity to add a very realistic problem solving experience to the portfolio of qualifications on your resumes. We envision regular, ongoing interaction with our partners, with details to be determined in collaboration with these partners. You will gain skills in creativity, critical thinking, innovation, complex problem solving, social change, and entrepreneurial leadership and influence. Depending on the demands of the project, you will apply these skills towards framing the problem and co-creating solutions with community and partner organization.
The 14-week lab experience is designed for active learning, experimenting, generating and launching an implementation plan. Student partners of prior semesters addressed various problems, such as improving the efficiency and effectiveness of key patient care processes for a major academic medical center and analyzing the mobility challenges of older adults for governmental organizations. The focus of the Lab is going to be on mobility and connectivity challenges. It is important to know that this is a team-based engagement and anticipate the flexible investment of time and effort that high-performance teams and deep work often demands. This Lab requires a high willingness to work in a flexible time frame and framework. Student partners may be interviewed prior to class by the Lab faculty team.
- Program: Graduate
- Division: Operations and Information Management
- Level: Graduate Elective (Grad)
- Course Number: OIM7512
- Number of Credits: 3
HUM4602 Future Studies: Theories of the World to Come
4 Advanced Liberal Arts Credits
This course provides a captivating looking glass into the most fascinating debates surrounding the future. We will trace those radical transformations and cutting-edge paradigms that are emerging to forever alter our experience of time and space, body and mind, objects and images, reality and illusion, human and machine. To achieve this task, our course will follow an interdisciplinary, multicultural, and multimedia approach that explores provocative new dimensions in the areas of literature, philosophy, society, culture, politics, media, architecture, design, biogenetics, ecology, film, art, and technology. Together, these speculative fragments will come together to offer crucial insight into our era's experiments with speed, virtuality, artificiality, and utopia, allowing us to test the outer boundaries of the unknown worlds to come.
Prerequisites: Any combination of 2 ILA (HSS, LTA, CSP, LVA, CVA)
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Arts and Humanities
- Level: Advanced Liberal Arts 4600 Requirement (UGrad),Advanced Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: HUM4602
- Number of Credits: 4
EPS3504 Future Trends and Entrepreneurial Ventures
4 General CreditsThis course is designed to provide a strategic decision-making, future-oriented perspective in Entrepreneurship for undergraduate students interested in Entrepreneurial Thought & Action methods used by start-up, early-stage ventures, and corporations that practice innovation. We explore Entrepreneurial Thought & Action techniques for looking at the future including scenario planning, key-trend impact analysis, systems thinking, and experiencing the gestalt of the future. Students will develop an understanding of the future that applies to her/his own entrepreneurial leadership vision, identify Key Future Factors (KFF) that allow entrepreneurial leaders to address customer needs currently unmet, identify trends and systems key to developing opportunities scalable into large markets, and develop an action approach to scale an opportunity with an assessment of future trends and markets.
Prerequisites: None
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Entrepreneurship
- Level: Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Management (UGrad)
- Course Number: EPS3504
- Number of Credits: 4
EPS7539 Future Trends in Entrepreneurial Ventures
3 CreditsChanging industry and market forces create scalable, emergent markets for new ventures. Entrepreneurs and Corporate Innovators who can grasp future trends have a distinct advantage in being able to focus their efforts where opportunities and markets converge. In this course, we will scan the future in Three Areas (Business and Economic, Technology, and Organization) that are further expanded into twelve dimensions. The goal of this course is to create an understanding of how to develop entrepreneurial and innovative vision and action in order to scan, identify, and test future customer needs; design products and services to meet those needs; and build support from the entrepreneurial eco-system including investors and business partners. Students will develop an understanding of the future that applies to her/his own innovation leadership vision; identify Key Future Factors that allow innovative leaders to address customer needs currently unmet; and develop an action approach to scale an opportunity with an assessment of future trends and markets.
- Program: Graduate
- Division: Entrepreneurship
- Level: Graduate Elective (Grad)
- Course Number: EPS7539
- Number of Credits: 3
HUM4603 Future Worlds: Revolutions of the Humans and Post-Humans
4 Advanced Liberal Arts Credits
This course provides radical exposure to the most astonishing trends of the next age as students interface with leading futuristic thinkers from around the world. Students will have the rare occasion to engage with fifteen renowned professors, reading their writings closely a, as we move across multiple intellectual surfaces to ask the most provocative questions facing our time and beyond. Each scholarly figure will present a series of speculative theories and visionary examples from the fields of sociology, architecture, economy, design, political science, cultural studies, media studies, literature, philosophy, film, medical science, virtual reality, visual art, artificial intelligence, and environmental studies. Moreover, students themselves will not only directly encounter this network of vital futurist scholars in their weekly sessions but will also have the occasion to undertake strikingly original research that tracks obscure, secretive, post-human, and unfathomable innovations transpiring in every arena of human experience. In this way, the seminar will trace a sequence of worlds not yet arrived, interpreting horizons of global and even extra-planetary scope as they test out riddles for the coming centuries.
Prerequisites: Any combination of 2 ILA (HSS, LTA, CSP, LVA, CVA)
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Arts and Humanities
- Level: Advanced Liberal Arts 4600 Requirement (UGrad),Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: HUM4603
- Number of Credits: 4
ENV4602 Gender and Environment
4 Advanced Liberal Arts Credits
The objective of this course is to understand, explore, and analyze the linkages between gender and the environment. Using multiple case studies (fashion, food, waste, illegal wildlife trade, climate change etc.), the course will focus on three core themes: 1) foundational concepts and theories of gender as they relate to the environment 2) the inequities and power dynamics associated with environmental challenges 3) knowledge and tools to mainstream gender and create effective change. By thinking critically about these concepts, we will challenge our current understanding about complex, global environmental challenges, the meaning of gender, and why it matters today and in the future.
Prerequisites: Any combination of 2 ILA (HSS, LTA, CSP, LVA, CVA)
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: History and Society
- Level: Advanced Liberal Arts 4600 Requirement (UGrad),Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: ENV4602
- Number of Credits: 4
CSP2010 Gender Studies
(Formerly CVA2010)
4 Intermediate Liberal Arts CreditsThis course provides an interdisciplinary introduction to gender studies. Designed as an intermediate course, Introduction to Gender Studies aims to identify and critically examine the interactive relationships among gender, cultural/social institutions, and individuals in contemporary American society. This implies two foci of attention. First, through readings and discussion, we will explore gender roles and resulting power inequities in contexts such as families, the music industry, conceptions of both race and sexuality, and novels. Equally important, we will analyze how the behaviors of individuals reflect, sustain and sometimes alter social conceptions of gender. In concert, these two emphases serve to underline the relationships among gender, culture, and individuals.
This course is typically offered in the following semesters: Spring, Summer or Fall
Prerequisites: (FCI1000 or AHS1000) and (WRT1001or RHT1000)
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: History and Society
- Level: Intermediate Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: CSP2010
- Number of Credits: 4
STR 3501: BRAIN RUSH: GENERATIVE AI FOR BUSINESS GROWTH AND STRATEGY
4 advanced management credits
Since OpenAI launched ChatGPT in November 2022, much of the world's attention has shifted to generative AI - a form of artificial intelligence that responds to natural language prompts with cogent-sounding responses.
Generative AI has prompted leading analysts to forecast trillions of dollars in new market opportunities while propelling the shares of a handful of publicly traded companies satisfying the corporate demand for the technology required to capture AI chatbots' opportunities and risks.
The attention focused on generative AI raises many questions for business leaders, investors, and policymakers:
- Does generative AI hype anticipate real potential for the technology's ability to create social and economic value?
- What should policymakers do to maximize generative AI's opportunities and mitigate its risks?
- How can business leaders capture the opportunity and minimize the risks of generative AI?
- Which generative AI applications will create the most sustainable value for society?
- How can employees, managers, and executives use generative AI to perform their work more effectively and efficiently?
- How can investors pinpoint the companies with the most wealth creation potential and shun the rest?
Brain Rush provides students with core concepts and skills they will need to answer these questions as the technology evolves. As described below in Appendix AI: Brain Rush Core Concepts, the course presents and gives students the opportunity to apply concepts such as:
- New technology opportunity/threat matrix - framework for assessing the business and societal opportunities and threats of new technologies - such as the internet, nanotechnology, the blockchain, generative AI, and quantum computing.
- Value pyramid - a framework for assessing the potential value of generative AI applications;
- Generative AI CEO change agenda - a process to enable business leaders to create new growth trajectories by brainstorming, building, and deploying the right generative AI applications
- Generative AI ecosystem map - a map of the chain of industries - from semiconductors to consulting services -- aiming to deploy generative AI to improve the lives of consumers and organizations.
- Cognitive hunger assessment framework - a model for evaluating potential investments in generative AI startups based on analysis of what distinguishes the 0.4% of founders who take their startup public and run it three years or more thereafter from their peers.
Prerequisites: STR 3000
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Management
- Level: Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Management (UGrad)
- Course Number: STR3501
- Number of Credits: 4
HSS2042: Germans and Others: Germany in the 20th and 21st Centuries
4 intermediate liberal arts credits
**This course is for students in the Babson Leadership in a Global Context program in Berlin and is not open to students not enrolled in the program.**
What does it mean to be German in the 20th-21st centuries? Who decides who living within Germany is German and who is Other? Using this theme, you will be introduced to the political, social, economic, and cultural history of contemporary Germany within Europe and the world in the past 100 years. After a brief overview of German history, we will examine four moments: 1.The Holocaust
2. The Guest Worker (Gastarbeiter) Phenomenon
3. The Division and Reunification of East and West Germany
4. Refugees and Migrants in the 21st Century
Prerequisites: (FCI1000 or AHS1000) and (WRT1001 or RHT1001)
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: History and Society
- Level: Intermediate Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: HSS2042
- Number of Credits: 4
LTA2035 Ghost Stories and the Grotesque in Literature
Intermediate Liberal ArtsBecause a "ghost" is a haunting by political history, personal choices, and social expectations, they do exist. Therefore, this course will look at the genre of the ghost story (and esthetic considerations of the grotesque) in relation to both the eighteenth-century gothic (from which it emerged) and the horror story (from which it needs to differentiate itself). Class discussion will focus on how the ghost story explores ideas of identity, both national and personal. Mostly comprised of short stories and films, the narratives we will enjoy can teach us about what haunts us as humans and why. Authors included are Morrison, Poe, Kubrick, James, and the HBO series "LoveCraft Country", among others.
Prerequisites: (FCI1000 or AHS1000) and (WRT1001or RHT1000)
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Arts and Humanities
- Level: Intermediate Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: LTA2035
- Number of Credits: 4
LTA2013 Global Cinema
4 Intermediate Liberal Arts CreditsGlobal Cinema provides an overview of the history and aesthetics of films from Europe, Asia, Africa and South America. Students will analyze films as cultural artifacts and will consider the interrelationship among various national film movements and aesthetic approaches. Weekly film viewings will be complemented by readings in the history and practice of several national cinemas and of post-colonial, transnational cinemas. Films are in their original language with English subtitles.
This course is typically offered in the following semesters: Fall
Prerequisites: (FCI1000 or AHS1000) and (WRT1001or RHT1000)
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Arts and Humanities
- Level: Intermediate Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: LTA2013
- Number of Credits: 4
HIS4626 Global Cities
4 Advanced Liberal Arts CreditsThis course explores global cities to understand the varied and discrepant historical experiences of urban modernity. Drawing on a wide variety of literature from different disciplines and regions, we will critically examine the shaping of cities across the world: Boston, London, Paris, Shanghai, Mumbai, Singapore, Dubai, Bangalore, and Brasilia among others. We will examine city-space at two levels: first, at the more formal level of the state and town planners; and, second, at an everyday level, where city dwellers contest and redraw town plans in their daily lives.
The course begins with an analysis of race, class, and gender that segregated the industrial metropolis. We will then discuss colonial cities using space as a lens to review empire and imperialism. Next, our focus will be on neoliberal governance; megacities; the conceptualization of 'community' in a neoliberal city; gentrification; privatization of urban space; urban informality; and the new language of urban inclusion/exclusion.
A specific focus of this course will be on the impact of globalization on South Asian city space: has globalization sharpened class, caste, and religious divides in these cities?
Prerequisites: Any combination of 2 ILA (HSS, LTA, CSP, LVA, CVA)
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: History and Society
- Level: Advanced Liberal Arts 4600 Requirement (UGrad),Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: HIS4626
- Number of Credits: 4
FIN 3504: Global Context of Business: South Africa
4 advanced management credits
A core intention of this course is to present to participants the real-life workings of the business, finance and industry structure of an emerging country-economy, using South Africa as an engaging study, and contrasting these with the more familiar business environments and practices as encountered in advanced (western) country-economies. In using the country of South Africa as a case study, participants will see the entire Africa continent, with all its 54 countries, 1.2 billion people (17% of the world's population), $3trillion GDP, in context.
The course will look at South Africa and the continent through the lens of a business investor exploration. Using 52 developing countries of Africa as background, we will explore and analyze the major aspects of their finance and economic environments over a combined period of more than 15 years. In so doing, various mechanisms, concepts and theories will be introduced, explained and utilized at every step. This way, the student becomes acquainted with the intricacies of emerging country business, finance and economic environments in a practical and profound manner that involves real-life economic and business scenarios. Not only will the student learn and grasp international finance, economic and international business concepts and theories, they also will learn how these work and when to deploy them.
Participants will see how the business approaches and concepts they gather in their other Babson courses translate into and adapt to a totally different and unique socio-economic context. More specific details can be seen in the Course Content and Methodology section below, where the program's Taught Content (usually classroom) and Experienced Content (in-country corporate interactions, etc) are outlined.
Prerequisites: (FME 1000 and FME 1001) or (MOB 1010 and EPS 1000)
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Finance
- Level: Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Management (UGrad)
- Course Number: FIN3504
- Number of Credits: 4
EPS3532 Global Entrepreneurship
(Formerly International Entrepreneurship)
4 General CreditsThis Global Entrepreneurship course will explore the many dimensions and challenges of global venture creation and growth. The course offers a framework for understanding the entrepreneurial process in global contexts and exposes students to key issues and problems specific to international ventures. As the world becomes increasingly global, this course hopes to (1) encourage students to consider exploring entrepreneurial activities outside the domestic setting, (2) prepare them to see through a different set of lenses in order to better and more accurately identify vast global opportunities, and (3) equip them with various skills to better meet and tackle complex global challenges.
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Entrepreneurship
- Level: Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Management (UGrad)
- Course Number: EPS3532
- Number of Credits: 4
EPS7504 Global Entrepreneurship
(Previously titled International Entrepreneurship)
3 Elective Credits
Generating economic growth, fueling social development, and increasing individual wealth in developed and emerging economies around the world, entrepreneurship has drawn the attention of a wide range of stakeholders (e.g., government, academic, corporations, non-profits, etc.). International entrepreneurial opportunities abound as a result of technological advances, environmental challenges, and increased market access. International Entrepreneurship explores and analyzes these opportunities and challenges of launching and leading ventures in an international context. To accomplish this, the course uses a variety of frameworks, analytical models, and decision-making tools to better understand the entrepreneurial process and leadership in the context of cultures, economies, governments, and legal systems, primarily outside the United States. The primary assignment is an international venture plan completed by teams.
- Program: Graduate
- Division: Entrepreneurship
- Level: Graduate Elective (Grad)
- Course Number: EPS7504
- Number of Credits: 3
MSM6110 Global Entrepreneurship Experience
MSEL Course
3 CreditsAt Babson, we consider a global mindset necessary for the 21st century. In addition to learning from the diversity of students in the program, in this course students will explore entrepreneurial ecosystems in a context different than the one in which they grew up. Groups of approximately 25 students will travel with instructors to other regions of the world to engage with locals on topics of entrepreneurial concern. Travel for this course occurs for 8-12 days during winter term and the course includes pre-departure preparation sessions, as well as post-return reflection exercises.
- Program: Graduate
- Division: Entrepreneurship
- Course Number: MSM6110
- Number of Credits: 3
ENV4605 Global Environmental Activism
4 Advanced Liberal Arts Credits"It has never been more important to protect the environment, and it has never been more deadly. The battle for the environment is emerging as a new battleground for human rights." (Global Witness).
This course examines environmental activism around the world. The impact of anthropogenic activity on the environment has raised serious global concern and triggered several efforts to tackle the problem from the global to local level. Individuals and groups are using various tools to create awareness and help curb the growing environmental menace from different sources. Activists - especially local and indigenous ones - often face danger, including persecution by powerful actors like states and multilateral corporations, and the murder rate of environmental activists continues to rise globally. Environmental activism has thus become increasingly perilous. Nonetheless, advocacy for environmental responsibility remains vibrant around the world. This course uses various cases in different regions of the world to help understand the global environmental movement These cases include Shell in Nigeria's Niger Delta; Tahoe Resources in the Guatemalan town of Mataquescuintla; and Coca-Cola in India. The course will use these cases to examine: 1) the theoretical basis of environmental activism; 2) motivations of and challenges for activism; 3) the nature and composition of actors - activists, perpetrators and collaborators, policy communities, and governments; 4) nature and scope of issues and activism in the various regions of the world; and 5) relationships between environmental degradation, advocacy for its protection, and climate change.
Prerequisites: Any combination of 2 ILA (HSS, LTA, CSP, LVA, CVA)
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: History and Society
- Level: Advanced Liberal Arts 4600 Requirement (UGrad),Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: ENV4605
- Number of Credits: 4
FIN4570 Global Financial Management
4 General Elective CreditsThe central theme of this course is how to manage the finances of a multinational firm. It devotes attention to managing the short-term finances of a multinational, including topics like centralizing cash management, netting, and transfer pricing. It then deals with long-term financial management of the multinational. That section includes capital budgeting in the multinational context, capital structure decisions, and also studies how a multinational can sometimes have a lower cost of capital than a single-country firm of the same size. The third major theme is how the multinational can optimize its relationship with the capital markets, including the national stock markets where its subsidiaries operate. This section includes a discussion of the opportunities created for multinational companies by international portfolio investment. If time permits, there will be a section on how to operate in countries with inconvertible or hyperinflationary currencies. The course deals with the international financial environment, meaning topics such as exchange rates, balance of payments, and cross-border capital flows, only to the extent necessary to put the financial decisions for firms operating in more than one currency into proper context.
Prerequisites: SME2021
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Finance
- Level: Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Management (UGrad)
- Course Number: FIN4570
- Number of Credits: 4
GDR4605 Global Gender Politics
4 Advanced Liberal Arts CreditsThis course aims to help students develop a comprehensive understanding of gender in contemporary domestic and international politics. It covers a variety of themes, such as feminist theory, intersectionality, gender performance, comparative legal regimes, and the political economy of gender. Students will have an opportunity to explore various case studies on gender from around the globe, to deepen their understanding of core concepts.
Prerequisites: Any combination of 2 ILA (HSS, LTA, CSP, LVA, CVA)
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: History and Society
- Level: Advanced Liberal Arts 4600 Requirement (UGrad),Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: GDR4605
- Number of Credits: 4
HSS2041 Global Goods: Histories of Commodities, Exchanges, and Cultures
4 Intermediate Liberal Arts CreditsHow have inanimate commodities served as active agents in human history?
How have global exchanges of commodities shaped socio-political boundaries?
This course will move chronologically from the late fifteenth century to the present, demystifying commodities that we have often taken for granted and studying them as drivers of transregional economies and cultures. We will survey a wide variety of commodities and market spaces: from exotic Indian tea to cotton produced in the American South to Qatar's oil reserves to Tokyo's fish markets, for example, to understand the transformation of _commodities_ into _global goods_. The course will offer factual knowledge and analytical tools for understanding the political circumstances and shifting cultural values implicated in the rise and transformation of commodities into global goods. We will explore how this transformation has left indelible marks on religion, science, democracy, race, gender, class, and ideas of human rights. We will also examine the social, cultural, and political boundaries that global exchanges of commodities demand, calling to question the idea of the _global_. Part economic, part cultural, and part environmental history, this course relies on the histories of commodities to illuminate the idea of what is global.
Prerequisites: (FCI1000 or AHS1000) and (WRT1001or RHT1000)
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: History and Society
- Level: Intermediate Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: HSS2041
- Number of Credits: 4
OIM3501 Health Systems Innovation Lab
4 Advanced Management Credits
Global Health Innovation Lab is a learning-by-doing course where student teams are paired with students from universities around the world to identify and solve problems related to the development and implementation of health innovations in low- and middle-income settings. For our first offering of the course, students will be paired with medical students from the University of Global Health Equity in Rwanda. Students will be assigned to a high priority project challenge from a healthcare-related organization in Rwanda. Based on the challenge presented by the organization, students will follow the design thinking process, paired with approaches from healthcare management and entrepreneurship, medical anthropology and sociology, and information technology to prototype and test solutions that address organizational challenges. Organizational challenges may relate to care delivery services or technologies needed within clinic settings or in the community. The students will be expected to interact with the partner organizations regularly to make progress. Students will be connected with alumni or other experts as they need additional project support. Student teams are assessed based on their teamwork, project progress, and completion of course readings and activities. Students will have the opportunity to share their projects with the broader global health community through the Healey Center for Global Healthcare Entrepreneurship at Babson.
Prerequisites: (FME1000 and FME1001) or (EPS1000 and MOB1010)
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Operations and Information Management
- Level: Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Management (UGrad)
- Course Number: OIM3501
- Number of Credits: 4
OIM7506 Global Health Innovation Lab
3 Credits
Improved health is central to a country's economic and social development, with 10-30% percent of gross national product (GDP) per capita attributed to differences in countries' investments in health and education over the long term. Global Health Innovation Lab is a learning-by-doing course where student teams are paired with students from universities around the world to identify and solve problems related to the development and implementation of health innovations in low- and middle-income settings. For our second offering of the course, students will be paired with medical students from Unifacisa Educaçâo in Campina Grande, Brazil.Students will be assigned to a high priority project challenge from a healthcare-related organization in Brazil. Based on the challenge presented by the organization, students will follow the design thinking process, paired with approaches from healthcare management and entrepreneurship, medical anthropology and sociology, and information technology to prototype and test solutions that address organizational challenges. Organizational challenges may relate to care delivery services or technologies needed within clinic settings or in the community.The students will be expected to interact with the partner organizations regularly to make progress. Students will be connected with alumni or other experts as they need additional project support. Student teams are assessed based on their teamwork, project progress, and completion of course readings and activities. Students will have the opportunity to share their projects with the broader global health community through the Kerry Murphy Healey Center for Health Innovation and Entrepreneurship at Babson.
- Program: Graduate
- Division: Operations and Information Management
- Level: Graduate Elective (Grad)
- Course Number: OIM7506
- Number of Credits: 3
HSS2028 Global Politics
4 Intermediate Liberal Arts Credits
This intermediate course will begin by examining different perspectives on the role of power, anarchy, institutions, and identity in the international system. These ideas will then be used to explore a wide range of current global issues, including war, trade, human rights, humanitarian intervention, and environmental problems. The goal of this course is to learn how various theories can bring both a richer understanding of the nature of international problems and of the motivations and perspectives of various international actors. This semester special attention will be given to the topics of international migration and conflicts in the Middle East.
Prerequisites: (FCI1000 or AHS1000) and (WRT1001or RHT1000)
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: History and Society
- Level: Intermediate Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: HSS2028
- Number of Credits: 4
MUS4620 Global Pop: Mass-Mediated Musics in a Transnational World
4 Advanced Liberal Arts Credits"Global pop" is music that results from contact between two or more cultures. Examples include rap français, flamenco, reggaetón, afrobeat, K-pop, and Bollywood film music, among many others. This course examines how global pop acquires ideological force and accrues historical layers as it circulates around the world. In scrutinizing the musical style, discourse, and business of global pop, we will focus on such issues as authenticity, hybridity, cultural imperialism, nationalism, personal identity, censorship, political protest, ownership, and appropriation - in short, all the ways in which music means. No previous musical knowledge necessary.
Prerequisites: Any combination of 2 ILA (HSS, LTA, CSP, LVA, CVA)
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Arts and Humanities
- Level: Advanced Liberal Arts 4600 Requirement (UGrad),Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: MUS4620
- Number of Credits: 4
STR3560 Global Strategic Management
(Formerly International Business Enterprise)
4 General CreditsThis course provides a broadly based introduction to management of international business ventures and the strategies and operations of multinational corporations.
For more information please watch this video: https://babson.instructuremedia.com/embed/bc3c40f0-e41a-4abb-80e1-65fead445989
Prerequisites: STR 3000
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Management
- Level: Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Management (UGrad)
- Course Number: STR3560
- Number of Credits: 4
STR7559 Global Strategic Management
3 CreditsThis course is the only required course for those who seek a Global Management Concentration (Requirement A). The course aims at understanding the development and implementation of broad global strategies by businesses. The course expands students' strategic thinking and combines it with a global perspective. The strategic elements include business systems analysis, competitive strategies, key success factors, and strategic imperatives. We will look at a number of issues relevant to international business such as global opportunity analysis, market(s) selection, assessing international competitors, selecting generic or complex global strategies, geographic priority setting, resource allocation across geographies and products, global functional strategies, and organizational implications. Students learn to develop global strategies, paying attention to their implementation through organizational innovations such as fostering a global mindset within the organization and using global strategic alliances. Teaching is discussion driven and involves case analysis.
For more information: http://www.kaltura.com/tiny/vyvyo
Prerequisites: MOB 7202 or MOB 7801 or STR 7800
- Program: Graduate
- Division: Management
- Level: Graduate Elective (Grad)
- Course Number: STR7559
- Number of Credits: 3
EPS3505 Great Entrepreneurial Wealth: Creation, Preservation, and Destruction
4 General CreditsThis course will explore the stages of great entrepreneurial wealth creation, preservation and destruction. Topics will cover geographical and sector concentrations of great wealth formation, along with socio and economic conditions prevailing at the time of generation. Particular emphasis will cover the detailed paths of notable entrepreneurs from the past century, along with the ethical dilemma and social contributions attributed to each of them. The course also discusses the rise and fall of great family dynasties in the section of wealth destruction.
Current practice of wealth generation, preservation and destruction methodologies will be reviewed, covering hedge funds, family offices and entrepreneur impropriety. Participants of this course will be expected to enhance skills in identifying market opportunity and wealth generation techniques as well as gain greater insight on interpersonal and market forces that contribute to wealth evaporation. Ethical dilemma, including a thorough discussion of high-profile industry scandals, will be explored along with factors contributing to fraud and investor impropriety.
Prerequisites: None
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Entrepreneurship
- Level: Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Management (UGrad)
- Course Number: EPS3505
- Number of Credits: 4
SCN 3604: Green and Blue Technology Solutions
4 advanced liberal arts credits
Green and blue technologies, (also collectively referred to as "cleantech", "greentech", or "envirotech"), use science to understand and address negative impacts and promote new approaches to support human activity and economic growth that are less harmful to natural systems. While emergent green and blue technologies often hold promise of creating a more sustainable future, there is a wide range of associated challenges to seeing them adopted and in some cases avoiding unintended consequences of such adoption.
In this course we will explore different technology solutions across three thematic areas: Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation, Resource Use, and Pollution Control. We consider the role that technology can play in addressing socio-ecological challenges and develop a framework for evaluating emerging technologies and designing new ones. The course will also include opportunities for students to engage with professionals in cleantech fields. The course will host a guest speaker for each of the three themes of the course (climate, resources, pollution). The course will also offer optional field trips that will allow students to observe and experience different local initiatives to develop cost effective sustainable technologies. The overall goal of this course is for students to develop the tools and thinking necessary to understand our current, critical environmental challenges and identify the role that technology and business may play in developing solutions that are efficient, equitable, and sustainable.
Prerequisites: NST 10%%
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Mathematics Analytics Science and Technology
- Level: Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Liberal Arts (UGrad),Advanced Management (UGrad)
- Course Number: SCN3604
- Number of Credits: 4
EPS3541 Grow Your Venture
4 Credits
To enroll, instructor permission is needed. Email Mary Gale for an application: mgale@babson.edu
This course is designed for undergraduate students who are actively pursuing a venture that has already launched. The course will support students in their active quest to achieve major development milestones in all aspects of their businesses, including but not limited to, products and services, revenue, organization, geographical expansion, distribution, partnerships, funding, profitability/sustainability, pivots, investor pitching, and social initiatives.
For more information Click Here
Prerequisites: FME or (MOB1000 and MOB1010) and permission from instructor (application and interview-based)
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Entrepreneurship
- Level: Advanced Elective (UGrad),Free Elective (UGrad),Advanced Management (UGrad)
- Course Number: EPS3541
- Number of Credits: 4
MKT6600 Growth Marketing
1.5 Credits (MSAEL core)This course will help managers find and grow new marketing opportunities driven by customer behavior and insights data. Growth marketing is defined as intelligent, data-driven marketing for the purpose of adding revenue to the bottom line of your business. Students will learn how to apply growth marketing techniques to experiment with different channels and optimize the sales funnel, adjusting their tests incrementally to determine how to best optimize their marketing spend. Techniques include A/B Testing, Cross-channel marketing, Customer life-cycle analysis, and strategic content planning.
Prerequisites: MOB6600 and EPS6600
- Program: Graduate
- Division: Marketing
- Level: MSAEL (Grad)
- Course Number: MKT6600
- Number of Credits: 1.5
ECN7555 Health Care: Markets, Analytics and Strategies
(Formerly Health Economics)
3 Elective CreditsHealth care costs account for 18% of U.S. GDP, which is one reason the health care industry is abundant with job openings and entrepreneurship opportunities! This is especially true in the Boston area, which has become a global leader in the health care and life sciences industries. This course follows a hands-on, two-pronged approach to solve real-world problems.
- Prong #1 focuses on the market and organizational structures of major stakeholders, including pharmaceutical companies, health care tech companies, insurers, hospitals, physicians, patients, and government.
- Prong #2 uses empirical methods, such as big data, survey, Pay-for-Performance, and Health Technology Assessment, to analyze these stakeholders' challenges, assess business opportunities, and design evidence-based strategies. In addition, you will learn SAS, a highly demanded analytical skill on the job market.
For students interested in health care and life science industries, this course will provide you with the tools and knowledge needed for evidence-based, expert-level opinions. For students interested in in analytics, the methods used in health care analyses are applicable, transferrable, and relevant to a host of other industries and functions, such as marketing and finance.
Prerequisites: None
- Program: Graduate
- Division: Economics
- Level: MSBA Elective (Grad),Graduate Elective (Grad)
- Course Number: ECN7555
- Number of Credits: 3
ANT4602 ~ Hinduism and Buddhism
4 credit advanced liberal arts
Hinduism and Buddhism has both a macro and a micro focus. The macro focus includes a deep dive into the origins of these two traditions in South Asia. It also includes a wide exploration of the multitudes of sub traditions that fall under the umbrellas of what we call Hinduism and Buddhism. The micro focus is on the current thriving versions of Hinduism and Buddhism in the greater Boston area. There are more than one hundred Hindu and Buddhist temples, societies, and centers in the greater Boston area. This part of the course will involve group and individual visits to some of these sites and original research using the techniques of participant observation.
Prerequisites: Any combination of 2 Intermediate Liberal Arts (LTA, CSP, HSS)
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: History and Society
- Level: Advanced Liberal Arts 4600 Requirement (UGrad),Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: ANT4602
- Number of Credits: 4
HSS2050
4 Credits
Prerequisites: (FCI1000 or AHS1000) and (WRT1001or RHT1000)
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: History and Society
- Level: Intermediate Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: HSS2050
- Number of Credits: 4
HSS2052
4 Credits
Prerequisites: (FCI1000 or AHS1000) and (WRT1001or RHT1000)
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: History and Society
- Level: Intermediate Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: HSS2052
- Number of Credits: 4
HIS4617 The History of Boston
4 Advanced Liberal Arts CreditsIn this Advanced Level course, students will explore Boston's history, from the seventeenth century to the present, and consider how the city's religious values, economic leadership, and intellectual traditions shaped American identity. Selected topics for the class include Boston's Puritan heritage, its place in the American Revolution, the city's intellectual and social movements, the creation of its museums and civic institutions, and struggles with immigration and race. As part of their responsibilities for the course, students will participate in field trips to the historic sites of Beacon Hill, Boston Common and the Public Garden, the North End, Back Bay and Copley Square, and the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum.
Prerequisites: Any combination of 2 ILA (HSS, LTA, CSP, LVA, CVA)
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: History and Society
- Level: Advanced Liberal Arts 4600 Requirement (UGrad),Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: HIS4617
- Number of Credits: 4
IMH2511 Honors Seminar I
This section of the Honors Seminar will meet every other week beginning on 1/25
The first semester of the Honors Seminar is designed to accomplish three complementary goals. The seminar provides an opportunity for sophomore honors students to continue to build their community by meeting every other week to discuss an important issue from the perspectives of a number of different disciplines. These discussions will be led by various members of the Babson faculty and will include reference to some preliminary research done by students prior to the class. Secondly, the seminar will expose students to a wide variety of research methodologies and protocols in the contexts of these important issues, so students may become familiar with the processes they will undertake in completing their Honors Projects in their junior and senior years. Thirdly, students will meet a number of different members of the Babson faculty who may serve as important resources in future semesters.
The Honors Seminar is a requirement for all students in the Honors Program, will be graded, and carries one credit for the semester. A second Honors Seminar semester must be taken in either the fall or spring of the student's junior year.
Prerequisites: Acceptance into the Honors Program
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Other
- Level: Advanced Elective (UGrad),Free Elective (UGrad),Advanced Management (UGrad)
- Course Number: IMH2511
- Number of Credits: 1
IMH2612 Honors Seminar II
This Seminar will meet every other week beginning 1/21
Honors Seminar II is designed to guide Honors Program students through the writing process for their honors project proposal. In this seminar students will identify a research topic, develop a research question, learn how to do a scholarly literature search and use research in their writing, and write a final, polished version of the honors project proposal. The course will be run as a workshop so attendance at all sessions and adherence to all deadlines is essential. This course is required for all junior Honors Program students.
Prerequisites: Acceptance into the honors program, IMH2511
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Other
- Level: Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: IMH2612
- Number of Credits: 1
NST1040 Human Biotechnology
4 Foundation Liberal Arts CreditsThis course will provide you with a broad review of the basic scientific concepts, ethical considerations, and practical applications of biotechnology in our daily lives. We will discuss the regulations, technologies, and methods used by academic research laboratories, agricultural and pharmaceutical industries, and forensic scientists. Through this course, you will gain a number of different perspectives on personalized medicine, stem cells, drug discovery, development, and regulation, food, and the environment, all of which are directly connected to human health and well-being. By the end of this course, you will recognize the importance of biotechnology in the world today and see multiple scales of its application from molecular to global levels. You will be able to compare and contrast the positive and negative contributions biotechnology has made to our lives and you will grasp its strengths and limitations as we move forward into the middle of the 21st century.
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Mathematics Analytics Science and Technology
- Level: Foundation Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: NST1040
- Number of Credits: 4
SCN3660 Human Health and Disease
4 Liberal Arts CreditsThis class explores human health and disease. We identify the biological roots of infection, exploring advances in medicine and related disciplines. We analyze all facets of risk - from genetics to lifestyle - proceeding topically through major threats to human longevity and quality of life. Topics include the latest understanding of chronic illness - cancer, stroke, heart disease - that account for most premature mortality in the developed world. We will examine strategies to protect our health and to ameliorate some of the consequences of aging; we will investigate new challenges, such as emerging infections and eating disorders. Psychological aspects of wellness are discussed as well.
Prerequisites: Foundation Science
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Mathematics Analytics Science and Technology
- Level: Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: SCN3660
- Number of Credits: 4
SCN3635 Human Nutrition
(Formerly Personal Nutrition)
4 Advanced Liberal Arts Credits
Every day we are bombarded with information about diet and health, often confusing and contradictory. As consumers, it is difficult to separate fact from fad, truth from fiction. This course will provide a foundation in basic nutrition, including anatomy and physiology of the digestive tract and the development of disease, with the goal of applying this information to aid in making informed choices in the treatment and prevention of nutrition related disease. We will also explore how the personal actions a student can take to encourage a sustainable diet, defined as "food choices that maximize personal health while minimizing the impact on the environment.
Prerequisites: NST10%
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Mathematics Analytics Science and Technology
- Level: Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: SCN3635
- Number of Credits: 4
EPS3529 IDEATE
4 Advanced Management Credits
The ability to consistently recognize new ideas and seize opportunity develops over time, with experience and with knowledge. And when you don't have the knowledge and experience, it can seem very difficult to come up with new ideas and to know whether that idea has market potential that can develop into a viable and sustainable business. Welcome to IDEATE - a course designed to overcome your existing barriers to idea generation and help you develop a "practice" in ideation that will serve you well beyond this course.
Coming up with good business ideas can seem excruciatingly difficult. Ideation is challenging to most because 1) we don't give ourselves enough time to generate new and valuable ideas, 2) we don't continuously practice proven techniques, 3) we lack confidence in our creative abilities, and 4) we fear failure and rejection. As a result of these confounding challenges, the focus on just idea generation is too limiting. During this course we also focus on the development of your entrepreneurial mindset, your creative ability, and your courage to take action.
This course is not about the execution of ideas (there are many of courses for that), but rather about the generation of lots and lots of ideas with the associated mindset, skillset, and toolset to do so.
Prerequisite: (FME1000 and FME1001) or (EPS1000 and MOB1010)
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Entrepreneurship
- Level: Advanced Management (UGrad)
- Course Number: EPS3529
- Number of Credits: 4
CSP2026 Immigrants, Race and the American Promise
(Formerly CVA2026)
4 Intermediate Liberal Arts CreditsThis intermediate course will consider the nature of American culture and identity through the experiences of the nation's immigrants and its ethnic citizens. What sacrifices have immigrants and ethnic Americans made in order to become members of the national community? How have they contributed to the development of modern America? How have they re-shaped the culture, politics, and economy of the U.S.? How have immigrants and citizens of color adapted the mythology of the American Dream to achieve success? What does the larger narrative of immigration, race, and ethnicity tell us about our nation's values and our own identity as citizens? Throughout the semester, students will use historical texts, novels, and selected works of film and music to consider these questions. Selected themes for the course include the _Melting Pot_ and multiculturalism, race and ethnicity, anti-immigrant agitation and legislation, the nature of the American Dream, and the development of ethnic communities and businesses. The class will cover the time period from the late nineteenth century to the present.
Prerequisites: (FCI1000 or AHS1000) and (WRT1001or RHT1000)
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: History and Society
- Level: Intermediate Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: CSP2026
- Number of Credits: 4
MBA7511 Inclusive Leadership
3 Credits
Inclusive Entrepreneurial Leadership will be a 3 credit graduate course delivered within the Certificate of Advanced Management (CAM) initiative at Babson College.
Rationale: The CAMs team has identified extensive interest in the marketplace for a foundational course on inclusive leadership.
This course begins with an overview of the business case for diversity, equity and inclusion (DE&I) and the imperative for inclusive leadership practices to drive innovation and growth. Students will build requisite "inclusion acumen" through self-assessments, experiential exercises, readings, peer discussion forums, and entrepreneurial action experiments designed to enhance inclusive leadership behaviors and effectiveness. Topics explored include implicit and explicit bias; identity, power and privilege; gender and women in the workplace; inclusion, bias and race; intercultural competence and workplace cultures. Through increased self-awareness, expanded mindsets and refined skill sets, students will be prepared to leverage difference as a strength as they co-create reciprocal value with their colleagues, employees, and other strategic stakeholders.
Broader Perspective: If this course is successful, all or part will be available for inclusion within future DE&I focused courses within the undergraduate and graduate programs.
NOTE: This course was designed with an intentional inclusion strategy. 20+ faculty and staff members from across the campus provided input and several have agreed to host deep dive office hours on their topic of expertise.
- Program: Graduate
- Division: Management
- Level: Graduate Elective (Grad)
- Course Number: MBA7511
- Number of Credits: 3
IND3612 Independent Research
Independent research is available for all academic divisions. Registration is manual for students through Registrar's office. Please contact your Class Dean for registration details.
Independent Research provides an opportunity to conduct in-depth research in areas of a student's own specific interest. Students may undertake Independent Research for academic credit with the approval of a student-selected faculty advisor, the appropriate division chair, and the student's Class Dean. Please note that a student is responsible for recruiting a faculty advisor through his or her own initiative and for obtaining the advisor's prior approval before applying for an independent research project. Authorization for such a project requires submission of a formal proposal written in accordance with standards set forth by the Undergraduate School.
Independent Research projects may carry 1,2,3 or 4 credits depending on the scope of the project as approved by the student's faculty advisor.
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Other
- Level: Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: IND3612
- Number of Credits: 2
IND3604 Independent Research
Independent research is available for all academic divisions. Registration is manual for students through Registrar's office. Please contact your Class Dean for registration details.
Independent Research provides an opportunity to conduct in-depth research in areas of a student's own specific interest. Students may undertake Independent Research for academic credit with the approval of a student-selected faculty advisor, the appropriate division chair, and the student's Class Dean. Please note that a student is responsible for recruiting a faculty advisor through his or her own initiative and for obtaining the advisor's prior approval before applying for an independent research project. Authorization for such a project requires submission of a formal proposal written in accordance with standards set forth by the Undergraduate School.
Independent Research projects may carry 1,2,3 or 4 credits depending on the scope of the project as approved by the student's faculty advisor.
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Other
- Level: Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: IND3604
- Number of Credits: 4
IND3603 Independent Research
Independent research is available for all academic divisions. Registration is manual for students through Registrar's office. Please contact your Class Dean for registration details.
Independent Research provides an opportunity to conduct in-depth research in areas of a student's own specific interest. Students may undertake Independent Research for academic credit with the approval of a student-selected faculty advisor, the appropriate division chair, and the student's Class Dean. Please note that a student is responsible for recruiting a faculty advisor through his or her own initiative and for obtaining the advisor's prior approval before applying for an independent research project. Authorization for such a project requires submission of a formal proposal written in accordance with standards set forth by the Undergraduate School.
Independent Research projects may carry 1,2,3 or 4 credits depending on the scope of the project as approved by the student's faculty advisor.
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Other
- Level: Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: IND3603
- Number of Credits: 3
IND3602 Independent Research
Independent research is available for all academic divisions. Registration is manual for students through Registrar's office. Please contact your Class Dean for registration details.
Independent Research provides an opportunity to conduct in-depth research in areas of a student's own specific interest. Students may undertake Independent Research for academic credit with the approval of a student-selected faculty advisor, the appropriate division chair, and the student's Class Dean. Please note that a student is responsible for recruiting a faculty advisor through his or her own initiative and for obtaining the advisor's prior approval before applying for an independent research project. Authorization for such a project requires submission of a formal proposal written in accordance with standards set forth by the Undergraduate School.
Independent Research projects may carry 1,2,3 or 4 credits depending on the scope of the project as approved by the student's faculty advisor.
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Other
- Level: Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: IND3602
- Number of Credits: 2
IND3601 Independent Research
Independent research is available for all academic divisions. Registration is manual for students through Registrar's office. Please contact your Class Dean for registration details.
Independent Research provides an opportunity to conduct in-depth research in areas of a student's own specific interest. Students may undertake Independent Research for academic credit with the approval of a student-selected faculty advisor, the appropriate division chair, and the student's Class Dean. Please note that a student is responsible for recruiting a faculty advisor through his or her own initiative and for obtaining the advisor's prior approval before applying for an independent research project. Authorization for such a project requires submission of a formal proposal written in accordance with standards set forth by the Undergraduate School.
Independent Research projects may carry 1, 2, 3 or 4 credits depending on the scope of the project as approved by the student's faculty advisor.
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Other
- Level: Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: IND3601
- Number of Credits: 1
IND2503
Independent Research
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Other
- Level: Advanced Elective (UGrad)
- Course Number: IND2503
- Number of Credits: 3
ECN7580 Independent Research
1.5-3 CreditsIndependent research is available for all academic divisions. Registration is manual for students through Graduate Programs and Student Affairs.
Independent Research provides an opportunity to conduct in-depth research in areas of a student's own specific interest. Students may undertake Independent Research for academic credit with the approval of a student-selected faculty advisor, the appropriate division chair, and Graduate Programs and Student Affairs. Please note that a student is responsible for recruiting a faculty advisor through the student's own initiative and obtain the advisor's prior consent/commitment before applying for an independent research project. Authorization for such a project requires submission of a formal proposal written in accordance with standards set forth by the Graduate School. The research project normally carries 1.5 or 3 credits.
For more information and a proposal outline please visit: http://www.babson.edu/Academics/graduate/mba/Pages/independent-research.aspx
- Program: Graduate
- Division: Economics
- Level: Graduate Elective (Grad)
- Course Number: ECN7580
- Number of Credits: 3
ACC7580 Independent Research
1.5-3 CreditsIndependent research is available for all academic divisions. Registration is manual for students through Graduate Programs and Student Affairs.
Independent Research provides an opportunity to conduct in-depth research in areas of a student's own specific interest. Students may undertake Independent Research for academic credit with the approval of a student-selected faculty advisor, the appropriate division chair, and Graduate Programs and Student Affairs. Please note that a student is responsible for recruiting a faculty advisor through the student's own initiative and obtain the advisor's prior consent/commitment before applying for an independent research project.
Authorization for such a project requires submission of a formal proposal written in accordance with standards set forth by the Graduate School. The research project normally carries 1.5 or 3 credits.
For more information and a proposal outline please visit: http://www.babson.edu/Academics/graduate/mba/Pages/independent-research.aspx
- Program: Graduate
- Division: Accounting and Law
- Level: Graduate Elective (Grad)
- Course Number: ACC7580
- Number of Credits: 3
STR7580 Independent Research
1.5-3 CreditsIndependent research is available for all academic divisions. Registration is manual for students through Graduate Programs and Office of Graduate Academic Services.
Independent Research provides an opportunity to conduct in-depth research in areas of a student's own specific interest. Students may undertake Independent Research for academic credit with the approval of a student-selected faculty advisor, the appropriate division chair, and Graduate Academic Services. Please note that a student is responsible for recruiting a faculty advisor through the student's own initiative and obtain the advisor's prior consent/commitment before applying for an independent research project. The research project normally carries 1.5 or 3 credits.
For more information and a proposal outline please visit: http://www.babson.edu/Academics/graduate/mba/Pages/independent-research.aspx
- Program: Graduate
- Division: Management
- Level: Graduate Elective (Grad)
- Course Number: STR7580
- Number of Credits: 3
OIM7580 Independent Research
1.5-3 Credits
Independent research is available for all academic divisions. Registration is manual for students through Graduate Programs and Office of Graduate Academic Services.
Independent Research provides an opportunity to conduct in-depth research in areas of a student's own specific interest. Students may undertake Independent Research for academic credit with the approval of a student-selected faculty advisor, the appropriate division chair, and Graduate Academic Services. Please note that a student is responsible for recruiting a faculty advisor through the student's own initiative and obtain the advisor's prior consent/commitment before applying for an independent research project. The research project normally carries 1.5 or 3 credits.
For more information and a proposal outline please visit: http://www.babson.edu/Academics/graduate/mba/Pages/independent-research.aspx
- Program: Graduate
- Division: Operations and Information Management
- Level: Graduate Elective (Grad)
- Course Number: OIM7580
- Number of Credits: 3
TAX7580 Independent Research
1.5 Credits
- Program: Graduate
- Division: Accounting and Law
- Level: Graduate Elective (Grad)
- Course Number: TAX7580
- Number of Credits: 1.5
QTM7580 Independent Research
1.5-3 CreditsIndependent research is available for all academic divisions. Registration is manual for students through Graduate Programs and Office of Graduate Academic Services.
Independent Research provides an opportunity to conduct in-depth research in areas of a student's own specific interest. Students may undertake Independent Research for academic credit with the approval of a student-selected faculty advisor, the appropriate division chair, and Graduate Academic Services. Please note that a student is responsible for recruiting a faculty advisor through the student's own initiative and obtain the advisor's prior consent/commitment before applying for an independent research project. The research project normally carries 1.5 or 3 credits.
For more information and a proposal outline please visit: http://www.babson.edu/Academics/graduate/mba/Pages/independent-research.aspx
- Program: Graduate
- Division: Mathematics Analytics Science and Technology
- Level: Graduate Elective (Grad)
- Course Number: QTM7580
- Number of Credits: 3
MOB7580 Independent Research
1.5-3 CreditsIndependent research is available for all academic divisions. Registration is manual for students through Graduate Programs and Office of Graduate Academic Services.
Independent Research provides an opportunity to conduct in-depth research in areas of a student's own specific interest. Students may undertake Independent Research for academic credit with the approval of a student-selected faculty advisor, the appropriate division chair, and Graduate Academic Services. Please note that a student is responsible for recruiting a faculty advisor through the student's own initiative and obtain the advisor's prior consent/commitment before applying for an independent research project. The research project normally carries 1.5 or 3 credits.
For more information and a proposal outline please visit: http://www.babson.edu/Academics/graduate/mba/Pages/independent-research.aspx
- Program: Graduate
- Division: Management
- Level: Graduate Elective (Grad)
- Course Number: MOB7580
- Number of Credits: 3
XXX7580 Independent Research*****Independent research is available for all academic divisions. Registration is manual for students through Graduate Programs and Student Affairs*****
Independent Research provides an opportunity to conduct in-depth research in areas of a student's own specific interest. Students may undertake Independent Research for academic credit with the approval of a student-selected faculty advisor, the appropriate division chair, and Graduate Programs and Student Affairs. Please note that a student is responsible for recruiting a faculty advisor through the student's own initiative and obtain the advisor's prior consent/commitment before applying for an independent research project.
Authorization for such a project requires submission of a formal proposal written in accordance with standards set forth by the Graduate School. The research project normally carries 1.5 or 3 credits.
For more information and a proposal outline please visit: http://life.babson.edu/organization/GPSA
- Program: Graduate
- Division: Marketing
- Level: Graduate Elective (Grad)
- Course Number: RES7580
- Number of Credits: 3
MKT7580 Independent Research
1.5-3 CreditsIndependent research is available for all academic divisions. Registration is manual for students through Graduate Programs and Office of Graduate Academic Services.
Independent Research provides an opportunity to conduct in-depth research in areas of a student's own specific interest. Students may undertake Independent Research for academic credit with the approval of a student-selected faculty advisor, the appropriate division chair, and Graduate Academic Services. Please note that a student is responsible for recruiting a faculty advisor through the student's own initiative and obtain the advisor's prior consent/commitment before applying for an independent research project. The research project normally carries 1.5 or 3 credits.
For more information and a proposal outline please visit: http://www.babson.edu/Academics/graduate/mba/Pages/independent-research.aspx
- Program: Graduate
- Division: Marketing
- Level: Graduate Elective (Grad)
- Course Number: MKT7580
- Number of Credits: 3
LAW7580 Independent Research
1.5-3 CreditsIndependent research is available for all academic divisions. Registration is manual for students through Graduate Programs and Office of Graduate Academic Services.
Independent Research provides an opportunity to conduct in-depth research in areas of a student's own specific interest. Students may undertake Independent Research for academic credit with the approval of a student-selected faculty advisor, the appropriate division chair, and Graduate Academic Services. Please note that a student is responsible for recruiting a faculty advisor through the student's own initiative and obtain the advisor's prior consent/commitment before applying for an independent research project. The research project normally carries 1.5 or 3 credits.
For more information and a proposal outline please visit: http://www.babson.edu/Academics/graduate/mba/Pages/independent-research.aspx
- Program: Graduate
- Division: Accounting and Law
- Level: Graduate Elective (Grad)
- Course Number: LAW7580
- Number of Credits: 3
FIN7580 Independent Research
1.5-3 CreditsIndependent research is available for all academic divisions. Registration is manual for students through Graduate Programs and Office of Graduate Academic Services.
Independent Research provides an opportunity to conduct in-depth research in areas of a student's own specific interest. Students may undertake Independent Research for academic credit with the approval of a student-selected faculty advisor, the appropriate division chair, and Graduate Academic Services. Please note that a student is responsible for recruiting a faculty advisor through the student's own initiative and obtain the advisor's prior consent/commitment before applying for an independent research project. The research project normally carries 1.5 or 3 credits.
For more information and a proposal outline please visit: http://www.babson.edu/Academics/graduate/mba/Pages/independent-research.aspx
- Program: Graduate
- Division: Finance
- Level: MSF Elective (Grad),Graduate Elective (Grad)
- Course Number: FIN7580
- Number of Credits: 3
EPS7580 Independent Research
1.5-3 CreditsIndependent research is available for all academic divisions. Registration is manual for students through Graduate Programs and Office of Graduate Academic Services.
Independent Research provides an opportunity to conduct in-depth research in areas of a student's own specific interest. Students may undertake Independent Research for academic credit with the approval of a student-selected faculty advisor, the appropriate division chair, and Graduate Academic Services. Please note that a student is responsible for recruiting a faculty advisor through the student's own initiative and obtain the advisor's prior consent/commitment before applying for an independent research project. The research project normally carries 1.5 or 3 credits.
For more information and a proposal outline please visit: http://www.babson.edu/Academics/graduate/mba/Pages/independent-research.aspx
- Program: Graduate
- Division: Entrepreneurship
- Level: Graduate Elective (Grad)
- Course Number: EPS7580
- Number of Credits: 3
ECN3630 Industrial Organization & Public Policy
4 Advanced Liberal Arts Elective CreditsStrategic decisions that firms make on a wide range of issues such as market entry, entry deterrence, supply chain development, outsourcing and vertical integration, diversification, mergers and acquisitions, product positioning and managing innovation are the topics of this advanced course in the economic analysis of markets. Industrial Organization teaches students how market structure (or the nature of competition in a market) and the inter-relations between industries influence firm performance, and how understanding these linkages enables firms to identify opportunities and risks. Public policy and its role in industrial organization, through anti-trust enforcement for example, is important for entrepreneurs and business leaders trying to understand the rules of competition for their industries. Students will also learn to apply basic Game Theory to various aspects of strategic business decision making. Cases from a wide range of industries are used to illustrate successful business strategies.
Prerequisites: SME2031 or ECN2002
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Economics
- Level: Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: ECN3630
- Number of Credits: 4
OIM6110 Information Technology
This course prepares students to become digital innovators-global entrepreneurs and business leaders who can make strategic business decisions involving data, digital products, and digital services; experiment with information technologies and platforms; build and work in diverse teams; and create social, environmental and economic value from data in a business context.
- Program: Graduate
- Division: Operations and Information Management
- Level: Graduate Elective (Grad)
- Course Number: OIM6110
- Number of Credits: 1.5
EPS 7508: Initiation of Corporate ventures
3 elective credits
The course focuses on ways to profitably exploit business opportunities (as opposed to what opportunity to pursue). It will allow you to acquire the skill set necessary for crafting a winning business model for your venture - developing and writing a concise, coherent, effective, and complete business development plan and prepare you to gain support within a mature corporation for your plan.
For more information Click Here.
Prerequisite's: EPS 9501
- Program: Graduate
- Division: Entrepreneurship
- Level: Graduate Elective (Grad)
- Course Number: EPS7508
- Number of Credits: 3
EPS4520 Innovation Odyssey: Silicon Valley Insider
4 General Credits
Silicon Valley and the surrounding Bay Area is known for being the foundation of many iconic companies from startups to some of the most recognized technology brands in the world. The area brings some of the most innovative people together to collaborate, innovate, and build entrepreneurial empires. While entrepreneurship can be seen throughout the world, many developing entrepreneurial ecosystems are inspired by the beginnings of technology revolutions that have driven the world economy and were started in Silicon Valley and the Bay Area.
This immersive travel course is designed to give Babson students the chance to learn about how Silicon Valley started, the people who keep it going today, and how they can think about the kinds of companies they want to join or start as their careers develop. They will also meet and experience some of the unique places to explore in the Bay Area. Over the last decade, the epicenter of entrepreneurial activity in the region has expanded to San Francisco. So, this trip will include both Silicon Valley and the tech hub in San Francisco.
The course will begin with some prep-work during the fall semester prior to the trip. It will continue through the spring as you work on an experiential learning project, concluding with presentations to the innovative nonprofit organizations students engage with during the trip.
This will be an experiential course filled with:
- Meetings with some of the innovators of today and yesterday
- Meeting all types of entrepreneurs and innovators thinking about, imagining and creating the future
- Engaging in learning and experiences that exemplify what it might be like to live in the Silicon Valley - Bay Area innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem.
- Creating a class blog to tell our trip story
- Learn to use tools that can help you imagine and strategize for the future
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Entrepreneurship
- Level: Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Management (UGrad)
- Course Number: EPS4520
- Number of Credits: 4
OIM9550 Innovating with Wearable Technology
1.5 Intensive Elective Credits
Meeting Dates TBD
Drop Deadline TBD
Digital entrepreneurs should be agile experimenters, capable of innovating by combining available technologies and services into digital products and platforms. In this course students will learn about the lean digital startup and follow agile principles to conceive and create a wearable technology device with a clear value proposition. The course will include an introduction to wearable hardware programming and involve hands-on work with an open source wearable technology prototyping platform.
- Program: Graduate
- Division: Operations and Information Management
- Level: MSBA Elective (Grad),Graduate Elective (Grad)
- Course Number: OIM9550
- Number of Credits: 1.5
EPS3542: Innovation Ecosystems of Spain
4 advanced management credits (Elective Abroad)
Startup Ecosystems of Spain is a study abroad course designed to introduce Babson undergraduate students to the diverse Spanish economy with emphasis on the regional innovation ecosystems of Madrid and Barcelona. It examines the challenges that Spain has faced in recovering from the global financial crisis and evolving after the global pandemic COVID-19. It involves a multidisciplinary orientation at Babson followed by a 10-day study tour to Madrid and Barcelona. Students will meet on-site with executives from some of the top startup and multinational organizations in Spain.
Prerequisite: Application through Glavin Office
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Entrepreneurship
- Level: Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Management (UGrad)
- Course Number: EPS3542
- Number of Credits: 4
LAW3675 INNOVATION LAW AND POLICY
(FORMERLY INNOVATION AND THE LAW: A CRITICAL EXAMINATION)
4 Advanced Liberal Arts CreditsInnovation is often praised as a key to entrepreneurship and economic growth. For this reason, intellectual property law seeks to stimulate innovation beyond competitive free market levels through through patents, designs, copyrights, trade secrets and trademarks. At the same time, other areas of law such as safety, advertising, consumer protection and antitrust law may be called upon to regulate possible negative effects from innovation. This course explores how these areas of law apply to innovation to ask the ultimate question, how should the legal system best encourage or regulate innovation, if at all?
Prerequisites: LAW1000
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Accounting and Law
- Level: Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: LAW3675
- Number of Credits: 4
OIM9521 Innovation Processes
1.5 Intensive Elective Credits
Over the past two decades, a combination of changes in political, technological, and cultural arenas have dramatically affected the way in which companies, organizations, and individuals innovate. In this course, we will explore the critical parameters of various innovation processes, learn about their advantages and disadvantages, and compare the contexts in which these processes operate. The goal of this course is to develop an understanding of what it takes to design and operate various innovation processes.
In the first offering of the course, the emphasis will be placed on open innovation processes, design thinking and lean start-up, and coordination issues of complex innovation processes. This course is positioned between our existing offerings Product Design and Development (MOB-7555), which provides an in-depth experience on the project level, and Leading Innovation: Creating Organic Growth (MOB-9525), which discusses managerial and strategic challenges on the firm level in the context of industry and competition. In contrast, the new course Innovation Processes will focus on the mechanisms of how design and manage effective innovation processes.
- Program: Graduate
- Division: Operations and Information Management
- Level: MSBA Elective (Grad),Graduate Elective (Grad)
- Course Number: OIM9521
- Number of Credits: 1.5
OIM3578 Integrated Product Design
4 Advanced Management Credits
You will work with industrial design students from the Massachusetts College of Art and Design (in Boston) and engineering students from Olin College of Engineering to develop new products through projects that are student-generated. Students learn first-hand about the techniques and contributions different disciplines bring to product design and practice collaboration common in professional design settings. This course provides valuable multidisciplinary preparation for students interested to work in innovation projects in established firms or develop and launch their own consumer products. Class will be held once a week and rotate between all three campuses.
Interested Wellesley students should cross-register in this course at Olin under ENGR3250.
Prerequisites: (SME2001 and SME2002) and EPS4515 or EPS4527 or DES3600
Students must have completed ONE (1) of the following courses.
Students who have completed a course from Olin College, from the prerequisite course list, must contact the Registrar for a Pre-Requisite Waiver.
ENGR 2250 (Olin College) User-oriented Collaborative Design
ENGR 1200 (Olin College) Design Nature
ENGR 2199 (Olin College) Engineering for Humanity
ENGR 3220 (Olin College) Human Factors and Interface Design
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Operations and Information Management
- Level: Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Management (UGrad)
- Course Number: OIM3578
- Number of Credits: 4
WRT1000 Intensive Rhetoric Writing Tutorial
Foundation Liberal ArtsPrerequisites: None
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Arts and Humanities
- Level: Foundation Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: WRT1000
- Number of Credits: 0
LIT4682 In the Extreme: An Interdisciplinary Approach to Human Rights
4 Advanced Liberal Arts CreditsThe philosophy of basic human rights originates with the earliest records of humans, and humans have struggled to define and defend these most basic tenets of ethical human conduct and rights ever since. This course will focus upon grave human rights abuses such as torture, genocide, and rape, and will consider the increasingly blurred line between "peacetime" and "wartime" violations. We will begin with philosophical, political, and legal definitions of human rights, then move quickly to specific cases related to the impacts and legacies of imperialism and the resurgence of nationalism and white supremacy. In this context, we will examine challenges to international human rights law from military and technological developments, mass migration, and climate change, paying special attention to the role of art, literature, and film in addressing these challenges.
Prerequisites: Any combination of 2 ILA (HSS, LTA, CSP, LVA, CVA)
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Arts and Humanities
- Level: Advanced Liberal Arts 4600 Requirement (UGrad),Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: LIT4682
- Number of Credits: 4
ACC3500 Intermediate Accounting I
4 General CreditsStudents who have taken ACC3502 cannot take ACC3500 or ACC3501
Broadens the base of financial accounting concepts introduced in ACC1000 and delves more deeply into accounting concepts, techniques and procedures. Topics include inventory, tangible and intangible assets, statement of cash flows, accounting changes, revenue recognition and current and long-term debt. This course is essential for those who plan a career in accounting and recommended for anyone whose career will involve the extensive use of financial statements.
Prerequisites: ACC1000
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Accounting and Law
- Level: Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Management (UGrad)
- Course Number: ACC3500
- Number of Credits: 4
ACC3501 Intermediate Accounting II
4 General CreditsStudents who have taken ACC3502 cannot take ACC3500 or ACC3501
This course extends the in-depth study of accounting concepts and techniques which began in Intermediate Accounting I. Topics include earnings per share, leases, pensions and investments.
Prerequisites: ACC3500
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Accounting and Law
- Level: Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Management (UGrad)
- Course Number: ACC3501
- Number of Credits: 4
MOB3560 Global Strategic Management
(Formerly International Business Enterprise)
4 General CreditsThis course provides a broadly based introduction to management of international business ventures and the strategies and operations of multinational corporations.
Prerequisites: ASM3300
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Management
- Level: Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Management (UGrad)
- Course Number: MOB3560
- Number of Credits: 4
MFE3508 International Consulting Experience
4 CreditsThe International Consulting Experience takes the consulting experience global by providing 3-4 students teams the opportunity to work on project assignments with international corporate sponsors. The program begins with pre-departure sessions focused on consulting methodology and intercultural competencies during the fall semester. Travel to the company site will take place over the winter break at which time students will develop the engagement contract and begin on-site primary research. Project work will be completed over the spring semester ending with the team presenting their findings and recommendations to their sponsor company in a written report and an oral presentation.
Students must apply for this course through the Glavin Office
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Other
- Level: Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Management (UGrad)
- Course Number: MFE3508
- Number of Credits: 4
STR3508 International Consulting Experience
4 CreditsThe International Consulting Experience takes the consulting experience global by providing 3-4 students teams the opportunity to work on project assignments with international corporate sponsors. The program begins with pre-departure sessions focused on consulting methodology and intercultural competencies during the fall semester. Travel to the company site will take place over the winter break at which time students will develop the engagement contract and begin on-site primary research. Project work will be completed over the spring semester ending with the team presenting their findings and recommendations to their sponsor company in a written report and an oral presentation.
Students must apply for this course through the Glavin Office
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Management
- Level: Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Management (UGrad)
- Course Number: STR3508
- Number of Credits: 4
MFE 7508: International Consulting Experience
3 Credits
Learn and apply the skills, knowledge and attitudes necessary to become a successful consultant in a global context. In mixed small teams of undergraduate and graduate students, experience what it is like to work directly with an international startup company, at the decision maker level. Make an impact providing strategic advice, working on global environmental, social, and economic challenges. Receive guidance from the faculty advisor while learning about the local culture, economy, and historical & current business trends that impact your client's business. Conduct and analyze primary and secondary research and present your findings and recommendations to the client. Each project is unique and influenced by the current business climate.
Application Required through Glavin Office
- Program: Graduate
- Division: Management
- Level: Graduate Elective (Grad)
- Course Number: STR7508
- Number of Credits: 3
ECN3665 International Finance
4 Advanced Liberal Arts Elective CreditsThe global financial system provides the framework for trade and capital flows among countries. It has experienced severe disruptions in recent years from structural and policy changes that are transmitted globally through exchange rates and investment flows. This course provides broad and deep exposure to the (a) global financial institutions and markets, (b) quantitative and analytical tools, which are valuable for firms operating in the global marketplace, and (c) the costs and benefits of living in an increasingly interdependent world. This is a very valuable course for anyone with international interests and/or anyone who would like to work in a globally oriented job.
Prerequisites: ECN2000
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Economics
- Level: Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: ECN3665
- Number of Credits: 4
LAW3560 International Law for Business
4 General CreditsThis course explores the basic principles of law as they affect international business. Examines
the basic instruments and institutions of the international legal system and cultural underpinnings
of major world legal traditions, such as the European Union and the World Trade Organization.
Students learn how to structure and execute basic international commercial transactions in
goods, services, and technology, including the impact of import-export issues, contract issues,
and trade issues on business transactions. The course also examines the structure and regulation
of foreign direct investment, including strategic choices for business structures and the impact
of regulation on strategy. Finally, the course examines the ethical dimensions of corporate
conduct in a transnational setting. This course uses materials from many countries and
traditions, and makes extensive use of the World Wide Web.
Prerequisites: LAW1000
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Accounting and Law
- Level: Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Management (UGrad)
- Course Number: LAW3560
- Number of Credits: 4
ECN7505 International Macro: What Every MBA Should Know
3 Elective CreditsThis course focuses on the intersection between international macroeconomics and business strategy. It highlights the movements of and interrelations among major macroeconomic variables that affect the performance of nations, in general, and businesses, in particular. None of these economic factors is controlled by any manager, but good managers must react to, cope with, and anticipate them. IM provides an intuitive, logical, and internally consistent framework for managers to: (1) function effectively in a world where business performance and strategies are affected by international institutions, domestic and global economic forces, as well as government and central bank policies , (2) evaluate whether government and central bank policies are sustainable, (3) create and critically evaluate country analyses, (4) clarify how changes in a country's economic climate affect corporate financial plans and capital budgeting decisions, and (5) improve financial projections (e.g., cash flow statements, income statements and balance sheets). With this knowledge, managers are better able to internalize, analyze, and make decisions based on the expected impact that economic, political, and social forces have on companies' strategies, competitive positions, and performances.
Prerequisites: None
- Program: Graduate
- Division: Economics
- Level: Graduate Elective (Grad)
- Course Number: ECN7505
- Number of Credits: 3
ECN7201 International Macroeconomics and Business Environment Analysis
(Formerly Managing at the Crossroads: Business, Government, and the International Economy)
2 CreditsManaging at the Crossroads: Business, Government, and the International Economy (Mac-BGIE) - This course focuses on domestic and international cause-and-effect relationships among credit markets, goods and services markets, and foreign exchange markets. This global framework is used to explain the effect that economic, social, and/or political shocks have on a nation's growth and prosperity.
- Program: Graduate
- Division: Economics
- Course Number: ECN7201
- Number of Credits: 2
POL4635 International Politics of Asia
4 Advanced Liberal Arts CreditsInternational Politics of Asia covers a variety of global issues in this key region of the world. The first section will provide a backdrop to understanding colonial legacies, nationalism, and the construction of East Asia's modern states. Subsequently, the course will turn our attention to the current real-world problems facing Asian leaders. We will look at the international security problems of North Korea, insurgencies, and alliance politics, before turning our attention to the international political economic issues of trade and development. Relatedly, we will pay attention to the environmental costs and degradation of industrial development in Asia. The final area of concern will be human rights issues in China, Burma, and the Philippines.
Prerequisites: Any combination of 2 ILA (HSS, LTA, CSP, LVA, CVA)
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: History and Society
- Level: Advanced Liberal Arts 4600 Requirement (UGrad),Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: POL4635
- Number of Credits: 4
ECN3660 International Trade Theory and Policy
4 Advanced Liberal Arts Elective CreditsGlobal trade is of great importance to business strategy and economic development, in terms of both the opportunities for new markets and supply chains and the challenges of import competition and changing government policies. This course explores the theory behind international trade relationships, the pattern of imports and exports and trade policies among the various major trading economies of the world. As international trade becomes a more important consideration for all countries, it is important to understand the rationale, costs, and benefits of trading relationships, as well as the incentives (often conflicting) behind trade policies. This course combines very nicely with ECN3665 for a more complete coverage of international economics.
Prerequisites: SME2031 or ECN2002
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Economics
- Level: Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: ECN3660
- Number of Credits: 4
HSS2002: Introduction to Indigenous People's Politics and History
4 Intermediate Liberal Arts
This Intermediate level History and Society class is an Introduction to the study of the politics and history of Indigenous peoples. The class will focus mostly on the United States and Canada - two countries created through settler colonial conquest, genocide, and dispossession of Indigenous peoples from their territories. The course will offer opportunities for looking globally at Indigenous people's experiences, histories and politics. To understand Indigenous people's history and politics, one must learn about the intertwined history of colonialism, capitalism, white supremacy and heteropatriarchy, and their oppressive impacts upon Indigenous peoples. For example, what we call the "gender binary" is not natural but was imposed, in part, through colonial processes such as Indian Boarding/Residential Schools that brutally compelled children to conform to Euro-centric norms. Recently, in Canada on the grounds of old residential schools, unmarked graves have been discovered that contain the remains of children that went to these schools. This is just one of the difficult issues we will explore and grapple with in this class to understand Indigenous people's history and the colonial oppression they have and continue to face. We will spend a great deal of time on Indigenous political movements that resist and refuse these oppressive systems. The course materials will include scholarly studies, historical narratives, fiction, poetry, first person narratives, films, documentaries, podcasts and other media that help students understand the historical and contemporary reality of Indigenous peoples, colonialism, political movements and so on. Students will be expected to develop a strong and precise understanding of the fundamental elements of Native American and Indigenous studies and will have the opportunity to explore their own topics of interest in project-oriented assignments. This will be a highly participatory class that will require close attention to materials and active and consistent engagement to succeed.
Prerequisites: (FCI1000 or AHS1000) and (WRT1001or RHT1000)
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: History and Society
- Level: Intermediate Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: HSS2002
- Number of Credits: 4
OIM7501 Introduction to Database Management
1.5 Elective Credits
SQL forms the cornerstone of all relational database operations. The ability to write the SQL language is essential for those who develop database applications. This course provides a solid foundation of the SQL programming language that enables students to build, query and manipulate databases. Working in SQL Server Management, the students will be actively engaged in a hands-on classroom experience.
The list of topics include: Understand entity-relationship modeling (ER Model) at the conceptual level; Data design terminology, SQL Basics, Joins and Views, Conditional Logic, Procedures, Functions.
Prerequisites: None
- Program: Graduate
- Division: Operations and Information Management
- Level: Graduate Elective (Grad)
- Course Number: OIM7501
- Number of Credits: 1.5
CSP2025 Introduction to LGBTQ Cultural Studies
(Formerly CVA2025)
4 Intermediate Liberal Arts CreditsCultural Studies borrows from history, political science, psychology, literature, sociology, anthropology, film studies, media studies, and other disciplines to dismantle and thereby understand the cultural forces and variables which work together to construct meaning. In this course, we will look specifically at how LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer/questioning) identities and meanings have been and continue to be constructed, primarily but not exclusively in U.S. culture. We will actively consider how we, as human beings and agents of construction ourselves, contribute to or resist cultural meanings of LGBTQ. In our course of study, we will read theory, study film and other visual media, and interrogate texts, such as television shows, from popular culture. Each student will have an opportunity to develop a short individual project tailored to his or her interests.
This course is typically offered in the following semesters: Spring
Prerequisites: (FCI1000 or AHS1000) and (WRT1001or RHT1000)
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Arts and Humanities
- Level: Intermediate Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: CSP2025
- Number of Credits: 4
CSP2007 Introduction to Philosophy
(Formerly CVA2007)
4 Intermediate Liberal Arts CreditsIntroduction to Philosophy treats the most basic and pervasive human questions: Does God exist? What is the nature of the self? What is the relationship between our mind and our body? Do human beings have an immortal soul? Do we have free will? What is the difference between a human being and a computer? How can value judgments be justified? What is the proper relationship between the individual and the community? What is the best kind of human life?
This course is typically offered in the following semesters: Fall
Prerequisites: (FCI1000 or AHS1000) and (WRT1001or RHT1000)
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Arts and Humanities
- Level: Intermediate Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: CSP2007
- Number of Credits: 4
ART1172 Introduction to Sculpture
4 General CreditsThis is an introductory level studio art course designed to engage you with basic sculptural concepts and processes through the creation of your own sculpture. Working with basic material such as plasticene, plaster, wood, and wire, we will learn carving, modeling, and other methods of construction as we explore assignments that parallel historical approaches and processes. As a means of developing a full range of approaches towards making sculpture, we will examine paleo-lithic sculpture; Egyptian, Greek, and Renaissance bas-relief sculpture; abstract, kinetic and minimal sculpture; and installation and conceptual art. Students will be asked to keep a sketchbook for the development and critique of visual ideas. Through visualization, drawing, design, construction, and critique of sculpture, students will expand their skills of observation, critical analysis, and creative problem solving.
Prerequisites: None
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Arts and Humanities
- Level: Free Elective (UGrad)
- Course Number: ART1172
- Number of Credits: 4
HSS2418 Introduction to Sociology
4 Intermediate Liberal Arts CreditsSociology explains human behavior in terms of group activities. The solidarity of a social group allows group members to work cooperatively towards common goals. But the dark side of group solidarity is that it often leads members to feel hostility towards individuals who are not a part of the group and for non-members to experience feelings of resentment towards the group and its members. How is solidarity achieved? How is the formation of social identity affected by group solidarity? How do groups competing for scarce resources construct a view of their group's needs, hopes, and desires? Where are group members and nonmembers situated in this view of social life? This course examines the relationship between group solidarity, resource scarcity, and the formation of social identity in everyday life.
Prerequisites: (FCI1000 or AHS1000) and (WRT1001or RHT1000)
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: History and Society
- Level: Intermediate Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: HSS2018
- Number of Credits: 4
ARB2200 Introduction to Arabic
4 Free Elective CreditsThis course is an introduction to Modern Standard Arabic (MSA) and the Levantine dialect. It introduces students to Arabic sounds and alphabet, basic reading and writing, and essentials for everyday conversations. It is built on an interactive methodology using a variety of authentic materials such as news, film, songs, art, food and cooking. It emphasizes the active participation of students in the learning process. Project-based learning is the main instructional approach, and classes are designed to teach language through engaging projects set around specific cultural topics. Students will cook and taste food, virtually visit Arab cities and museums, research Arab artists, watch movie clips and music videos, and even learn and sing Arabic songs! Arabic 2200 is the initial course in the Arabic language sequence at Babson.
Students are precluded from taking more advanced courses in the sequence (Arabic 4610, 4640, 4650) prior to this course unless permitted by the instructor.
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Arts and Humanities
- Level: Free Elective (UGrad)
- Course Number: ARB2200
- Number of Credits: 4
CSP2059 Introduction to Consumer Society
4 Intermediate Liberal Arts Credits
This course addresses both long-standing and emerging debates about consumer society: Who is in control, consumers or advertisers and producers? How has the role of consumers changed in the digital era and with social media? How does consumption help us structure and communicate our identit(y/ies)? In what ways does consumption affect the environment and how does this then changed consumption patterns? How does the consumption of social media shape our lives? Special attention will be paid to the ways in which consumer culture structures division by class, status, gender, and race. Readings will include pieces by Adorno and Horkheimer, Bourdieu, Veblen, Sherman, Khan, Pittman, Duffy, and others.
Prerequisites: (FCI1000 or AHS1000) and (WRT1001or RHT1000)
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: History and Society
- Level: Intermediate Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: CSP2059
- Number of Credits: 0
CVA2059 Introduction to Consumer Society
4 Intermediate Liberal Arts Credits
This course addresses both long-standing and emerging debates about consumer society: Who is in control, consumers or advertisers and producers? How has the role of consumers changed in the digital era and with social media? How does consumption help us structure and communicate our identit(y/ies)? In what ways does consumption affect the environment and how does this then changed consumption patterns? How does the consumption of social media shape our lives? Special attention will be paid to the ways in which consumer culture structures division by class, status, gender, and race. Readings will include pieces by Adorno and Horkheimer, Bourdieu, Veblen, Sherman, Khan, Pittman, Duffy, and others.
Prerequisites: (FCI1000 or AHS1000) and (WRT1001or RHT1000)
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: History and Society
- Level: Intermediate Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: CVA2059
- Number of Credits: 4
HSS2039 Contemporary AfricaA
4 Intermediate Liberal Arts CreditsThis course is an interdisciplinary introduction to contemporary Africa. After a brief examination of the precolonial and colonial periods, it focuses on a variety of current topics. These topics include development challenges of education and health, regional security, gender, human rights, and environmental governance. Connecting present state of the continent and its past, the course ends by examining possible futures. Focused broadly on scholarship in the humanities and social sciences, the course will also draw on the arts, literature, and sports in order to provide a fuller picture of the continent.
Prerequisites: (FCI1000 or AHS1000) and (WRT1001or RHT1000)
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: History and Society
- Level: Intermediate Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: HSS2039
- Number of Credits: 4
QTM9515 Introduction to Data Science
(Formerly Introduction to Data Science and Business Analytics)
1.5 Intensive Elective CreditsThis course is an introduction to data science - the science of iterative exploration of data that can be used to gain insights and optimize business processes. The course is set up as a journey through the data analytics lifecycle of a project based on an actual company and introduces predictive analytics techniques in the context of real-world applications from diverse business areas. A map of applications and an overview is provided for advanced methods for data visualization, logistic regression, decision tree learning methods, clustering, and association rules. The course utilizes the advanced visualization software Tableau, the free open-source statistical modeling language R, and various other tools like cloud computing to gain insights from data. The case studies include data sets from a variety of industries and companies, including financial planning startups, online retailers, telecommunications companies, and healthcare organizations.
Prerequisites: QTM7200 or QTM7800
- Program: Graduate
- Division: Mathematics Analytics Science and Technology
- Level: MSF Elective (Grad),Graduate Elective (Grad)
- Course Number: QTM9515
- Number of Credits: 1.5
ART1201 Introduction to Digital Arts and Design
4 Free Elective Credits
Students develop technical, conceptual, and aesthetic experience pertaining to the creation of two-dimensional digital artworks as well as artworks that engage with the fourth dimension of art: space and time. Students gain an introductory knowledge of several art and design software programs. Included topics in the course are digital drawing, designing digital collages, and time-based digital media. Note: Babson Photography program has digital and lenses to check out but only a limited number of digital fully manual cameras are on reserve.
Prerequisites: None
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Arts and Humanities
- Level: Free Elective (UGrad)
- Course Number: ART1201
- Number of Credits: 4
ACC1000 Introduction To Financial Accounting
Foundation Management
4 CreditsACC1000 will provide you with an introduction to the construction, analysis and forecasting of financial statements. These financial statements consist of the income statement, the balance sheet and the statement of cash flows as well as the associated explanatory statement footnotes. Using actual entrepreneurial companies as well as publicly traded companies you will learn how to prepare, analyze, interpret and forecast financial statements. By the conclusion of the course, you will be able to forecast and analyze financial statements for investment decisions as well as to model and analyze the financial effects of different strategic directions as an owner of the company. These skills will benefit you in whatever career path you choose.
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Accounting and Law
- Level: Foundation Management (UGrad)
- Course Number: ACC1000
- Number of Credits: 4
FIN7200 Introduction to Financial Management
2 CreditsThis course introduces the managerial finance skills required of effective business managers operating in all functional areas of an organization as they seek to create shareholder value. Covers basic corporate finance topics including financial analysis, construction of pro forma financial statements and forecasting cash flows, the relationship between risk and return, the cost of capital, discounting future cash flows, assessing the viability of projects and capital budgeting, financing and capital structure issues, and the valuation of stock, bonds, firms and other entities.
- Program: Graduate
- Division: Finance
- Course Number: FIN7200
- Number of Credits: 2
CSP2013 Introduction to Sustainability
4 CreditsThis case-based course introduces students to the basic concepts and tools that the liberal arts (science, social science, and the humanities) bring to a consideration of sustainability. Students develop the cross-disciplinary awareness and collaboration skills needed to approach environmental issues holistically.
Prerequisites: (RHT and AHS) or (FCI and WRT 1001)
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: History and Society
- Level: Intermediate Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: CSP2013
- Number of Credits: 4
EPS1110 Introduction to the Entrepreneurial Experience
4 Credits
The Online Babson Summer Study program is designed to help high school students (primarily rising juniors and seniors in high school), like you, cultivate core career skills and a sharp entrepreneurial mindset for overcoming challenges in any setting, in any role. You will participate in interactive online sessions with Babson faculty, entrepreneurship experts, and Babson near-peer students, work on team-based projects with peers from around the world, learn how to apply Entrepreneurial Thought and Action , and understand the competencies needed to start your own venture.
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Entrepreneurship
- Level: Free Elective (UGrad)
- Course Number: EPS1110
- Number of Credits: 4
FIN7573 Investment Banking and Financial Modeling
(Formerly Investment Banking and Financial Advisory)
3 Elective CreditsThe course will provide students with the opportunity to develop a practical understanding of investment banking and the activities performed by various professionals within the industry. The course will explore the history and evolution of the investment banking industry and the role played by investment banks in the broader capital markets and economy. The course will also examine the organizational structure of investment banks and the characteristics and focus of different functional areas within a firm.
The course focuses on the practical application of corporate finance concepts to "real world" situations and activities commonly performed by investment banks on behalf of clients. A heavy emphasis will be placed on the role played by an associate in building complex financial models to help analyze and execute common investment banking transactions such as: Initial Public Offerings, Fairness Opinions, Valuations, Mergers & Acquisitions Advisory, and Leveraged Buy-Outs. As such, the class will utilize case studies involving real companies and there will be a heavy emphasis on the practical financial research and Excel skills necessary to develop and customize such models. LAPTOPS ARE REQUIRED FOR EACH CLASS.
This course is designed for students interested in careers in investment banking, private equity, sell-side equity research or corporate finance.
Prerequisites: FIN7200 or FIN7800
- Program: Graduate
- Division: Finance
- Level: MSBA Elective (Grad),MSF Elective (Grad),Graduate Elective (Grad)
- Course Number: FIN7573
- Number of Credits: 3
FIN4530 Investments
4 General CreditsThis course is designed for students interested in investment or portfolio management. Students explore the simultaneous management of multiple securities, using statistical and other mathematical tools. Topics covered include: risk and return, allocation of risky assets, setting portfolio objectives and strategy, portfolio optimization, risk crafting, and portfolio performance evaluation. Through case studies, investment tools, projects, and readings, students will explore investment and portfolio theory and practice.
Prerequisites: SME2021 or FIN2000
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Finance
- Level: Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Management (UGrad)
- Course Number: FIN4530
- Number of Credits: 4
MOB3540 Israel Start-Up Strategy
4 (Elective Abroad) CreditsProgram fee is paid to Glavin Office - program fee includes: accommodations, breakfast, bus transportation in Israel, program planned meals, and cultural excursions. Not included: tuition, international flight, visa costs, additional meals and personal expenses.
The purpose of this course is to provide students with an opportunity to understand the entrepreneurial ecosystem (EE) of Israel - a country of about seven million people with the highest rate of NASDAQ listings per capita of any nation.
Through direct interaction with entrepreneurs, capital providers, educators, and government officials in Israel, the students should come away with a new perspective on startup's opportunities and challenges and get experience consulting to local startups while applying concepts from two books - Capital Rising: How Capital Flows Are Changing Business Systems All Over the World, co-authored by Peter S. Cohan with Srini Rangan, and Hungry Startup Strategy: Creating New Ventures with Limited Resources and Unlimited Vision (November 2012), by Peter S. Cohan.
Israel's ability to spur entrepreneurial innovation vastly exceeds its size. Israel has 7.1 million people but the number of Israeli companies listed on the NASDAQ far exceeds its relative population. For example, India has three companies listed. Japan has six, Canada has 48, while Israel has 63. Israel has received as much foreign venture capital as the much larger Britain -- $2 billion in foreign venture capital invested there in 2008 alone. And Israel has the highest density of startups in the world 3,850 - the equivalent of one startup for every 1,844 Israelis. Moreover, during the last few decades, Israel's high-tech innovations have spread around the world.[i]
How did Israel accomplish this feat? Israel has historically been geo-politically isolated from its direct neighbors, limiting trade and cooperation. An Arab nation boycott made regional trade impossible and it has very few natural resources. In addition, it has borne the impact of multiple military conflicts, putting pressure on its economy. As a consequence, Israel looks to the spirit of its people to overcome its many limitations. The way Israel has managed its human capital - a critical element of its EE - has allowed Israel to become an innovation hub.
Israel's entrepreneurial success depends on the people it attracts and how it harnesses their skills. Since Israel remains under constant political threat, all its citizens serve in the military which creates social networks and leadership training. Furthermore, Israel's culture of critique, fostered by centuries of Jewish tradition, encourages a spirit of relentless improvement. Moreover, the Right of Return immigration policy for Jews augments Israel's population with people motivated to build new lives and livelihoods. The result is a business climate that embraces risk and spurs the growth of good ideas.
Many examples of Israel's most successful start-ups spring from the application of its human capital to the gap between demand and supply. For example, drip irrigation was invented when a farmer in the Negev desert noticed one of his trees flourishing despite drought conditions. When he discovered a leaky underwater pipe, he had a moment of creative inspiration, developing a technology that spread around the world.
Many of Israel's greatest innovations were in the area of information technology. They include PC anti-virus software, to AOL Instant Messenger, and the Intel Pentium microprocessor chip. Israelis also created medical devices such as radiation-free breast cancer diagnostics and the "Gut Cam," an ingestible pill video camera that diagnoses abnormalities.
Hence one of the goals of the course is to explore how Israel has created such a vital EE and to give students a first-hand look at the Israelis who put the concept of entrepreneurship into practice.
The Israel Startup Strategy Elective Abroad is intended to provide students with the following benefits: to understand how Israel spurs startups, to get a deeper understanding of Israel's business culture, to meet entrepreneurs, business educators, government officials, and capital providers in Israel.
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Management
- Level: Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Management (UGrad)
- Course Number: STR3540
- Number of Credits: 4
JPN2200 Japanese I
4 CreditsAn introduction to a practical and functional knowledge of Japanese as it is used in contemporary society. Students will learn the fundamental use of the Japanese language by exercising all four language skills: listening, speaking, reading, and writing. Two basic writing systems, hiragana and katakana and some kanji, are taught to promote literacy in Japanese environments. An introduction to Japanese culture, which is inseparable from learning the language, is provided through demonstrations, videos, and films. Students are required to do at least two projects which introduce some aspect of Japanese culture.
Prerequisites: None
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Arts and Humanities
- Level: Free Elective (UGrad)
- Course Number: JPN2200
- Number of Credits: 4
JPN4610 Elementary Japanese II
4 Advanced Liberal Arts CreditsA continuation of the Fall semester, this course develops more advanced language skills as well as explores social and culture aspect of Japanese society. The course includes visits to local places, such as Japan Society of Boston, where students try their language skills in real-world settings. Students will engage in hands-on participation in Japanese cultural activities. They will also explore some Japanese business protocol. In addition, they will learn approximately 150 Kanji writing symbols and use hiragana and katakana extensively in the classroom and with computer word processing.
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Arts and Humanities
- Level: Advanced Liberal Arts 4600 Requirement (UGrad),Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: JPN4610
- Number of Credits: 4
SEN 1346: A Journey of Self-Improvement, Both Inside and Outside of the Gym
Instructor: Jack Shangold CPT
 
Exercise science's applications don't cease to exist when you leave the gym. They live with you during every step and bite you take. This class will not only analyze how to change your body, but also how to change your mindset outside the gym. Topics that will be covered include, but are not limited to, behavior change, nutrition, hypertrophy and strength training principles, injury prevention and rehab, and how to create a career in the fitness industry.
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Other
- Course Number: SEN1346
- Number of Credits: 0
HSS2003 Latin American History
4 Intermediate Liberal Arts CreditsThis course will be an introduction to the main themes, processes, and ideas in Latin American history since 1810. The central focus will be on Mexico, the Caribbean, and the ABC countries (Argentina, Brazil, and Chile), without neglecting the main thinkers and major historical events from other countries. It will develop familiarity with critical developments in modern Latin American history such as slavery, modernization, neocolonialism, racism, and migratory flows. At times it will take a global perspective to situate Latin America in its proper international context, paying close attention to US-Latin American relations. In other words, the main goals of the course will be to cultivate an understanding of key concepts, developments, and issues in the region's history, while offering a sense of Latin America's human and cultural diversity.
Prerequisites: (FCI1000 or AHS1000) and (WRT1001or RHT1000)
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: History and Society
- Level: Intermediate Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: HSS2003
- Number of Credits: 4
EPS4530 Launch Your Venture
(Formerly Living the Entrepreneurial Experience)
4 Advanced Management Credits
This hands-on course is designed for undergraduate students who have an entrepreneurial opportunity that they are ready to launch. Students will engage in Entrepreneurial Thought and Action to develop and execute key steps to launch their businesses. During this course, students will do secondary research and primary research where they will engage experts, stakeholders, analogous/complementary ventures, and investors/donors to enrich their understanding of the entrepreneurship ecosystem and test their ideas.
Course readings and cases will provide supplemental background that students will use as they take steps to start their venture. The core of the course is "action-based learning" which will result in pivoting the venture based on information gained in experimenting and testing assumptions. Students will set their milestones to move their venture forward based on where they are in the entrepreneurial process. The course has multiple deliverables related to key actions and decisions in marketing, finance, customer service and operations, all designed to move entrepreneurs closer to launching. Students are expected to work independently as well as interdependently with other entrepreneurs in the course.
Contact time for this course will be split between in-class sessions and out-of-class individual meetings with the instructor.
Prerequisites: FME1001 or EPS1000
EPS4530 (formerly EPS3530), EPS4525, EPS4531, EPS4532, EPS4533 and EPS4534 are equivalent courses. Students can only take one of these courses.
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Entrepreneurship
- Level: Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Management (UGrad)
- Course Number: EPS4530
- Number of Credits: 4
LAW7200 Law
1 CreditThis course teaches students to create business structures and make business decisions that effectively manage legal issues in order to create and capture value for their business while managing law-related risks.
- Program: Graduate
- Division: Accounting and Law
- Course Number: LAW7200
- Number of Credits: 1
LAW6110 Law
MSEL Course
1.5 Credits This course provides an overview of essential legal content for any entrepreneur, including (1) business formation, (2) contracts, (3) intellectual property, (4) liability issues (torts), and (5) agency (employment law and related issues), with an emphasis on developing students' abilities to ask astute questions. This course is integrated into the LEAP experience, so that students will explore these legal concepts in the context of their LEAP projects.
- Program: Graduate
- Division: Accounting and Law
- Course Number: LAW6110
- Number of Credits: 1.5
LAW7515 Law for Entrepreneurial Success
1.5 CreditsFor the entrepreneurial leader, law is an essential lens for seeing risks and opportunities - and for helping to ideate and realize plans. This course will equip you to see, plan, and act with legal astuteness.
This course features a customizable learning experience that allows you to focus on the industry and country of your choosing. It will require speaking with an entrepreneur or manager at a company or your family business that has dealt with legal issues. This will allow you to develop an appreciation for how law can help to not only minimize risk, but actually see opportunities, grow, and create more value.
This course features a review of generalizable legal essentials for any entrepreneur, including (1) business formation, (2) contracts, (3) intellectual property, (4) liability issues (torts), and (5) agency (employment law and related issues).
Class meetings will focus upon (1) practice with issue-spotting in typical "real life" scenarios, (2) guest speakers who will speak to the value of legal astuteness as part of the toolkit of the well-equipped entrepreneurial leader, and (3) a check-in and then presentation of lessons learned acquired from the customized learning experience.
This course is designed for both students who plan to work in the U.S., and those who plan to work in another country or internationally.
- Program: Graduate
- Division: Accounting and Law
- Level: Graduate Elective (Grad)
- Course Number: LAW7515
- Number of Credits: 1.5
LAW3602: Law Through Film
4 advanced liberal arts creditsBuilding on LAW 1000, Business Law and Ethics, this course provides an overview of fundamental business law principles, as well as how to apply those rules in practical situations through the lens of film. Critical reading, debate, clear writing and logical reasoning skills are emphasized. Course themes include using the law to add value to businesses, ethics and fairness, issue-spotting, and some legal strategy. The overall course objective is to provide knowledge of substantive legal issues and the ability to apply legal principles in a "real world" context. The process of legal analysis will be emphasized throughout the course.
Prerequisites: LAW1000
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Accounting and Law
- Level: Advanced Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: LAW3603
- Number of Credits: 4
LAW3504 Good Company, Good Game: Law, Ethics and Leadership in Sports Business
4 Advanced Management Credits
Following 2-3 preparatory classes held in Boston, students will travel to the Atlanta, Georgia area over a ~7-day period in order to develop a comprehensive understanding of how business leaders navigate legal, ethical and management decisions in sports businesses by studying the Arthur M. Blank family of businesses. Students will visit AMB Sports + Entertainment businesses, including the Atlanta Falcons, Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta United and PGA Tour Superstore, and meet with organization leaders in a variety of roles, including executive leadership, legal, human resources, sales, events management, etc. Other meetings could include visits with other sports businesses headquartered in Atlanta, such as the Atlanta Braves, Atlanta Hawks, and Atlanta Dream.
Participants will examine the way sports business leaders use legal, ethical and values-based decision-making frameworks to further their business success while also being good neighbors to their communities and forces for good in society at large. By first understanding the legal, regulatory and league requirements of sports business, students will be able to analyze challenges faced by these organizations and apply ethical and values-based leadership principles to determine whether a potential option is "lawful but awful" or a good strategic, ethical and values-based decision for a business and its stakeholders, including shareholders, employees and the larger community.
Virtual Option: If COVID-19 restrictions prevent travel to Atlanta, the course can be held in a virtual format. Guest speakers from the AMB Sports + Entertainment businesses can join the class via WebEx. There may also be opportunities for optional cultural experiences in the Boston area (e.g. touring a Boston area stadium or attending a Red Sox game as local rules permit) for students taking the course on campus or living in the Boston area.
(Course description to be revised once the logistics are worked out with the Blank team and in light of the pandemic.)
Prerequisites: LAW1000
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Accounting and Law
- Level: Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Management (UGrad)
- Course Number: LAW3504
- Number of Credits: 4
MOB3512 Leader Development: Enabling Transformational Change in Yourself and Others
(Formerly Leadership)
4 Advanced Management CreditsThe focus of this course will be on leader development - your leader development. By wrestling with concepts and experiences, ideas and actions, identity and aspirations, we will explore leadership through the different lenses you all bring. Learning from experience is a critical part of this course. If you prefer to learn only the theories of leadership, this is the wrong course for you. We will work to identify and challenge assumptions and mental models of effective leader behavior and consider what it means to be an "entrepreneurial leader." This course is appropriate for those who are or want to become leaders, and for students who want to understand leadership whether they aspire to the role or not.
For More Information: http://www.kaltura.com/tiny/v6i3t
Prerequisites: SME2001 and SME2002
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Management
- Level: Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Management (UGrad)
- Course Number: MOB3512
- Number of Credits: 4
MOB7570 Leader Development: Enabling Transformational Change in Yourself and Others
(Formerly Leadership)
3 Credits
The focus of this course will be on leader development. This course is appropriate for those who are or want to become leaders, and for students who want to understand leadership whether they aspire to a leadership role or not. The course assumes from the start the following. (1) Leaders develop themselves and do so primarily through and within their life experiences. Therefore, much of leader development is also personal development. (2) Learning to be a leader is an iterative process of reflection, assessment, planning, experimentation and practice, application of what we know, and developing supportive relationships. (3) Knowing (from theory and research) what other leaders have done, how they did it, and why, greatly informs the process of developing leader capacity. (4) You learn best when you understand and build on your current capability. (5) Openness to and wise use of feedback is essential as a basis for growth and development and ultimately effective leadership. With these assumptions, the course has the following objectives to help students develop as a leader: (1) explore the nature of leadership theory, principles, and practice and apply them to improve thinking, problem solving, and decision making; (2) better understand what constitutes effective leadership and what does not; (3) appreciate why leaders are needed at all levels in organizations and how they effectively influence, regardless of their position in the organization; (4) create a plan for your personal leader development as an initial step in developing your own leader capability; (5) increase your confidence and your impact and influence as a leader in whatever you decide to pursue. These objectives are achieved through readings, cases, experiential activities, practice in developmental coaching, receiving feedback, and putting into practice a model for sustainable leader development and change.
Prerequisites: None
- Program: Graduate
- Division: Management
- Level: Graduate Elective (Grad)
- Course Number: MOB7570
- Number of Credits: 3
SEN1336 Plant Your Stake: Leadership for the 21st Century and Beyond
(Student Instructor: Ryan Wilson) We often measure the success of a business in terms of value to shareholders, but in this course, we'll look at business in terms of stakeholders. Who is a stakeholder, and what role do they play in the outcomes of business and government policy? How can leaders consider various communities of stakeholders in order to make conscious decisions? Students in "Plant Your Stake" will consider the human nature of business operations, including being exposed to the conversation around food systems, environmental impact, and human rights. An emphasis will be placed on systems thinking. Students will walk away with practical tools to use in their future experiences engaging in capitalism.
Wednesdays 6:30 - 9:00 pm
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Other
- Course Number: SEN1336
- Number of Credits: 0
MOB7512 Leading and Managing Project Teams
(Formerly MFE7510)
3 CreditsThis experiential learning course integrates class work as a project leader and hands-on management experience at the same time. As a project leader you will be in charge of a team of four to six undergraduate students working on a Management Consulting Field Experience (MCFE) project for an organization. MBA students will be responsible for managing the entire consulting experience, which will require them to use a variety of skill sets (e.g. project management, coaching, emotional intelligence, team building, performance management, planning) that will vary based on your team's needs and the deliverables required by the company. While you will not be an active team member performing the day-to-day tasks, your responsibility will be to manage the team towards final delivery of the project to the client. This course will provide valuable hands-on leadership experience that cannot be acquired in a classroom setting alone.
Prerequisites: Babson Consulting Experience (MBA 7800), OR ½ way through your MBA Program. Part time students who have not completed BCE and are ½ way through their program may be enrolled with permission from the Office of Experiential Learning. Please contact Elissa Kempisty (ekempisty2@babson.edu) or Arline MacCormack (amaccormack@babson.edu) with questions.
- Program: Graduate
- Division: Other
- Level: Graduate Elective (Grad)
- Course Number: MOB7512
- Number of Credits: 3
MOB7552 Leading Business Turnarounds
3 CreditsHow (and why) does one catch a falling knife? The Leading Business Turnarounds course will address the strategic, financial, operational and organizational issues confronting senior executives managing a turnaround situation. It is intended to: impart the practical knowledge needed to assess the business and financial severity of a turnaround candidate; develop an action plan to address the immediate crisis conditions facing the organization; define how to evaluate and build the necessary management team to implement the mid-term stabilization plan; define the exit strategy options (sale, bankruptcy, shutdown, or revitalization) to be pursued; and create a communication plan for the critical stakeholders affected by corporate distress. Turnaround leadership styles and actions will be investigated. Students will develop familiarity with the management and organizational assessment tools used in turnaround situations. They also will understand the financial and managerial actions necessary for developing and implementing sound turnaround strategies. Importantly, organizational implications of these plans will be probed and discussed, with focus given on how people are affected by management's actions. Finally, students will learn situational turnaround leadership techniques for use in different turnaround situations.
For more information: http://www.kaltura.com/tiny/ntrbiPrerequisites: FIN7200 or FIN7800 and MOB7202 or MOB7801
- Program: Graduate
- Division: Management
- Level: Graduate Elective (Grad)
- Course Number: MOB7552
- Number of Credits: 3
STR7552 Leading Business Turnarounds
(Formerly MOB7552)
3 Credits
**Students who took this as MOB7552 cannot register for this course.**
How (and why) does one catch a falling knife? The Leading Business Turnarounds course will address the strategic, financial, operational and organizational issues confronting senior executives managing a turnaround situation. It is intended to: impart the practical knowledge needed to assess the business and financial severity of a turnaround candidate; develop an action plan to address the immediate crisis conditions facing the organization; define how to evaluate and build the necessary management team to implement the mid-term stabilization plan; define the exit strategy options (sale, bankruptcy, shutdown, or revitalization) to be pursued; and create a communication plan for the critical stakeholders affected by corporate distress. Turnaround leadership styles and actions will be investigated. Students will develop familiarity with the management and organizational assessment tools used in turnaround situations. They also will understand the financial and managerial actions necessary for developing and implementing sound turnaround strategies. Importantly, organizational implications of these plans will be probed and discussed, with focus given on how people are affected by management's actions. Finally, students will learn situational turnaround leadership techniques for use in different turnaround situations.
For more information: http://www.kaltura.com/tiny/ntrbiPrerequisites: FIN7200 or FIN7800 and MOB7202 or MOB7801 or STR 7800
- Program: Graduate
- Division: Management
- Level: Graduate Elective (Grad)
- Course Number: STR7552
- Number of Credits: 3
MOB3514 Leading in a Connected World
(Formerly Managing the High-Performing Or ORGANIZATION)
4 General Credits
This course will help you learn how to manage collaboration and networks for organizational performance and personal success. It will focus on ways in which successful leaders think about, analyze, and develop collaboration networks that help drive strategic advantage, innovation, and well-being in organizations. The course will also equip you with a range of network tools and frameworks that not only can make you a more effective leader and team member but give you a competitive advantage in the job market.
In this course we will specifically address:
- STRATEGY: Deriving strategic advantage in a knowledge economy. The ability to innovate and leverage expertise has become central to wealth creation for organizations and entire economies. The first 25% of this course will focus on how leaders can best define and develop networks that drive both organizational and personal success. In addition, we will review practices and unique technologies that high performing organizations employ to better leverage and share employee experience and expertise.
- ORGANIZATION: Attaining critical efficiencies and innovation through networks. In order to develop innovative products and services, leaders need to develop innovative organizations through new and better ways of collaborating. The middle 50% of this course will teach a specific process leaders can use for systematically assessing, improving and supporting collaboration inside organizations (especially in informal networks).
- EXECUTION: Driving performance through team and individual level learning and execution. The bulk of work done in organizations occurs in teams or other collaborative relationships. The last 25% of this class will address unique ways to drive performance through teams by helping them more effectively work through networks. In addition, specific focus will be paid to key things YOU need to think about in managing your own career and networks as you enter the work force.
Prerequisites: FME
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Management
- Level: Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Management (UGrad)
- Course Number: MOB3514
- Number of Credits: 4
MOB9527 Leading in a Connected World
1.5 Intensive Elective CreditsMeeting Dates TBD
The collaborative intensity of work has snowballed over the past decade as companies have transitioned to flatter or matrix-based structures, layered on collaborative technologies, adopted agile methodologies, deployed increasingly complex products and services, and integrated operations across the globe. Collaborative time demands have risen more than 50% in this time frame with most people spending 85% or more time in a given week on email, in meetings, and on the phone. There are positive outcomes of this new way of working: Companies more seamlessly serve demanding clients, and individuals are able to craft jobs with meaning. But a significant (and unmanaged) consequence of this new landscape is the un-abating collaborative work load, which is hurting company performance and employee effectiveness and well-being.
In this new world of work, networks of collaboration have become central to both organizational effectiveness and personal success. Yet despite the centrality of networks to performance, most leaders do not manage this asset well and often have no transparency into the main thing people do all day long: collaborate with others. Leading in a Connected World addresses organizational, team and individual collaborative drivers of effectiveness in today's networked economy. The course is thoroughly evidence-based, drawing on more than two decades of research in over 300 organizations. At each step, it will focus not only on drivers of effectiveness but also on equipping you with analytic tools (e.g., Organizational Network Analysis) and best practice guides (e.g., Team Agility, Personal Effectiveness) that you can deploy immediately in your organization or as a differentiating skill in interviews.
Prerequisites: None
- Program: Graduate
- Division: Management
- Level: Graduate Elective (Grad)
- Course Number: MOB9527
- Number of Credits: 1.5
MBA9525 Leading Innovation at Gorillas, Chimps & Monkeys
(Formerly MOB9525)
1.5 Intensive Elective CreditsThere are only two ways to grow: M&A and Organic. Organic Growth is much much much more difficult than M&A. Growth is the only common thing that all types of firms -- start-ups, small, medium, large, family-businesses, non-profits -- have in common. However, how they go about achieving growth could be very very different. This course focuses on how innovation is a mechanism for growth in a variety of firms and situations.
If you are going to work for a Gorilla / Chimp (Large / Medium Business):
M&A, incremental innovation, risk management and bureaucracy building are all skills and capabilities that are in abundance inside large enterprises. However, organic growth, radical innovation, uncertainty navigation, and entrepreneurial leadership skills and capabilities are all scarcities within large enterprises. Hence, many medium- and large-sized enterprises are creating internal innovation leaders who are able to drive organic growth by building innovation sandboxes and creating and nurturing a culture of innovation.
If you are going to start or work at a Monkey (Startup / Small Business):
Large firms routinely don't want to cater to certain markets and certain customers. They are very picky in terms of what margins they want and will protect. So, large enterprises do not pursue many opportunities. These spurned opportunities are precisely the ones that start-ups and small businesses should go after. Having a clear understanding of how large firms make their decisions in terms of markets and margins will improve the opportunities for start-ups and small businesses. Also, start-ups and small firms are notoriously lacking in resources. Creativity and Innovation is the primary weapon of the entrepreneur to compete against the Gorillas & Chimps. This course will provide several strategies for start-ups and small businesses to compete against the larger enterprises.
If you are from / going-to-join a family business:
All family business leaders have to comprehend that Strategy, Innovation and Leadership cannot be discussed independently and in isolation. They are all highly intertwined. At the heart of this triangle sits an even more difficult concept called "Culture." Depending on the generational, technological and socio-economic changes that are underway in their countries / industries / businesses, family business leaders have to navigate VUCAH (volatility, uncertainty, complexity, ambiguity & hyperconnectedness) through a careful combination of multi-dexterous skills in terms of Strategy, Innovation, Leadership & Culture. This course will help you gain those multi-dexterous skills.
- Program: Graduate
- Division: Operations and Information Management
- Level: Graduate Elective (Grad)
- Course Number: MBA9525
- Number of Credits: 1.5
OIM4520 Leading Innovation: At Gorillas, Chimps and Monkeys
(Formerly Innovation Dynamics & Disruption)
2 Advanced Management Credits
IBM was the largest firm (a Gorilla) in the mainframe computer industry. However, a startup (a Monkey) called Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) came and displaced IBM in the next generation of products called mini-computers. Then, another Monkey called Apple created an entirely new personal computer industry. IBM, the Gorilla, was fast becoming obsolete. Yet, IBM avoided disruption by also entering the PC industry in 1981 and then dominating it. However, by the early 1990s, many more Monkeys and Gorillas - Compaq, Dell, HP, and others - entered the PC industry with lower prices and more profitable business models. In 1993, IBM posted the then-biggest loss in history of corporate America - $8 billion. The game between Gorillas, Chimps and Monkeys is never ending and the dynamics of competition and innovation between them changes the world that we live in. This course goes deep into: (1) How Monkeys can beat Gorillas. (2) How Gorillas will fight back. (3) How Chimps can succeed in the middle. (4) How entrepreneurial leaders navigate uncertainty and lead change. (5) How innovation can change the dynamics of competition.
Prerequisites: None
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Operations and Information Management
- Level: Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Management (UGrad)
- Course Number: OIM4520
- Number of Credits: 2
OIM7522 Leading Sustainable Innovation
3 Elective Credits
The era of corporations integrating sustainable practices is being surpassed by a new age of corporations actively transforming the market to make it more sustainable. Enterprise integration is geared toward present-day measures of success; market transformation will help companies create tomorrow's measures. This course prepares entrepreneurial leaders to create systemic transformation and apply practical decision-making with the purpose of socio-ecological and economic value. In this course you will learn different approaches including systems thinking to design, develop and implement sustainability-oriented innovations. After completing this course, you will be able to
(1) Critically examine the relationship between business practices and socio-ecological system,
(2) Understand and apply the concepts of sustainability thinking and practice (externalities, process thinking, and systems and design thinking) to design, develop and implement sustainability-oriented innovations with socio-ecological systemic impacts,
(3) Understand how to operationalize the four elements of sustainability thinking and practice (purpose and strategic intent, stakeholder involvement, metrics, design and implementation of innovations)
(4) Develop knowledge and skillset to take lead in formulating an effective sustainability strategy for the transformation of a conventional organization
- Program: Graduate
- Division: Operations and Information Management
- Level: Graduate Elective (Grad)
- Course Number: OIM7522
- Number of Credits: 0
EPS 1002: LEADING YOUR START UP
3 Credits course for Humanities and Entrepreneurship Certificate Students Only
Leading Your Startup builds on groundwork laid in Transformation Through Entrepreneurial Leadership, with units on business essentials; designing SMART goals, entrepreneurial leadership, customer discovery, competition, brand design, marketing, sales, data for decision making, finance, business models, and developing a business plan. This course concludes the four-course sequence in entrepreneurial leadership and prepares students to seize opportunities either when they return to their communities, post-incarceration, or if they remain incarcerated.
In this hands-on business course, student will gain critical experience by focusing on how they can create value by developing a SMART (Specific, Measurables, Actionable, Realistic, Time-based) business plan that addresses important customer needs. Working individually or in teams of two, students will learn how to view the customer engagement experience through the eyes of their target market to effectively build a sustainable brand. They will also evaluate the feasibility of their own and their peers' business ideas, work with Babson students to conduct primary market research, and develop a business model. The approach of this course is entrepreneurial in nature with the understanding that students will look at a variety of ways that they can seize the identified problem or opportunity identified.
The first half of the course focuses on learning how to actively listen to, define, and respond to evolving consumer needs. Next, they will use this knowledge in the second half of the class to develop a SMART business action plan that describes how they will engage customers and create traction using a variety of channels that align with identified customer behaviors, interests, and attitudes.
While students will not likely launch their business (profit or non-profit) during the class, it must be realistic and actionable. The business might reflect the idea that they identified during Transformation through Entrepreneurial Leadership or be an entirely new idea. In addition to developing the business model, they will identify key performance indicators, and define metrics and milestones related to their business' success. They will also develop a marketing campaign that will engage prospects and entice them to interact with the business/organization.
The course focuses on business and marketing frameworks, best practices and learning through class discussions, articles, customer primary research, and the course book. They will be challenged to apply the topics to their business and their peers' businesses. As students focus on a solution or business that inspires them, they will learn how to assess the feasibility of their idea, taking it from vision to reality. The course concludes with the students' final deliverable, a SMART Business Plan that includes:
- Business Model Canvas
- SMART Business Action Plan
- Marketing Campaign
- Startup Budget
- Customer Persona
The course is offered over 12 weeks with classes held in person approximately once a week for 3 hours. The course is experientially-based, providing students with feedback and an opportunity to build and reflect on their individual skills. Students will engage in interactive sessions with Babson faculty and be supported by Babson students; work on an individual (or in teams of 2) entrepreneurship projects; and discover how Babson's entrepreneurship methodology, Entrepreneurial Thought and Action (ET&A), applies to their individual entrepreneurial journey.
Prerequiste: Course is for Humanities and Entrepreneurship students only
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Entrepreneurship
- Course Number: EPS1002
- Number of Credits: 3
MSM6101 LEAP
MSEL Course
4.5 Credits
LEAP is a yearlong experiential course and serves as the foundation for the MSM program. The course is designed as an integrated learning experience that integrates design, entrepreneurship, and organizational behavior. The course is structured as a project-based course in which students will work in small, independent groups as they identify, design, develop, and prepare to launch a new opportunity. Students will develop a deep understanding of the intersection between design principles and fundamentals of entrepreneurship. Students also will learn how to work effectively in a group and organization, critical to the success of any new opportunity. Cocurricular resource sessions will provide students with essential awareness of legal issues that might impact the implementation of their projects.
- Program: Graduate
- Division: Other
- Course Number: MSM6101
- Number of Credits: 4.5
QTM2600 Linear Algebra
4 Advanced Liberal Arts Credits
Linear Algebra provides the mathematical background for modern applications in statistics and data science. In this course we study linear algebra beginning with the classic but still essential application of solving systems of linear equations. We use this as an entry to think of the properties of high dimensional spaces, and the relationships between those spaces. Students will learn how to compute with matrices and see their application to diverse areas such as cryptography, image recognition, page rank in computer searches and establishing fair ranking and voting systems.
Prerequisites: AQM2000
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Mathematics Analytics Science and Technology
- Level: Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: QTM2600
- Number of Credits: 4
LTA2050 LIT & VIS ART INTRM
4 Credits
Prerequisites: (FCI1000 or AHS1000) and (WRT1001or RHT1000)
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Arts and Humanities
- Level: Intermediate Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: LTA2050
- Number of Credits: 4
LVA2050 LIT & VIS ART INTRM
4 Credits
Prerequisites: (FCI1000 or AHS1000) and (WRT1001or RHT1000)
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Arts and Humanities
- Level: Intermediate Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: LVA2050
- Number of Credits: 4
LIT4620 Literature and Philosophy of Madness
4 Advanced Liberal Arts CreditsThis course engages the question of madness from a variety of angles. On the one hand, it considers the major theorists of insanity (Sigmund Freud, Michel Foucault, Gilles Deleuze); and on the other, it considers the equally crucial works of supposedly "insane" writers themselves (Antonin Artaud, Unica Zurn, Vaslav Nijinsky). In doing so, we will trouble the many definitions and assumptions surrounding the category of madness and its problematic history of oppression. Ultimately, through this remarkable exchange across literary-philosophical frontiers, we will explore an immense world of visions and symptoms, including those of mania, schizophrenia, delusion, paranoia, melancholia, and obsession.
Prerequisites: Any combination of 2 ILA (HSS, LTA, CSP, LVA, CVA)
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Arts and Humanities
- Level: Advanced Liberal Arts 4600 Requirement (UGrad),Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: LIT4620
- Number of Credits: 4
LVA2446 Joy, Beauty, Justice: Literature of the Black Atlantic
Intermediate Liberal Arts_The Black Atlantic_ is a term used to describe the deep cultural and artistic connections among people of African descent relocated by the slave trade throughout the Americas and Europe. While it often evokes the horrors of the Middle Passage, slavery, and ongoing racist legacies, literature produced by African peoples in Africa, Europe, and the Americas also constitutes an archive of strength, resistance, and even joy in the face of injustice and oppression. We will read literature from the Black Atlantic with this transformative potential in mind. Beginning with the slave narrative, the course will sample literary production from the three continents, noting shared formal and imaginative characteristics, and ending with the most vibrant work by contemporary literary artists of the African diaspora.
Prerequisites: (FCI1000 or AHS1000) and (WRT1000 or RHT1000)
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Arts and Humanities
- Level: Intermediate Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: LTA2446
- Number of Credits: 4
LTA2074 Literature of Witness
4 Intermediate Liberal Arts CreditsThe film Ararat, by Atom Egoyan, contains testimony from a woman who has witnessed a massacre of young brides. She asks, "Now that I have seen this event, how shall I dig out these eyes of mine?"
This woman occupies the most direct position-the eyewitness-in relation to an extreme event; however, the question of witnessing also extends to all of us who encounter images and stories of atrocities in our everyday lives. We will trace the concept of witnessing in philosophical, legal, and human rights contexts before turning to novels and other literature of witness by international writers such as Pat Barker, Nadine Gordimer, Gunter Grass, Primo Levi, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Rigoberta Menchu, Toni Morrison, and Virginia Woolf in order to investigate the following questions: What kinds of events generate or require witnesses, and how does witnessing differ from simply seeing? What effects does the event have upon the witness, and vice versa? What does it mean for literature to act as a kind of witness? How can literature ethically represent or "witness" extreme events? What responsibilities do we have to serve as witnesses to extreme global events, and what do we do with the energy created by our witnessing of such events?
Prerequisites: (FCI1000 or AHS1000) and (WRT1001or RHT1000)
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Arts and Humanities
- Level: Intermediate Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: LTA2074
- Number of Credits: 4
LTA2029 Literatures of Empire and Beyond
4 Intermediate Liberal Arts CreditsEmpires have been built and toppled all over the world since the beginning of recorded history, and literature has served both in the building and in the toppling. This course begins by examining 19th century imperialism with a focus on European colonization of territories in Africa and South Asia; moves through the nationalist movements that arguably brought political but not economic independence or prosperity to these places; and concludes by examining the shape of the global landscape today with its "remote control" empires that work through markets and information channels rather than territory and raw resources. We will explore these great geopolitical shifts by studying literature and film from European, African, and South Asian perspectives that can reveal the many perspectives on the impacts of cultural, political, and economic contact through imperialism.
Prerequisites: (FCI1000 or AHS1000) and (WRT1001or RHT1000)
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Arts and Humanities
- Level: Intermediate Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: LTA2029
- Number of Credits: 4
LTA2004 Love, Sex and the Family in Mid-Twentieth-Century American Literature
4 Intermediate Liberal Arts Credits_First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes baby in the baby carriage_. This childhood ditty seems to inculcate the _right_ order of things in the act of family-making in America. But lives played out in times of cultural transition aren't always as neat as nursery rhymes. Mid-twentieth-century America was characterized by changing gender roles and definitions, geographic and demographic shifts, war, and burgeoning technology, among other things. This course looks at fiction and drama to see how great American authors such as Tennessee Williams, Flannery O'Connor and Richard Yates portrayed and, perhaps, shaped the mid-century American understanding of love, sex, and family. We will supplement literary readings with relevant non-fiction from the time period. Students will propose, research, and develop a major essay about an author and/or a concept related to the course materials. Students will also formally present their ideas to the class.
Prerequisites: (FCI1000 or AHS1000) and (WRT1001or RHT1000)
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Arts and Humanities
- Level: Intermediate Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: LTA2004
- Number of Credits: 4
EPS7530 M & A for Entrepreneurs
3 CreditsThis course focuses on the strategies and processes entrepreneurs and business leaders employ in various types of middle market acquisitions and divestitures (leveraged buyouts, management buyouts, etc.). Its content is applicable for students pursuing either entrepreneurial opportunities or corporate positions where they may be called upon to acquire or divest a division or product line or company. Although this course is mainly at a strategic level, a basic knowledge of accounting and finance is required to understand valuation, income statements, cash flow and balance sheet issues. Students would benefit from taking Entrepreneurial Finance, Private Equity (or Investment Banking) before enrolling in this course. A good deal of the work required in this course will be done through student learning groups.
Prerequisites: Basic knowledge of accounting and finance will be helpful in understanding valuation, income statements and balance sheet issues
- Program: Graduate
- Division: Entrepreneurship
- Level: Graduate Elective (Grad)
- Course Number: EPS7530
- Number of Credits: 3
QTM6300 Machine Learning for Business
(Formerly Data Exploration and Analytics)
3 Blended CreditsThis course will examine the methods and challenges faced in turning data into insightful analytics in business. With data sizes significantly increasing in the last decade, extracting meaningful information to compete successfully is essential. You will accomplish this by learning techniques for data gathering, data analysis, and visualization as well as in discussion on companies currently trying to turn the information they gather into business opportunities. We will learn a variety of methods and software for finding patterns(such as regression, neural networks, association rules, CART, forecasting etc.), building models, and ultimately making decisions using large data sets. Guest speakers who are executives and consultants in the field of analytics and visualization will discuss how they address these challenges in their companies. This is a hands-on course with in-class exercises and group projects to help students learn and apply data analysis techniques preparing them for the practical challenges analysts face in the real world. We will address questions such as:
- How does Amazon recommend products based on your past purchases?
- How to forecast energy consumption based on historical weather and consumption data?
- How do credit-card companies detect fraud?
- What challenges does Big Data pose to companies and how to handle these challenges?
- Program: Graduate
- Division: Mathematics Analytics Science and Technology
- Level: MSBA Core (Grad)
- Course Number: QTM6300
- Number of Credits: 3
QTM7571 Introduction to Machine Learning Methods for Business
(Formerly Business Intelligence, Analytics & Visualization)
3 Credits
This course introduces machine learning methods for business intelligence. Given the ease of data collection and storage, extracting meaningful information from data has become an essential trait for competitiveness, for companies large and small. In this course, you will learn a variety of supervised and unsupervised machine learning methods that companies use to turn data into insights, such as linear regression, k-nearest neighbors, logistic regression, classification and regression trees, etc. You will get hands-on experience in data pre-processing, generating business predictions, and model performance evaluation. Your learnings will be in practical contexts with in-class exercises and projects.
The various methods covered in this course will be implemented using a programming language. No prior knowledge in programming is required.
Prerequisites: QTM 7200 OR QTM7800
- Program: Graduate
- Division: Mathematics Analytics Science and Technology
- Level: MSF Elective (Grad),Graduate Elective (Grad)
- Course Number: QTM7571
- Number of Credits: 3
LTA2078 Mad, Bad, and Dangerous to Know: Rebels and Anti-Heroes
Intermediate Liberal ArtsWhen Lady Caroline Lamb described her former lover, the poet Lord Byron, as _mad, bad, and dangerous to know, she vividly captured a widespread fascination with figures who reject society's norms. Simultaneously alluring and threatening, rebels and anti-heroes unsettle the outer limit of acceptable behavior through their transgressions. This course will examine how rebels and anti-heroes shape a society's identity while living at - or beyond - its margins. We will also pay particular attention to questions of gender when considering these figures' own identities. We will read novels, plays, poetry, and cultural critique in order to trace the development of rebels and anti-heroes in western literature, as well as to understand them in their specific cultural and historical contexts.
This course is typically offered in the following semesters: Spring
Prerequisites: RHT and AHS
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Arts and Humanities
- Level: Intermediate Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: LTA2078
- Number of Credits: 4
EPS3524 Made in Japan: Culture & Opportunities
4 Elective Abroad Credits
This course is built on two major themes:
1. Cultural excursion
Provide students to have an in-Âdepth look and a chance to experience Japan's culture, in other words, its institutional environment (i.e., formal and informal rules of the game)
-Â Students will have opportunities to examine this through various dimensions that constitute the diversity and complexity of the country's cultural/institutional environment today:
o Metropolitan vs. suburban
o Modern-Âcontemporary vs. old-Âfashioned
o Young-Âemerging vs. mature-Âestablished
o High vs. low tech, etc.
2. Entrepreneurial opportunities
Encourage students to practice Entrepreneurial Thought and Action (ET&A) within the cultural/institutional environment in Japan.
-Â Students will work in teams to conduct observations, identify problems and opportunities, design an entrepreneurial initiative, and assess its impact (including stakeholder analysis) and feasibility - in various contexts/perspectives:
o Location-Âbased
o Industry-Âbased
o Interest/theme-Âbased, etc.
The entire course is designed on the concept of interactive learning through site visits, mini projects, and individual/group research.
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Entrepreneurship
- Level: Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Management (UGrad)
- Course Number: EPS3524
- Number of Credits: 4
EXP7501 Make Your Internship Matter
(Online)
As freshly hired graduate interns, you have an opportunity to test your chosen field of work and apply what you've learned from the first year of your Babson program. In this wholly on-line, asynchronous course, you will go through modules themed around critical career topics like networking, negotiating, and personal branding, while reflecting on your real-time internship experience. By the end of the semester, you will be equipped with strategies that empower you take ownership of your career development for a lifetime.
International students using their CPT to work in the US are required to take this course.
- Program: Graduate
- Division: Other
- Level: Graduate Elective (Grad)
- Course Number: EXP7501
- Number of Credits: 0
EXP7502 Make Your Internship Matter II
(Online)
In this second iteration of "Beyond the Classroom," you will be given a space to conduct comparisons between your two consecutive internships. By now you have acquired the foundational skills for self-managed career development, a lifelong skill. During your second internship you will be asked to intentionally apply this framework in order to navigate the final year (or semester) and beyond.
International students using their CPT to work in the US are required to take this course.
- Program: Graduate
- Division: Other
- Level: Graduate Elective (Grad)
- Course Number: EXP7502
- Number of Credits: 0
EXP7503 Make Your Internship Matter III
(Online)
In this third iteration of "Beyond the Classroom," you will continue to reflect on your internship experience with a focus on successes, challenges, and opportunities on the job. By now you have acquired the foundational skills for self-managed career development, a lifelong skill. During your third internship you will be asked to intentionally apply this framework in order to navigate the final year (or semester) and beyond.
International students using their CPT to work in the US are required to take this course.
- Program: Graduate
- Division: Other
- Level: Graduate Elective (Grad)
- Course Number: EXP7503
- Number of Credits: 0
STR4572 Management Consulting
(Formerly MOB4572)
4 Advanced Management CreditsElite armies of management consultants are at work advising companies ranging from the Fortune 500 to mid-sized Private Equity portfolio companies across all industries (and government) addressing such topics as market attractiveness, mergers & acquisitions, business strategy, operating and cost efficiencies, information/data management, human performance, and development/coaching of leadership. The over 700,000 firms (globally) that comprise this $250 Billion industry, employing the best students from leading business schools, use proprietary methodologies and tools to deliver real shareholder value to their clients. The objective of this course is to introduce to those students who seek to compete and prosper by addressing exigent business issues-that cannot be solved by leading firms without assistance from credentialed consultants-the skills necessary to be successful in the management consulting industry. This will be accomplished by reviewing the content and process frameworks and methodologies used by leading consulting firms, inculcating the perspective of the client when addressing challenging business issues, and helping students consider some of the career and lifestyle issues inherent in a consulting career. Topics will be introduced in facilitated discussions, in-class exercises, cases, and some selected pre-readings. In addition, there will be a group project-using client materials from a real company with which I was involved prior to coming to Babson-that will replicate a "typical" consulting project.
For more information: http://www.kaltura.com/tiny/tjdwy
Prerequisites: STR 3000
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Management
- Level: Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Management (UGrad)
- Course Number: STR4572
- Number of Credits: 4
STR7513 Management Consulting
3 CreditsElite armies of management consultants are at work advising companies ranging from the Fortune 500 to mid-sized Private Equity portfolio companies across all industries (and government) addressing such topics as market attractiveness, mergers & acquisitions, business strategy, operating and cost efficiencies, information/data management, human performance, and development/coaching of leadership. The over 700,000 firms (globally) that comprise this $250 Billion industry, employing the best students from leading business schools, use proprietary methodologies and tools to deliver real shareholder value to their clients. The objective of this course is to introduce to those students who seek to compete and prosper by addressing exigent business issues-that cannot be solved by leading firms without assistance from credentialed consultants-the skills necessary to be successful in the management consulting industry. This will be accomplished by reviewing the content and process frameworks and methodologies used by leading consulting firms, inculcating the perspective of the client when addressing challenging business issues, and helping students consider some of the career and lifestyle issues inherent in a consulting career. Topics will be introduced in facilitated discussions, in-class exercises, cases, and some selected pre-readings. In addition, there will be a group project-using client materials from a real company with which I was involved prior to coming to Babson-that will replicate a "typical" consulting project.
For more information click this link: www.kaltura.com/tiny/tjdwy
Co-requisites: MOB7202 or MOB7801
- Program: Graduate
- Division: Management
- Level: Graduate Elective (Grad)
- Course Number: STR7513
- Number of Credits: 3
The sophomore management experience MAC and TOM module (SME) integrates two subject streams: Technology and Operations Management (3 credits) and Managerial Accounting (3 credits). This module focuses on the internal organization and processes required for entrepreneurial leaders and managers to successfully test and execute business strategies. To be effective, entrepreneurs and managers must design operations, model the expected performance of operational designs, make decisions that strategically manage costs, and take actions that achieve desired results in an ethical manner. The two streams in this module will help build the skills you need to become ethical entrepreneurial leaders and managers. You will experience how the design of operations impacts measured performance, and how modeling expected results before action is taken leads to improved operational decisions. SME will also provide learning experiences that demonstrate the interconnections between the streams.
SME2001 Managerial Accounting
3 Intermediate Management CreditsThe Managerial Accounting stream in SME builds on knowledge acquired in Financial Accounting but shifts the focus to providing entrepreneurs and managers with relevant information that supports decision making and performance measurement. The stream introduces the language of managerial accounting and teaches students to perform basic management accounting analyses (e.g., costing of cost objects, cost behavior, differential analysis, and performance measurement). The stream requires students to use the results of their analysis to evaluate the design of operations, to make strategic decisions, and to propose action. Issues covered include selecting a profitable mix of products and services, analyzing profits and costs during product development, budgeting for operations, analyzing whether to outsource or insource activities, and managing performance through measurement systems. Throughout the semester we will explore interconnections between management accounting analyses and operational actions.
Prerequisites: FME1001 and ACC1000
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Accounting and Law
- Level: Intermediate Management (UGrad)
- Course Number: SME2001
- Number of Credits: 3
ACC2002 Managerial Accounting
4 Credits
Managerial Accounting builds on knowledge acquired in Financial Accounting. The objective of the course is to help students develop the skillset needed to identify, measure and analyze relevant information for making strategically appropriate decisions in the pursuit of superior financial performance. This skillset is critical for all entrepreneurs and business managers.
The course explores how costs are measured and viewed, how costs relate to revenues, and how both costs and revenues will react to proposed business actions. The course covers of a variety of topics related to the measurement of operational results, including how measurement can motivate appropriate business behavior. It challenges students to use their newly acquired skills to evaluate the design and measurement of business operations, to select beneficial tactical actions, and to make strategic business decisions.
Prerequisites: ACC1000
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Accounting and Law
- Level: Intermediate Management (UGrad)
- Course Number: ACC2002
- Number of Credits: 4
ECN3655 Managerial Economics
4 Advanced Liberal Arts Elective CreditsSuccessful business decision-making requires the systematic analysis of a firm's internal factors and external market forces. Managerial Economics uses applied microeconomics to prepare students to perform these quantitative analyses, both internally, looking at cost structure and scale, for example, and externally, to understand consumer preferences and demand, price sensitivity, the nature of competition, and the regulatory environment. Students will leave this course able to evaluate firms' pricing, product attributes, production and output decisions, in the context of the competitive environment and constraints on the firm. Students will also hone quantitative skills that help them face challenges arising in dynamic markets where data can help entrepreneurs and managers mitigate risks and capitalize on opportunities.
Prerequisites: SME2031 or ECN2002
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Economics
- Level: Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: ECN3655
- Number of Credits: 4
ECN7200 Managerial Economics
2 CreditsManagerial Economics (MICRO) - This course provides a framework for systematic analysis of consumer and firm's choices in light of global market dynamics to create and capture value given the firm's and industry's market structure. This framework is used to explain firm adjustment to changes in market conditions, as well as to changes in government policies and laws. While the course focuses on understanding how the value of the firm can be increased, it also addresses broader questions of efficiency, equity and sustainability.
- Program: Graduate
- Division: Economics
- Course Number: ECN7200
- Number of Credits: 2
EPS3520 Managing Growing Businesses
4 General CreditsThis course covers the growth phase of an entrepreneurial business, focusing on the nature and challenges of entrepreneurial businesses as they move beyond startup. The primary task for entrepreneurial firms in their growth phase is to build an organization capable of managing this growth, and then ensure the organization can sustain growth as the market and competitive environment changes. The entrepreneur needs to create a professional organization both responsive to external change and entrepreneurial enough to continually create new businesses through innovative thinking.
Issues of particular importance to rapidly growing companies include: getting the right people and systems in place, managing with limited resources, cash flow planning, leadership and delegation, professional zing the business, turning around a troubled business, establishing and communicating culture, and creating a vision to drive the organization toward the future.
Prerequisites: SME and EPS350%
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Entrepreneurship
- Level: Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Management (UGrad)
- Course Number: EPS3520
- Number of Credits: 4
EPS7520 Managing Growing Businesses
3 CreditsThis case-based course is designed to provide insight into the challenges and opportunities accompanying growing an entrepreneurial company. The course provides the concepts and framework necessary to enable entrepreneurial management in organizations of all sizes and types. It is intended for individuals interested in managing growth in their own companies as well as those growing an existing company by creating value through innovation and opportunity capture. The course focuses on the decisions entrepreneurs must make to recognize and capture opportunities, obtain and allocate resources, challenge and direct personnel, and adapt personal goals and corporate strategies to a changing business environment. In this process, the course examines management challenges commonly encountered at different stages in the life-cycle of an entrepreneurial business, including start-up, growth, change of direction, and harvest.
- Program: Graduate
- Division: Entrepreneurship
- Level: Graduate Elective (Grad)
- Course Number: EPS7520
- Number of Credits: 3
SME2012 Managing Information Technology and Systems
3 Intermediate Management CreditsDescription: Managing Information Technology and Systems (MITS), part of the second year management curriculum, is designed to introduce students to the foundational concepts in Information Technology and Systems (ITS) and their application in managing innovation, ITS infrastructure, and organizational partners (suppliers/customers) in the context of a medium/large business. The course will integrate primarily with Marketing and Operations using common/linked cases and joint exercises. The pre-requisites for the course is FME (Foundation of Management and Entrepreneurship).
Prerequisites: FME1000
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Operations and Information Management
- Level: Intermediate Management (UGrad)
- Course Number: SME2012
- Number of Credits: 3
MOB7800 Managing People & Organizations
2 Credits (Core MBA)If you have taken and passed MOB7200, you cannot register for MOB7800, as these two courses are equivalent
Through the People & Organizations course you will gain a better understanding of your leadership and career capacity with a particular emphasis on developing your ability to think and act as an entrepreneurial leader. You will have multiple chances to reflect on who you are, how you work with others as you pursue an opportunity, and how this relates to you as a growing leader. This self-awareness forms the basis for your leadership development as we explore issues such as enlisting and motivating a diverse team, influencing and negotiating, cultivating a developmental network, and how to grow and align an organization to support new and innovative opportunities. You will have a variety of ways to practice and gain feedback on these skills.
- Program: Graduate
- Division: Management
- Course Number: MOB7800
- Number of Credits: 2
FIN7518 Managing Portfolios
3 Elective CreditsManaging Portfolios is designed for students interested in investment management, portfolio
management, and/or risk management. The course will augment and extend students' basic finance skills, tools and concepts learned in core finance courses and in other courses in the Investments concentration curriculum. In the context of a variety of individual and institutional investor types, from high net worth individuals to endowments, students will explore the simultaneous management of positions in multiple securities using heuristic, statistical and other mathematical tools. Topics covered include client assessment, investment objective setting, investment strategy formulation, security selection, allocation of risky assets, optimal portfolio selection, and the use of derivatives to meet investment objectives. Through projects and readings, students will explore these topics in portfolio theory and practice. Tools and theories used widely by portfolio management professionals are fundamental to this course. In addition to the traditional course work, the students will study and prepare investment proposals, periodic client communications and conduct portfolio performance evaluations.
Prerequisites: FIN7200 or FIN7800
- Program: Graduate
- Division: Finance
- Level: MSF Core (Grad),MSBA Elective (Grad),Graduate Elective (Grad)
- Course Number: FIN7518
- Number of Credits: 3
SCN 7500: Using the Science of System Thinking to Identify Market Driven Sustainability Solutions
3 Credits
The sustainability problems facing our society are extreme and wide-reaching - however, the pervasive nature of these problems result in amble business opportunities for the open-minded, knowledgeable, and creative leader. Sustainability-related issues are no longer an altruistic "tack on" to business strategy and development - but rather an integral component of current economic and business success.
This course will tackle the biggest sustainability challenges facing our global society through use of system thinking framework. Systems thinking provides a holistic way of examining the interconnected aspects of an issue, allowing the skills learned in this course to be highly transferable to a host of other challenges beyond sustainability related issues.
The course cover fundamentals of system thinking and then apply those tools to various sustainability problems. Much of the content will apply to climate change because this crisis is leading directly to new business opportunities, such as alternative energy markets, mineral supply shortages and the development of a battery recycling industry, altered global shipping routes due to opening of Arctic sea ice, burgeoning carbon credit markets to offset emissions, shifting consumer preferences, etc. Also, the far-reaching nature of climate change allows us to also touch on other related sustainability topics as they relate to business and the economy, such as water resource conservation and the circular economy, regenerative agriculture, global inequality, and the role of global geopolitics in solving sustainability problems.
Our focus will be solutions oriented. To do this we will learn to use a to draw causal loop diagrams, identify leverage points, and visualize the role of feedback loops and various policy initiatives in solving sustainability problems. Guest speakers from the private sector will provide additional context for application of these tools in the workplace. Supplemental readings will highlight how to translate knowledge into effective leadership in the workplace. We will practice making fact-based arguments through in-class debates about controversial topics related to sustainability solutions (e.g., carbon tax, plastic bans, which countries are responsible for paying for climate damages). Team learning is an essential component of the course; multiple group projects will enable students to work together to apply the tools taught in this course to identify climate solutions.
Prerequisites: None
- Program: Graduate
- Division: Mathematics Analytics Science and Technology
- Level: Graduate Elective (Grad)
- Course Number: SCN7500
- Number of Credits: 3
MKT7800 Marketing
2 Credits (Core MBA)If you have taken and passed MKT7200, you cannot register for MKT7800, as these two courses are equivalent
With ET&A as its underpinning, the course is divided into three general parts. We begin the course with a big picture view of marketing in the 21st century. The middle part of the course will focus on what we marketers call the 4 Ps - product, place, price, and promotion. The course wraps up by understanding the need to constantly assess marketing's performance.
- Program: Graduate
- Division: Marketing
- Course Number: MKT7800
- Number of Credits: 2
MKT7200 Marketing
2 CreditsThis course provides frameworks and analytical techniques that the enterprise should use to develop a discerning sense of the market and to engage the market in a way that distinctive value is created for and delivered to the customers.
- Program: Graduate
- Division: Marketing
- Course Number: MKT7200
- Number of Credits: 2
MKT4506 Marketing Analytics
4 Advanced Management CreditsToday's marketers have access to more data and technology than ever before. To fully realize the benefit of these resources, marketers need to develop data analysis and analytical skills to convert raw data into insights and insights into more informed marketing decision-making. The objective of this course is to introduce the benefits of using a systematic and analytical approach to marketing decision-making. This course integrates marketing concepts with practice, and emphasizes _learning by doing._ Students will learn different ways to explore the relationships and patterns in customer and marketing data. Advanced analytical software will be used to perform many of the most commonly used descriptive and predictive analysis techniques that are applied in the marketing field.
The course builds on the marketing core course(s) through the direct application of marketing concepts such as segmentation, targeting and brand positioning. The course emphasizes the application of marketing analytics to a diverse set of business problems. This includes the use of marketing analytics to identify opportunities to cost-effectively acquire new customers, increase the value and loyalty of existing customers, and to improve the overall experience the customer has with a brand. It also includes the use of analytics to set up marketing experiments, assess the value of different product strategies and measure the ROI of marketing campaigns.
Prerequisites: SME2011 or MKT2000
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Marketing
- Level: Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Management (UGrad)
- Course Number: MKT4506
- Number of Credits: 4
MKT7506 Marketing Analytics
3 Elective CreditsThe objective of this course is to demonstrate the benefits of using a systematic and analytical approach to marketing decision-making, and to help develop your skills and confidence in doing such analyses. Analytical approaches enable (a) the identification of alternative marketing options and actions, (b) the calibration of opportunity costs associated with each option, and (c) the choice of one or more options with the greatest likelihood of achieving the business goals. By completing this course, students will be better able to make the case for marketing expenditures (based on ROI) that companies are increasingly asking of their executives. This course integrates marketing concepts with practice, emphasizes _learning by doing, and provides students software tools to help them apply marketing concepts to real decision situations.
Prerequisites: MKT7200 OR MKT7800
- Program: Graduate
- Division: Marketing
- Level: Graduate Elective (Grad)
- Course Number: MKT7506
- Number of Credits: 3
MKT6300 Marketing Analytics
3 CreditsThe objective of this course is to demonstrate the benefits of using a systematic and analytical approach to marketing decision-making, and to help develop your skills and confidence in doing such analyses. Analytical approaches enable (a) the identification of alternative marketing options and actions, (b) the calibration of opportunity costs associated with each option, and (c) the choice of one or more options with the greatest likelihood of achieving the business goals. By completing this course, students will be better able to make the case for marketing expenditures (based on ROI) that companies are increasingly asking of their executives. This course integrates marketing concepts with practice, emphasizes _learning by doing_, and provides students software tools to help them apply marketing concepts to real decision situations.
- Program: Graduate
- Division: Marketing
- Level: MSBA Core (Grad)
- Course Number: MKT6300
- Number of Credits: 3
MKT3580 Marketing for Entrepreneurs
4 Advanced Management Credits This course provides an in-depth study of entrepreneurial marketing strategies for the 21st century. It examines how start-up and small/medium-size companies reach the marketplace and sustain their businesses, within highly-competitive industries.
Recognition is given to the need of management to operate flexibly, make maximum effective use of scarce resources in terms of people, equipment and funds, and the opportunities that exist within new and established market niches.
Classes focus on a combination of brief lectures, extensive case study analyses and a term-long group assignment involving student-generated entrepreneurial product or service offerings.
Prerequisites: SME
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Marketing
- Level: Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Management (UGrad)
- Course Number: MKT3580
- Number of Credits: 4
MKT7555 Marketing High-Tech ProductsBuilding on the students' knowledge of the marketing fundamentals, the course focuses on the special challenges of marketing high-technology products in dynamic, uncertain, and hyperconnected markets and ecosystem contexts. The course is structured around three modules: bringing new high-technology products to market, managing product maturity, and transitioning from one product generation to the next. While the focus of the course is "high technology" in the general sense, the reading materials - cases, notes, and articles - are drawn from the computer hardware and software, consumer electronics, telecommunications, and life-sciences industries.
Prerequisites: MKT7200 or MKT7800
- Program: Graduate
- Division: Marketing
- Level: MSBA Elective (Grad),Graduate Elective (Grad)
- Course Number: MKT7555
- Number of Credits: 3
MKT6110 Marketing Management
MSEL Course
1.5 CreditsA competitive advantage in today's world requires a unique blending of internal capabilities and external partners so as to achieve a profitable customer orientation. This course will enable students to understand and utilize resources to craft a value proposition that will entice and satisfy the many demands of the marketplace. An understanding of both upstream and downstream activities will offer students an inside look at the nature of successful innovation that leads to marketplace success.
- Program: Graduate
- Division: Marketing
- Course Number: MKT6110
- Number of Credits: 1.5
ACC7201 Measuring & Managing Strategic Performance
2 Credits
Measuring & Managing Strategic Performance (MMSP) - This course is focused on the connection between strategy execution and profitability. Students develop skills in quantitatively-grounded logical analysis in order to be able to:
o Judge the financial feasibility of plans for launching new businesses or for redesigning existing ones.
o Grow profitable and sustainable ventures.
o Create business models that make money.
- Program: Graduate
- Division: Accounting and Law
- Course Number: ACC7201
- Number of Credits: 2
CSP2020 Media Studies
(Formerly CVA2020)
4 Intermediate Liberal Arts Credits
If you took and passed CVA2020, you cannot take CSP2020, as these two courses are equivalent
This course explores the structure and functions of the mass media in contemporary society, looking at social, cultural, economic and political issues relevant to television, film, radio, recorded music, books, newspapers, magazines, internet and new communication technologies. Exploration of relationships between media and individual, media structure, media policy, law and ethics, and globalization of communications media is emphasized.
This course is typically offered in the following semesters: Spring or Fall
Prerequisites: (FCI1000 or AHS1000) and (WRT1001or RHT1000)
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: History and Society
- Level: Intermediate Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: CSP2020
- Number of Credits: 4
MDS4620 Mediating the Wild
4 Advanced Liberal Arts CreditsWilderness is disappearing faster than ever due to humans' radical transformation of the earth. Yet, consumer cultures have developed an ever so strong desire for the wild. In the industries that sell "Wildness", media have played a large role in telling it, showing it, measuring it, and manufacturing it. This course focuses on the ideologies, discourses, and technologies that mediate between contemporary consumers and the disappearing Wildness. We will explore a variety of cultural phenomena including the usage of smart phones, selfie sticks, and Go Pros in ecotourism, backpacking cultures, and outdoor adventure sports industries, the appropriation of drones and GPS-tracking devices by environmentalists, wildlife poachers, and virtual/augmented reality game designers, the trending of the "wild food" diet and the NGO campaigns protesting it, as well as the adoption of sound recordings of wild landscapes as new age music therapies. This course incorporates a multicultural and "multinatural" view to look at technology's role in representing, mediating, and recreating nature. We also address difficult ethical questions such as: How to maintain a proper distance with the Wild? Should we tame it, save it and thereby annihilating it? Or should we leave it on its own terms, and thereby letting it live or die?
Prerequisites: Any combination of 2 ILA (HSS, LTA, CSP, LVA, CVA)
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: History and Society
- Level: Advanced Liberal Arts 4600 Requirement (UGrad),Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: MDS4620
- Number of Credits: 4
SEN1335 Memes, Virality, and Popular Culture
(Student Instructor: Kaitlyn Sleyster) Students in this course will explore the internet and its relationship to contemporary pop culture, emphasizing the role of humor. How has the internet influenced our understanding of what is "funny?" What makes something "go viral"? In what ways does the internet replace in-person connection? To answer these and related questions, students will analyze memes, TikToks, Netflix originals, and more. As a conclusion to "Memes, Virality, and Popular Culture," students will reflect on the internet's impact on their own lives in a creative format.
Wednesdays 6:30-9:00pm
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Other
- Course Number: SEN1335
- Number of Credits: 0
MOB7507 Mentoring for the Entrepreneurial Leader: Catalyzing Your Network for Career Advancement
1.5 Elective CreditsMentoring relationships are critical for career development and success in the 21st century. This course combines theory and practice to raise students' awareness of the value of developmental relationships for career advancement while providing experiential learning opportunities for building a developmental network of coaches, sponsors, and mentors --all of which are essential for career growth in today's complex work environment. Students will apply course concepts through a series of relationship building activities, peer circle and group discussions, peer feedback, and structured reflection exercises.
During this course, students pair with mentors through the Center for Women's Entrepreneurial Leadership, based on compatibility and their career interests. Students will apply concepts learned in class to manage their mentoring experience and build their developmental relationships. CWEL Mentors are alumnae and friends of the Babson community that are senior leaders or have 15+ years of professional experience, who are committed to making a difference in the lives of the next generation of leaders. They come from a variety of backgrounds and industries and have their own unique combination of expertise and networks to share.
NOTE: Students of all genders are welcome to enroll in this course
Prerequisites: None
- Program: Graduate
- Division: Management
- Level: Graduate Elective (Grad)
- Course Number: MOB7507
- Number of Credits: 1.5
MOB3534 Management Consulting Field Experience
4 General Credits
The Management Consulting Field Experience (MCFE) course provides an excellent opportunity for students to apply principles that they learn in the classroom to real-world consulting projects. The students gain practical experience by solving actual business situations. Students also develop key skills in negotiation, group dynamics, organization, and planning. Previous projects include financial advisory, corporate finance, investment management, marketing, data analytics, and business strategy. Teams of four to six undergraduate students work as a consulting group for a sponsor company. The students meet with representatives of the company, analyze the problem, and explore possible solutions. The project concludes with a formal report and a presentation to the sponsor company comprising the group's recommendations. This course meets twice per week. During the fall semester class will meet Monday's and Wednesday's from 11:30-1:00 PM, in the spring semester meetings will be scheduled by team and MBA Project Leader at mutually convenient times. For more information: http://www.kaltura.com/tiny/jrbdx
Prerequisites: Minimum GPA of 2.7, 2nd semester Sophomore, Junior or Senior status by the beginning of the project, and Permission of Experiential Learning Programs Associate Director
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Management
- Level: Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Management (UGrad)
- Course Number: MOB3534
- Number of Credits: 4
MFE7500 Management Consulting Field Experience (MCFE)
3 Credits**THIS COURSE REQUIRES ACCEPTANCE INTO THE MCFE PROGRAM. Registration is Manual for students who have been accepted into the program**The MCFE Program is designed to link the business and investment community with Babson College students through a consulting team project. Graduate Students work in teams of three to five people, supported by a faculty advisor with the objective of examining an actual business or investment situation. The assignments take place in a variety of business environments which have included Fortune 500 companies, growth companies, venture capital firms, hedge funds and large and small investment companies. The team projects cover approximately 14 weeks during the fall or spring semester, with students earning three credits. At the conclusion of the project, the MCFE team's findings and recommendations are presented to the sponsoring company in a detailed, written report and oral presentation.
The program provides students with an opportunity to apply their classroom-based learning to real-world business issues and investment situations where they and their partnering companies gain value as well as exposure to new opportunities, innovative solutions and resources. It also provides a unique perspective for anyone interested in either the investment (investment banking, traditional asset management or hedge fund, venture capital/private equity and private wealth management), corporate finance or consulting area.
Prerequisites: Permission from the Graduate Office of Experiential Learning
- Program: Graduate
- Division: Other
- Level: MSF Elective (Grad),Graduate Elective (Grad)
- Course Number: MFE7500
- Number of Credits: 3
LTA2073 Middle Eastern Literature
4 Intermediate Liberal Arts CreditsThis course explores the most provocative literary movements of the contemporary Middle East, including authors from the Iranian, Arab, Turkish, Armenian, and North African areas of the region. From the experimental novels of Naguib Mahfouz and Orhan Pamuk to the prison poetry of Ahmad Shamlu, from such legendary voices of exile as Adonis and Mahmoud Darwish to the dark sensual narratives of Joyce Mansour and Forugh Farrokhzad, we will cover a range of creative experiments with romanticism, mysticism, surrealism, existentialism, and post-modernism. As such, this will also allow us to unravel the many intricate concepts (those of desire, violence, time, space, power, revolution, and catastrophe) that form the Middle Eastern cultural imagination.
Prerequisites: (FCI1000 or AHS1000) and (WRT1001or RHT1000)
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Arts and Humanities
- Level: Intermediate Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: LTA2073
- Number of Credits: 4
ART1171 Mixed Media Drawing
4 General Credits
This is an introductory course designed to engage observational and experimental approaches to drawing. Employing a broad range of materials, from charcoal and pastels to ink and found materials, students will study and synthesize fundamentals such as perspective, mark making, line quality, value, and figure-ground relationships. Guided observational exercises will aid in deconstructing objects and translating spatial relationships. In addition to these techniques, the course will engage found imagery and printmaking strategies to explore drawing's vast possibilities as a methodology, a record, and a problem-solving tool. Critiques will provide an opportunity to collectively assess, interpret, and reflect upon students' work. A selection of artists' writings, interviews, and videos will complement the drawing prompts, investigating drawing as an evolving, contemporary practice.
Prerequisites: None
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Arts and Humanities
- Level: Free Elective (UGrad)
- Course Number: ART1171
- Number of Credits: 4
SEN1303 Marketing Beauty and Fashion from an Ethical Standpoint(Senior Instructor: Brittany Lo) The course will focus on identifying marketing differentiation strategies in the luxury sector of the beauty and fashion industry. Questions we will consider are: Why are luxury brands' marketing strategies the strongest? Why are people willing to pay such high prices for these brands? How do ethical business practices determine a brand's success? The course will use the "Paradoxes of Luxury" framework to analyze real world cases, such as L'Oreal, Hermès, and Louis Vuitton.
Course Schedule: Fridays: January 31, February 7, February 14, February 21, February 28 and March 7 (Showcase of all Senior-Led Seminars)
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Other
- Course Number: SEN1303
- Number of Credits: 0
OIM2645 Modeling with Excel
2 Advanced Liberal Arts Credits
Today's employment market requires students to have good Excel modeling skills. Potential employees want newly minted graduates to hit the ground running, and this means knowing how to skillfully operate with Spreadsheets. This class will teach intermediate Excel skills using real case studies and hands-on exercises. In particular, you will learn how to use Excel to manage large data sets by using functions like Pivot tables, Vlookup and others.
Prerequisites: None
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Operations and Information Management
- Level: Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: OIM2645
- Number of Credits: 2
LIT4600 Modern Drama
4 Advanced Liberal Arts CreditsThis is a survey of Western drama from the late nineteenth century to the present day. We'll study representative works of major dramatists of this period such as Ibsen, Strindberg, Chekhov, Shaw, Brecht, O'Neill, Pirandello, Beckett, O'Casey, Soyinka, Churchill, Wilson, Stoppard, Mamet, Kushner, and Parks. You'll research and report on theatre movements such as symbolism, expressionism, realism, naturalism, epic theatre, and theatre of the absurd. We'll consider the play as both text and performance, making use of theatre reviews, director's notes, interviews, photographs, videos, and, when possible, live performances. Grades will be determined by two papers, a midterm and a final exam, a group performance project, and a thoroughly researched oral presentation.
Prerequisites: Any combination of 2 ILA (HSS, LTA, CSP, LVA, CVA)
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Arts and Humanities
- Level: Advanced Liberal Arts 4600 Requirement (UGrad),Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: LIT4600
- Number of Credits: 4
ECN6310 Modern Econometrics for Business
3 Credits
Using an experiential learning approach, this course equips you with a wide variety of modern tools in prescriptive analytics, from business experiments to regression discontinuity, to give you the power to evaluate business strategies and policies. The course also covers extensive anatomy of regressions, hypothesis testing, Monte-Carlo simulation, and time series analysis and forecasting with a hands-on approach using applications from the world of business.
Prerequisites: MBA students will be required to review approximately 6 hours of pre-work videos
- Program: Graduate
- Division: Economics
- Level: MSBA Core (Grad)
- Course Number: ECN6310
- Number of Credits: 3
HSS2034 Modern European History: Wars, Nationalities, Identities and Human Rights
4 Intermediate Liberal Arts CreditsThis course features The French Revolution, The Russian Revolution, World War I, World War II and contemporary ethnic conflicts to examine the processes and consequences of modernization and nationalism in Europe and Russia. At the end of the 18th Century, the individual and the nation state were constructed as sources of meaning and identity and were legitimated naturally and politically. At the beginning of the 21st Century, these legitimations are still uncertain and under construction. We will focus on the concepts of human, civic, political and natural rights to study this problematic history.
Prerequisites: (FCI1000 or AHS1000) and (WRT1001or RHT1000)
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: History and Society
- Level: Intermediate Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: HSS2034
- Number of Credits: 4
ANT4606 Modern Israel: Conflicts in Context
4 Advanced Liberal Arts Credits
The goal of this seminar is to provide a broad, anthropological context for Israeli culture, politics, and history on a global scale. Through a combination of scholarly texts, films, artwork, and other works of fiction and non-fiction from both Jewish Israelis and Palestinians, we will consider the conception, founding, and current conflicts surrounding the state of Israel, its occupied territories, and the Palestinian people. Our topics will cover the diasporic history of the Jewish people, the international optics of Israeli self-determination, the internal ethnic and cultural conflicts of modern Israeli society, as well as the history of Palestinian resistance and the current state of suspension in Gaza and the West Bank. Students will be expected to emerge with a nuanced understanding of the past and current political realities of the Israeli/Palestinian conflict and an appreciation for the complexities, ambiguities, and possible futures of Israeli/Palestinian society.
Prerequisites: Any combination of 2 ILA (HSS, LTA, CSP, LVA, CVA)
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: History and Society
- Level: Advanced Liberal Arts 4600 Requirement (UGrad),Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: ANT4606
- Number of Credits: 4
HSS2038 Modern Middle East
4 Intermediate Liberal Arts CreditsThis course studies Middle Eastern politics, culture, and society from the mid-nineteenth century to the present. To do this, we will focus on a wide variety of historical developments in different areas of the Middle East, starting with the late Ottoman period and moving into the Mandates of the interwar period, moments of decolonization, and eventually focusing on the post-independent states that emerge in the second half of the 20th century. Additionally, the course provides historical contexts to events, actors, and conflicts that have come to shape the present-day Middle East as well as the world, such as the Arab-Israeli conflict, the politics of oil, the rise of Islamism, and the US-Middle East relations. In order to understand these complex issues, we will engage with works of scholarly analysis, primary documents, memoirs, fiction, and film.
Prerequisites: (FCI1000 or AHS1000) and (WRT1001or RHT1000)
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: History and Society
- Level: Intermediate Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: HSS2038
- Number of Credits: 4
LTA2045 Modernism and the Making of the New
4 Intermediate Liberal Arts CreditsThe British novelist Virginia Woolf declared that human nature underwent a fundamental change _on or about December 1910.The first few decades of the twentieth century are characterized by a fervent desire to break with the past and to reject traditions that seemed outmoded and too genteel to suit an era of psychological and technological breakthroughs and violence on a grand scale. This class will look at works that reflect ideas of experimentation, in both form and content, and that engaged new understandings of time, space, and human subjectivity. We will read writers such as Virginia Woolf, Joseph Conrad, James Joyce, T.S. Eliot, Ezra Pound, E.M. Forster, Djuna Barnes, and Katherine Mansfield, as well as the theories of Sigmund Freud and Albert Einstein (this is a tentative list). Be prepared; there is a lot of reading. These are difficult and challenging texts that do not rely on straightforward plot and narrative; they require careful analysis and critical engagement.
This course is typically offered in the following semesters: Spring or Fall
Prerequisites: (FCI1000 or AHS1000) and (WRT1001or RHT1000)
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Arts and Humanities
- Level: Intermediate Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: LTA2045
- Number of Credits: 4
LTA2014 Money and Literature
4 Intermediate Liberal Arts CreditsThis course looks at money and economic thinking in literature. We will examine works from a wide range of periods and genres, with a strong grounding in fiction and drama from the mid-nineteenth century to the present. Aesthetic genres such as naturalism, modernism, post-modernism, and expressionism will be considered in terms of how they inform and are informed by thinking about money. There will also be contextual/theoretical readings from Marx, Benjamin, Simmel, Freud, Lacan, and others.
Prerequisites: (FCI1000 or AHS1000) and (WRT1001or RHT1000)
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Arts and Humanities
- Level: Intermediate Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: LTA2014
- Number of Credits: 4
ECN3615 Money, Banking, and the Economy
4 Advanced Liberal Arts Elective CreditsCentral Banks exert a tremendous influence over the economy and financial markets. Anyone interested in investing in or running a business should have a firm grasp on the effects of their policies and a general ability to predict their actions. Moreover, the behavior of central banks has radically changed over the last decade, implementing in practice experimental polices that were largely theoretical previously (e.g. quantitative easing) if not unfathomable (e.g. negative interest rates). In this class, we will focus on how and why central banks implement these polices and adjust interest rates, and how those policies affect the economy. We will also focus heavily on central banks' interactions with bond markets, stock markets, and foreign exchange markets. In studying these asset markets, we will also discuss general frameworks for thinking about how financial prices are determined, including potential behavioral influences.
Prerequisites: ECN2000
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Economics
- Level: Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: ECN3615
- Number of Credits: 4
STR7501: Moonshot Innovation: The Strategies Behind Giant Leaps in Progress
3 credits
This course will give Babson graduate students a deeper understanding of how a strategic approach to "moonshot" innovations can solve significant societal challenges. We will explore several historical examples, focusing on the original and emergent strategies and technologies, the characteristics of successful teams, and the role of strategic problem-solving. Today's world faces seemingly insurmountable challenges: rapid climate change, and income inequality at the top of a growing list. Businesses have been faulted for contributing to these challenges but are also considered essential partners in finding solutions. Understanding the strategies that organizations and individuals can apply in solving today's "moonshot" challenges requires us to deconstruct the strategic approaches of those who solved the seemingly insurmountable challenges of their day. This course will examine past moonshots to learn the strategies, innovations, and processes that enable teams to achieve what most thought impossible. We will also look at failed moonshot efforts and explore how businesses and entrepreneurs can avoid their fate as they apply their energy and efforts to address today's challenges.
- Program: Graduate
- Division: Management
- Level: Graduate Elective (Grad)
- Course Number: STR7501
- Number of Credits: 3
STR3510 Moonshot Innovations
4 Advanced Management Credits
This course will provide Babson students with a deeper understanding of how a strategic approach to "moonshot" innovations can solve significant societal challenges. We will explore several historical examples, focusing on the original and emergent strategies and technologies, the characteristics of successful teams, and the role of strategic problem solving.
Today's world faces seemingly insurmountable challenges: a global pandemic, rapid climate change, and income inequality at the top of a growing list. Businesses have been faulted for contributing to these challenges, but are also looked upon as strategic partners in finding solutions. Understanding the strategies that organizations and individuals can apply in solving today's "moonshot" challenges requires us to deconstruct the strategic approaches of others who solved the seemingly insurmountable challenges of their day.
This course will examine past moonshots to learn the strategies, innovations, and processes that enable teams to achieve what most thought impossible. We will also look at failed moonshot efforts and explore how businesses and entrepreneurs can avoid their fate as they apply their energy and efforts to address today's challenges.
Prerequisites: (FME 1000 and FME 1001) or (MOB 1010 and EPS 1000)
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Management
- Level: Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Management (UGrad)
- Course Number: STR3510
- Number of Credits: 4
SEN1203 Motivate Yourself: Making Health and Fitness Easy(Senior Instructor: Jamie Doyle) This course focuses on motivating and educating men and women about good health in the fields of fitness and nutrition. Over the weeks of the course, we will delve into and practice the basics of strength training, nutrition and overall fitness. We will also discuss the importance of clean eating, cardio and living a heart-healthy life. The course ranges from etiquette at the gym to the actual biology and physics behind working out and eating right. We will dispel myths about the field and students will spend time researching and analyzing websites, companies, and fitness centers that promote good health. In addition to active discussion and interaction with class lectures, this class will involve participation in fitness activities.
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Other
- Course Number: SEN1203
- Number of Credits: 0
OPS6110 Operations Management
MSEL Course
1.5 CreditsIn enterprises of any kind, managing operations effectively is essential to success. The course explores the role of operations in enabling a firm's strategy, affecting its business model, and in creating extensible systems to capture value for multiple stakeholder classes. Students will identify critical systems, design solutions, and apply problem solving practices in ways that could potentially reset competitive conventions or enable a new initiative or venture to overcome constraints posed by a nascent & uncertain operating environment.
- Program: Graduate
- Division: Operations and Information Management
- Course Number: OPS6110
- Number of Credits: 1.5
STR3506 Mysteries, Puzzles and Imagination
(Formerly MOB3506 Mysteries, Puzzles and Wicked Problems)
4 Advanced Management Credits
The course will help you learn how to think insightfully and become a skilled problem solver. Excelling in both is essential for success, no matter what your choice of career. Employers rank critical thinking and problem solving as prized skills that are difficult to find in business school graduates. A rising number of companies look for these skills using case interviews.
We will learn a variety of techniques and approaches to solving strategic, consequential, and wicked problems. Wicked problems are messy, multifaceted, lack sufficient information, and are difficult to solve. It is easy to get them wrong, especially under time pressure. We will approach them as mysteries or puzzles to better solve them. And we will learn how imagination might play a role in solving business problems.
Using various techniques and ways to think, we will learn to frame problems well to make sense of messy, ambiguous situations; identify needed evidence without wasting time on irrelevant information, draw upon different business disciplines but not be limited by any, find the story in numbers, use judgment, be original, and so much more. Throughout the course, I will ask you how you thought and made decisions and how others thought and made decisions. Effective problem solving needs such awareness about oneself and others.
The course uses a workshop format to emphasize in-class exercises and practice. We will minimize using conventional cases (14 pages of text and many more with exhibits). Instead, to simulate case interviews and workplace realities, we will use cryptic cases and live cases.
Few business schools teach problem solving rigorously. Acquiring this skill will differentiate you in the job market, prepare you for doing well in case interviews, and position you for success in your career of choice.
Prerequisites: (FME 1000 and FME 1001) or (MOB 1010 and EPS 1000)
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Management
- Level: Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Management (UGrad)
- Course Number: STR3506
- Number of Credits: 4
STR7504 Mysteries, Puzzles, and Imagination
3 Elective CreditsThe course will help you learn how to think insightfully and become a skilled problem solver. Excelling in both is essential for success, no matter what your choice of career. Employers routinely rank critical thinking and problem solving as prized skills that are difficult to find in business school graduates. A rising number of companies now look for these skills using case interviews.
We will solve problems that are puzzles and mysteries, and we will slay problems that are wicked. Wicked problems are messy, multifaceted, lack sufficient information, and are difficult to solve. It is easy to get them wrong, especially under time pressure. Using various techniques and ways to think, we will learn to frame problems well to make sense of messy, ambiguous situations; identify needed evidence without wasting time on irrelevant information, draw upon different business disciplines but not be limited by any, find the story in numbers, use judgment, be original, and so much more.
The course has a workshop format to emphasize in-class exercises and practice. We will minimize the use of conventional cases (14 pages of text and many more with exhibits). Instead, to simulate case interviews and workplace realities, we will use cryptic cases and live cases.
Few business schools teach problem solving rigorously. Acquiring this skill will differentiate you in the job market, prepare you for doing well in case interviews, and position you for success in your career of choice.
Prerequisites: None
- Program: Graduate
- Division: Management
- Level: Graduate Elective (Grad)
- Course Number: STR7504
- Number of Credits: 3
CSP2057 Narratives of Sustainability
(Formerly CVA2057 Imagining Sustainability)
4 Intermediate Liberal Arts CreditsThe primary focus of this course is on the exploration of the concept of sustainability as a juncture of economic, environmental and social concerns. With the rapid expansion of globalization, and the attenuating crises that accompany it, with regard to these concerns, future business and public policy leaders will need to be in the vanguard at determining how best to effect solutions. To that end, this course will examine a variety of sources in the consideration both of what allows for the implementation of sustainability and what prohibits it--from business case study to philosophical/economic analysis to literary memoir. Within this context, students will be invited to examine what we mean when we talk about _justice,_ _ethics,_ _profit,_ _growth,_ and _community._ In sum, we will explore how concepts that contribute to our understanding of individual and communal responsibility might be revisited and redefined in the effort to create a world that offers sustainable economic opportunity for all, ensured within a vital commitment to environmental stewardship.
This course is typically offered in the following semesters: Spring or Summer
Prerequisites: (FCI1000 or AHS1000) and (WRT1001or RHT1000)
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Arts and Humanities
- Level: Intermediate Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: CSP2057
- Number of Credits: 4
MOB3580 Negotiations
4 General Credits
** This course is recommended for juniors and seniors **
This course explores the many ways that individuals think about and practice conflict resolution. Students will have a chance to learn more about their own negotiating preferences and the consequences of the choices they make. The course requires both intensive involvement in negotiation and mediation simulations/exercises and thoughtful application of theory through class discussion and written analysis. Class materials will reflect a variety of contexts from the workplace, including interpersonal, global, and cross-cultural interactions.
Prerequisites: FME1000 and FME1001 or MOB1000 and MOB1010
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Management
- Level: Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Management (UGrad)
- Course Number: MOB3580
- Number of Credits: 4
MOB7511 Negotiation
3 CreditsExplores formal and informal ways that business professionals negotiate with colleagues, supervisors, employees, clients, suppliers, competitors, and others. Examines research and concepts developed in a number of academic fields, and looks closely at personal skills and experiences. Requires intense involvement in negotiation simulation exercises, and thoughtful application of theory and research.
Prerequisites: None
- Program: Graduate
- Division: Management
- Level: Graduate Elective (Grad)
- Course Number: MOB7511
- Number of Credits: 3
EPS3503 New Technology Ventures
4 General CreditsEPS3501, EPS3502 and EPS3503 are all equivalent courses. Students can take only ONE of these courses.
Creating a new venture that has technology as a basis for its products or services presents special challenges. On one hand is the _push_ of new technology, as evidenced by the plethora of scientific invention and technological innovation. On the other hand is the _pull_ of the market as it presents new entrepreneurial opportunities. Other key challenges present themselves in areas of intellectual property protection, team building and funding opportunities. In this course we will explore entrepreneurship in technology industries in depth with the hope of penetrating the popular veneer, and uncovering the guts of starting a growing new technology ventures. Of course, there is a lot about new technology venturing that is common to all new venture creation, and also the qualities entrepreneurs demonstrate are valuable in a wide spectrum of life's activities.
A unique aspect of this course is its desire to include students from both Babson as well as the F.W. Olin College of Engineering. Particular value from this intermingling will be evidenced in the true interdisciplinary nature of the course field project teams that are formed, and the ability for students to begin to develop networks of relationships outside their individual domains of business or engineering.
Primary Course Objectives:
1. To investigate the components, tools, and practices of technology entrepreneurship: identifying new venture opportunities, evaluating the viability of a new business concept, calibrating risk of successful technology development, protecting intellectual property, building a team that possesses the attributes necessary for success, obtaining appropriate financing, writing a business plan, and developing an investor presentation, creating an entrepreneurial culture that increases the odds of success, and creating liquidity for shareholders.
2. To identify and exercise entrepreneurial skills through classrooms debate and assignments.
3. To introduce students to a variety of technology entrepreneurs. Case studies are used as tools for discussion, and are augmented with readings and guest speakers.
The core project for this course will be the development of a technology based business plan. Students will form teams to explore a business opportunity, and develop a business plan and investor presentation.
For more information view this video.
Prerequisites: SME
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Entrepreneurship
- Level: Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Management (UGrad)
- Course Number: EPS3503
- Number of Credits: 4
EPS7500 New Venture Creation
(Formerly Entrepreneurship)
3 CreditsThis course integrates many of the concepts, tools and practices of entrepreneurship. Students will learn to be superior opportunity assessors and shapers, to understand the integration of people and process in entrepreneurship, to write, articulate and present a new venture execution plan, understand the alternatives and trade-offs in financing, starting and operating a venture, and gain a better understanding of their personal entrepreneurial capabilities. Students will engage in feasibility assessment, venture viability analysis and resource acquisition. Students will learn how to conduct rigorous business-planning, and also how to network for resources and to be able to communicate about a new venture in a confident, articulate and effective manner. The course builds on foundation concepts from the Opportunity and Entrepreneurship courses, and is designed for students seriously considering launching a new venture in a variety of contexts (e.g. corporate, family, organization, franchise) or students planning to work in an early-stage venture.
Prerequisites: EPS7200 or EPS7800
- Program: Graduate
- Division: Entrepreneurship
- Level: Graduate Elective (Grad)
- Course Number: EPS7500
- Number of Credits: 3
NST1060 Oceanography
4 CreditsOver 70% of the globe is covered by ocean. Marine systems are a nexus of life - crucial sources of protein for human populations, reservoirs of minerals, and regulators of the global climate. However, human populations have increased demand for ocean resources in greater numbers than is ecologically sustainable. In addition, the ocean serves as a dumping ground for many types of waste, resulting in waters degraded by pollution. The objective of this course is to give you a basic understanding of the physical, biological, and chemical processes driving ocean fundamentals. In addition, we will examine how human demand on marine resources impacts ocean communities.
This course will stress the importance of the scientific method - both in principle and in practice. Extensive discussion of human environmental impacts on the ocean (e.g., climate change, marine pollution, overfishing) will enhance perspectives of self-awareness and ethical decision-making related to social, economic and environmental responsibility and sustainability (SEERS). Critical analysis is emphasized in class discussions, exam questions, lab reports, written assignments, and the group project. Assignments facilitate development of logical communication skills, appropriate use of graphs and tables, and organizing, synthesizing, evaluating and interpreting scientific information. Through lab and group activities, this course fosters team work and ability to work with others. International and multicultural perspectives are integral to the course, since the oceans influence on human populations is global, both directly on the coasts, and indirectly away from the coasts (via weather, climate, and seafood production).
Prerequisites: None
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Mathematics Analytics Science and Technology
- Level: Foundation Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: NST1060
- Number of Credits: 4
OIM7800 Operations and Information Management
2 Credits (Core MBA)
If you have taken and passed OPS7200, you cannot register for OIM7800, as these two courses are equivalent
This course focuses on the role of operations and information in executing a firm's strategy and delivering the organization's products and/or services. Within this focus, students learn to apply operations design and strategy in three ways. First, they learn to configure resources and design processes to achieve performance, identify improvement opportunities, and leverage strategic capabilities for sustainable growth. Second, they learn the strategic role of technology and data, and use data for improving the operational model. Third, they study the operational model of innovation to create sustainable value for an organization. With an emphasis on building long-term sustainable models, this course helps managers consider environmental and social impact in their operating models.
- Program: Graduate
- Division: Operations and Information Management
- Course Number: OIM7800
- Number of Credits: 2
OIM3503 Operations for Entrepreneurs
4 Advanced Management Credits
This elective course will examine the real-world operational challenges and execution risks associated with getting a venture started and building a start-up operation from scratch. The class will include case-discussions, a semester-long project and guest speakers. The course will provide students with a set of practical frameworks, decision-making techniques and business management tools that can be used in developing their operational processes and managing their operational resources in a start-up. During each session, the students will be exposed to a different operations-related concept which they will apply to their own start-up venture or to the operation of an existing local start-up in the semester-long project.
We will consider the operational challenges experienced by start-up ventures in a variety of industries. Case studies and class discussions will explore operations topics which are unique to start-ups including: Operational Business Models; Start-up Operation Metrics; How to Find a Supplier/Operations Partner; Product/Service Outsourcing Mistakes; Challenges in Achieving Product/Service Quality Control; How to select a Product/Service Distribution Channel; Managing Start-up Inventory; Challenges in meeting Product/Service Demand; Handling Market Uncertainty and Supply Uncertainty; Importance of Operational Flexibility; Bootstrapping Operational Costs; Operational Scalability.
Local entrepreneurs will serve as frequent guest speakers who can provide real-world insights on their own operational challenges, failures and success as they developed their ventures.
This course is an approved elective for the Operations management concentration.
Prerequisites: (SME2001 and SME2002) or permission of the instructor.
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Operations and Information Management
- Level: Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Management (UGrad)
- Course Number: OIM3503
- Number of Credits: 4
The sophomore management experience MAC and TOM module (SME) integrates two subject streams: Technology and Operations Management (3 credits) and Managerial Accounting (3 credits). This module focuses on the internal organization and processes required for entrepreneurial leaders and managers to successfully test and execute business strategies. To be effective, entrepreneurs and managers must design operations, model the expected performance of operational designs, make decisions that strategically manage costs, and take actions that achieve desired results in an ethical manner. The two streams in this module will help build the skills you need to become ethical entrepreneurial leaders and managers. You will experience how the design of operations impacts measured performance, and how modeling expected results before action is taken leads to improved operational decisions. SME will also provide learning experiences that demonstrate the interconnections between the streams.
SME2002 Managing Operations
3 Intermediate Management CreditsManaging operations is vital to every type of organization, for it is only through effective and efficient utilization of resources that an organization can be successful in the long run. This is especially true today, when we see that significant competitive advantages accrue to those firms that manage their operations effectively. We define operations in the broadest sense, not confining the focus within a set of walls but defining the scope to the thoughts and activities necessary to supply goods and services from their conception to their consumption. This course introduces you to the operational challenges that entrepreneurs and managers face and provides a set of tools to aid you in designing, evaluating and managing business processes to meet your organization's objectives. Throughout the semester we will explore interconnections between operational actions and management accounting analyses.
Prerequisites: FME1001 or equivalent
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Operations and Information Management
- Level: Intermediate Management (UGrad)
- Course Number: SME2002
- Number of Credits: 3
OIM6111 Operations Management
(Formerly OPS6110)
If you took and passed OPS6110, you cannot register for OIM6111, as these two courses are equivalent
In enterprises of any kind, managing operations effectively is essential to success. The course explores the role of operations in enabling a firm's strategy, affecting its business model, and in creating extensible systems to capture value for multiple stakeholder classes. Students will identify critical systems, design solutions, and apply problem solving practices in ways that could potentially reset competitive conventions or enable a new initiative or venture to overcome constraints posed by a nascent & uncertain operating environment.
- Program: Graduate
- Division: Operations and Information Management
- Course Number: OIM6111
- Number of Credits: 1.5
QTM3620 Optimization Methods and Applications
(Formerly Operations Research)
4 Advanced Liberal Arts Credits
This course provides an introduction to optimization techniques for decision making with spreadsheet implementation. Topics covered include linear programming, sensitivity analysis, networks, integer programming, nonlinear programming, and multiple objective optimization. Models discussed span different business disciplines including finance, accounting, marketing, human resources, economics, operations, and project management. Throughout the course, learning is reinforced via hands-on computer experience using problems and cases.
Prerequisites: AQM2000
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Mathematics Analytics Science and Technology
- Level: Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: QTM3620
- Number of Credits: 4
QTM9510 Optimization Methods and Applications
3 Credits
This is a hands-on course in quantitative business modeling designed to give you a practical approach to the main techniques necessary to make better business decisions and provide business insights. Models discussed span different business disciplines including finance, operations, transportation and supply chain, marketing, and human resources. Throughout the course, our focus is going to be on the mathematical and spreadsheet modeling in optimization, and on best practices for developing and solving optimization models. Students will work on an entrepreneurial, experiential case study at the end of the course.
- Program: Graduate
- Division: Mathematics Analytics Science and Technology
- Level: MSBA Elective (Grad),MSF Elective (Grad),Graduate Elective (Grad)
- Course Number: QTM9510
- Number of Credits: 3
FIN4560 Options and Futures
4 General CreditsThis course is an introduction to options, futures, and other derivative securities. We examine the nature of the instruments, the theory of how they are priced, and strategies in which they are used. Cases address applications in both investment management and corporate finance, covering such topics as risk management, financial engineering, speculation, and arbitrage.
Prerequisites: SME2021 or FIN2000
Recommended: ACC3502
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Finance
- Level: Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Management (UGrad)
- Course Number: FIN4560
- Number of Credits: 4
MOB1010 Organizational Behavior
4 Foundation Management CreditsThe content of MOB1010 is equivalent to the material covered in FME1000 and FME1001. Students who are enrolled in FME therefore cannot enroll in this course.Organizational Behavior is designed to help you improve your effectiveness as an individual contributor, team member, and leader in your current and future work environments. This course centers on developing your critical thinking regarding the complex circumstances that surround why people behave as they do in organizations and on using your knowledge to take more effective action and influence individuals and the wider organization in an ethical manner. Topics we will explore include emotional intelligence, behavioral styles, managing diversity, power and influence, negotiations, and culture. To become an entrepreneurial leader in a start-up venture, an established organization, or a social venture, you need to engage your understanding of organizational behavior.
Prerequisites: None
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Management
- Level: Foundation Management (UGrad)
- Course Number: MOB1010
- Number of Credits: 4
LTA 2007: Out of the Mouths of...Children Narrators
4 Intermediate Liberal Arts Credits
Children's minds work differently from those of adults; it's the way they make sense of the world, the way a child's own small world is the whole world and, at the same time, an ever-evolving concept, as they learn and grow and change. They understand and react instinctively. This can result in thoughts and actions that are both naïve and profound, innocent and wise, non-sensical and brilliant. And even when they don't (or can't) understand sophisticated issues, they remain keen observers. At Babson, there's a great deal of emphasis in thinking about your future self, the person you will be in five years or in twenty years. Clearly, that has value. But this course asks if there is also benefit in looking to the past. Through our texts and discussions, we will look at the ways we look at the world as children, the ways our perceptions change as we grow older, and the ways in which that evolution is both positive and negative.
Prerequisites: (FCI1000 or AHS1000) and (WRT1001or RHT1000)
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Arts and Humanities
- Level: Intermediate Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: LTA2007
- Number of Credits: 4
ART1200 Painting Through Poetry
4 Free Credits
Artists have long produced work in conversation with others in their communities. This exchange is particularly vital and enduring among painters and poets. In this course, we will trace the relationships of contemporary and historical practitioners. With poems as our prompts, we will explore painting as a visual language that is fundamentally relational. Through a series of visual experiments, from painting to collage, we will interrogate the relationship between parts and wholes, representation and abstraction, text and image. We will consider moments in which language constrains meaning while painting expands it and vice versa. Together, through making, we will uncover questions, generate ideas, and apply the specificity of poetry to the space of painting.
Prerequisites: None
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Arts and Humanities
- Level: Free Elective (UGrad)
- Course Number: ART1200
- Number of Credits: 4
NST1080 Paradigms of Scientific Invest
4 Foundations Liberal Arts Credits
A multidisciplinary examination of the principles of scientific research and routes to discovery with examples from the history of the subject from its Greek beginnings to modern times. The course will provide insight into the sources, motivations, and methods of approach utilized by the developers of modern science. Topics from biology, physics, and engineering will be used to discover how we unravel the mysteries of the natural world and address the question of how do we know what we know is true by critically examining how the science community has resolved conflicting interpretations of the natural world and analyzing the consequent paradigm shifts from previously accepted theories. These concepts will be applied to addressing societal challenges in developing a national science policy, why things go wrong and mitigating man-made disasters. Finally, the real-world utility of these concepts is applied to applications within an entrepreneurship context in terms of evaluating and managing technology ventures.
Prerequisites: None
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Mathematics Analytics Science and Technology
- Level: Foundation Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: NST1080
- Number of Credits: 4
CSP2055 Peoples and Cultures of the Americas
(Formerly CVA2055)
4 Intermediate Liberal Arts Credits
This course looks at the Peoples and Cultures and Cultures of Latin America from within. The course covers topics such as resistance movements against dictatorships, feminist movements, Indigenous and environmental movements, racial and social justice movements. These issues are presented from the perspective of those on the ground, actively engaged with pushing for social movements that shape these countries.
What do we need to pay attention to when we are trying to understand Latin America? What are the forces that shape the region? These very complex questions should not be reduced to simple answers. However, the dynamics in Latin American countries (as well as elsewhere) are in large part a result of contentious processes between those that are trying to control the state and those trying to change it. The mainstream narrative about the history and politics of Latin America explains the region from the perspective of those who have access to the means of power, and have more leverage on how national states are governed. This is, though, only part of what we need to keep in mind. It is crucial to inquire into the movements that push against these dominant forces and narratives. This course invites students to investigate the social processes carried out by those who are often forgotten. Although frequently ignored, the consequences of these dynamics are constitutive of Latin America. This is an intermediate course designed to provide business students with the necessary tools to understand and engage with peoples and cultures of the region.
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Prerequisites: (FCI1000 or AHS1000) and (WRT1001or RHT1000)
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: History and Society
- Level: Intermediate Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: CSP2055
- Number of Credits: 4
CSP2035 Peoples and Cultures of the Middle East
(Formerly CVA2035)
4 Intermediate Liberal Arts CreditsWhile the Middle East continues to dominate Western foreign policy concerns and is a focus of Western media, understanding of this region is often based on stereotypes that do not consider the everyday lives of Middle Eastern people, and that do not attempt to differentiate between peoples of this region. This course will introduce several groups and cultures of the Middle East in detail, while focusing on thematic topics that are of particular interest to current world events. A brief survey of the history and geography of the region will be followed by more in-depth study of topics such as political Islam, the Israeli-Palestine conflict, the war in Afghanistan, gender and sexuality, and human rights issues. The course will be highly interactive, and will make frequent use of documentaries, movies, literature, and current news events as well as anthropological and ethnographic material.
Prerequisites: (FCI1000 or AHS1000) and (WRT1001or RHT1000)
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: History and Society
- Level: Intermediate Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: CSP2035
- Number of Credits: 4
LIT4610 Performing Social Class
4 Advanced Liberal Arts CreditsThis 4-credit course employs gamified pedagogy to explore the multifarious ways that social class functions. Students will read texts that explore the issues of class consciousness, class performance, classism, and cross-class communication; act in in-class simulations of events that reveal the ways that social class operates; and write character biographies, scripts and analytical reflections. Simulations will include school events, job interviews, holiday celebrations, and more. Readings will be drawn from both nonfiction (from fields such as sociology, economics and cultural studies) and fiction (primarily short stories and excerpts from novels and plays). The overarching objective will be for students to become aware of the often-invisible ways that social class operates in daily life. In a global society that is marked by increasing socioeconomic disparity, it is especially important for students to become critical thinkers about social class.
Prerequisites: Any combination of 2 ILA (HSS, LTA, CSP, LVA, CVA)
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Arts and Humanities
- Level: Advanced Liberal Arts 4600 Requirement (UGrad),Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: LIT4610
- Number of Credits: 4
FIN2520 Personal Finance
4 General CreditsThis course teaches students to negotiate the retail financial landscape, emphasizing issues that have a large impact on their future financial well-being. It assumes no financial knowledge other than first-year finance. The course covers topics such as understanding and appreciating the time value of money, the financial planning process, financing the purchase of a house and other consumer loans, saving for retirement and other goals, selecting a financial advisor, taxes, estate planning, behavioral finance and common investment scams. Specific investment products studied include mutual funds, exchange-traded funds, municipal bonds, alternative investments (including hedge funds, private equity funds, and commodities), annuities, and insurance products. Consideration will be given to the problem of an entrepreneur or start-up employee who has a substantial fraction of personal wealth invested in a single business venture, including evaluating stock-and option-based compensation plans. Over the duration of the course, students will work to develop a personal financial plan.
Prerequisites: SME2021
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Finance
- Level: Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Management (UGrad)
- Course Number: FIN2520
- Number of Credits: 4
FIN7519 Personal Financial Management
3 Elective CreditsThis course teaches students to negotiate the retail financial landscape, emphasizing issues that have a large impact on their future financial well-being. It assumes no finance knowledge other than first-year finance. The course covers topics such as selecting a financial adviser, financing the purchase of a house, college saving, retirement saving, behavioral finance, trusts, and investment frauds and scams. Specific investment products studied include mutual funds, exchange-traded funds, municipal bonds, emerging markets, alternative investments (including hedge funds, private equity funds, and commodities), annuities, and insurance products. Consideration will be given to the problem of an entrepreneur or start-up employee who has a substantial fraction of personal wealth invested in a single business venture, including evaluating stock- and option-based compensation plans. Over the duration of the course, students may work to develop a personal financial plan for themselves, or if they prefer, for a fictional person with a defined set of financial traits.
Prerequisites: None but it is recommended that students take FIN7200 or FIN7800 first
- Program: Graduate
- Division: Finance
- Level: MSBA Elective (Grad),Graduate Elective (Grad)
- Course Number: FIN7519
- Number of Credits: 3
MSA6600 Personal Project
6 Credits (MSAEL Core)This course bridges key MSAEL Program learnings into demonstrated application, by delivering real Project impact, while enhancing the ability to mobilize others to drive organizational growth and renewal. With Faculty coaching each student will identify, in alignment with their work stakeholders, a specific challenge or opportunity at their organization. Clear Learning Plan frameworks, built on Project Management under Uncertainty principles, will be used to frame their project considering stakeholder needs, potential resistance to change, benefits of implementation and leadership challenges (self, others, organization). Their Entrepreneurial Leadership Project Action Plan, with relevant Analytics, will be reviewed for progress through ongoing check-points with Faculty, and key stakeholders inside their organization. By the end of this Capstone course, the student successfully implements a measurable pilot solution and a plan for further actions.
- Program: Graduate
- Division: Other
- Level: MSAEL (Grad)
- Course Number: MSA6600
- Number of Credits: 6
COM7500 Persuasive Business Presentations
(Formerly MOB7502)
1.5 Credits
If you have taken and passed MOB7502, you cannot register for COM7500, as these two courses are equivalentManagers and entrepreneurs need effective presentation skills to persuade key audiences, such as employees and team members, investors, and prospective clients. A successful presentation depends on delivery and non-verbal factors as well as careful preparation and a logical organization of ideas.
In this workshop format class, you will deliver four or five formal presentations, which we will video record to help you evaluate your technique. We will also give you some opportunities for impromptu speaking. Topics may include: rocket pitch to investors, B2B sales presentation, strategic recommendation to senior management, and a technical financial or data-driven presentation. Students are encouraged to use material from other courses or from your work context. We will also cover creating effective visuals and interacting with your visuals to tell a compelling story. The focus will be on providing extensive and constructive feedback and coaching you on assessing and improving your own capabilities.
Prerequisites: None
- Program: Graduate
- Division: Marketing
- Level: Graduate Elective (Grad)
- Course Number: COM7500
- Number of Credits: 1.5
HUM 4608: Philosophy, Race and Revolution in the Euro-Modern World
4 advanced liberal arts credits
This course will explore efforts by philosophers to respond to the contradictions of Euro-modern society, the political phenomenon of race being primary among them. Doing so will require an examination of how some human beings have sought to reform unjust social and political milieus. Though we will also ask whether such efforts are sufficient. Such questioning demands, among other things, study of more radical efforts at social change, including those of revolutionary political activity. In addition to philosophers' contributions to such projects, our course will also examine how writers, artists, and even scientists have responded to the ongoing colonization of our knowledge, political sphere, and civil society, particularly by forces seeking to profit from the transformation of some human beings into the damned of the earth. Our goal as a class will be to reflect on how we might conceptualize and take up our responsibilities in such a world.
Prerequisites: Any combinations of 2 intermediate liberal arts (HSS, LTA, CSP)
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Arts and Humanities
- Level: Advanced Liberal Arts 4600 Requirement (UGrad),Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: HUM4608
- Number of Credits: 4
PHO1100 Photography
4 Free Elective Credits
Introduction to Digital & Darkroom Photography is an art course designed to explore visual ideas and concepts about photography as an expressive art medium. Content in a picture and its emotional and aesthetic value is of paramount importance and one of the most essential communicative tools of our era. This course will introduce students to the fundamentals of photography with an objective to master the manual camera operating modes, compositional elements, light, color, and black and white imaging. We will learn digital software editing applications and digital printing using Adobe Photoshop software programs. In addition, we will also learn the art and craft of the traditional darkroom using 35mm film cameras and wet-lab printing. Digital workflow terminology and digital printing will be explored in the first part of the term followed by darkroom techniques in the second segment of our class. This foundation course will form the basis of further studies within photography while emphasizing the rich cultural and historical vocabulary associated with this time and narrative based medium.
Note: Babson Photography program has 35mm film cameras and lenses to check out but only a limited number of digital fully manual cameras on reserve. Students are responsible for providing their own digital camera, film and printing papers. You will have 24/7 access to both the digital and darkroom labs.
Prerequisites: None
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Arts and Humanities
- Level: Free Elective (UGrad)
- Course Number: PHO1100
- Number of Credits: 4
LTA2049 Seeking Enrichment: Pilgrims and Pilgrimage in Literature
4 Intermediate Liberal Arts CreditsThe novelist Joyce Carol Oates has said, _To be an American is to be a kind of pilgrim ... a seeker after truth. The pilgrim is our deepest and purest self. In this course we'll explore the character of the pilgrim in selected fiction, essays, and poems, using questions such as: What inspires someone to take and retake pilgrimages: long, often difficult journeys far from home? What friendships and other communities form along the way and why? What besides self-enrichment do pilgrims hope to find, or possibly lose? Through close reading, discussion, and written analyses, we'll study how writers use setting, plot, and theme to consider these questions. There will also be one field trip, which will serve as a local pilgrimage. Course texts may include contemporary works by Kurt Vonnegut, Ursula Le Guin, and Curtis Sittenfeld, as well as selections from Dante, Petrarch, Chaucer, Basho, and Thoreau.
This course is typically offered in the following semesters: Spring
Prerequisites: (FCI1000 or AHS1000) and (WRT1001or RHT1000)
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Arts and Humanities
- Level: Intermediate Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: LTA2049
- Number of Credits: 4
LTA2030 Reading Place and Landscape in American Literature
4 Intermediate Liberal Arts CreditsThis course investigates the ways American writers use place and landscape in their art. Reading fiction, essays, and poetry beginning in the 19th century and moving to contemporary works, we will explore the nature of place and landscape as physical, social, and intellectual and consider what it suggests about American culture and ideas. We will also look at several theoretical texts by cultural geographers, ecologists, and scholars of landscape architecture and regional planning. Ultimately, we will consider how place and landscape, both real and imagined, influence selected American writers' use of theme, imagery, character, and style, and reflect as well on how these concerns influence our own lives as readers, writers, thinkers, and dreamers.
Reading Place and Landscape in American Literature is an intermediate level course and part of the Literary and Visual Arts category of the Liberal Arts Curriculum. Courses in this category focus on frameworks for understanding and appreciating the practice of representation, the creative process, and diverse modes of aesthetic expression. They also consider individual, historical, cultural, and formal factors in artistic creation and make manifest the multiple vantage points from which art can be interpreted.
This course is typically offered in the following semesters: Fall or Spring
Prerequisites: (FCI1000 or AHS1000) and (WRT1001or RHT1000)
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Arts and Humanities
- Level: Intermediate Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: LTA2030
- Number of Credits: 4
HUM4601 Place, Space, Occasion: Public Discourse in Theory and Practice
4 Advanced Liberal Arts Credits
We are living in a moment of great social, cultural, and political unrest. To examine, understand, and, most importantly, solve society's most pressing problems requires vigorous and inclusive civic deliberation and dialogue. Our focus this semester will be on discovering what makes for logical, nuanced, productive, and exciting argumentation while also creating our own. We will study rhetorical principles, from antiquity to the present day, and consider various strategies for speaking in public forums. You will have the opportunity to experiment with these principles and strategies as you craft original oratory and speeches for specific audiences and contexts as well as practice with theatrical and performance methods for vocal variation and body language. Theory-driven and practice-oriented, this course offers you a space to both explore how any public discourse reflects its historical and social context and to engage in the public sphere as a speaker, audience member, and citizen-scholar.
Prerequisites: Any combination of 2 ILA (HSS, LTA, CSP, LVA, CVA)
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Arts and Humanities
- Level: Advanced Liberal Arts 4600 Requirement (UGrad),Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: HUM4601
- Number of Credits: 4
LIT4693 Play, Performance, Politics: The London Stage
4 Advanced Liberal Arts Credits
Program fee is paid to Glavin Office - program fee includes accommodations, breakfast, tube pass in London, airport transport, theatre tickets, program planned meals, and cultural excursions. Not included: tuition, international flight, visa costs, additional meals and personal expenses.
The course aims to develop an appreciation for and deeper understanding of the theatre as an art form through an immersive experience of play-text study, play attendance, performance workshops, and class discussion. While we will see a variety of types of plays on a variety of subjects, our approach to these plays will particularly emphasize the social and political context and issues raised implicitly or explicitly by the plays we read and see. We will also place the issues raised in a number of the plays into a wider discussion of social and political issues occurring in the world today - be they around matters of inequality at local, national and global levels, the role of government, the meaning of freedom in daily life and as a legal and political concept, and the effort of people to shape their collective futures through political action and argument. Success in this class is dependent upon students' ability and willingness to participate fully in all class discussions as well as work outside of class, both individually and in teams, and to contribute their independent insights and observations to the learning community of the class. Participation is imperative.
The course will involve a combination of close reading of the play-texts and contextual readings, careful and critical analysis of the performances, and engaged participation in acting workshops, tours, and class discussions.
Prerequisites: Any combination of 2 ILA (HSS, LTA, CSP, LVA, CVA)
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Arts and Humanities
- Level: Advanced Liberal Arts 4600 Requirement (UGrad),Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: LIT4693
- Number of Credits: 4
LIT4689 Poetic Elegy: Shaping Cultural and Personal Loss
4 Advanced Liberal Arts CreditsAn elegy is a poem of mourning, a lament that can express both private and public grief. Reading elegies offers insight into cultural attitudes towards life and death while featuring the resilience of poetic form. From antiquity to the present, poets have used this shaping form to memorialize, describe, reflect, critique, and witness. In this course we will examine the origins of the form and study pivotal poems and poets in its development. We will also explore the contemporary elegy-certainly in the shadows of 9/11 and the war in Iraq-both as a private expression of feeling and as a public need for decorum and custom. Texts may include poetry by John Milton, Anne Bradstreet, Thomas Gray, Thomas Hardy, W.H. Auden, Langston Hughes, Adrienne Rich, Yusef Komonyakaa, Carolyn Forché, Mark Doty, Marie Howe, and Brian Turner, as well as lyrical prose elegies by Joan Didion and Philip Roth.
Prerequisites: Any combination of 2 ILA (HSS, LTA, CSP, LVA, CVA)
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Arts and Humanities
- Level: Advanced Liberal Arts 4600 Requirement (UGrad),Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: LIT4689
- Number of Credits: 4
ECN3662 Political Economy of Latin American Development and Underdevelopment
4 Advanced Liberal Arts Elective Credits
This course is for any individual interested in the political, financial, historical, and social determinants of economic development in Latin America. Both theoretical and policy issues in development are covered. Analyzing the characteristic volatility of the region's business environment, the course provides an in-depth examination of the workings of Latin America's economies, which in combination with courses in the liberal arts, leads to a greater appreciation of this region's global distinction and diversity.
Prerequisites: ECN2000 and (SME2031 or ECN2002)
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Economics
- Level: Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: ECN3662
- Number of Credits: 4
ECN 3601: Political Economy of Sustainable Development: Case of Germany
4 Advanced Liberal Arts Credits
Germany has emerged as one of the world leaders in sustainability and innovation since the end of WWII. How has the political economy of Germany shaped its role in sustainability in Europe and in the world? With new "traffic light" coalition, would an increasingly popular Green Party accelerate actions towards sustainable development goals in Germany, or will these actions be hampered by the Free Democrats? The course meets first as an on-campus seminar to introduce you to the political and economic structures as well as the major environmental and sustainability debates in Germany. We will then spend spring break traveling in Germany to learn on the field, including a visit to the German Parliament (Bundestag), where the course instructor once interned.
Prerequisites: ECN 2002
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Economics
- Level: Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: ECN3601
- Number of Credits: 4
CPS2015 Political Thought
(Formerly CVA2015)
4 Intermediate Liberal Arts CreditsThis course addresses the meaning and practice of politics through close readings of a range of political theory approaches, such as anarchist political theory, classic liberalism, civic republicanism, Black Nationalism, queer theory, settler colonial/Indigenous studies, conservatism, and feminist theory. The course will pursue such topics as the politics of confrontation, transformation and change, the role and meaning of citizenship, political community, government, inequality, political resistance, violence, and any other pertinent issues we discern from the work assigned. This is a reading intensive course, and it will also explore political themes that can be drawn out of popular culture, such as films and television shows.
This course is typically offered in the following semesters: Spring
Prerequisites: (FCI1000 or AHS1000) and (WRT1001or RHT1000)
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: History and Society
- Level: Intermediate Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: CSP2015
- Number of Credits: 4
HUM4614 Postmodernism: Future Culture
4 Advanced Liberal Arts (Elective Abroad) CreditsThis course explores postmodern culture as a strange obsession with the future. Thus, we will use the captivating cityscape of Dubai-its unparalleled architecture, its accelerated movement and fragmented spatial organization, the provocative visual design behind its many tourist sites-in order to track crucial ideas of simulation, virtuality, and the spectacle in our postmodern era. Moreover, we will navigate contemporary works of literature, philosophy, film, and architecture while making several excursions into Dubai as a constructed cultural zone of the Middle East. Ultimately, this rare immersion in perhaps the most futuristic place on earth will provide us a dynamic outlook on how postmodern culture blurs the boundaries of reality itself.
Prerequisites: 3 Intermediate liberal arts courses (CVA, LVA, HSS, CSP, LTA in any combination) and admission into the course
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Arts and Humanities
- Level: Advanced Liberal Arts 4600 Requirement (UGrad),Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: HUM4614
- Number of Credits: 4
WRT4602 Practicum in Peer Consulting and Writing
Advanced Liberal ArtsStudents learn to act as peer consultants in writing and work on improving their own writing, critical thinking, and interpersonal skills. They accomplish these objectives by addressing their writing problems; writing extensively; developing criteria to evaluate the writings of others; studying various writing processes and theories of composition; examining pedagogical approaches to teaching writing; reading extensively about, and becoming acquainted with, the dynamics of peer tutoring; and working in the Writing Center as peer consultant trainees.
This course is typically offered in the following semesters: Spring
Prerequisites: Instructor permission
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Arts and Humanities
- Level: Advanced Liberal Arts 4600 Requirement (UGrad),Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: WRT4602
- Number of Credits: 4
AQM2000 Predictive Business Analytics
4 Foundation Liberal Arts Credits
This course is only open to students who started Fall 2021 or after
This course introduces students to the foundational ideas of modern data science through a hands-on implementation in modern statistical software. Students will encounter key conceptual ideas like the importance of holdout data, the dangers of overfitting, and the most common performance indicators for various model types through a tour of popular and practical predictive analytics algorithms: linear regression, k-nearest neighbors, logistic regression, classification and regression trees, naive Bayes', and others. In addition to these supervised learning models, students will investigate unsupervised learning models like association rules and clustering, which are designed to uncover structure in data rather than predict a particular target. Throughout the course, students will practice communicating the results of their analyses to a variety of stakeholders.
Prerequisites: AQM1000
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Mathematics Analytics Science and Technology
- Level: Foundation Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: AQM2000
- Number of Credits: 4
SEN1307 Enhance Your Presentation Skills through Forensic Arts
(Senior Instructor: Breeana Blackmon) Poetry Interpretation is a specific type of skill within the speech and debate field of Forensics. In this seminar, students will practice this skill by choosing a short poem to interpret, practice performing, and finally present at the final Senior Seminar Showcase.
In the course, students will first and foremost be challenged to step outside of their comfort zones. Poetry Interpretation will not only boost their confidence, but also greatly strengthen their communication and presentation skills. They will learn how to connect with and captivate a crowd or audience. Also, they will develop valuable leadership skills through critiquing and coaching their peers.
To get a better idea of what Poetry Interpretation looks like and how it relates to speech and debate skills, please visit the following links:
http://www.speechanddebate.org/aspx/video.aspx?id=51
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BTErgLIYkc4&index=15&list=PLxwwkVu35jxAcS1U-TMYdail3A3gAQbHz
Course Schedule:
Class 1 - Tuesday, January 27
Class 2 - Tuesday, February 3
Class 3 - Tuesday, February 10
Class 4 - Wednesday, February 18 (as February 17 is a Babson Monday)
Class 5 - Tuesday, February 24
Class 6 - Senior Seminar Showcase: Tuesday evening, 3/3 or Friday afternoon, 3/6. Details to be confirmed by first day of class.
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Other
- Course Number: SEN1307
- Number of Credits: 0
MKT9502 Pricing in the Information Industries
1.5 Intensive Elective CreditsPricing as a managerial discipline draws on many domains of knowledge - economics, consumer behavior, marketing, strategy, managerial accounting, law, and so on - and, as customers or as managers, we all have some experience in the taking and/or setting of prices. In this context, offerings of the information (read "content") industries present an interesting challenge since intuition, conventional rules of thumb, traditional models, and plain-vanilla theories do not immutably apply. With this as backdrop, the 1.5-credit "Pricing in the Information Industries" intensive course offering will focus on five topics: (1) pricing principles, (2) pricing and information products, (3) product-line pricing, (4) pricing and bundling, and (5) pricing in the presence of network effects.
Prerequisites: MKT7200 or MKT7800 or equivalent core
- Program: Graduate
- Division: Marketing
- Level: MSBA Elective (Grad),Graduate Elective (Grad)
- Course Number: MKT9502
- Number of Credits: 1.5
SME2021 Finance
3 Intermediate Management CreditsSME finance is designed to develop student understanding of the role of finance in the management of a business venture. Effective financial management, whether performed by the general manager in a small business, or by the finance organization in a large corporation, is necessary if a venture is to succeed and grow. A successful financial manager must have skills, abilities, tools, and a theoretical understanding in many areas, including valuation, financial forecasting, capital budgeting, investor expectations regarding risk and return, the cost of investor supplied capital, and financial strategy. Student skills will be developed in all of these areas in the SME finance stream through readings, lectures, class discussions, exercises, and an analytical project. A successful financial manager must also understand the venture's economic environment, its products, services, and market position, its operational capabilities, and its organizational behavior characteristics. The SME finance stream will link financial management analysis and decisions to these other critical functional areas, so the student will understand its part in achieving overall success for the venture.
Prerequisites: ACC1000 and QTM1000
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Finance
- Level: Intermediate Management (UGrad)
- Course Number: SME2021
- Number of Credits: 3
FIN2000 Finance
4 Intermediate Management Credits
FIN 2000 Principles of Finance helps students understand the role of Finance in the management of business ventures and in their daily lives. Effective financial management, whether performed by the general manager in a small business, or by the finance organization in a large corporation, is necessary for ventures to succeed and grow. A successful financial manager must have skills, tools, and perspectives in many areas, including valuation of stocks and bonds, capital budgeting, investment risk and return, the cost of investor-supplied capital, and capital structure. A successful financial manager also must appreciate the key characteristics of a venture - including its products, services, market position, and purpose - and the economic and social environment in which the venture operates. Accordingly, this course links financial analysis and decision-making to critical contextual factors, allowing students to understand the part played by Finance in the overall impact of ventures. Throughout the topic coverage, connections between managerial Finance and personal Finance are recognized and explored, facilitating development of essential financial literacy capabilities. Competency will be developed through readings, lectures, class discussions, and exercises.
Prerequisites: ACC1000 AND AQM1000
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Finance
- Level: Intermediate Management (UGrad)
- Course Number: FIN2000
- Number of Credits: 4
ECN2000 Principles of Macroeconomics
4 Intermediate Liberal Arts CreditsUnderstanding the economy requires knowing what affects key variables such as output, employment, prices, interest rates and exchange rates, how these variables are measured, and how they fluctuate with the national economy over the business cycle. Students in ECN2000 will master these concepts, as well as understand the impact of inflation, deflation, recessions and trade imbalances on the economy. Students will be introduced to social challenges such as poverty and income inequality. They will also gain an introductory understanding of the banking system, money creation and the tools of monetary, fiscal and trade policies used by governments to manage sustainable growth in the context of the international economy.
Prerequisites: None
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Economics
- Level: Intermediate Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: ECN2000
- Number of Credits: 4
MKT2000 Principles of Marketing
4 Credits
Marketing is involved with the task of ethically marketing products and services in a global environment. In order to survive in the contemporary business world, organizations have to continually bring new ideas and products/services to the market - think creatively, act entrepreneurially and utilize analytical rigor. The Principles of Marketing course will examine how marketers can recognize and utilize changes in the political, economic, social, and technological environments to identify and target opportunities; how to develop and communicate value propositions; and how to develop successful marketing strategies. These strategies will emphasize market analysis and the Four Ps (product, pricing, place, and promotion). Students will also be introduced to the analytical tools and methods crucial to understanding the role of these variables in achieving marketing goals and reaching performance metrics. This stream will also explore issues associated with: social media, marketing research and marketing analytics, buying behavior, market segmentation, branding, retailing, value-based pricing, advertising, sales, and other marketing topics as they are applied to the management of marketing goods and services. Methods of instruction will include lecture, discussion, experiential (involvement) learning, and integrative teaching.. Methods of assessment will include: quizzes, presentations, exams and participation. The material and the various methods of instructions are guided by Babson's learning goals.
Prerequisites: FME1000
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Marketing
- Level: Intermediate Management (UGrad)
- Course Number: MKT2000
- Number of Credits: 4
SME2031 Microeconomics
3 Intermediate Core CreditsMicroeconomics examines the decisions made by consumers, firms and governments in allocating scarce resources. Raw materials are not available in infinite quantities; neither are human labor and productive capital. Managers must deal with real-world constraints in making decisions about production and pricing, while consumers are subject to the constraints of income and prices in satisfying their needs and wants. Governments must set basic rules for an economy, provide certain goods and services, and deal with issues of taxation, income distribution and inequality when determining how a country's resources will be used and who benefits from those resources. The Microeconomics curriculum introduces us to the rules and principles that help guide allocation decisions, and focuses particularly on the role of markets.
Prerequisites: None
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Economics
- Level: Intermediate Management (UGrad)
- Course Number: SME2031
- Number of Credits: 3
ECN2002 Principles of Microeconomics
4 Intermediate Management Credits
**This course is equivalent to SME2031. Students who took SME2031 cannot take this course.**
Microeconomics examines the decisions made by consumers, firms and governments in allocating scarce resources. In a market economy, most allocation is determined by buyers and sellers coming together in markets. In this course, you will delve into the guiding principles that explain both consumer and firm behavior in markets for goods and services. Managers must deal with real-world constraints in making decisions about production and pricing, while consumers are subject to the constraints of income and prices in satisfying their needs and wants. Microeconomic principles also highlight the roles that governments play in the markets as they try to increase the general welfare by, for example, setting rules for the market or providing goods and services the market cannot efficiently provision. This course also examines the nature of competition and how the level of competition in a particular market affects output, prices and profits.
Prerequisites: None
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Economics
- Level: Intermediate Management (UGrad)
- Course Number: ECN2002
- Number of Credits: 4
FIN3504 Private Equity
4 Advanced Management Credits
This course will provide students with the opportunity to develop a practical understanding of the private equity industry and related topics generally in the venture capital industry. The course will focus on various phases of activity including fund organization, prospecting, valuation, LBO modeling, negotiating skills and exits. The course will also provide students with an understanding of careers in private equity and related industries. The course is designed to enable students to practically apply financial theory in a way that is consistent with industry practices, techniques and professional expectations. As such, the class will utilize case studies involving real companies and will have a heavy emphasis on the practical financial research skills relevant to private equity, and how industry-specific issues are addressed by private equity professionals.
Prerequisites: Any FIN3000 level course
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Finance
- Level: Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Management (UGrad)
- Course Number: FIN4504
- Number of Credits: 4
COM3501: Proactive Crisis Management and Communication
4 advanced electives credits
Proactive Crisis Management and Communication focuses on the key elements of crisis and issues management - before, during and after a crisis. In an age when a company's every move is subject to instant, unfiltered, and global scrutiny and attack, the need for effective, proactive crisis management is greater than ever.
Prerequisites: MKT2000
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Marketing
- Level: Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Management (UGrad)
- Course Number: COM3501
- Number of Credits: 4
QTM3675 Probability for Risk Management
4 CreditsThe fundamental objective of this course is to prepare students for the successful completion of the first level probability examination (Exam P) of the Society of Actuaries. While the necessary theory is addressed, this course focuses on problem solving, so it is well suited for any student with an interest in applied probability concepts and how they are related to a wide variety of situations within and beyond actuarial science, finance, and economics. Topics include general probability and univariate and multivariate probability distributions.
Prerequisites: AQM2000
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Mathematics Analytics Science and Technology
- Level: Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: QTM3675
- Number of Credits: 4
OIM3640 Problem Solving & Software Design
4 Advanced Liberal Arts Credits
Teaches students assorted techniques and strategies to identify, approach and solve problems in business and personal areas. Students learn how to write computer programs to offer efficient solutions for certain types of problems using a computer programming language of the instructor's choice (currently Python). Students complete a capstone project to demonstrate their learning, create something of value, and add to their personal portfolio. This course emphasizes hands-on computer skill development in a computer lab setting. The examples and problems used in this course are drawn from diverse areas such as text processing, webpage scraping, web development and data analytics.
Prerequisites: (QTM1000 or AQM1000) and (SME2012 or OIM2000)
Students are expected to be able to open command prompt window or terminal window, edit a text file, download and install software, and understand basic programming concepts.
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Operations and Information Management
- Level: Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: OIM3640
- Number of Credits: 4
OIM7555 Product Design and Development
3 Elective Credits
Product Design and Development (PDD) is an integrated management course that provides students with a field-based understanding of the fundamentals of conceiving, evaluating, and developing successful new physical products. One works in a team-based environment learning how to translate a new product idea into a product concept and final design. The course extends the design toolkit introduced in core MBA courses, preparing students to create final working prototypes to be used to pursue funding for venture launch.
Weissman Foundry resources are used extensively to develop product prototypes. Student teams propose projects or are matched with projects in collaboration with participating client companies. The course culminates in the MBA Product Design Fair where teams present final product prototypes.
The course covers emerging topics and tools in sustainable product design as well as the use of generative artificial intelligence in the design process. While there is some case-based learning, the primary focus is on experiential learning through creating new products. The course is particularly relevant for students interested in launching ventures based on physical products, those seeking employment in companies with a product focus, those wishing to learn more about the design and innovation process through engaging in a semester-long development project, and those interested in product management roles. (3.0 Credit Hours)
Prerequisites: None
- Program: Graduate
- Division: Operations and Information Management
- Level: Graduate Elective (Grad)
- Course Number: OIM7555
- Number of Credits: 3
MKT 3506: Professional Sales Practicum
4 advanced management credits
This is an interactive, practice-intensive, and apprenticeship course designed for students interested in pursuing a career in professional sales, communication, marketing, and entrepreneurship. It exposes students to frameworks for analyzing sales opportunities, understanding prospect's situation, decoding buying cycles, formulating sales strategies, engaging prospects, building win-win relationships while navigating complex competitive scenarios. This course also leverages theories and practices in athleticism to shed light on the nature of sales environment and the mindset needed to be successful in sales. Class meets once a week (three hours) with class time split between a) discussion of sales theories/insights from practice and b) virtual work in an assigned sales organization (entry level sales roles) under the supervision of a company-assigned mentor. This course will equip students with the knowledge and skills to excel in communication, professional selling, marketing, entrepreneurship, and leadership.
Prerequisite: MKT 2000
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Marketing
- Level: Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Management (UGrad)
- Course Number: MKT3506
- Number of Credits: 4
OIM6301 Programming for Business Analytics
3 Credits
This course will introduce fundamental programming concepts including data structures and networked application program interfaces, using three different programming languages: SQL and Python. In addition, you will learn to manage structured data (SQL) and unstructured data (Python) At the end of this course, you will gain the basic understanding of programming and managing data in a data science driven world.
You will also learn:
· Understand multiple definitions of business intelligence and its relationship to analytics
· Understand how companies employ BI to shape strategy, monitor performance, and achieve competitive advantage
· Be able to identify opportunities for using different business analytical skills in a variety of business cases
· Understand database management and data warehousing and become competent in implementing them
· Learn to gather, analyze, summarize and visualize data to solve basic business problems
· Be able to program with SQL and Python
· Understand the challenges of big data and the technologies used to build models on and draw inferences from large data sets
Prerequisites: Admission into the MSBA program. CAM students should contact Graduate Academic Services to pursue enrollment in this course. MBA students will be required to review approximately 2 hours of pre-work videos.
- Program: Graduate
- Division: Operations and Information Management
- Level: MSBA Core (Grad),Graduate Elective (Grad)
- Course Number: OIM6301
- Number of Credits: 3
QTM2623 Programming with R for Business Analytics
4 CreditsThis course provides experience in developing, testing, and implementing business analytics software using the R language. R has become the leading tool for analytics software design, statistical computing, and graphics. The language is greatly enhanced by numerous open-source contributed packages and textbooks submitted by users, and it is used almost exclusively in most of the leading-edge analytics applications, such as statistical analysis and data mining. No prior programming experience is assumed. Students will become proficient in programming in the R language with datasets of all kinds with an emphasis on statistical exploration, data mining, graphics, and advanced programming concepts. The course will be case-oriented. The intent is to further enhance the learning experience from other analytics courses, such as QTM2000.
Prerequisites: QTM2000 or permission from the instructor
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Mathematics Analytics Science and Technology
- Level: Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: QTM2623
- Number of Credits: 4
OIM3509 Project Management
4 General Credits
According to the Project Management Institute (PMI), there are nearly 250,000 open project management jobs each year across seven project-intensive industries: business services, construction, finance and insurance, information services, manufacturing, oil and gas, and utilities. As more work becomes project-based, projects grow in complexity, and clients demand accountability and efficiency, graduates with project management skills will be in increasingly high demand. In this course, you will learn critical skills for leading cross functional teams using up-to-date PM best practices, methodologies, and tools. This course is applicable across career paths such as consulting, information technology, entrepreneurship, new product development and many others. Students will be exposed to both the technical and behavioral skills required to effectively lead project teams -- whether as an official "Project Manager" or an unofficial leader temporarily charged with leading a project implementation. The course will be taught primarily via case study discussion, with a significant "hands-on" component that includes the authoring of key project plan documents and a solid exposure to Microsoft Project. At the conclusion of this course, students will have satisfied PMI's educational requirements to apply for the Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM) exam. This course is an approved elective for the Operations Management concentration.
Prerequisites: (SME2001 or ACC2002) and (SME2002 or OIM2001) and (SME2011 or MKT2000) and SME2012 or OIM2000) or permission of the instructor.
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Operations and Information Management
- Level: Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Management (UGrad)
- Course Number: OIM3509
- Number of Credits: 4
OIM6601 Project Management Under Uncertainty
3 Credits (MSAEL Core)This course offers methods and frameworks for commercializing nascent technologies that offer potentially breakthrough value to the market and therefore, enormous reward for the firm, but whose value propositions and applications are highly uncertain at the outset. Aside from readings and cases, students' job will be to undertake a project either from their own organization or one provided by the faculty and, applying the tools and methods of the course, understand the technology, learn how to articulate it in terms of market opportunity, scope out the potential applications, and begin doing the hard work of evaluating the potential of the opportunity, incubating it and determining next steps.
Prerequisites: MOB6600 and EPS6600; OIM 6600
- Program: Graduate
- Division: Operations and Information Management
- Level: MSAEL (Grad)
- Course Number: OIM6601
- Number of Credits: 3
LAW3601 Public International Law and World Order
4 Advanced Liberal Arts Elective CreditsThis course considers public international law as a way of framing and understanding the larger world in which we live. We will consider foreign relations and the United Nations system, the implications of global interdependence, and an increasingly robust international judicial system. Does international law actually create global order, or does it merely reflect political order that exists in other settings? When should national sovereignty yield to the wider concerns of the global community? What role do non-state actors (multinational businesses, NGOs, advocacy groups) play in the global legal regime?
These questions (and many others) have been at the center of the quest to create order in a rapidly changing world where the pace of technological innovation, entrepreneurship, and the increasingly free movement of people, capital, and ideas often far outpace the capacity of any legal regime (domestic or international) to keep up. We will study these issues and related themes throughout the semester. Special emphasis is placed on understanding international institutions, human rights (including the intersection of human rights with global business), refugee law, the regulation of warfare (including "humanitarian" intervention and responses to global terrorism), international environmental law, transnational dispute settlement, and business ethics in the global setting.
Prerequisites: Foundation Law course, (LAW1000)
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Accounting and Law
- Level: Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: LAW3601
- Number of Credits: 4
QTM1000 Quantitative Methods for Business Analytics I
4 CreditsThe course introduces the necessary core quantitative methods that are prerequisites to follow-on courses in QTM and in Babson's integrated core business offerings. Statistical software and the use of spreadsheets are integrated throughout so that students better comprehend the importance of using modern technological tools for effective model building and decision-making. About two thirds of the course is data-oriented, exposing students to basic statistical methods, their conceptual underpinning, such as variability and uncertainty, and their use in the real world. Topics include data collection, descriptive statistics, elementary probability rules and distributions, sampling distributions, and basic inference. The last third of the course is dedicated to selected non-statistical quantitative techniques applied to business models. Topics include curve fitting, differential calculus applications to non-linear optimization, and introduction to the time value of money.
Prerequisites: None
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Mathematics Analytics Science and Technology
- Level: Foundation Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: QTM1000
- Number of Credits: 4
QTM1010 Quantitative Methods for Business Analytics II
4 CreditsThis course explores decision-making problems in a managerial context using algebraic, spreadsheet, graphical, and statistical models. The focus is on understanding basic mathematical and modeling principles through the analysis of real data. The course emphasizes communicating in-context interpretations of the results of analysis in written, visual, and oral form. A foundation in introductory statistics and use of spreadsheets is essential because these concepts are extended and reinforced throughout the course. Topics include introductions to linear regression, time series analysis, linear programming, decision analysis and simulation. It emphasizes the use of appropriate software and the latest technological methods for accessing and analyzing data.
Prerequisites: QTM1000 or AQM1000
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Mathematics Analytics Science and Technology
- Level: Foundation Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: QTM1010
- Number of Credits: 4
QTM3605 Quantitative Analysis of Structural Injustice
4 Advanced Liberal Arts Credits
This course provides a survey of current quantitative methods for analyzing structural disparities. Using philosophies from interdisciplinary fields, we follow examples from education, housing, and other topics to document the direction and size of social and economic disparities. The course begins with a discussion on the philosophies of major data issues. We then learn to analyze disparities using a wide range of data types - spatial, panel, experimental, and observational - through the use of raw, real-world data sets. Discussions will center on biases resulting from data, models, and algorithms. The course uses R and QGIS. Prior to enrolling, students should have a foundation in regression analysis
Prerequisites: AQM2000
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Mathematics Analytics Science and Technology
- Level: Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: QTM3605
- Number of Credits: 4
QTM3635 Quantitative Methods for Machine Learning
4 Advanced Liberal Arts CreditsThe ease of data collection coupled with plummeting data storage costs over the last decades have resulted in massive amounts of data that many business organizations have at their fingertips. Effective analysis of those data followed by sound decision-making is what makes a company an analytical competitor. This course is dedicated to learning and applying advanced quantitative tools for solving complex machine learning problems. The course will build on analytical tools learned during AQM 2000 (Predictive Business Analytics) course, introducing modern advanced tools ranging from random forests to support vector machines and artificial neural networks. Each topic covered in this course will be discussed in the context of wide-ranging real-world applications such as email spam prediction; handwritten digit recognition; topic modeling/text mining; etc. The implementation of the introduced topics will be carried out in R/RStudio.
Prerequisites: AQM2000
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Mathematics Analytics Science and Technology
- Level: Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: QTM3635
- Number of Credits: 4
HIS4620 Race and Ethnicity in Latin America
4 Advanced Liberal Arts Credits
What did it mean to be _Black_ or _Indian_ or _White_ in Latin America? What is mestizaje and indigenismo? What did it mean to be of mixed descent? What does these mean today? Is _race_ a means to political empowerment, or the source of discrimination? This seminar explores these issues and ideas in the context of colonial and postcolonial Latin American history. In answering these questions, we will look at a variety of theoretical and disciplinary approaches to _race._ Armed with the history of these changing ideas, we will then consider a variety of case studies from throughout Latin America.
Prerequisites: Any combination of 2 ILA (HSS, LTA, CSP, LVA, CVA)
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: History and Society
- Level: Advanced Liberal Arts 4600 Requirement (UGrad),Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: HIS4620
- Number of Credits: 4
ART4615 Racing Towards the Future: Early 20th Century Art
(Formerly VSA4615)
4 Advanced Liberal Arts CreditsBetween 1900 -1938, young artists grappled with enormous political, scientific, technological, and social disruptions that threw them headlong into the modern world. Styles such as Symbolism, Cubism, Futurism, Expressivism, Dada and Surrealism were their responses to changes in established ways of thinking and being that marked the beginning of the 20th century. Visits to The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, The Davies Museum of Wellesley College and the Fogg Museum of Harvard University, which have very strong collections from this period, will offer students the opportunity to directly experience this art.
Prerequisites: Any combination of 2 ILA (HSS, LTA, CSP, LVA, CVA)
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Arts and Humanities
- Level: Advanced Liberal Arts 4600 Requirement (UGrad),Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: ART4615
- Number of Credits: 4
CSP2033 Radical Politics: Thought, Action, and Culture
(Formerly CVA2033)
4 Credits
This Intermediate Liberal Arts course examines the theory, actions, claims, and artistic and cultural representations of radical political movements historically and in our time. Radical political movements seek major transformations in the way we live together. Radical movements tend to work outside and even at odds with the mainstream political process that involves political parties and elections. Through an interdisciplinary approach, this course will look at the history and contemporary forms of radical politics, read theoretical and historical works that help us understand different ways to conceptualize a "radical" approach, and assess the radical potential of artistic work. In past courses, we have examined the Alt-Right and Antifa, the Movement for Black Lives, and such Indigenous political struggles as the Standing Rock/#NoDAPL movement in the US context and the #IdleNoMore movement in the Canadian context. Movements such as these - and others such as the 2022 uprising in Iran - will likely be part of the course in Fall 2022, and I adapt course materials to allow us to analyze forms of radical politics that may well be emerging just prior to and during our semester. Other possible movements we might examine include those concerning the environment/climate change, queer struggles, radical feminism, those for and against human migration, and neo-nazi formations. Students will be encouraged to work on projects that examine historical or contemporary radical movements that are in their interest, and in the forms through which they best communicate (written, visual, audio etc). The course will focus on the North American context, but student projects and our discussions do not need to be limited to that context. The materials for this class will include historical and political scholarly analyses, journalism, documentaries, film, literature, music, podcasts, public commentary, and the narratives of activists themselves.
Prerequisites: (FCI1000 or AHS1000) and (WRT1001or RHT1000)
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: History and Society
- Level: Intermediate Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: CSP2033
- Number of Credits: 4
EPS3540 Raising Money - VC and Private Equity
4 General Credits
Students must be Sophomores, Juniors or Seniors to take this course
This class concentrates on developing a knowledge of the asset classes available for early stage and acquisition funding (both equity and debt). These include money from family and friends, angels (both individual and angel groups), VC funds, private equity, and debt from venture debt funds and special commercial banks. Much of the class is taught from the entrepreneur's perspective, but it will also cover the dynamics of starting and running a VC fund since many of the investor classes rely heavily on the VC when making investment decisions. Case material, lectures, frequent exercises/presentations and guest speakers will provide future entrepreneurs with a detailed understanding of how investors think, analyze and behave.
This understanding is critical so that entrepreneurs can understand the deals they make with investors and how to manage the process to a mutually beneficial conclusion.
Prerequisites: Sophomores, Juniors or Seniors Class standing
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Entrepreneurship
- Level: Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Management (UGrad)
- Course Number: EPS3540
- Number of Credits: 4
EPS7578 Raising Money-venture Capital and Private Equity
3 Credits
By the end of this course, students will be able:
1. To identify different types of private investors
2. To understand into what types of businesses and at what stages different equity investors invest
3. To learn and understand how private investors make their decisions
4. To understand and negotiate detailed term sheets typical of venture capital and private equity deals
5. To be aware of the full investment cycle and how that impacts entrepreneurs
This class concentrates on developing knowledge of the private investor markets: focusing primarily on early-stage venture capital investing (both venture capital funds and angel investors) and later stage private equity investing (buyout funds). We will examine the evolution of private investing and the development of alternative asset classes. Most of the class is taught from the entrepreneur's perspective, but we will learn the dynamics of establishing and operating an institutional VC or private equity fund. A key to successfully raising money from private investors is to understand THEIR business model and structural dynamics. Course materials provide future entrepreneurs with a detailed understanding of how private investors analyze, think and behave so that the entrepreneurs can understand the founding, fund raising and strategic assessment process of the investing entities.
The course will be taught in a BLENDED format, comprised of readings, lectures, case discussions as well as outside guest speakers (both entrepreneurs and investors). There will be weekly asynchronous assignments, two full days of face-to-face instruction and optional weekly synchronous online sessions.
For more information on this course you can watch a video by Clicking Here
Prerequisites: None
- Program: Graduate
- Division: Entrepreneurship
- Level: Graduate Elective (Grad)
- Course Number: EPS7578
- Number of Credits: 3
LIT 4601: Reading the City, Writing the Self: James Joyce's Dublin
4 Advanced Liberal Arts Credits
In this exploration of James Joyce's literary Dublin, we study Joyce's works as a springboard for your own creative non-fiction writing. This course combines expressive writing and literary analysis-and includes a week in Dublin itself!
The Irish writer James Joyce is a towering figure in world literature, a writer who pushed boundaries of both form and content. In his stirring bildungsroman Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, his sympathetic yet clear-eyed view of his hometown in the short story collection Dubliners, and his experimental and controversial epic Ulysses, Joyce captured ordinary lives in an extraordinary fashion. In this course you will read selections from all three works, exploring such themes as politics, love, and religion while simultaneously tracing the trajectory of Joyce's innovative style. Furthermore, and drawing inspiration from Joyce's narratives, you will pursue your own creative writing, as you will write personal essays remembering and reflecting upon your experiences and relationships. Finally, in the first week of the course, Dublin itself will be our classroom as we range from its museums to its pubs and traverse the same streets and parks and shores that Joyce and his characters inhabited, gaining all the while a rich and vibrant sense of the city's culture and history.
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Arts and Humanities
- Level: Advanced Liberal Arts 4600 Requirement (UGrad),Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: LIT4601
- Number of Credits: 4
FIN3565 Real Estate Development
4 General CreditsThis course reviews the process by which value is created through real property improvement and modification. The course examines that real estate development process, exposing students to the critical steps and key decisions required to create, secure approvals, construct, lease, finance, and manage property improvements. Through case studies, related readings, and a final team project, students examine the perceived risks and potential returns of real estate development.
Prerequisites: FIN3555
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Finance
- Level: Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Management (UGrad)
- Course Number: FIN3565
- Number of Credits: 4
FIN4571 Real Estate Finance and Advanced Modeling
4 Advanced Management Credits
This course will address the practical and theoretical issues involved in estimating cash flows and values of a wide variety real property, financial interests, investment interests and deal structures using discounted cash flow (DCF) techniques and sensitivity analyses. Students will solve real estate cash flow and DCF problems using models for property, portfolio, debt and equity interests for a variety of commercial real estate property types. Students will learn and apply the detailed modeling applications necessary to estimate both cash flows and values in the world of real estate finance and capital markets. Students will use and learn both Excel and industry standard ARGUS software applications in the process of modeling lease by lease cash flows at the property level, portfolio cash flow consolidations, related debt structures, including first mortgage and mezzanine debt, and equity waterfall structures. ARGUS is a widely accepted unique and complex modeling software that is very frequently required by employers in real estate finance. This course includes explanations of the theoretical issues and concepts involved in these practical applications. This course is intended for students who have an interest in real estate or who desire to expand their knowledge of finance to include real estate.
Prerequisites: SME2021
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Finance
- Level: Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Management (UGrad)
- Course Number: FIN4571
- Number of Credits: 4
FIN7527 Real Estate Financial Modeling
3 Elective CreditsThis course will address the practical and theoretical issues involved in estimating cash flows and values of a wide variety real property, financial interests, investment interests and deal structures using discounted cash flow (DCF) techniques and sensitivity analyses. Students will solve real estate cash flow and DCF problems using models for property, portfolio, debt and equity interests for a variety of commercial real estate property types. Students will detailed modeling applications necessary to estimate both cash flows and values in the world of real estate finance and capital markets. Students will use and learn both Excel and industry standard software applications in the process of modelling lease by lease cash flows at the property level, portfolio cash flow consolidations, related debt structures, including first mortgage and mezzanine debt, and equity waterfall structures. This course includes explanation of the theoretical issues and concepts involved in these practical applications. This course is intended for students who have an interest in real estate or who desire to expand their knowledge of finance to include real estate.
Prerequisites: FIN7200 or FIN7800 or students enrolled in MSF
- Program: Graduate
- Division: Finance
- Level: MSBA Elective (Grad),MSF Elective (Grad),Graduate Elective (Grad)
- Course Number: FIN7527
- Number of Credits: 3
FIN3555 Real Estate Investment
4 General Elective CreditsThis course is designed for students interested in learning to evaluate real estate investment opportunities. The focus is on commercial property, not single-family homes, and on U.S. real estate. Using readings and case studies, students examine real estate as an asset class and explore its similarities and differences from other investment types. The foundation for this course involves understanding the industry terminology, legal rights and restrictions, and basic techniques for financial projections and analysis.
Expanding from this base, students explore the use of debt and the implications of taxes on real estate investment returns.
Prerequisites: SME2021
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Finance
- Level: Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Management (UGrad)
- Course Number: FIN3555
- Number of Credits: 4
FIN7565 Real Estate Investments
(Formerly Real Estate Investment Fundamentals)
3 Elective Credits
This course provides in depth coverage of real estate investing and investment decision making for income producing properties. Topics include valuation, financing, capital markets, development and operations of income-producing real property and issues surrounding the ownership, financing and regulation of real estate. Through readings, lectures and case studies, we will explore how investors identify projects, determine value, design marketing strategies, and obtain financing in the debt and equity markets. This course will include an introduction to the value creation process of real estate development. The course will cover how investors evaluate and finance development projects. Topics include the unique debt and equity financing considerations for both income producing rental properties and for sale condominium projects. The course will also cover Real Estate Investment Trusts (REIT's) as an investment vehicle.
The course will use lecture materials, case studies and an example property to illustrate key real estate investment concepts for both investing in existing properties and for developing properties.
Prerequisites: FIN7200 or FIN7800
- Program: Graduate
- Division: Finance
- Level: Graduate Elective (Grad)
- Course Number: FIN7565
- Number of Credits: 3
FIN7566 Real Estate Transactions
3 Elective CreditsThis course will examine the fundamentals of commercial real estate transactions from a legal and managerial perspective. Students will gain an in-depth understanding of the major laws and regulations which impact business strategy, allocation of risk, and ultimately deal structures in real estate transactions. Through course readings, assignments, and analysis of industry examples, students will learn how the business strategy components of a term sheet are integrated into the provisions of a transaction's legal documentation. Course topics will include the following: acquisition and disposition, real estate finance, management, development, leasing, tax considerations, distressed property, including loan workouts and commercial foreclosures, and recent legal developments. The course is designed to introduce students to commercial real estate and appeal to real estate entrepreneurs and students interested in careers in the real estate industry.
Prerequisites: None
- Program: Graduate
- Division: Finance
- Level: Graduate Elective (Grad)
- Course Number: FIN7566
- Number of Credits: 3
FIN3512 Real Estate Transactions and Law
4 General Elective CreditsReal-estate is a transaction-based business. To successfully execute any business strategy in real estate, it is essential to understand the relevant legal structures and transaction documentation. This introductory and practical course will provide students with an understanding of the fundamentals of commercial real estate transactions from a legal and managerial perspective. The course is designed to familiarize students with the various "life stages" of commercial real estate transactions: negotiating the term sheet, conducting "due diligence" property investigations, structuring ownership interests, financing the project, closing and acquiring title, developing the property, managing and leasing the project, and ultimately, selling the asset or ownership interests. By integrating business strategy and legal structure throughout the course, students will explore how legal considerations impact decision-making in valuing real estate assets, selecting effective ownership structure and control, managing financial risk, allocating financial returns, and developing exit strategies for real estate investments.
Prerequisites: SME2021 or FIN2000
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Finance
- Level: Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Management (UGrad)
- Course Number: FIN3512
- Number of Credits: 4
SEN1301 Reel VS. Real: How Fictional Media Influences Reality(Senior Instructor: Celeste Campbell) This course will analyze movies, TV shows, and book excerpts that are fictional but marketed as _based on a true story. We will determine the facts behind each story and examine how our expectation that the media is based in reality affects our perceptions. We will explore the growth of this genre over the past 50 years, focusing on themes such as crime, politics, and romance; potential texts include Argo, Pocahontas, Law & Order, and Pride and Prejudice. This is a discussion-based class supplemented with short readings, articles, and viewings.
Course Schedule: Fridays: January 31, February 7, February 14, February 21, February 28 and March 7 (Showcase of all Senior-Led Seminars)
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Other
- Course Number: SEN1301
- Number of Credits: 0
QTM 7515: Reinforcement Learning and Sequential Decision Making in Practice
3 credits
This course is a practical hands-on introduction to analytical models for sequential decision making, which involves making a series of decisions over time with the goal of improving metrics of interest. Reinforcement Learning (RL) - a field of Artificial Intelligence (Al) that brought us Google DeepMind's AlphaGo and self-driving cars - is a focal area of the course. You will learn about classical RL concepts and techniques, such as bandit problems, Markov Decision Processes, dynamic programming, Monte Carlo methods, and temporal difference learning. However, the main overall objective of the course is to illustrate the interaction and use of numerous analytical techniques necessary to solve actual business problems from diverse areas like marketing, inventory management, supply chain management, healthcare operations, manufacturing, financial services, and humanitarian logistics. The course is set up as a guided journey through the lifecycle of several projects that the instructor has completed with actual organizations, increasing in complexity as the semester progresses. The open-source programming language Python and possibly other software tools will be utilized as needed during the course.
Note: This course is self contained. However, you will get more out of the course if you take it after taking at least one other modeling course at Babson (e.g., QTM7800, QTM7571/QTM6300, QTM9510, ECN7520/ECN6300/ECN63100). You do not need to have programming experience before taking the course.
(QTM 7800 for MBA students) or (QTM 6300 for MSBA students) Or (MSF Students)
- Program: Graduate
- Division: Mathematics Analytics Science and Technology
- Level: Graduate Elective (Grad)
- Course Number: QTM7515
- Number of Credits: 3
WRT2000 Research Writing
4 Foundation Liberal Arts redits
This course prompts students to put their theory of writing into practice through writing and composing in research-based genres for audiences in academic discourse communities. Students learn to recognize and adhere to the discursive and procedural conventions of particular communities of scholarly practice, and they examine and participate in modes of scholarly inquiry while learning about and engaging in best practices for finding, evaluating, and incorporating sources. Students produce scholarly arguments in essay form while exploring the roles that other textual forms can and do play in scholarship, and they continually reflect on how this work informs their theory and understanding of writing more generally.
Prerequisites: WRT1001
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Arts and Humanities
- Level: Foundation Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: WRT2000
- Number of Credits: 4
FIN3511 Residential Real Estate
4 General Elective CreditsThis course is designed to introduce students to the residential real estate housing market in the U.S. and equip them with the knowledge to efficiently and effectively navigate that marketplace. Through a practical application of the course topics and examination of current industry examples, we will explore the process of buying, selling, financing and leasing residential real estate, with a focus on single-family homes, condominiums, townhomes, duplexes, triplexes and multi-family apartments of four units or less. We will examine the major issues and considerations that impact the valuation, financing, acquisition, disposition, and leasing of residential real estate.
Prerequisites: FME1001
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Finance
- Level: Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Management (UGrad)
- Course Number: FIN3511
- Number of Credits: 4
FIN9510 Residential Real Estate: Acquisition, Disposition, Finance, and Leasing
1.5 Intensive Elective CreditsThe purpose of this course is to provide students with the knowledge to efficiently and effectively navigate the residential real estate marketplace in the United States. The course is designed to introduce students to the residential real estate housing market and appeal to real estate entrepreneurs and both domestic and international investors. We will explore the major issues and considerations that impact the valuation, financing, acquisition, disposition, and leasing of residential real estate. Course topics will include: market valuation and appraisal, real estate finance, including residential mortgage types, borrower financing decisions, and primary and secondary mortgage markets, applicable laws and regulations, property inspections, environmental issues, title insurance, brokering and closing the transaction, landlord and tenant issues, tax considerations, and default ownership issues. Throughout the course, we will emphasize practical application of the course topics and examine current examples from the industry and marketplace.
Prerequisites: None
- Program: Graduate
- Division: Finance
- Level: Graduate Elective (Grad)
- Course Number: FIN9510
- Number of Credits: 1.5
ACC6110 Resource Planning and Control
(Formerly Managerial Accounting)
MSEL Course
1.5 CreditsThis course empowers students with the quantitative skills and logical analysis required to evaluate the financial feasibility of strategic opportunities such as entering new markets, pursuing new customers, or introducing new products or processes. Managerial Accounting methods are also used to construct profitable business models for new or existing ventures. Asking the simple questions "What is the business model?" and "How will this strategy create a return for the owners?" the course emphasizes that financial analysis should be performed ex ante to screen ideas so entrepreneurs and organizations can get maximum value from their resources. While cases in this course are primarily focused on profit-seeking entities, managerial accounting skills may be successfully applied to any venture with an imperative to accomplish challenging strategic goals while using resources efficiently.
- Program: Graduate
- Division: Accounting and Law
- Course Number: ACC6110
- Number of Credits: 1.5
MKT3540 Retailing Management
4 CreditsRetailers lie at the end of the supply chain. They interface with the ultimate consumer as well as with suppliers. Retailers make investments in real estate and solicit funds from the investment community. Importantly, most of the major retailers in the United States are involved in multichannel strategies that involve selling over the Internet. As a result, this course should appeal to students with varied interests: retailing management, suppliers to retailers (or any business selling inventory), entrepreneurs, retail services, real estate, IT e-commerce, and finance. The objective of the course is to familiarize students with all of the major decisions retailers make, e.g., developing strategies, buying, financing, locating stores. The course is designed around experiential learning exercises-We get out and do it!
Prerequisites: SME2011 or MKT2000
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Marketing
- Level: Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Management (UGrad)
- Course Number: MKT3540
- Number of Credits: 4
MKT7540 Retailing Strategy
(Formerly Retailing Management)Retailing Management Retailers lie at the end of the supply chain. They interface with the ultimate consumer as well as with suppliers. Retailers make investments in real estate and solicit funds from the investment community. Importantly, most of the major retailers in the United States are involved in multichannel strategies that involve communicating with their customers over the Internet and through social media. As a result, this course should appeal to students with varied interests: retailing management, suppliers to retailers (or any business selling inventory), entrepreneurs, retail services, real estate, IT e-commerce, and finance. The objective of the course is to familiarize students with all of the major decisions retailers make, e.g., developing strategies, buying, financing, locating stores. The course is designed around experiential learning exercises and cases.
Prerequisites: MKT7200 or MKT7800 or equivalent core
- Program: Graduate
- Division: Marketing
- Level: Graduate Elective (Grad)
- Course Number: MKT7540
- Number of Credits: 3
FIN4507 Risk Management
4 Advanced Management Credits
Risk management has risen to a new pre-eminence with firms being exposed to an ever increasing range of risks. The reasons for this rise, and the techniques and instruments used by risk managers, are the subjects of this course. The course will first cover the concept of Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) and then analyze the key financial tools used in risk management, such as futures and options. Students will then use their knowledge to manage risk optimally and alter the risk/return characteristics of corporations. The course will apply these tools to risk management cases to cover a whole set of different sectors (airlines, automobiles, IT, etc.). The course will also go into some of the most pressing risks of our time, namely: climate change; diversity, equity and inclusion (DE&I); and cybersecurity, as well as risks related to Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A) and executive compensation.
Prerequisites: SME2021
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Finance
- Level: Advanced Management (UGrad)
- Course Number: FIN4507
- Number of Credits: 4
FIN7504 Risk Management
(Formerly Managing Financial and Corporate Risk)
3 Elective Credits
Risk management has risen to a new pre-eminence with firms being exposed to an ever-increasing range of risks. The reasons for this rise, and the techniques and instruments used by risk managers, are the subjects of this course. The course will first cover the concept of Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) and then analyze the key financial tools used in risk management, such as futures and options. Students will then use their knowledge to manage risk optimally and alter the risk/return characteristics of corporations. The course will apply these tools to risk management cases to cover a whole set of different sectors (airlines, automobiles, IT, etc.). The course will also go into some of the most pressing risks of our time, namely: climate change; diversity, equity and inclusion (DE&I); and cybersecurity, as well as risks related to Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A) and executive compensation.
Prerequisites: FIN7200 or FIN7800
- Program: Graduate
- Division: Finance
- Level: MSF Core (Grad),Graduate Elective (Grad)
- Course Number: FIN7504
- Number of Credits: 3
HUM4612 Rome: Origins of Democracy, Imperialism and Human Rights
4 Advanced Liberal Arts Credits
At a moment when democracy is contested around the globe, why not return to the source?
This course invites students to revisit the origins of democracy through interdisciplinary study-philosophy, political theory, history, literature-in Rome, one of the places where it all started (at least for the western world). Significantly, this city/state was also one of the first empires, meaning that the Romans explored, conquered or colonized, and ruled and exploited other geographic territories. This course studies the original principles, processes, and representations of democracy from 1st century Rome, while also considering its role as an empire and linking both to human rights in their modern form.
If democracy aspires to equality and freedom, imperialism is its foil, a centuries-long program of conquest, racial and cultural superiority, and ongoing economic exploitation. Some might argue that the tension between them is precisely responsible for current global social, political, and economic challenges. Paradoxically-or not?-the two are deeply intertwined, and both inform the language and practice of contemporary human rights (for the better and for the worse, alas). Examining their earliest aspirations and most significant historical failures where they actually happened will help us to address the current problem of migration and asylum seeking in Europe as a limit to the "human" envisioned by human rights.
Consider this: We'll climb the Palatine Hill, site of the founding of Rome, while reading Virgil's account of that event in The Aeneid; study Shakespeare's Julius Caesar while visiting the Curia of Pompey, site of the Roman Senate (and, so they say, of Caesar's death); and experience the Vatican and St. Peter's Basilica while learning about how the Catholic Church fueled the Roman Empire-and vice versa. We will visit ancient ruins and markers of cultures meditating on what they meant to those who made them, and to us, now, and we will relax along the banks of the Tiber listening to music in the evenings.
All along, we will address the profound questions of power, ideology, law, freedom, obligation, hospitality, cultural contact, and human rights that arise with our journeying. Perhaps most significantly, we will visit sites devoted to the lives and futures of migrants and refugees in Rome, one of Europe's key points of entry, as well as meeting members of non-governmental organizations working on human rights issues stemming from migration and other crises.
While experiencing the city and understanding its shifting identity as historical/tourist site and migration center, we will negotiate its spaces as ones where we can most powerfully witness and test ideas of democracy and rights for ourselves.
Prerequisites: Any combination of 2 ILA (HSS, LTA, CSP, LVA, CVA)
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Arts and Humanities
- Level: Advanced Liberal Arts 4600 Requirement (UGrad),Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: HUM4612
- Number of Credits: 4
MKT4520 Sales in Action
4 Advanced Management CreditsA key challenge for any sales professional is the ability to communicate value to current and potential customers. While the sales knowledge gained in the traditional sales classroom is fundamental for learning about what needs to be communicated, the traditional classroom stops short of helping students to achieve the "ability" to communicate value. Through this course, students will engage in the practice of selling, receive exposure to how hard salespeople work, and become excited about professional selling as a career (or, alternatively, decide that professional selling is not the best career choice). Thus, this experiential course, Sales in Action, will allow students to observe and participate in sales processes.
Prerequisites: none
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Marketing
- Level: Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Management (UGrad)
- Course Number: MKT4520
- Number of Credits: 4
MKT7571 Sales in Action
(Formerly Building and Leading Effective Sales Force)
3 CreditsThis course focuses on the management of sales force (i.e., salespeople, business development executives, and customer relationship staff). The course explores the resources (e.g., people, information, and technology) used by firms to initiate and develop long term customer relationships. Given the vital role of sales in several organizations, the course will expose students to the strategic and tactical means with which firms create, control, nurture, and motivate the sales force.
This course complements MBA 9502 (Customer Acquisition and Persuasion). Whereas MBA 9502 focuses on the development of skills needed to excel in selling, this course addresses the leadership roles of Sales Managers, Sales Directors, Chief Revenue Officers, and Sales VPs.
Topics covered typically include sales force structure/sizing, territory design, recruitment/selection, coaching and training, motivation (leadership, compensation, sales contests, and quota management), and performance management.
Prerequisites: MKT7200 or MKT7800
- Program: Graduate
- Division: Marketing
- Level: Graduate Elective (Grad)
- Course Number: MKT7571
- Number of Credits: 3
MKT 9505: Sales and Marketing Dynamics within Franchise Systems
1.5 credits
This course will cover and explore the unique dynamics of sales and marketing in franchise systems. This intensive elective course complements EPS7534- Franchising, licensing & distributorship. We will review the fundamentals of franchise business models to set the context for the course and then focus on specific aspects of franchising that presents unique challenges for sales and marketing executives. We will address the implications these challenges have on marketing strategy, brand building, brand extension, sales process, sales pipeline, and revenue management. Topics covered include fundamentals of franchise business models and systems, marketing strategy and implementation in franchise systems, brand building and brand leadership in franchise systems, sales process and pipeline management for recruiting franchisees, aligning B2C and B2B franchise sales to support revenue growth, understanding franchise unit level sales analytics, managing brand conflicts and opportunities in multi-brand franchise operators, managing brands in international franchise systems, marketing channel conflicts, challenges, and opportunities when franchising is combined with other go-to-market channel options, new product development (NPD) and product portfolio management (PPM) for growth-phase franchise systems.
Prerequisites: MKT 7800
- Program: Graduate
- Division: Marketing
- Level: Graduate Elective (Grad)
- Course Number: MKT9505
- Number of Credits: 1.5
OIM6600 Scaling a New Business Within the Enterprise Through Digital
3 Credits (MSAEL Core)Digitized processes and platforms are an essential approach for leaders to scale major projects and initiatives in an organization. Cloud computing enable digital platforms that focus on operations, employee collaboration, customer relationships, and machine-to-machine connections such as the Internet of Things (IoT) to capture, analyze, and share data and insights. Instead of experimenting in an incubation state, the entire organization has to get involved with the innovation process. In this course, we explore how and when to use these digital platforms. This includes not only the rollout of the digital change from an operations and resourcing perspective but understanding who the active and passive champions and resistors are and working with them to drive diffusion. We will also discuss operations challenges and solutions associated with moving from a pilot to full scale production. Finally, the course will expose students to emerging technology enablers (e.g. data visualization, 3D printing, robotics, machine learning, augmented/virtual reality tools) and effectively identify the role they can play in the organization's growth and renewal.
Prerequisites: MOB6600 and EPS6600
- Program: Graduate
- Division: Operations and Information Management
- Level: MSAEL (Grad)
- Course Number: OIM6600
- Number of Credits: 3
OIM3536 Scaling Lean Ventures
4 Advanced Management Credits
How do you enable an organization to overcome the constraints and risks posed by the nascent & uncertain operating environment found in an entrepreneurial venture? Scaling Lean Ventures is a capstone course for Operations concentrators and elective course for others targeted to 3rd and 4th year undergraduate students with an interest in strategic operations in small to medium sized organizations.
The approach to the course is driven by Lean Principles of Management including "learn by doing". The well-studied Toyota Production System serves us as the root file for many of these principles. Students will be assigned to a high priority project with an organization and will be expected to conceive & implement Lean Start-up principles to relieve the organization of a deeply embedded operating constraint on growth. This is not a consulting experience, but a learn-by-doing partnership for fourteen weeks. The students will be expected to be on site with the partner organizations regularly to make implementation progress.
In addition to their on-site time, the course will have an in-class component. During each in-class session, the students will be exposed to a new TPS concept and discuss how to implement it at their project. The students will also provide and receive feedback from their peers, instructors, and guest lecturers to gain insights on their implementation attempts to-date, thus better understanding their assigned problem and charting a path forward to success.
The partner organizations are from a wide variety of industries, including technology, consumer products, food, legal services, and socially-oriented manufacturing and service companies.
Prerequisites: FME and SME ; Juniors and Seniors status
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Operations and Information Management
- Level: Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Management (UGrad)
- Course Number: OIM3536
- Number of Credits: 4
STR3500: Scaling Strategy: Mastering the Four Stages from Idea to $10 Billion
4 advanced management credits
How do the most successful founders transform their idea into a large, fast-growing company? Scaling Strategy answers this question by investigating three fundamental questions:
- What are the stages through which an organization must evolve to turn a new business idea into a fast-growing public company?
- How can leaders capture the opportunities and overcome the challenges at each of these stages?
- How can CEOs assess their ability to lead their organization through the next stage of scaling?
Scaling Strategy explores these questions through a specific scaling framework developed by Professor Cohan and complemented with the work of other experts in the field of scaling strategy. As described below in Appendix A: Core Scaling Concepts, the course presents and applies concepts such as:
- Four stages of scaling - during which leaders seek to achieve different business objectives that are essential to transforming an idea into a large company;
- Seven scaling levers - the management tools that leader use to achieve these objectives; and
- Scaling quotient - a tool for assessing the company's capabilities - both strengths and improvement opportunities - to hurdle the next scaling stage.
For more information please watch this video: https://babson.instructuremedia.com/embed/d2e3ddbb-d69a-4091-b285-1fe25c344a76
Prerequisite: STR3000
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Management
- Level: Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Management (UGrad)
- Course Number: STR3500
- Number of Credits: 4
EPS3534 Scholar in Action Experience
2 General CreditsThis two-credit course is designed to help individual students in the Bernon Scholar Program research, draft, and plan, execute, and evaluate a programmatic response to social or community need or concern for which the student is passionate.
This course is accomplished in five parts: exploration of issue, benchmarking and research of existing responses, planning of student's response, execution of that response and the student reflection on efficiency and effectiveness.
Enrollment by Permission Only
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Entrepreneurship
- Level: Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Management (UGrad)
- Course Number: EPS3534
- Number of Credits: 2
NST1090 Science of Sport
4 NST1 Credits
From the first recorded event at the ancient Olympic Games in 760 BC to the present, humans have long been captivated by sports. Humans are competitive by nature, and while sports are thrilling to both watch and play, sports are also a powerful demonstration of science. Every sport from soccer to cricket, baseball to softball, football, swimming and track and field all involve a complex symphony of science, technology, engineering, and math. This course will explore the science that underlies sport, specifically incorporating the traditional scientific disciplines of anatomy and physiology, physics, psychology, biomechanics and math. We will explore the systems of the human body that make it possible for a pitcher to throw a baseball at 100 mph, a marathoner to run 26.2 miles in just under 2 hours or a figure skater to land a quadruple axle. We will explore how science contributes to the limits of human speed, strength and endurance. We have accumulated considerable amount of information that contributes to our understanding of health, the human body and human performance in relation to sport and exercise. We will explore a range of topics from the effects of exercise on heart rate, oxygen consumption, muscle function and fatigue, joint mechanics, metabolism and concussion. Importantly, we will put the concepts we learn in class into practice in the lab and on the field to test them and collect and use data to critically analyze athletic performance and the underlying scientific principles that define it.
Prerequires: None
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Mathematics Analytics Science and Technology
- Level: Foundation Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: NST1090
- Number of Credits: 4
MBA7570 Science, Technology and the Enterprise -- Foundation
3 CreditsThis, the foundation course for the _Science, Technology, and the Enterprise_ MBA intensity track, is motivated by the increasing application of science and technology in many facets of business -- operations, processes, products, big data, and even management -- in enterprises of all types and regardless of scale, industry vertical, and commercial orientation. Shying away from the particulars of science and technology, the course addresses the distinctive perspectives, knowledge, competencies, and ethos critical to leading and managing science- and technology-intensive businesses and enterprises. The course is structured around four themes -- science and technology acquisition, development, and management; the enterprise and its ecosystem; plate techtonics, disruptive change, and enterprise transformation; and science/technology choice and human, social, and environmental consequence. Drawing on the disciplines of science and technology management, organizational development, strategy, public policy, and social change, the course uses contemporary topics and study materials for context. Student learning is reinforced by in-the-first-person visits by managers and leaders of science- and technology-intensive enterprises.
Prerequisites: Full-time MBA students should have completed all their core courses; part-time and Blended Learning students should have completed a majority of their core courses
- Program: Graduate
- Division: Marketing
- Level: MSBA Elective (Grad),Graduate Elective (Grad)
- Course Number: MBA7570
- Number of Credits: 3
SCN3640 Science and Innovation
4 Advanced Liberal Arts CreditsAn examination of the concepts, principles and policies related to research and development activities with examples from the history of the subject from its Greek beginnings to modern times. Successful and failed R&D projects from multiple disciplines will be explored as a driving force for innovation. The complex relationships that the scientific and engineering enterprises have to the innovation process will be examined with respect society, industry, and political motivations.
Prerequisites: NST10%%
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Mathematics Analytics Science and Technology
- Level: Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: SCN3640
- Number of Credits: 4
FIN3520 Security Valuation
4 General Elective CreditsThis course is designed for students interested in investment banking, fixed-income valuation or equity analysis. Students develop tools and techniques for the valuation of different securities. Topics covered include: bond pricing, bond duration, the term-structure of interest rates, financial statement analysis, equity valuation models, and firm valuation. A major focus of this class is the valuation of specific firms and securities using finance theory and applications.
Prerequisites: SME2021 or FIN2000
Recommended: ACC3502
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Finance
- Level: Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Management (UGrad)
- Course Number: FIN3520
- Number of Credits: 4
HUM 1001: Self as Global Citizen
3 Credits course for Humanities and Entrepreneurship Certificate Students Only
Building on the first two courses in the Babson College program in Entrepreneurial Leadership, Self as Global Citizen explores the self in social context and in relation to a set of 21st century issues and problems. We begin with an exploration of the notion of citizenship, focusing especially on philosophies of nationalism v. cosmopolitanism as well as contexts such as gender, race, and identity, and then expand our previous work on trauma and the self to explore the broader cultural transmission and political implications of trauma, including intergenerational trauma. From there, we examine crucial issues that face each one of us as global citizens: climate crisis, toxic cultures, forced migration, technology and artificial intelligence, mental health and the future of medicine.
Students will analyze and synthesize material in weekly close reading and writing assignments. The major course project is an individual case study and presentation for an idea to address one of the issues we have studied. This work will be undertaken with the mentorship of Babson College seniors who have studied Entrepreneurship extensively and are currently taking an advanced course in human rights.
Prerequiste: Course is for Humanities and Entrepreneurship students only
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Arts and Humanities
- Course Number: HUM1001
- Number of Credits: 3
HSS2058 The Modern American City (HIS)
4 Intermediate Liberal Arts CreditsIn this intermediate course, students will analyze how urban centers such as Boston, Chicago, New York, San Francisco and Los Angeles have served as catalysts for major developments in nineteenth and twentieth-century American history. The course will consider how these cities have spurred the nation's economy, politics, and culture, and have shaped American identity by welcoming millions of immigrants, artists, intellectuals, and bohemians. Selected subjects include Boston's institutions of culture, Chicago's factory system, the popular amusements of Coney Island, the architecture and music of _Jazz Age_ New York, the development of public housing, the counterculture in San Francisco, and the urban crisis in Los Angeles.
Prerequisites: (FCI1000 or AHS1000) and (WRT1001or RHT1000)
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: History and Society
- Level: Intermediate Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: HSS2058
- Number of Credits: 4
LIT4616 Shakespeare's Sex
4 Advanced Liberal Arts CreditsShakespeare's works have long held a privileged position in the histories of sex, gender, and eroticism. In this course, we will consider how Shakespeare helps us "think sex" in its various bodily, psychological, political, textual, and historical dimensions. What counts as "sex" in Shakespeare's world(s)? What desires, relations, and practices are rendered perceptible-and/or imaginable-through his poetry and plays? Which categories, identities, and emotions mattered when Shakespeare and his contemporaries imagined sex and its meanings, and how do these align with, and diverge from, those which inform our present lives and erotic relations? To explore these and related questions, we will read four major plays and two works of poetry: Romeo & Juliet, Othello, As You Like It, Cymbeline, The Rape of Lucrece, and selections from The Sonnets. Drawn from across the Shakespearean canon, such works will allow us to consider how differences of genre and literary form shape erotic possibilities, as well as how issues of race, gender, status, religion, reputation, and ethnicity intersect with sexual meanings, both in that era and our own. To enhance our appreciation of these works and their erotic possibilities, we will routinely consider modern, cinematic adaptions of the plays we read, as well as select screen biographies (Shakespeare in Love, All Is True). Finally, we will attend to the curious case of Shakespeare's sex: not only what we know-and don't know-about the playwright's (sexual) biography, but why his erotic relations continue to arouse interest and speculation, some four hundred years after his death.
Prerequisites: Any combination of 2 ILA (HSS, LTA, CSP, LVA, CVA)
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Arts and Humanities
- Level: Advanced Liberal Arts 4600 Requirement (UGrad),Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: LIT4616
- Number of Credits: 4
LIT4609 Shakespearean Bodies
4 Advanced Liberal Arts Credits
What kinds of bodies are represented in Shakespeare? Which bodies "matter," to whom, and on what terms? How are embodied meanings forged and contested on the Shakespearean stage, and how are such meanings informed by differences of race, class, gender, sexuality, age, religion, and bodily ability? In this course, we will consider how Shakespeare helps us think about bodies in their various material, political, textual, and historical dimensions. To do so, we will read six major plays: Antony & Cleopatra, The Comedy of Errors, The Merchant of Venice, Pericles, Richard III, and Titus Andronicus. Drawn from across the Shakespearean canon, these works will allow us to consider how differences of genre enable and constrain certain kinds of bodily thinking, as well as how issues of race, class, gender, sexuality, religion, and violence intersect with bodily meanings, both in that era and our own. To enhance our appreciation of these works, we will routinely consider modern, cinematic adaptions of the plays we read, as well as relevant works of literary criticism. Throughout, we will discuss the relevance of these works to our understanding of bodies today; consider how modern conceptual categories can inform and inhibit our understanding of bodies past; and explore how stage drama, as a representational medium which privileges the performed body, allows us to think about the various processes through which human bodies assume cultural meanings.
Prerequisites: Any combination of 2 ILA (HSS, LTA, CSP, LVA, CVA)
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Arts and Humanities
- Level: Advanced Liberal Arts 4600 Requirement (UGrad),Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: LIT4609
- Number of Credits: 4
OIM3519 Simulation Modeling in Operations Management
4 Advanced Management Credits
This course exposes students to simulation modeling techniques of various operational challenges. Simulations imitate realistic business environment and enable participants to explore the impact of their operational decisions. Decision making in simulation models enables decision makers to evaluate alternative decisions, before the changes are implemented in actual operations and prevents potentially costly mistakes. The real value of simulations is actually revealed after the decision is made, which is the critical component of this course.
In this course, students will first identify a problem, collect or analyze the data, formulate and validate the simulation model, and finally simulate alternative outcomes to recommend the appropriate decision. Once the decision is implemented in the model, the future condition of the business environment is randomly changed, and impact of the decision is analyzed and re-assessed. The analysis will use simulation model to evaluate and predict impact of the decision making on profit, society and environment, combined with regulatory and ethical considerations.
The course is composed of four independent simulation building modules, and a final project. Students will work in groups and individually to create four guided simulation models. Final project is a semester-long activity where students will have the opportunity to build simulation model in the field of their interest or chose from a list of topics proposed by Babson community. During the semester, students will spend approximately equal amount of time on advanced data analytics and operations management topics. The underlying principle of the course is to learn by experience, learn practical model building skills, and emphasis on the analysis of the simulation results, and the impact of various decision alternatives.
Prerequisites: (QTM1000 or AQM1000) and (SME2002 or OIM2001)
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Operations and Information Management
- Level: Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Management (UGrad)
- Course Number: OIM3519
- Number of Credits: 4
SEN1340 Skill-Driven Portfolio Building
(Student Instructor: Maria Herwagen) Searching for jobs is difficult enough as it is, let alone trying to stand out among a sea of other applicants. Set yourself apart from wordy cover letters and organized resumes by including a portfolio! Whether you're looking for jobs or internships in Marketing, Tech, Data, Arts, or another field, a portfolio will help you showcase your skills to potential employers. In this course, we will cover the basics of portfolio ideation and building, including reader experience, curation, visual structure, and more. Students will devise their own digital portfolios using existing materials as well as come up with ideas for additional content. The class is designed to help students walk out with a usable portfolio. Note: this class will NOT cover financial stock portfolios.
Tuesdays 6:30 - 9:00 pm
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Other
- Course Number: SEN1340
- Number of Credits: 0
Marketing is involved with the task of ethically marketing products and services in a global environment. In order to survive in the contemporary business world, organizations have to continually bring new ideas and products/services to the market - think creatively, act entrepreneurially and utilize analytical rigor. The Marketing stream of SME will examine how marketers can recognize and utilize changes in the political, economic, social, and technological environments to identify and target opportunities; how to develop and communicate value propositions; and how to develop successful marketing strategies. These strategies will emphasize market analysis and the Four Ps (product, pricing, place, and promotion). Students will also be introduced to the analytical tools and methods crucial to understanding the role of these variables in achieving marketing goals and reaching performance metrics. This stream will also explore issues associated with: social media, marketing research and marketing analytics, buying behavior, market segmentation, branding, retailing, value-based pricing, advertising, sales, and other marketing topics as they are applied to the management of marketing goods and services. Methods of instruction will include lecture, discussion, experiential (involvement) learning, integrative teaching, simulations, and case analysis. Methods of assessment will include: quizzes, presentations, exams and participation. The material and the various methods of instructions are guided by Babson's learning goals. The marketing stream of SME will primarily integrate with Managing Technology and Information Systems. There will be a joint social media related project and presentation.
*** Students may not take SME2000 and SME2010 concurrently***
MKT2011 Marketing
3 Intermediate Management Credits
The sophomore management experience MKT and IT module (SME) integrates two subject streams: Marketing (3 credits) and Managing Technology and Information Systems (3 credits). This module focuses on helping students develop an understanding of the marketplace and the role of informational data bases, marketing research and marketing analytics in adding this understanding. The two streams highlight the role of marketing and information technology interface in a variety of contexts to enhance the effectiveness of business strategies. Businesses are actively using social media, mobile and online to market their products and services. The two streams will jointly highlight the importance of these information technology advancements in enabling businesses (and marketers) to better serve their customers. SME will also provide learning experiences that demonstrate the interconnections between the streams.
SME2012 Managing Information Technology and Systems
3 Intermediate Management Credits
Managing Information Technology and Systems (MITS), part of the second year management curriculum, is designed to introduce students to the foundational concepts in Information Technology and Systems (ITS) and their application in managing innovation, ITS infrastructure, and organizational partners (suppliers/customers) in the context of a medium/large business. The course will integrate primarily with Marketing and Operations using common/linked cases and joint exercises. The pre-requisites for the course is FME (Foundation of Management and Entrepreneurship).
Prerequisites: FME1001 or (MOB1000 and MOB1010)
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Other
- Level: Intermediate Management (UGrad)
- Course Number: SME2010
- Number of Credits: 6
The sophomore management experience MAC and TOM module (SME) integrates two subject streams: Technology and Operations Management (3 credits) and Managerial Accounting (3 credits). This module focuses on the internal organization and processes required for entrepreneurial leaders and managers to successfully test and execute business strategies. To be effective, entrepreneurs and managers must design operations, model the expected performance of operational designs, make decisions that strategically manage costs, and take actions that achieve desired results in an ethical manner. The two streams in this module will help build the skills you need to become ethical entrepreneurial leaders and managers. You will experience how the design of operations impacts measured performance, and how modeling expected results before action is taken leads to improved operational decisions. SME will also provide learning experiences that demonstrate the interconnections between the streams.
***Students may not take SME2000 and SME2010 concurrently***
SME2001 Managerial Accounting
3 Intermediate Management Credits
The Managerial Accounting stream in SME builds on knowledge acquired in Financial Accounting but shifts the focus to providing entrepreneurs and managers with relevant information that supports decision making and performance measurement. The stream introduces the language of managerial accounting and teaches students to perform basic management accounting analyses (e.g., costing of cost objects, cost behavior, differential analysis, and performance measurement). The stream requires students to use the results of their analysis to evaluate the design of operations, to make strategic decisions, and to propose action. Issues covered include selecting a profitable mix of products and services, analyzing profits and costs during product development, budgeting for operations, analyzing whether to outsource or insource activities, and managing performance through measurement systems. Throughout the semester we will explore interconnections between management accounting analyses and operational actions.
SME2002 Managing Operations
3 Intermediate Management Credits
Managing operations is vital to every type of organization, for it is only through effective and efficient utilization of resources that an organization can be successful in the long run. This is especially true today, when we see that significant competitive advantages accrue to those firms that manage their operations effectively. We define operations in the broadest sense, not confining the focus within a set of walls but defining the scope to the thoughts and activities necessary to supply goods and services from their conception to their consumption. This course introduces you to the operational challenges that entrepreneurs and managers face and provides a set of tools to aid you in designing, evaluating and managing business processes to meet your organization's objectives. Throughout the semester we will explore interconnections between operational actions and management accounting analyses.
Prerequisites: ACC1000 and FME1001 or (MOB1000 and MOB1010)
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Other
- Level: Intermediate Management (UGrad)
- Course Number: SME2000
- Number of Credits: 6
EPS7506 Social Innovation
3 Elective CreditsWe are living in a world where societal expectations of business have shifted and the lines between business, government, and the social sectors are being blurred. Businesses are called upon to create both economic and social value in new ways. This course addresses issues related to the social, economic, and environmental responsibilities of business. The topic of sustainability is also addressed.
- Program: Graduate
- Division: Entrepreneurship
- Level: Graduate Elective (Grad)
- Course Number: EPS7506
- Number of Credits: 3
OIM3504 Social Innovation Design Studio: Innovating for the Future of Business and Society
4 Advanced Management Credits
This experiential studio course offers students a unique opportunity to integrate entrepreneurial leadership with social design and learn by doing as they create and implement solutions to some of the world's pressing challenges - in partnership with innovative client sponsors. Students work collaboratively in teams supported by faculty, mentors, lecturers and their own self-initiated research. Three sections guide learners through the process of self-discovery, understanding the landscape and potential of social design in business, and hands-on application of the process to a real-world challenge. The mindsets, skillsets and processes mastered will serve students in creating the future they want throughout their lives.
Prerequisites: (FME 1000 and FME1001) or (EPS1000 and MOB1010)
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Operations and Information Management
- Level: Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Management (UGrad)
- Course Number: OIM3504
- Number of Credits: 4
OIM7504 Social Innovation Design Studio: Impacting the Future of Business
3 Credits
This new experiential studio course offers students a unique opportunity to integrate entrepreneurial leadership with social design and learn by doing as they create and implement solutions to some of the world's pressing challenges - in partnership with innovative organizational sponsors. Students work collaboratively in teams supported by faculty, mentors, lecturers and their own self-initiated research. Three sections guide learners through the process of self-discovery, understanding the landscape and potential of social design in business, and hands-on application of the process to a real-world challenge. The mindsets, skillsets and processes mastered will serve students in creating the future they want throughout their lives. This is a signature learning experience for the updated Intensity Track in Business and Social Innovation.
Prerequisites: None
- Program: Graduate
- Division: Operations and Information Management
- Level: Graduate Elective (Grad)
- Course Number: OIM7504
- Number of Credits: 3
MKT3500 Social Media and Advertising Strategy
(Formerly Marketing Communications)
4 Elective CreditsHow do customers learn about or build the desire to pick one product or service from another? The answer is social media and advertising. Making a great product or providing superior service is not enough if no one knows about it. IN the 21st century, traditional advertising strategies are not enough. Now companies need to have social media strategy at the center of their advertising planning. You should take this course if you want to learn how to effectively communicate about your product or service to your target segment(s) across social media platforms and how to coordinate your overall advertising strategy.
Examines the nature and role of social media platforms and advertising strategies, focusing on the goals and uses of advertising, sales promotion, public relations, and direct marketing, in achieving the communications objectives of marketing. This course first explores online consumer behavior and microtargeting, then discusses content and creative strategy planning. The course will then examine how to apply these strategies to various social media platforms such as YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Pinterest, and others along with integrating with traditional media. Students will be involved in determining the promotional budget, creating a message strategy, planning the social media mix, targeting communications to select market segments, executing the promotion program, and measuring overall effectiveness.
Prerequisites: SME2011
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Marketing
- Level: Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Management (UGrad)
- Course Number: MKT3500
- Number of Credits: 4
MKT7500 Social Media and Advertising Strategy
(Formerly Marketing Communications)
3 Elective CreditsHow do customers learn about or build the desire to pick one product or service from another? The answer is social media and advertising. Making a great product or providing superior service is not enough if no one knows about it. IN the 21st century, traditional advertising strategies are not enough. Now companies need to have social media strategy at the center of their advertising planning. You should take this course if you want to learn how to effectively communicate about your product or service to your target segment(s) across social media platforms and how to coordinate your overall advertising strategy.
Examines the nature and role of social media platforms and advertising strategies, focusing on the goals and uses of advertising, sales promotion, public relations, and direct marketing, in achieving the communications objectives of marketing. This course first explores online consumer behavior and microtargeting, then discusses content and creative strategy planning. The course will then examine how to apply these strategies to various social media platforms such as YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Pinterest, and others along with integrating with traditional media. Students will be involved in determining the promotional budget, creating a message strategy, planning the social media mix, targeting communications to select market segments, executing the promotion program, and measuring overall effectiveness.
Prerequisites: MKT7200 or MKT7800
- Program: Graduate
- Division: Marketing
- Level: Graduate Elective (Grad)
- Course Number: MKT7500
- Number of Credits: 3
SEN1305 Social Media Etiquette for Business Professionalism(Senior Instructor: Will Hallock) Due to the growing ability to connect with others via social media, individuals' online behavior is becoming increasingly important in the professional setting. Whether during the job search or in everyday communication, social media etiquette is an essential skill for success. This course incorporates a combination of theory (through scholarly articles and publications) and application (through frequent class activities such as practice professional emails, social network profile assessments, and mock social media networking activities), with a heavier emphasis on the latter portion.
Course Schedule:
Friday, January 31 - Effective Email Communication
Friday, February 7 - Using LinkedIn to Highlight Your Skillset
Friday, February 14 - Developing Your Professional Brand on Twitter
Friday, February 21 - Building Your Network on Facebook
Friday, February 28 - Professional Presentation Strategy
Friday, March 7 - Showcase of all Senior-Led Seminars
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Other
- Course Number: SEN1305
- Number of Credits: 0
NST2085 Socio-Ecological Prairie Systems
4 Intermediate Liberal Arts Credits
**NST2085 AND LVA2085 are two separate courses and students are held responsible to register for the course that they would like to receive credit for.**
Socio-ecological systems (SES) are linked systems of people with nature, emphasizing that humans must be seen as a part of, not apart from nature. This course will explore the nature of the prairie, both as a socio-ecological system and as a subject for exploration and contemplation for visual and literary artists. Before the Euro-American (un)settlement of the North American middle west-about 150 years ago-the tallgrass prairie extended for approximately 145 million acres from Canada to Texas. Now, after several generations of overgrazing, plowing, and the intensities of agricultural production, there remains less than 5% of what some scientists call our most endangered ecosystem. We will investigate how prairies function, study the causes and consequences of related ecological patterns and processes in prairie landscapes, describe both the loss and restoration of prairie environments, and appreciate the potential for the role of the arts in naming, analyzing, and imagining solutions relating to the examination and repair of prairie systems. Studying SES allows for the development of important skills for future leaders, such as approaches for incorporating uncertainty, nonlinearity, and self-reorganization from instability. Transdisciplinary approaches will be employed to address complex temporal, spatial, and organizational scales to investigate real world challenges.
Prerequisites: NST1 and FCI1000 and WRT1001
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Mathematics Analytics Science and Technology
- Level: Intermediate Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: NST2085
- Number of Credits: 4
SES2000 Socio-Ecological Systems
4 Credits
Special Topic Descriptions: https://babson.sharepoint.com/:w:/s/SESTeachingFaculty/EWYrFfzN_uZDhS_m8w-TmAcBP35aZg1XkbeRQAjsQ7HapQ?e=pc4LSt&CID=4F7F0C1A-ED6A-4E61-9AB9-A0476C8E2B98
This co-taught course will integrate across the social sciences and ecological sciences to focus on socio-ecological systems(SES), which are linked systems of people with nature, emphasizing that humans must be seen as a part of, not apart from nature. These connected systems are complex, adaptive, and are governed by feedbacks within and between social and bio-physical processes. Studying SES allows for the development of important skills desperately needed for future business leaders, such as approaches for incorporating uncertainty, nonlinearity, and self-reorganization from instability. Students will be taught systems thinking and how to identify and develop an understanding of the interdependent and interrelated structures and feedbacks of dynamic systems. Transdisciplinary approaches will be employed to address complex temporal, spatial, and organizational scales to investigate real world challenges. Beyond just social impact businesses or corporate social responsibility, teaching system dynamics for sustainability allows students to develop as system change leaders.
This course will directly address the new integrated sustainability theme and will provide a strong background for all of our students in integrative systems thinking, ecological integrity, and structural injustice. Students will be introduced to the UN Sustainable Development Goals, Planetary Boundaries Framework, resilience strategies, and leverage points for systems-based change for sustainability. Students will also learn concept mapping techniques as a way of visually representing complex systems, their relationships, and indirect connections and feedback effects. The skills learned can then be expanded and built from in subsequent elective courses. There are multiple content versions of this course including Climate Systems, Food Systems, Natural Disaster and Resilience Systems, Prairie Systems, Urban Systems, and Water Systems that are offered across different semesters.
Prerequisites: NST 10XX and FCI 1000 and WRT 1001
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Mathematics Analytics Science and Technology
- Level: Intermediate Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: SES2000
- Number of Credits: 4
NST2090/ECN2690 Socio-Ecological Systems: Feeding the Modern United States
4 Intermediate Liberal Arts Credits
The sustainability of local, regional, national, and global food systems hinges on the full scope of the system's environmental resilience and safety. Climate change, and ongoing human contribution to climate change via industrialized agricultural practices, has resulted in increasing food insecurity and shifting agricultural priorities in the US and around the world. Using interdisciplinary frameworks, we will explore food and agricultural practices, the pursuit of policy goals, and the impact of government interventions. Considering the food system's many stakeholders, we will examine food production, trade, manufacturing, safety, nutrition, and waste. We will investigate hunger and food security, access to food, and the impact of demographics such as location, economic disadvantage, gender, age, and race/ethnicity. We will analyze social and environmental stressors across the food system, focusing on policies and practices that have the potential to alleviate poverty and inequality.
Prerequisites: NST1 and FCI1000 and WRT1001
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Economics
- Level: Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: ECN2690
- Number of Credits: 4
SOC4620 Sociology of Health and Medicine
4 Advanced Liberal Arts CreditsThis course exercises the sociological imagination in understanding how health, illness, and healthcare, are socially constructed. This construction occurs at a local, national, and international level, at the interplay of culture, policy, service, and business. By examining both health and health systems, students will gain an understanding of how an individual's health both shapes their navigation through society, and is affected by the society they navigate. We will examine this phenomenon at the interpersonal, structural, and international level. Our course will begin by understanding health and healthcare as a fundamentally social process - one that is affected by both the history of society at large and systems of inequality inherent to that society. We will then explore how these phenomena translate (or do not translate) in an international capacity. Finally, we will examine the process behind manufacturing health and healthcare, before exploring what can be done about health inequalities.
Through in-class discussions and writing assignments, students will gain a more critical understanding of health and health systems as a process, rather than as stagnant entities. We will analyze the intersecting roles of the family, culture, education, authority, gender, race, social class, ideology, economic commensuration, and nation of origin in the process of health - and how each of those in turn affect the business of healthcare and system of healthcare delivery.
By the end of the course, students will be able to:
v Explain sociological theories of illness in the context of real-world experiences
v Thoroughly understand the impact of the social world on the manufacturing of healthcare, the roles of health/illness to individuals, and the processes of (de)medicalization
v Describe the role of intersecting systems of disadvantage and cultural meanings on health treatments and outcomes
v Effectively critique competing mechanisms to address various 'health crisis'
v Responsibly apply empirical findings to current policies and discourse
Prerequisites: Any combination of 2 ILA (HSS, LTA, CSP, LVA, CVA)
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: History and Society
- Level: Advanced Liberal Arts 4600 Requirement (UGrad),Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: SOC4620
- Number of Credits: 4
HSS2006 South Asian History
4 Intermediate Liberal Arts CreditsHistory has been the unfortunate ground on which many of South Asia's fiercest political battles have played, and continue to play themselves out. This course considers a few of the key debates that have animated South Asian history. These include debates on the nature of colonialism, nationalism; the shape of a free India; the founding principles of the states of India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Afghanistan; and the legacy of colonialism on democracy, development, and globalization in these South Asian countries. We will also consider how recourse to certain interpretations of 'history' has influenced the crafting of policy and politics. Structured chronologically, the course begins with a study of colonialism in the early nineteenth century and ends by considering the challenges of deepening democratization, unequal development and the varied manifestations of globalization.
Prerequisites: (FCI1000 or AHS1000) and (WRT1001or RHT1000)
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: History and Society
- Level: Intermediate Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: HSS2006
- Number of Credits: 4
SPN4640 Spanish Cinema and Culture
4 Advanced Liberal Arts Credits
This course is designed as a conversation class, with a strong cultural component. The major course materials are contemporary Spanish language films and supplementary readings. Through the lens of ethical questions and concerns that surface in these films, students will study issues relevant to the history, culture, and politics of contemporary Latin America and Spain. Films and readings serve as the basis for debate, discussion, and written analysis. This course aims to ease the path towards greater fluency through improvements in accuracy and more spontaneous communication.
Open to students with an Intermediate level of Spanish, or higher.
Prerequisites: SPN4620, or equivalent proficiency as demonstrated through a placement test.
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Arts and Humanities
- Level: Advanced Liberal Arts 4600 Requirement (UGrad),Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: SPN4640
- Number of Credits: 4
SPN2200 Spanish I
(Formerly SPN1200)
4 General CreditsThis is a fast-paced introductory course that prepares students for further study of the language. Through engaging, meaningful activities, students will learn to accomplish real-world communicative tasks. The course incorporates a wide variety of interactive and authentic materials to put language into practice. As the course adopts an intensive and immersive approach, it is recommended for students with some previous exposure to language learning and/or the highly motivated rank beginner.
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Arts and Humanities
- Level: Free Elective (UGrad)
- Course Number: SPN2200
- Number of Credits: 4
SPN4610 SPANISH II
4 Advanced Liberal Arts CreditsThis is a fast-paced advanced beginner course. The course rapidly expands control of basic grammatical structures and vocabulary, with special attention to speaking and listening. Students consolidate their ability to communicate in Spanish through a wide range of highly communicative and interactive activities that encourage the development of real-world skills and abilities. Spanish II is the second course in the Proficiency Sequence, a program of study designed to bring students to proficiency in 4 semesters.
Prerequisites: SPN2200 Spanish I (formerly SPN1200), or equivalent proficiency as demonstrated through a required placement test. Not open to fluent speakers of Spanish.
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Arts and Humanities
- Level: Advanced Liberal Arts 4600 Requirement (UGrad),Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: SPN4610
- Number of Credits: 4
SPN4620 Spanish III
(Formerly Borderlands)
4 Advanced Liberal Arts Credits
This course will provide an in-depth review and expansion of Intermediate-level Spanish grammar and vocabulary through oral and written practice. Through the use of selected readings, films and music, students will continue to develop their ability to communicate proficiently in Spanish. Supplementary materials will provide a jumping off point for discussions of immigrant experiences in the U.S., Spain, and Latin America. The course will explore the factors that motivate migration, as well the implications (economic, political, artistic, musical, culinary, linguistic, etc.) of immigrant experiences and cultural exchanges throughout the Spanish-speaking world.
Prerequisites: SPN1200 or SPN2200 (Accelerated Elementary Spanish at Babson), or equivalent proficiency as demonstrated through a required placement test. Not open to fluent speakers of Spanish.
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Arts and Humanities
- Level: Advanced Liberal Arts 4600 Requirement (UGrad),Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: SPN4620
- Number of Credits: 4
MBA7601 Special Topics: Entrepreneurial Growth
3 Elective CreditsThis course provides students insight into the challenges and opportunities that arise as a company grows. It provides students with concepts and frameworks necessary to facilitate entrepreneurial management in organizations of all sizes and types. It is relevant to individuals interested in managing growth in their own companies as well as those growing an existing company.
Prerequisites: None
- Program: Graduate
- Division: Entrepreneurship
- Course Number: MBA7601
- Number of Credits: 3
MBA7604 Special Topics: Entrepreneurship in a Digital World
3 CreditsDigital technologies, processes and business models are impacting all aspects of businesses today, from startups to large organizations that need to practice corporate intrapreneurship. This course will focus on how digital strategies, tactics, and tools can be leveraged by today's entrepreneurial leaders to innovate, grow, and renew initiatives in their organizations. We will study how digital platforms can be used to scale operations, improve decision-making, and enable new business models to grow customers and revenue. Topics will include cloud computing platforms that focus on operations, employee collaboration, customer relationships, and machine-to-machine connections such as the Internet of Things (IoT) to capture, analyze, and share data and insights. New digital business models will be explored that will inform corporate strategy and business opportunities. Students will gain hands-on experience using popular data analytics and visualization tools, such as Tableau, to explore opportunities, gather insights, and make more informed decisions. The course will expose students to emerging technology enablers, such as machine learning and augmented/virtual reality tools, and effectively identify the role they can play in the organization's growth and renewal. Finally, we will discuss digital development and implementation strategies, including agile methods, to deliver digital technologies and gain adoption throughout the organization.
- Program: Graduate
- Division: Operations and Information Management
- Level: Graduate Elective (Grad)
- Course Number: MBA7604
- Number of Credits: 3
OIM7604 Special Topics: Entrepreneurship in a Digital World
Digital technologies, processes and business models are impacting all aspects of businesses today, from startups to large organizations that need to practice corporate intrapreneurship. This course will focus on how digital strategies, tactics, and tools can be leveraged by today's entrepreneurial leaders to innovate, grow, and renew initiatives in their organizations. We will study how digital platforms can be used to scale operations, improve decision-making, and enable new business models to grow customers and revenue. Topics will include cloud computing platforms that focus on operations, employee collaboration, customer relationships, and machine-to-machine connections such as the Internet of Things (IoT) to capture, analyze, and share data and insights. New digital business models will be explored that will inform corporate strategy and business opportunities. Students will gain hands-on experience using popular data analytics and visualization tools, such as Tableau, to explore opportunities, gather insights, and make more informed decisions. The course will expose students to emerging technology enablers, such as machine learning and augmented/virtual reality tools, and effectively identify the role they can play in the organization's growth and renewal. Finally, we will discuss digital development and implementation strategies, including agile methods, to deliver digital technologies and gain adoption throughout the organization.
- Program: Graduate
- Division: Operations and Information Management
- Level: Graduate Elective (Grad)
- Course Number: OIM7604
- Number of Credits: 3
MBA7603 Special Topics: Global Enterprising
3 CreditsThis course addresses the ways in which entrepreneurial value creation is affected by (and sometimes inspired by) social institutions and national business systems. In the proposed Miami Blended Learning program, we will provide students a chance to study the business environment of Latin America. The goal is to encourage students to practice Entrepreneurial Thought and Action (ET&A) within the institutional (e.g., social, political, cultural) environment in Latin America.
- Program: Graduate
- Division: Management
- Course Number: MBA7603
- Number of Credits: 3
MBA7602 Special Topics: Social Innovation
3 Elective CreditsWe are living in a world where societal expectations of business have shifted and the lines between business, government, and the social sectors are being blurred. Businesses are called upon to create both economic and social value in new ways. This course addresses issues related to the social, economic, and environmental responsibilities of business. The topic of sustainability is also addressed.
- Program: Graduate
- Division: Entrepreneurship
- Level: Graduate Elective (Grad)
- Course Number: MBA7602
- Number of Credits: 3
POL4640 Sports and Global Affairs
4 Advanced Liberal Arts Credits
Can we leave politics out of sport? Should women receive equal pay? Are video games real sport? Today, it seems sport is highly associated with social, economic, and political issues of the world. Has this always been the case? Sports have existed as a social activity and developed as a form of human and country relations throughout history. In 2020 alone, the COVID-19 pandemic halted sport activities around the world and when they returned, athletes used their platform to protest racial injustice in the USA and Europe. The Tokyo 2020 Olympics were postponed to the summer of 2021 and E-games became the safest form of sports during the pandemic engaging more viewers and gamers across the globe.
This course will explore the connection between sport and global affairs currently and throughout history to answer the questions above. It will trace instances where sport collides with social, political, and economic issues around the globe since the inception of modern sport. It will also identify how global issues have impacted the development of sports and how sports have shaped global and national issues from the margins.
We will read scholarly books and articles from the fields and disciplines of sport, political science, women, gender and sexuality studies, critical race studies, sociology, and international relations. Together we will also watch films in line with the readings. Guest speakers will join us and contribute to discussions too. All this will be done to enhance critical and analytical skills and will challenge students to think with increased confidence, independence, and creativity about the material.
Prerequisites: Any combination of 2 ILA (HSS, LTA, CSP, LVA, CVA)
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: History and Society
- Level: Advanced Liberal Arts 4600 Requirement (UGrad),Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: POL4640
- Number of Credits: 4
LIT4607 Sports and Literature
2 Advanced Liberal Arts Credits
Blended Learning FormatThe Ancient Greek lyric poet Pindar wrote victory odes for winners in the Olympian Games, whose "prizes [were] won in trials of strength." In doing so he forged a powerful connection between writing and sporting achievement. Long after Pindar, many writers have been drawn to sport, and many sports have rich and extensive literatures surrounding them. This course examines the varied representations that fiction writers, poets, memoirists, and essayists have made of individual and team sports and their players. This course also pursues theoretical examinations of sport and its place in culture, including Theodor Adorno's assertion that "sport is the imageless counterpart to practical life". We work within such areas as race, class, gender, politics, and aesthetics. Delivered online, this class includes multimodal assignment delivery, blending students' written texts with audio-visual methods of communicating meaning. We also host visiting writers from the field of sports and literature.
Prerequisites: Any combination of 2 ILA (HSS, LTA, CSP, LVA, CVA)
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Arts and Humanities
- Level: Advanced Liberal Arts 4600 Requirement (UGrad),Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: LIT4607
- Number of Credits: 2
QTM2622 Sports Applications of Mathematics
4 Advanced Liberal Arts CreditsMathematicians and statisticians are playing an increasing role in shaping how athletic contests are played and how they are judged. This course examines some of the underlying quantitative principles that are routinely used. Students will apply some statistical techniques (expectations, probability and risk/reward judgments) and some that are deterministic (optimization, ranking and validation.) A variety of software packages will be used to demonstrate the many ways that a mathematical point of view can inform athletes, trainers, administrators and fans.
Prerequisites: AQM2000
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Mathematics Analytics Science and Technology
- Level: Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: QTM2622
- Number of Credits: 4
MKT 3507: Sports Brand Partnership: Building Strategic Collaborations
4 advanced management credits
In "Sports Brand Sponsorships: Strategic Partnerships in Professional Sports," students will explore the dynamic world of sports brand partnerships through a blend of theoretical knowledge and practical application. It analyzes its increasing role and significance in the corporate/brand marketing mix and its importance to event and property producers/organizers, participants, athletes, entertainers, communities and the media. In addition, the course will consider effective methods to plan, price, organize, acquire, implement, measure, and evaluate sponsorships including the development of a holistic corporate sponsorship plan. This undergraduate course is designed to provide students with a comprehensive understanding of how strategic collaborations between sports entities and corporate sponsors can drive brand visibility, revenue, and consumer engagement.
Prerequisites: MKT 2000
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Marketing
- Level: Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Management (UGrad)
- Course Number: MKT3507
- Number of Credits: 4
SEN1302 Sports Decisions Through Analytics(Senior Instructor: Ryan Duff) Course Description: With the new prominence of sports analytics (i.e. Moneyball, Numbers Never Lie (ESPN), and Accuscore), sports have become much more than just winning and losing. Statistical analysis can predict whether a team will become a dominant force, as well as a profitable franchise. In this hands-on course we will explore and practice sports analytics through statistical programs and techniques that analyze player and team stats in order to determine the keys to building a cohesive team. We will also learn how team owners are able to make strategic decisions using key statistical analyses. Students do not need advanced math or statistical coursework or knowledge to enroll in this course.
Course Schedule: Fridays: January 31, February 7, February 14, February 21, February 28 and March 7 (Showcase of all Senior-Led Seminars)
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Other
- Course Number: SEN1302
- Number of Credits: 0
LAW3615 Sports Law and Policy
4 Advanced Liberal Arts CreditsSports Law provides students with a broad overview of how sports leagues and player conduct are regulated and how various bodies of substantive law, regulation and policy are applied in the context of the sports industry. The course examines the legal relationships among athletes, teams, leagues, governing bodies, sports facilities, licensees, broadcasters, and fans. This includes the history of the various leagues and organizations, the influence of politics on sports law, and public policy governing sports. Substantive legal topics covered include antitrust law, contract law, labor law, marketing law, and other regulatory schemes. In addition, this course will discuss other sports law topics, such as the role of the league commissioner; different league structures; agent certification; gaming law; and others.
Prerequisites: LAW1000
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Accounting and Law
- Level: Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: LAW3615
- Number of Credits: 4
MKT3575 Sports Marketing
4 General CreditsThis course focuses on the application of marketing concepts in the dynamic and high-profile sports industry that has become a significant economic and social force on a global scale. Among the topics to be explored in the context of the sports field are: sponsorship, branding, marketing research, consumer behavior, product development, licensing, distribution, pricing, segmentation, targeting, positioning, media, marketing communications, advertising, sales promotion, public relations, direct marketing, personal selling, legal issues, ethical issues, women's sports professional sports, collegiate sports and others. Emphasis will be on the need for an integrated approach for marketing of sports, by sports or through sports. We will view sports as a product and sports as a vehicle. Using a text, custom-designed materials, cases, special assignments, a major project creating a comprehensive integrated marketing plan, and guest speakers from the sports field, the course will promote critical integrative thinking and analysis relative to the important issues and challenges confronting marketers in the sports industry. As we go about this course, we will be guided by the following principle: the genius of managing a sports marketing program is acquired largely through a genuine understanding of the activities and relationships that constitute fully integrated marketing, relying on a system of learned skills and experiences.
Prerequisites: SME2011
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Marketing
- Level: Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Management (UGrad)
- Course Number: MKT3575
- Number of Credits: 4
LVA2001 Staging Immigration
4 Intermediate Liberal Arts CreditsMigration, immigration, assimilation: these complex, charged, and multifaceted ideas are debated in political spheres, examined in scholarly discourse, and are featured daily in various media outlets and publications. These ideas, however, have also long captured the imaginations of artists and audiences alike, and the stories of those who have moved their families, their lives, and themselves to another country or continent have been central in the theatre, particularly in the United States, a nation of immigrants.
In this course, we will attempt to understand both the captivating power and the political potential of performance focused on immigrants and the immigrant experience. We will study a variety of theatrical productions, from plays, to musicals, to contemporary stand-up comedy and solo performance and examine the ways theatre artists consider and understand identity, prejudice, familial ties and loyalties, and notions of the American Dream. We will connect the interests and goals of theatre artists staging immigration 100 years ago to those artists working in 2020. Finally, we will create and perform original theatre pieces, inspired by the artists we study, focused on a pressing societal problem. The scholarly and experiential elements in this course will, hopefully, shift our notions of the profound journeys and undertakings by immigrants and illuminate new and crucial understandings of the immigrant experience unfolding in our world today.
Prerequisites: (FCI1000 or AHS1000) and (WRT1001or RHT1000)
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Arts and Humanities
- Level: Intermediate Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: LVA2001
- Number of Credits: 4
LTA2001 Staging Immigration
4 Intermediate Liberal Arts CreditsMigration, immigration, assimilation: these complex, charged, and multifaceted ideas are debated in political spheres, examined in scholarly discourse, and are featured daily in various media outlets and publications. These ideas however, have also long captured the imaginations of artists and audiences alike, and the stories of those who have moved their families, their lives, and themselves to another country or continent have been central in the theatre, particularly in the United States, a nation of immigrants.
In this course, we will attempt to understand both the captivating power and the political potential of performance focused on immigrants and the immigrant experience. We will study a variety of theatrical productions, from plays, to musicals, to contemporary stand-up comedy and solo performance and examine the ways theatre artists consider and understand identity, prejudice, familial ties and loyalties, and notions of the American Dream. We will connect the interests and goals of theatre artists staging immigration 100 years ago to those artists working in 2020. Finally, we will create and perform original theatre pieces, inspired by the artists we study, focused on a pressing societal problem. The scholarly and experiential elements in this course will, hopefully, shift our notions of the profound journeys and undertakings by immigrants and illuminate new and crucial understandings of the immigrant experience unfolding in our world today.
Prerequisites: (FCI1000 or AHS1000) and (WRT1001or RHT1000)
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Arts and Humanities
- Level: Intermediate Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: LTA2001
- Number of Credits: 4
MBA7400 Startup Foundations
0.5 CreditsThe Startup Foundations SLE will focus on Entrepreneurial Thought and Action, team building, and technology. In addition to sessions on Ideas and Barriers to Innovation, students will participate in a competitive, computer-based simulation (Techmark), develop processes that will support virtual and in-person teamwork, take their first classes in Entrepreneurship and Leadership, and attend a variety of networking events.
- Program: Graduate
- Division: Other
- Course Number: MBA7400
- Number of Credits: 0.5
MBA7512 Storytelling/Communication with Data
3 Credits
In 2020, businesses are highly dependent on a data-driven decision-making model. The data explosion seen in the past few years makes managing and understanding data extremely difficult. Hence, there is a dire need to make sense and visualize the data effectively to solve problems. This course will introduce data visualization using Tableau for beginners. Students will learn best practices for data visualization and storytelling. Students will develop the expertise to generate powerful reports and dashboards to help businesses make decisions based on their data. They will create high-impact visualizations based on common data analysis, predictive analytics to improve business decisions. At the end of the course, students will be well prepared to take the level 3 tableau exam.
- Program: Graduate
- Division: Other
- Level: Graduate Elective (Grad)
- Course Number: MBA7512
- Number of Credits: 3
MSB6310 Storytelling/Communication with Data
3 Credits (MSBA Core)
In 2020, businesses are highly dependent on a data-driven decision-making model. The data explosion seen in the past few years makes managing and understanding data extremely difficult. Hence, there is a dire need to make sense and visualize the data effectively to solve problems. This course will introduce data visualization using Tableau for beginners. Students will learn best practices for data visualization and storytelling. Students will develop the expertise to generate powerful reports and dashboards to help businesses make decisions based on their data. They will create high-impact visualizations based on common data analysis, predictive analytics to improve business decisions. At the end of the course, students will be well prepared to take the level 3 tableau exam.
Prerequisites: MBA students will be required to review approximately 2 hours of pre-work videos
- Program: Graduate
- Division: Other
- Level: MSBA Core (Grad),Graduate Elective (Grad)
- Course Number: MSB6310
- Number of Credits: 3
STR4510 Strategic Decision Making
(Formerly MOB4510)
4 General Credits
This course is an extension of the core Strategy courses focusing on strategy formulation and execution. It draws upon the insights from the field of strategy, economics, decision making and corporate financed and is suited for students interested in management consulting, investment management or corporate planning. It is intended to complement the course, Economics of Competitive Strategy, by focusing on how strategies are formulated and executed in specific competitive situations.
For More Information: www.kaltura.com/tiny/xx8ue
Prerequisites: ASM3300
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Management
- Level: Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Management (UGrad)
- Course Number: STR4510
- Number of Credits: 4
ECN3667 Strategic Game Theory
4 Advanced Liberal Arts Elective CreditsGame theory provides a simple, but rich, framework for analyzing once-off and repeated interplay between people or firms, where the manner in which each reacts depends upon the other's reaction: strategic interaction. These interactions occur in markets, in organizations, and in the household. This course-through lectures, experiential learning, and computer simulations-will provide students with an understanding of many interactions they may encounter in their business and personal lives; including price wars, public policy, the value of cooperation interactions, and the value of information.
Prerequisites: SME2031 or ECN2002
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Economics
- Level: Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: ECN3667
- Number of Credits: 4
EPS7201 Strategic Innovation in Mature Organizations
3 Core Credits - Blended Miami Program Core Course
Corporations caught up in the web of commoditization and stagnation have come to realize that they need entrepreneurial capabilities to create new platforms of business that will be the promise of the future. Yet overall, these efforts have produced uneven success. Although entrepreneurs in organizations can benefit from the resources, experience, financial assets and networks of the large company, they are constrained by its bureaucratic practices. Recent evidence points to corporate leaders' renewed attention to developing management systems that work with, rather than against intrapreneurs. In this course we will examine various approaches companies have taken to build this organizational capability. We examine five different approaches and consider the shortcomings or each. We will build the rationale for why innovation must become an organizational function if a company truly wishes to compete for the Future. We focus at the organizational level rather than the individual project level, seeking insights about how organizations can institutionalize structures and processes for entrepreneurship, even within a dominant culture of operational excellence that, of necessity, pervades most large established firms.
- Program: Graduate
- Division: Entrepreneurship
- Course Number: EPS7201
- Number of Credits: 3
MKT4505 Strategic Marketing
(Formerly Marketing Management)
4 General CreditsThis capstone course is designed to apply skills and knowledge gained in prior marketing courses, which is why students must complete at least one marketing elective prior to this class. The course emphasizes issues of creating and implementing a successful marketing strategy in a competitive marketplace. Through case studies, course readings, and a variety of presentation opportunities based on current marketing issues, students will develop strategies to correct/minimize problems and capitalize on opportunities in the marketplace. A team-based client project is undertaken throughout the semester in order to immerse students in the "real world" of business and add substantial outcomes to resumes. Students will also be required to write a research paper involving development of a personal brand statement and a job search strategy to begin a career in the exciting field of marketing. This course is most beneficial to students in their senior year.
Prerequisites: (SME2011 or MKT2000) and one completed marketing elective
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Marketing
- Level: Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Management (UGrad)
- Course Number: MKT4505
- Number of Credits: 4
STR3000 Strategic Problem Solving
4 Credits
Students who took this as ASM3000 cannot register for this course
Effective leaders excel at identifying and solving the most critical problems facing their organizations. To that end, Babson undergraduates are required to take this advanced management course which helps them to develop practical skills to solve the right problem well. After introducing core concepts and frameworks of strategic management, instructors will introduce their approach to issue-based problem solving. The latter part of the course requires students to work in teams and practice problem solving by identifying, analyzing, and proposing solutions to a strategic problem faced by a company of their choice. This course builds upon and requires students to apply the content of the foundational management courses in accounting, finance, marketing, operations, and microeconomics. Students who are concentrating in strategic management or are interested in consulting are encouraged to take this course as early in their academic career as possible (preferably the end of sophomore or junior year).
Prerequisites: Before enrolling in STR3000, students will need to have completed the following 3 courses: 1) Intro to Financial Accounting, 2) Principles of Finance, and 3) Principles of Marketing, AND;
Pre- or Co-requisites: Students can take the following 2 courses before or concurrently with STR3000: 1) Principles of Microeconomics and 2) Technology Operations Management.
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Other
- Level: Advanced Management (UGrad)
- Course Number: STR3000
- Number of Credits: 4
MOB6602 Strategic Transformation
1.5 Credits (MSAEL core)
In order to effectively guide their organizations' strategic renewal through innovation, company leaders must have a vision of what their companies will become. They must be able to envision, shape and imagine a future, design processes for ensuring that happens, and gain the company's commitment to that shared vision. To execute on the strategic transformation agenda, a resource deployment plan must be implemented and metrics for tracking progress toward the future state need to be developed and monitored. In this course students will develop foresight skills, use them to draft domains of innovation intent and learn how to position those to company leaders.
Prerequisites: MOB6600 and EPS6600
- Program: Graduate
- Division: Management
- Level: MSAEL (Grad)
- Course Number: MOB6602
- Number of Credits: 1.5
COM7501 Strategic Writing for Managers
(Formerly MOB7501)
1.5 Credits
If you have taken and passed MOB7501, you cannot register for COM7501, as these two courses are equivalent
This course helps students become more efficient and effective writers of strategic professional communications. Cases, readings, and assignments illustrate challenging communication problems that demand readable, succinct, substantive, and persuasive writing. Assignments may range in applications to as internal formal and informal communications, and external communication such as media and public relations, client relations, and social media. Class activities involve extensive peer review and editing of students' own writing.
Prerequisites: None
- Program: Graduate
- Division: Marketing
- Level: Graduate Elective (Grad)
- Course Number: COM7501
- Number of Credits: 1.5
MOB6100 Strategy
MSEL Course
3 CreditsThe goal of this course is to develop knowledge and skills needed to understand and evaluate a firm's strategy as an analyst, recommend future strategic actions as a consultant, and manage the strategic direction of a firm as a manager. By the end of the course, students will: become familiar with the analytical tools used to perform dynamic industry analyses; discover how competitors' different competitive positionings respond to, and build on, industry structures; understand the nature of competitive dynamics in an industry; discover the link between competitive positioning, internal capabilities, and business model development; understand the specificities of competing in a variety of industries and countries simultaneously; and develop the ability to search for, identify, and research diverse strategic issues, challenges and opportunities, and to design and develop innovative solutions. An important part of the course is devoted to a real-life consulting project, in which students work as a team to develop a strategic recommendation for a partner firm.
- Program: Graduate
- Division: Management
- Course Number: STR6100
- Number of Credits: 3
STR7800 Strategy
2 Credits (Core MBA)
If you have taken and passed MOB7202/MOB7801, you cannot register for STR7800 as these courses are equivalent
This integrative course focuses on strategic and competitive analysis to enable entrepreneurial action. How can we identify the main strategic issues facing our company? How should we position our business strategically to compete effectively? What sources of competitive advantage can we create, exploit and sustain? What capabilities do we need to launch the business, grow the business, and adapt successfully to changes in the environment? Students will need to demonstrate that they can write coherently about strategic developments and options.
- Program: Graduate
- Division: Management
- Course Number: STR7800
- Number of Credits: 2
MOB7202 Strategy
2 CreditsThis course focuses on strategic and competitive analysis to enable entrepreneurial action. How should we position our business strategically to compete effectively? What sources of competitive advantage can we create, exploit and sustain? What capabilities do we need to launch the business, grow the business, and adapt successfully to changes in the environment?
Prerequisites: MOB7200, EPS7200, MKT7200 and QTM7200
- Program: Graduate
- Division: Management
- Course Number: MOB7202
- Number of Credits: 2
MKT9501 Strategy and Tactics of Pricing
3 Elective Credits
Pricing decisions determine sales volume and revenue, so pricing strategy and structure are vital to a company's profitability and growth. Price determination is a top priority for managers in charge of marketing strategy or product strategy for existing or new products. Revenue and pricing are financial metrics considered to be table stakes for startups. Pricing is also a key variable for CFOs and controllers who have to forecast and manage the impact of pricing changes on a firm's financial results in competitive markets.
MKT9501 is designed to provide you with the concepts, techniques and knowledge that will enable you to determine the best prices and pricing strategy for your business and identify ways to improve existing pricing practice in companies. In the first part of the course, we will cover the fundamental analytical tools and theoretical frameworks needed to analyze costs, customers, and competition in order to set a proactive pricing strategy. We will focus on articulating sources of customer value and introduce tools companies can use to charge for value. The second part of the course introduces examples of pricing tactics from a variety of industries, and in B2B and B2C contexts. Examples of topics included are dynamic pricing, price discrimination and versioning, product line pricing, pricing psychology, bundling and subscriptions. MKT9501 also explores how companies can respond to pricing pressures and (re)structure their revenue models to adapt to increased competition and technological disruptions in global and dynamic markets.
Pre-requisites: It is strongly recommended that students take ECN7500 Economic Analysis for Business Decisions before or concurrently with this course.
- Program: Graduate
- Division: Marketing
- Level: MSBA Elective (Grad),MSF Elective (Grad),Graduate Elective (Grad)
- Course Number: MKT9501
- Number of Credits: 3
STR7531 Strategy & the CEO
3 Elective Credits
Today's CEOs are viewed either as visionaries and corporate wizards, or liabilities and dead weight leading their organizations to stagnation or ruin. Society and investors increasingly look to the CEO as responsible for a company's strategy and its overall performance. How should CEOs approach their jobs? What are the things only the CEO can do? What are the characteristics of a good CEO?
By examining the role of the CEO, this course aims to deepen our understanding of strategy and leadership. We will bring the CEO perspective into the classroom - through regular guest CEOs, videos and case discussions - and outside of class through live interaction with the leader of your own organization or another of your choosing. Hear directly from CEOs how they think about strategy, what is different about their current role from previous functional leadership positions, and what they have struggled with or been surprised by in the job. Think through the intersection of strategy and leadership through case-based discussions and a simulation in which you play the role of CEO.
At the end of the course, students will have a deeper, more hands-on view of strategy and organizational leadership. Students will learn how taking a "CEO perspective" can improve decision-making, problem solving and one's leadership profile at any level of an organization.
For more information: http://www.kaltura.com/tiny/x4wey
Prerequisites: None (strongly recommended to take Strategy (MOB7801 or STR 7800) first)
- Program: Graduate
- Division: Management
- Level: Graduate Elective (Grad)
- Course Number: STR7531
- Number of Credits: 3
STR7500 Strategy Execution
3 Credits
This course in Strategy Execution is designed to introduce students to the complexity, and challenges associated with implementing a developed strategy into both emerging and existing markets. There are three major objectives in the course.
1. The first is to help students articulate a philosophy designed to guide in successfully executing strategic initiatives. Here, you will explore the concepts of intended versus emergent strategy, the operating environment versus the executing environment and the various levers of power available to managers to utilize in the successful execution of business-level strategy.
2. The second objective is to explore both successful and unsuccessful firm-level strategy executions. Using the case method, we will explore the various levers of power available to managers analyzing and critiquing the outcomes of various firms' efforts to execute a business level strategic initiative.
3. The third objective is in two parts. The first part is to give students hands-on experience via an online simulation in strategy execution. Strategy execution is best learned by doing. The intent is to expose students to the complexities of strategy implementation where information is incomplete and unanticipated challenges to implementing a strategy emerge from unexpected sources. Students learn to prioritize, work within tight time schedules, learn to cope with limited resources, and respond to unexpected demands. The second part is to fully demonstrate your understanding of the complex relationships that characterize strategy execution during the final exam.
For more information: http://www.kaltura.com/tiny/ownhj
Prerequisites: MOB7202 or MOB7801 or STR7800
- Program: Graduate
- Division: Management
- Level: Graduate Elective (Grad)
- Course Number: STR7500
- Number of Credits: 3
MOB7500 Strategy Execution
3 Credits
This course in Strategy Execution is designed to introduce students to the complexity, and challenges associated with implementing a developed strategy into both emerging and existing markets. There are three major objectives in the course.
1. The first is to help students articulate a philosophy designed to guide in successfully executing strategic initiatives. Here, you will explore the concepts of intended versus emergent strategy, the operating environment versus the executing environment and the various levers of power available to managers to utilize in the successful execution of business-level strategy.
2. The second objective is to explore both successful and unsuccessful firm-level strategy executions. Using the case method, we will explore the various levers of power available to managers analyzing and critiquing the outcomes of various firms' efforts to execute a business level strategic initiative.
3. The third objective is in two parts. The first part is to give students hands-on experience via an online simulation in strategy execution. Strategy execution is best learned by doing. The intent is to expose students to the complexities of strategy implementation where information is incomplete and unanticipated challenges to implementing a strategy emerge from unexpected sources. Students learn to prioritize, work within tight time schedules, learn to cope with limited resources, and respond to unexpected demands. The second part is to fully demonstrate your understanding of the complex relationships that characterize strategy execution during the final exam.
For more information: http://www.kaltura.com/tiny/ownhj
Prerequisites: MOB7202 or MOB7801
- Program: Graduate
- Division: Management
- Level: Graduate Elective (Grad)
- Course Number: MOB7500
- Number of Credits: 3
STR 7502: Strategy and Economic Disruption in Iceland
3 credits
Iceland's economic and business systems have faced multiple disruptive events. In 2008, the nation allowed its entire banking system to fail amid the Great Recession. As elsewhere, the COVID-19 Pandemic forced many businesses to innovate and adapt rapidly, and the following resurgence and further growth of tourism and recreation are rapidly displacing traditional fishing and agricultural economies. The nation's unique geography also presents unique challenges against natural disasters while providing the opportunity of abundant green energy. Throughout these disruptions, business owners and entrepreneurs have remained ahead of the curve and continuously innovated and adapted to changing situations while leading the world in renewable energy and gender equity. This course involves an interdisciplinary approach toward understanding strategy, economics, and entrepreneurship amid disruption and what successful business leaders have done to continually adapt and find new opportunities in a rapidly and drastically changing environment. Students will attend orientation and debriefing sessions before and after a 10-day study tour to Reykjavik, where they will meet and learn from business leaders and entrepreneurs.
- Program: Graduate
- Division: Management
- Level: Graduate Elective (Grad)
- Course Number: STR7502
- Number of Credits: 3
LTA2062 Suburban America in Literature and Culture
4 Intermediate Liberal Arts CreditsAmerican suburbs are simultaneously reviled as physical spaces comprised of little boxes made of ticky tacky, churning out homogeneous values and people, and revered as mythically perfect imagined spaces in television sitcoms and advertising. This class aims to examine the American suburbs as constructed through popular texts, classic literature, and contemporary art. We will consider how the tension between utopia and dystopia is imagined and re-imagined over time and across genres and texts, reading and analyzing works such as the poetry of Anne Sexton, Richard Yates' novel Revolutionary Road, and the short stories of John Cheever. We will also examine representations of the suburbs in science fiction and film.
This course is typically offered in the following semesters: Fall
Prerequisites: (FCI1000 or AHS1000) and (WRT1001or RHT1000)
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Arts and Humanities
- Level: Intermediate Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: LTA2062
- Number of Credits: 4
OIM 7507: Supply Chain Analytics
3 credits
Traditionally, supply chains were seen as sources of cost that were necessary to achieve the goals of buying, selling, manufacturing, assembling, warehousing, transporting, and delivering goods. More recently, managers have come to understand the potential of the supply chain as a source of competitive advantage and expand efforts beyond cost minimization and into the realm of profit maximization and expanding market share. At the same time, supply chains have become increasingly large and complex with the potential for thousands of suppliers, manufacturers, distributms, and retailers to be included in the supply chain for a single product. This increase in supply chain size has coincided with exponential increases in the amount of data collected and maintained by firms and the computing power we have available to analyze it. Problems which were entirely intractable decades ago can now be solved at scale in a matter of minutes. As technology has increased the number of problems that can be solved at industrial scale, firms have shifted from primarily focusing on descriptive analytics to utilizing the power of predictive and prescriptive analytics to solve supply chain problems.
This course is designed to provide you with a broad introduction to the uses of prescriptive analytics to optimize common supply chain decisions associated with purchasing, manufacturing, distributing, and retailing goods and services. The focus will be on identifying areas of Supply Chain Management where optimization and simulation are helpful tools, selecting and implementing appropriate models given the context, and interpreting those models and their limitations. We will discuss a variety of decisions across the different functions of the supply chain and the role of optimization and data in making those decisions. Students will gain a foundational understanding of how analytics can be applied to Supply Chains, the currently available tools and software, and how to recognize common pitfalls or issues.
Prerequisites: None
- Program: Graduate
- Division: Operations and Information Management
- Level: Graduate Elective (Grad)
- Course Number: OIM7507
- Number of Credits: 3
OIM3573 Supply Chain Management
4 Advanced Management Credits
Supply chain management (SCM) is an integrated approach to managing the flow of goods/services, information and financials from the raw materials to the consumer (throughout the supply chain) to satisfy customers' expectations and achieve profitability. Demand Chain management (DCM) takes a more customer focused approach to SCM. This course is designed to provide undergraduate students with an integrated perspective of SCM & DCM to develop the capability to analyze current supply chain operations, to reconfigure the structure of supply chain, and to develop competitive supply chains. Students will identify major barrier to effective supply and demand chain management, recognize best practices in supply and demand chain management, and assess the effect of advanced technologies on supply chain implementation.
Prerequisites: (SME2001 or ACC2002) and (SME2002 or OIM2001)
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Operations and Information Management
- Level: Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Management (UGrad)
- Course Number: OIM3573
- Number of Credits: 4
OIM7572 Supply Chain Management
3 Elective Credits
Supply Chain Management (SCM) is primarily the management of flows. These flows involve multiple, interactive parties. Thus, asymmetric interests & information pooling often govern the Chain itself as it interprets the uncertainty inherent in both supply and demand. The goal of all supply chains is to satisfy or exceed customer's expectations and to do so at sustainable and reliable levels of profitability. The achievement of these goals is both enabled and challenged by the nature of complex systems in an increasingly globalized economy. In many industries supply chains are the primary determinant of product cost, capital efficiency and customer satisfaction. Indeed, in certain firms, Supply Chain Management is a compelling source of competitive advantage and shareholder interest.
This course is a foundational elective designed to provide students with an integrated perspective of SCM; with enough specificity to critically assess the strategic fit of an existing supply chain design and to offer discrete recommendations for improvement. Students will also learn to recognize best practices in supply chain management, identify possible supply chain barriers to effectively scaling a venture, and assess the effectiveness of advanced technologies such as robotics, blockchain and AI to further improve supply chain execution & product/service life-cycle management. As such the course will be an essential component to the portfolio of studies of those pursuing advanced management skills & research. The course is intended for CEO's, COO's, CSO's, Product Managers and Operations leaders in ventures where the supply chain is an instrument of strategic intent & actualization.
This course is structured on the fundamental assertion that a system is more than the sum of its parts. As systems, supply chains may exhibit adaptive, dynamic, self-resilient and even goal seeking behaviors. Our scope of study is through a lens involving networks, platforms and ecosystems - often well beyond the hard boundaries of a firm. For purposes of our course, Supply Chain Management is defined as the transdisciplinary & integrated approach to managing the flow of goods/services, information, and capital, from raw materials through to the end user - and increasingly the conversion of end-of-life products back into sourcing streams.
Prerequisites: 1) NONE for those involved in Specialty Masters Programs (MSBA, MSF, MSEL)
2) Completion of OIM 7800 for all other students
- Program: Graduate
- Division: Operations and Information Management
- Level: MSBA Elective (Grad),Graduate Elective (Grad)
- Course Number: OIM7572
- Number of Credits: 3
OIM7529 Sustainability Innovation
1.5 Elective Credits
Our economic systems are running on an enormous ecological deficit. However, there's some good news for entrepreneurial leaders everywhere; everything needs to be redesigned. What you get when you have new technologies, new user needs, new markets, and new business plans is new opportunities for sustainable development. With this mindset, the industrial and economic systems are in sustainability transformation from the industrial age to the climate change and social impact age.
In this new age, entrepreneurial leaders must understand the socio-ecological impacts of their businesses, and integrate sustainability risks and opportunities into discussions and decisions on risk, revenue, and business strategy. They must explore and develop innovations with sustainability priorities for their markets and industries. They must be able to evaluate value and impact at scale in the context of short- and long-term strategic decision making. Otherwise, their businesses will be inevitably extinct in the climate change and social impact age.
This course aims to prepare entrepreneurial leaders for critical sustainability transformation. Students will gain knowledge about the sustainability challenges (e.g., energy, transportation, waste, carbon management, agriculture, production and consumption) and practical skills for exploring sustainability innovations and accelerating the growth of sustainable businesses (e.g, net zero, zero-carbon tech, decarbonization, ESG, UN SDG). Students will 1) learn and employ integrated systems thinking to address social responsibility, ecological integrity, and value creation; 2) apply an innovation process framework to generate sustainability ideas and develop business strategies; and 3) assess the suitability, scalability, and sustainability of innovations for consumers/users, investors, and other stakeholders of interest.
Students who are interested in any of the following roles may find this course useful:
- An entrepreneur wanting to understand sustainability as a business opportunity
- An individual or corporate strategy group developing a sustainability strategy
- An individual or corporate strategy group seeking growth through sustainability innovations
- A leader wanting to develop a culture of sustainability and organizational change
- An R&D group aiming to integrate sustainability into its innovation process
- A financier deciding whether to invest in a sustainability-oriented entrepreneur
Prerequisite: NONE
- Program: Graduate
- Division: Operations and Information Management
- Level: Graduate Elective (Grad)
- Course Number: OIM7529
- Number of Credits: 1.5
NST2040 Case Studies in Sustainable Food Systems
4 Intermediate Liberal Arts CreditsWhat is food - where does it come from, how is it grown, what resources does it use, what's the difference between a GMO and an organic product, what do labels mean, is it sustainable? This course looks to take a scientific and systems based look at the food we eat and deeply examine all of the steps that occur between "farm to table". We need food to survive and food must be grown, cultivated, harvested, processed, and distributed so that we can benefit from it. These steps take place in different ways all across the globe, across the country, and among our neighbors. In this class, we'll look at what it means to be a sustainable food system, look at historical approaches that worked to meet/deviate from this goal, and look at how the future aims to feed a growing world with increasingly diminishing resources.
By the end of this course, you will recognize the importance of sustainable food systems and know the different areas that comprise this system. You will be able to distinguish between sustainable and non-sustainable food systems. Through this design, this course meets the college learning goals of Rhetoric, Quantitative and Information Analysis, Ethics and SEERS, and Critical and Integrative Thinking.
Prerequisites: NST10%%
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Mathematics Analytics Science and Technology
- Level: Intermediate Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: NST2040
- Number of Credits: 4
MKT4525 Sustainable Marketing
4 Advanced Management CreditsThe purpose of this course is to introduce students to the complexities of integrated sustainability from a managerial perspective. Both consumers and businesses are demanding solutions to sustainability issues for products and services throughout the value chain. Today's sustainability issues are all encompassing and include strategies for managing structural injustice challenges, and ecological integrity concerns throughout the entire ideation to go-to-market process. Firms must make thoughtful investment and resource decisions that consider multiple stakeholder perspectives using a systems thinking lens, carefully evaluating all risks and rewards. Furthermore, entrepreneurs and marketers must learn to adapt their marketing strategies to sustainable products and services to redefine the value proposition.
Prerequisites: SME2011
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Marketing
- Level: Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Management (UGrad)
- Course Number: MKT4525
- Number of Credits: 4
OIM3522 Sustainable Operations and Innovation
4 Advanced Management Credits
The purpose of this course is to provide an understanding of the concept of sustainability thinking and the practical process of sustainability-oriented innovations. Sustainability thinking challenges entrepreneurial leaders to enable the transition to a sustainable economic system, by identifying business opportunities and leading transformation of business culture. Students will learn about the systemic view of sustainability on how organizations can create social value while simultaneously delivering realistic economic returns: repurpose, stakeholder involvement, design & implementation of innovations and metrics development. Students will develop practical knowledge and skillset from design thinking and systems thinking as integral disciplines to manage human, financial, and other resources in innovations that transform businesses. Our goal is to provide the basis for a common language and understanding of the intersection between environmental/social issues and sustainability, innovation and entrepreneurship, business strategy, and organizational culture. Ultimately, students will develop their understanding of how to lead the transformation of a conventional business into a sustainable business.
The course is composed of four parts. The first part will give students an overview of the sustainability thinking and allied strategy and the tools for designing the process through which it happens: what dimensions and questions might be considered to evaluate and guide sustainability. Having identified both the challenges and tools associated with sustainability, the second part will make the case for making a product or service sustainable. The third part will shift the discussion to making an organization sustainable and characteristics of sustainability leaders. Finally, the fourth part will reflect on making your life sustainable. Students will explore how to apply ideas from the course to a more sustainable way of living.
Prerequisites: (SME2002 or OIM2001) or SUS1201
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Operations and Information Management
- Level: Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Management (UGrad)
- Course Number: OIM3522
- Number of Credits: 4
MBA7504 Systems Dynamics in Business, Society and the Environment
3 Elective Credits
Whether within multifunctional businesses we manage, or across extended global enterprises so critical to our venture's success, or the societies in which we live, or the planet and its environment that sustains us, a common feature is the prevalence of systems of interrelated, interacting, or interdependent actors, choices, actions, flows, and stocks forming a complex whole. Examples of systems range from (1) operations on the manufacturing floor to service operations to global supply chains, (2) the diffusion of technological innovations and contagious diseases, (3) the playing out of network effects and multi-sided platforms, (3) the functioning of markets and commodity and business cycles, (4) living populations and their dependence on each other and resource availability, (5) social media and the functioning of societies; and (6) the VUCAH (volatile, uncertain, complex, ambiguous, and hyperconnected) nature of the world we live in. In a very basis way, that is just the way the world is: webs within webs of systems.
How do we make sense of such interconnected systems? How do we learn to express this sense-making in the form of clear narratives and maps and schematics that tell the complete, interconnected story? And, having done so, how do we model and analyze the systems' dynamics - how the systems might play out over time? This, so we are better prepared for intended and unintended consequences, system resilience or fragility, and far-far-away butterfly effects and we are more effective in terms of decision-making, problem-solving, and policy-making and implementation.
Learning in the course is very hands-on: as with any "studio" course, we will work on exercises in class; there will be an individual exercise where learners will take a real problem, "build" a system model, and simulate the dynamics of the same using a dedicated simulation software package or Excel; and students will be working in teams on a complex real-world problem (for example, "global warming") and learn how to map the "system" and explore its dynamics.
Prerequisites: Completed 12 credits of core requirements
- Program: Graduate
- Division: Marketing
- Level: MSBA Elective (Grad),Graduate Elective (Grad)
- Course Number: MBA7504
- Number of Credits: 3
MOB3515 Talent Management: What Many Leaders Miss
(Formerly Developing the Employee Experience (With a Human Resources Lens))
4 Advanced Management CreditsThis course is designed to make you think about managing people - or Human Resources - in new ways. The purpose of the course is to help you learn how organizational systems and processes impact how jobs are designed, who gets hired, and how individuals are developed (or not) within an organization. In addition to these topics, we'll discuss performance management, employee engagement, and employee separation. Overall, the course is designed to create comfort with the language of human resources management and understand how individuals, managers, and entrepreneurs ideally respond to human resource-related concerns.
For More Information: www.kaltura.com/tiny/p1nk5
Prerequisites: FME1000 and FME1001 or MOB1010
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Management
- Level: Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Management (UGrad)
- Course Number: MOB3515
- Number of Credits: 4
MOB7515 Talent Management: What Many Leaders Miss
(Formerly Human Resources for High Performance)
3 CreditsThe ability to manage people effectively provides a distinct competitive advantage for organizations. This course is for managers and current or future entrepreneurs who hope to capitalize on the connection between managing people and superior organizational performance, competitive advantage, profitability, and growth. This course will help you develop a conceptual understanding of organizational practices, strategies and tools that enable the most effective management of an organization's human resources. The course is designed to answer the following fundamental question: What do managers and entrepreneurs need to know about human resources for organizational success?
For more information: http://www.kaltura.com/tiny/inlmu
Prerequisites: None
- Program: Graduate
- Division: Management
- Level: Graduate Elective (Grad)
- Course Number: MOB7515
- Number of Credits: 3
LTA2061 Tales of the City: Exploring Urban Literature
Intermediate Liberal ArtsThis course will focus on the changing and diverse portrayals of cities and urban life in western literature from the earliest days of industrialization to the present. Inspired by Plato's observation, _this City is what it is because our citizens are what they are. We will explore the mutually-constructed relationship between a city and its citizens, asking such questions as: What does it mean to be an urban dweller? How does a city shape its residents' identity, and how do its residents influence a city's development? What are the delights and dangers of urban life? Where does one's sense of community/neighborhood overlap with - and diverge from - living in a particular city? We will read novels, short stories, poems, and essays, focusing primarily on London, but also likely including Dublin and New York City. To what extent can the concerns of a community within a city diverge from the concerns of the city as a whole?
Prerequisites: RHT & Foundation A&H and H&S
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Arts and Humanities
- Level: Intermediate Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: LTA2061
- Number of Credits: 4
LAW3650 Tax Policy
4 CreditsTax policy is a government's choice regarding what taxes to levy, on whom and in what amounts in order to raise the funds it needs and to influence taxpayer behavior.
Students will learn the timeless design principles of good tax policy, evaluate taxation in America over time through the lens of these design principles, examine the roles of influential individuals, discuss social, environmental, economic responsibility, and sustainability (seers) aspects as well as global and ethical considerations in the tax policy debate, assess alternative approaches to the current federal income tax system in the U.S., and develop policy as well as implementation recommendations.
Prerequisites: LAW1000; prior completion of TAX3500 is beneficial
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Accounting and Law
- Level: Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: TAX3650
- Number of Credits: 4
TAX3500 Taxes
General CreditStudies tax administration; income, deductions, and credits; treatment of gains and losses;
income taxation of individuals, businesses, estates, and trusts, with an emphasis on income
taxation of individuals; and estate and gift taxation fundamentals.
Prerequisites: LAW 1000
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Accounting and Law
- Level: Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Management (UGrad)
- Course Number: TAX3500
- Number of Credits: 4
OPS7200 Technology & Operations Management
2 CreditsTechnology & Operations Management (TOM) - This course introduces students to the fundamental components of a firm's operating systems, be it a mature enterprise or an early stage company. The course introduces the new methods and models to analyze, diagnose and improve operations activities for both manufacturing and service firms. We examine key issues for competitiveness including operations strategy, innovation, product and process design and development, global supply chain management, quality management, and sustainable operations. Developing a strong appreciation for the contribution of technology and operations to a company's market success is an essential element of effective decision-making for entrepreneurs and leaders of all types of organizations.
- Program: Graduate
- Division: Operations and Information Management
- Course Number: OPS7200
- Number of Credits: 2
OIM2001 Technology Operations Management
4 Credits
This course focuses on the processes and management systems required for entrepreneurial leaders and managers to successfully test and actualize business strategy. To be effective, leaders must accurately interpret customer value through new product development & service system design. They must create, manage and make investments to improve the conversion of resources into delivered value. Ultimately a venture's Operating Model must conform to the business's objectives and tightly link all activities tailored to its strategy such that the intent and the actions achieve the desired results in an ethical and sustainable manner.
The structure of this course builds the critical thinking skills and introduces the managerial methods needed to become entrepreneurial leaders and managers in all operating environments, independent of industry or scope. Students will discover how the design of operations impacts measured performance and affects customer satisfaction. The course further instructs how the digital modeling of expected results before action is taken leads to improved operational decisions.
Managing operations is vital to every type of organization, for it is only through effective and efficient utilization of resources that an organization can be successful in the long run. This is especially true in a globally-networked economy, when we see that significant competitive advantages accrue to those firms that manage their operations effectively. We define operations in the broadest sense, not confining the focus within the boundaries of the firm but defining the scope to the intentions and activities considered in the supply of goods and services from their conception to their consumption.
In the classroom, students will have case-based learning and hands-on experience to apply operating theories and managerial tools to make well-informed decisions. Students engage in project & group activity and assessment to help supplement individual learning throughout this course.
Prerequisites: FME1000
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Operations and Information Management
- Level: Intermediate Management (UGrad)
- Course Number: OIM2001
- Number of Credits: 4
PHL4609 Technology, Nature and Values
4 Advanced Liberal Arts CreditsInvestigates the ways in which our increasing technological capabilities have influenced our values and the reciprocal influence of beliefs and conceptual systems upon technological progress.
Prerequisites: Any combination of 2 ILA (HSS, LTA, CSP, LVA, CVA)
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Arts and Humanities
- Level: Advanced Liberal Arts 4600 Requirement (UGrad),Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: PHL4609
- Number of Credits: 4
HUM 1000: The Art of the Self
3 Credits course for Humanities and Entrepreneurship Certificate Students Only
The first in a four-course sequence offered by Babson College that results in a Certificate in Entrepreneurial Leadership from the Babson Social Innovation Institute, The Art of the Self precedes and grounds the following courses: Transformation Through Entrepreneurial Leadership, Self As Global Citizen, and Leading Your Startup.
In The Art of the Self, students explore "the self" as an idea through philosophy, literature, history, and film. What is "the self," and how can you connect with yours? What are historical and philosophical constructions of "the self," and how is "the self" impacted by environments and social contexts? How can "the self" evolve over time? What is "the entrepreneurial self," and how does one cultivate it?
Using a narrative approach, this course engages students through a range of readings and reflections, as well as an ongoing written narrative, the "Story of Self" project (Marshall Ganz), in the work of identifying, understanding, connecting with, and building creative, confident, credible selves-all while identifying potential opportunities to think and act entrepreneurially, now and in the future.
MCIF students will be supported in their learning by Babson students, with whom they will engage in a Book Club and who will serve as peer mentors for final projects in at least three class visits over the course of the semester.
Prerequiste: Course is for Humanities and Entrepreneurship students only
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Arts and Humanities
- Course Number: HUM1000
- Number of Credits: 3
ECN3625 Economic and Political Integration in the European Union
4 Advanced Liberal Arts Elective CreditsThe European Union is the most important experiment in liberal democracy since the founding of the United States almost three hundred years ago. The question is, will it ultimately succeed in its goals of eliminating trade barriers and increasing political unity in order to promote economic growth and ensure peace. From the "Brexit" movement in the UK, to the rise of right-wing populism in Hungary, Poland and Italy, to the massive influx of migrants from North Africa and the Middle East, the EU faces potentially shattering challenges to its authority and its institutions. Students will learn about the history of the EU, the institutional structures, the democratic nature of decision-making and legislation, the economic foundations of the single market and the impact of adopting a single currency, the Euro. With this knowledge in hand, students will examine the current crises and the future challenges for the success of the European Union experiment.
Prerequisites: (SME2031 or ECN2002) and ECN2000
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Economics
- Level: Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: ECN3625
- Number of Credits: 4
SEN1332 The Greatest American Scandals
(Student Instructor: Elizabeth D'Agostino) Monica Lewinsky, Richard Nixon, and O.J. Simpson all have one thing in common: they were the subjects of journalistic scrutiny. In this course, we will focus on groundbreaking U.S. scandals of the past century to examine the role of journalism and its complex relationship with democracy. Students will explore politics, history, business, crime, and ethics, and questions about truth through interactive lectures, guest speakers, and media analysis. We will discuss how journalism informs facets of American culture, including gender roles, race relations, political battles, and institutions of power. After learning about historical events like Watergate, Clinton's impeachment, and the O.J. Simpson trial, students will be able to contextualize current events and ultimately answer the key question of this course: why does journalism matter? Course materials include podcasts, films, and TV shows such as "Slow Burn," "Catch and Kill", and "O.J.: Made in America."
Tuesdays: 6:30-9:00pm
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Other
- Course Number: SEN1332
- Number of Credits: 0
HIS4670 The History and Ethics of Capitalism
(Formerly History of Capitalism)
4 Advanced Liberal Arts CreditsThis course deals with the history of capitalism from early modern times to the present. It is concerned not just with the story of capitalist enterprise but with the cultural values and social institutions accompanying capitalism. It addresses the tension as well as the affinity between capitalism on the one hand and, on the other, contextual cultural values and social institutions. It especially focuses on the way that capitalist power subverts as well as supports the free market economy and democratic political processes with which it is often identified.
Prerequisites: Any combination of 2 ILA (HSS, LTA, CSP, LVA, CVA)
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: History and Society
- Level: Advanced Liberal Arts 4600 Requirement (UGrad),Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: HIS4670
- Number of Credits: 4
MDS4615: The Interview
4 Advanced Liberal Arts Credits
To interview means literally to see (view) each other (inter). As media from paintings to pixels have emerged and proliferated over the past decades & centuries, so too have the means by which we see/read/hear one another, giving rise to a whole range of transmedia interview genres: news interviews, celebrity interviews, athlete interviews, political interviews, press conferences, podcasts, talk shows, and storytelling interview methods like documentaries, mockumentaries, reality TV, etc. These stand shoulder-to-shoulder with more time-test interview genres, like surveys, polls, focus groups, job interviews, police interviews, court testimony, and so on. In this class, which merges media studies, genre studies, and professional communication, we will uncover what is essential to each of these interview genres and to them all by experiencing the many roles of the 'interverse:' we will participate as observers--readers, watchers, listeners--but also meanwhile as doers-interviewers, interviewees, microphone positioners, camera operators, stenographers, question designers, video editors, and so on. What we will find is that a conversation always involves more than speaking & listening, and that seeing and being seen often create pathways to new futures.
Prerequisite: Any combination of 2 Intermediate Liberal Arts Courses (HSS, LTA, CSP)
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Arts and Humanities
- Level: Advanced Liberal Arts 4600 Requirement (UGrad),Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: MDS4615
- Number of Credits: 4
LTA2080 The Literature of Guilt: I'm Sorry for Apologizing so OftenN
4 Intermediate Liberal Arts CreditsThis course will examine guilt and how it affects us, both personally and societally. Through both literary and cultural texts, we will study guilt in a number of settings including familial guilt, generational guilt, survival guilt, and societal guilt. Students will be challenged to look at guilt in both its helpful and harmful forms, investigating why we feel the emotion and the effects it can have on us. We will read works by Dante Alighieri, Joseph Conrad, J.M. Coetzee, and Jane Smiley, among others. We will also watch Beloved and We Need To Talk About Kevin as well as the first season of Rectify.
Prerequisites: (FCI1000 or AHS1000) and (WRT1001or RHT1000)
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Arts and Humanities
- Level: Intermediate Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: LTA2080
- Number of Credits: 4
OIM3610 The Mobile App
2 Advanced Liberal Arts Credits
Have you ever considered building a mobile app as an entrepreneurial venture or for a firm you hope to work for? Do you have an app in process that you would like to make stronger? Are you interested in honing your skills in design thinking, agile methodology and other modern-day approaches to project management and development? Do you want to better understand what it takes to successfully move an application from idea to market? If you answered "yes" to any of these questions, this course is for you!*
This project-based course will guide you and your team through the process of producing a strong app idea, assessing the feasibility and viability of that idea, prototyping your app, building a requirements list to hand off to development, entering into a successful development relationship, packaging your app for commercial distribution and marketing your app.
During each session, you will learn about your next project step. You will then apply the learnings both inside and outside of class to advance your project.
You will begin your project with a design thinking exercise. You will then move through your project applying agile principles. We conclude the course with "app pitches" to outside experts who will give you professional feedback on your idea.
*Note: This is not a coding class. Instead, student teams will create app mock-ups in preparation for development and then learn how to form and manage successful development relationships.
Prerequisites: SME2012 or OIM2000
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Operations and Information Management
- Level: Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: OIM3610
- Number of Credits: 2
HUM4605 The Nature, Culture and Future of Work
4 Advanced Liberal Arts CreditsThis interdisciplinary course examines work from the standpoints of cultural history and organizational behavior. We will explore work as a marker of identity, work as a cultural construct, and work as an ideological and structural apparatus. The course will be organized around weekly film viewings and readings. The films will frame our exploration of work and serve both as cultural artifacts that represent American ideologies and case studies of particular work situations and perspectives. The readings will offer a range of theoretical and historical views from a variety of disciplines: cultural and film history, organizational behavior, economics, management theory, sociology, and others.
Among the questions the course will address are:
- To what extent does what we do professionally define who we are?
- What, if anything, do we expect of our jobs beyond a paycheck?
- What, if anything, do our jobs expect of us beyond our skill and time?
- What is the difference between work as a job, a career and a calling?
- How do American ideologies conflate professional achievement with success?
- In what ways are some organizational structures more conducive than others to contentment at work?
- What does it mean to opt out of or strive not to work?
- What is the past, present and future of work in America?
Prerequisites: Any combination of 2 ILA (HSS, LTA, CSP, LVA, CVA)
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Arts and Humanities
- Level: Advanced Liberal Arts 4600 Requirement (UGrad),Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: HUM4605
- Number of Credits: 4
MKT 3504: The NYC Stage & Suite: Exploring Services Marketing through Theater and Hospitality
4 advanced management credits
"The NYC Stage & Suite" is an immersive, transdisciplinary exploration of services marketing and theatrical performance. Set against the bustling backdrop of New York City, this course bridges the theoretical foundations of service marketing with tangible real-world examples from the world of performance, offering students an experiential opportunity in consumer psychology and theater marketing. Through a blend of workshops, guest speakers, tours, and first-hand experiences - from Broadway shows to luxury hotels - students will consider how a theatrical work moves from page to stage and dissect the strategies, challenges, and opportunities inherent in creating memorable service experiences.
Prerequisites: MKT 2000
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Other
- Level: Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Management (UGrad)
- Course Number: MKT3504
- Number of Credits: 4
ART4602 The Origins of Modern Art
(Formerly VSA4602 19th Century European Art)
4 Advanced Liberal Arts CreditsExamines the social, economic and political changes in 19th century Europe that led to the creation of Impressionism and early modern art. Explores the meaning of modern art by examining the contexts (social, economic, and artistic) in which pioneering artists lived. The class will look briefly at Neoclassicism, Romanticism, and Realism to understand their contributions to Impressionism, Post-Impressionism, Art Nouveau and Expressivism with special focus on major artists, sculptors, and architects such as Monet, Renoir, Van Gogh, Gauguin, Munch, Rodin, Claudel, Garnier, and Eiffel who shaped what we now call Modern Art. We will visit local museums with early modern art collections as part of the course in order to see and discuss art "in person".
Prerequisites: Any combination of 2 ILA (HSS, LTA, CSP, LVA, CVA)
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Arts and Humanities
- Level: Advanced Liberal Arts 4600 Requirement (UGrad),Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: ART4602
- Number of Credits: 4
HIS4674 The Personal is Political: Gender in Modern US History
(Advanced Liberal Arts)
Activists in the women's movement made the personal political, bringing previously "private" issues such as sex, reproduction, birth control, and intimate relationships into the realm of public debates. This course focuses on the changing social and political roles of women and men in twentieth- and twenty-first century America. Using primary and secondary sources, films, and other texts, we will study "womanhood" and "manhood," femininity and masculinity, and the intersection of these identities with the categories of class, race, ethnicity, religion, ability, and sexuality. We will discuss people in straight and GLBTQ family arrangements, in the diverse, globalized workplace, in the formation of public policy, and in social movements.
Prerequisites: Any combination of 3 Intermediate Liberal Arts Courses (CVA, LVA, HSS)
This course is typically offered in the following semesters: Spring or Fall
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: History and Society
- Level: Advanced Liberal Arts 4600 Requirement (UGrad),Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: HIS4674
- Number of Credits: 4
POL 4607: The Politics of Punishment
4 advanced liberal arts credits
This advanced undergraduate course provides an overview of the history and current state of incarceration and detention globally, with a special focus on the United States. It covers prominent theories, methodologies, and ideologies behind punitive practices across cultures, as well as the numerous social and historical issues that intersect with contemporary imprisonment. The course will explore the social, economic, and political factors that have contributed to the rapid growth of prisons and detention facilities and hindered reform efforts. We will analyze current custodial practices, social scientific research on prison policies, as well as alternatives to incarceration. The course will also examine the impact of imprisonment on incarcerated individuals, their families, and communities. The course will challenge students to critically examine who qualifies as a criminal and what social functions the prison serves. Through interdisciplinary readings, documentary films, and first-hand encounters with prison facilities, students will explore how structures of power related to class, gender, sexuality, nationality, and ability shape our ideas of criminality.
Prerequisites: Any combination of 2 Intermediate Liberal Arts (CSP, LTA, HSS)
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: History and Society
- Level: Advanced Liberal Arts 4600 Requirement (UGrad),Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: POL4607
- Number of Credits: 4
MDS4600 The Rhetoric of Social Media
4 Advanced Liberal Arts Credits
Drawing upon the reading, writing, speaking, and research skills developed in the Liberal Arts and Sciences Foundation and Intermediate Courses, in this intensive seminar students will turn a rhetorical eye towards the ever-evolving world of social media. While our personal uses of various social media platforms will be up for discussion, this course asks students to take a deeper look at the structures of power involved in everything from memes used to brighten someone's day to large campaigns and avenues for cultural and social change.
Through course readings, in-class discussion, and both primary and secondary research, students will critique the rhetorical functions and effectiveness of various issues in social media. We will review key terms from Babson's foundational writing courses (see especially discourse communities, audience, conventions, ethics, circulation), deepen our understanding of how such terms developed, and make connections amongst what we're seeing around us today (think: from Aristotle to Ariana Grande).
In order to achieve a deeper understanding of the rhetoric of social media, this course will be split into four units: (1) Social Media Histories; (2) Social Media Discourse Communities; (3) Social Media and [Fake] News; and (4) and Social Media Futures. Each unit will challenge students both analytically and creatively.
Prerequisites: Any combination of 2 ILA (HSS, LTA, CSP, LVA, CVA)
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Arts and Humanities
- Level: Advanced Liberal Arts 4600 Requirement (UGrad),Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: MDS4625
- Number of Credits: 4
LTA2082 The Sexual Renaissance: Forms / Concepts / Cultures
4 Intermediate Liberal Arts CreditsThis course offers a bifold introduction to the studies of sex and literature in the English Renaissance. Reading a diverse range of literary and cultural texts, we will explore how writers imagined sex and its meanings, as well as how differences of language, genre, and literary form help to shape erotic possibilities, both in that era and our own. Ranging from pastoral poems to prose narratives, allegorical dramas to personal essays, metaphysical conceits to English and Italian pornography, we will encounter not only a variety of representational forms but of erotic arrangements, scenarios, practices, and fantasies. Situating these works in their own historical and cultural contexts, we will examine the "sexual Renaissance" on its own terms; consider how modern conceptual categories may inform-and inhibit-our capacity to understand the sexual past; and, throughout, discuss the relevance of these works to our understanding of sex today. Readings will focus on primary texts. Assignments will include weekly written responses and quizzes, a group presentation, an exam, and a creative final project. Interested students will allowed to compose short essays in lieu of the exams. No prior experience or knowledge is necessary to enroll.
Prerequisites: (FCI1000 or AHS1000) and (WRT1001or RHT1000)
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Arts and Humanities
- Level: Intermediate Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: LTA2082
- Number of Credits: 4
LTA2090 The Short Story
4 Intermediate Liberal Arts CreditsWhat gives a great short story its undeniable power? Some writers strive to make their stories pack a punch, while others create more reflective works, exploring interiors; in either approach, the impacts of a great story are both immediate and lasting.
In this course, you will read a range of forms, from early tales to modern experiments. You will compare the intentions and effects of short stories that create entire worlds and those that are more elliptical and fragmentary, though they hint at more. You will learn the formal elements of the short story, such as characterization and point-of-view, and also trace the development of literary theories, those critical lenses that will increase your understanding and enrich your appreciation. Reading writers from several continents - from the famous, like Gabriel Garcia Marquez and Alice Munro, to the lesser-known, like Lucia Berlin and Edward P. Jones - you will follow stories of a family murdered senselessly by the side of the road, a bishop languishing in his final illness, and many more; you will even encounter a talking cat who proves to be careless in spilling the family's secrets.
This course is typically offered in the following semesters: Spring
Prerequisites: (FCI1000 or AHS1000) and (WRT1001or RHT1000)
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Arts and Humanities
- Level: Intermediate Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: LTA2090
- Number of Credits: 4
LTA2022 The Speculative Genres: Horror, Sci-Fi and Fantasy Literature and Film
4 credit intermediate liberal artsIn this class, we examine the speculative genres, stories containing science fictional, gothic/horror, or fantastic qualities that are particularly invested in socio-political questions. Rather than resolutely celebrating a techno-scientific future, these stories engage audiences in difficult ethical and philosophical discussions: What does it mean to be human? What is the cost of progress? What does it take to imagine (and then create) a more equitable world? We discuss a range of texts, including essays by J. R. R. Tolkien and Ursula K. Le Guin; novels by Mary Shelley, Octavia Butler, Karen Tei Yamashita, Cormac McCarthy, and Margaret Atwood; short fiction by Keri Hulme, Carmen Maria Machado, W. E. B. Du Bois, Charlotte Perkins Gilman, and Ted Chiang; films such as Get Out, The Hunger Games, Black Panther, and Blade Runner; and tv such as Station 11 and The Rings of Power
Prerequisites: (AHS1000 or FCI1000) and (WRT1001 or RHT1000)
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Arts and Humanities
- Level: Intermediate Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: LTA2022
- Number of Credits: 4
EPS1210 The Ultimate Entrepreneurial Challenge
(Formerly EPS3510 and EPS3579)
4 Credits
This highly competitive course involves intense TEAM competition and problem-solving. Students will elect CEOs, negotiate to acquire team members, and compete for ten weeks to determine the ultimate winner. We have designed a learning experience that will develop and test your skills in strategy, marketing, negotiation, management, negotiations, and finance -- as well as creative, innovative, entrepreneurial out-of-the-box thinking.
Your learning experiences will primarily engage you in real-world business cases, including, when feasible, interactions with the entrepreneurs that are the subjects of the cases, or practitioners who have relevant experiences and insights to share. Our goal is to make this course one of the most challenging and rewarding learning experiences for you during your time at Babson.
Prerequisites: FME1001 or MOB1000
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Entrepreneurship
- Level: Free Elective (UGrad)
- Course Number: EPS1210
- Number of Credits: 4
HSS2010 The US in the World in the 20th Century
4 Intermediate Liberal Arts CreditsThis course explores the role of the United States throughout the world from 1900 to the present. We will investigate the people, institutions, and processes that influenced American diplomatic and military engagements, and analyze the impact and effectiveness of America's role. We will begin by exploring the emergence of America as an empire, and how American power and influence evolved and changed over the course of the century to the present day. We will explore America's role in shaping the Cold War, in particular in Latin American and the wars in Vietnam, as well as more recent engagements in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Africa.
Prerequisites: (FCI1000 or AHS1000) and (WRT1001or RHT1000)
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: History and Society
- Level: Intermediate Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: HSS2010
- Number of Credits: 4
LTA 2005: The Visual Languages of Art
4 Intermediate Liberal Arts CreditsThis course is designed to introduce you to the realm of visual communication - how it's done, how it works and how cultural and personal experiences shape your reactions to it. Fine arts (painting, sculpture, architecture), industrial arts (graphic and product design) and everyday objects will be presented as the workings of visual communication, the role of art and artists in a variety of times and places, the nature of good and bad art and design are explored.
Prerequisites: (FCI1000 or AHS1000) and (WRT1001or RHT1000)
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Arts and Humanities
- Level: Intermediate Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: LTA2005
- Number of Credits: 4
PRF1120 Theater Production Workshop
2 Free Elective CreditsThis course will center on a major collaborative project undertaken jointly by all enrolled students (as well as some students involved in an extra-curricular capacity): the rehearsal and performance of a full-length play. In the professional theater world, every production is a considerable undertaking, requiring deep collaboration among a diverse ensemble, each bringing distinctive expertise to the project. Creating a theater production is not only a rigorous intellectual and aesthetic undertaking but also one that demands the development of leadership and collaboration skills. Whether you intend to pursue a career in the arts or not, the core skills developed through this experience will be highly relevant to any professional path.
Prerequisites: None
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Arts and Humanities
- Level: Free Elective (UGrad)
- Course Number: PRF1120
- Number of Credits: 2
LTA2079 Theories of Love
4 Intermediate Liberal Arts CreditsWhat is love? Where does it come from, what does it ask of us, and how does it alter our minds, bodies, values, and relations? Are sex, friendship, and marriage necessary for love, or do they inhibit love's fullest expression? In this course, we will examine how influential writers have conceived and contested love's meanings across a range of cultural contexts. Focusing primarily on erotic love (erôs), we will consider how such meanings relate to notions of art, beauty, conjugality, legality, pleasure, sexuality, spirituality, and transgression, both in their original era and our own. Particular attention will be paid to differences of race, class, age, gender, and authority as incitements to, and/or impediments of, relations of love and eroticism.
Prerequisites: (FCI1000 or AHS1000) and (WRT1001or RHT1000)
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Arts and Humanities
- Level: Intermediate Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: LTA2079
- Number of Credits: 4
QTM3615 Time Series and Forecasting
4 Advanced Liberal Arts CreditsThis course is about the analysis of time series data in the context of various real-life forecasting situations pertaining to business and non-business areas, such as sales, banking, healthcare, sports, and global warming. The objectives of the course are: to provide practical experience with time series data to predict future outcomes; to provide a framework for comparing alternative models in terms of predictive accuracy; to cultivate an appreciation of various types of times series modeling approaches; to provide advanced exposure and experience in programming to build, test, and apply time series models; and to develop skills at communicating results effectively. The software used throughout the course will be Excel and R/RStudio. Effective teamwork and professional presentation of analyses and recommendations will be required during this course.
Prerequisites: AQM2000 or permission from instructor
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Mathematics Analytics Science and Technology
- Level: Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: QTM3615
- Number of Credits: 4
GDR4610: Topics in Women's Studies
4 Advanced Liberal ArtsThis course provides a forum to examine and discuss contemporary women's and girls' roles and positions. The course will address the following topics: first and second waves of feminism, sexuality, psycho-social influences on gender construction, paid work and structures of inequality, women and social protest and family configurations. At the beginning of the course, we will read some historic documents as background to the women's movement in the United States. Although the main focus will be on women and girls in the United States, we will also discuss women's positions in other countries as well. Because femininity and images of women are balanced, and often countered, by masculinity and images of men, we will spend time discussing men in relation to women. Integral to this course is recognition of how race, class, ethnicity and sexuality converge to influence how women negotiate their political, social and cultural roles. Finally, we will attempt to become _enlightened witnesses_ to the social construction of femininity and masculinity, and use our understanding to notice stereotypical portrayals as well as new, liberating images of women and men.
Prerequisites: 2 Intermediate Liberal Arts Courses (CSP, LTA, HSS)
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: History and Society
- Level: Advanced Liberal Arts 4600 Requirement (UGrad),Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: GDR4610
- Number of Credits: 4
EPS 1001: Transformation Through Entrepreneurial Leadership
3 Credits course for Humanities and Entrepreneurship Certificate Students Only
The Transformation Through Entrepreneurial Leadership course cultivates core career and life skills by helping students transform their self-perception and agency by developing an entrepreneurial mindset that supports their ability to overcome challenges and seize opportunities.
The course helps students understand how entrepreneurial thinking and acting can enable them to become an entrepreneurial leader while defining their unique strengths and capabilities based on their self-identified value systems.
The course is experientially-based, providing students with feedback and an opportunity to build and reflect on their individual entrepreneurial leadership skills. Students will engage in interactive sessions with Babson faculty and be supported by Babson students; work on an individual entrepreneurial leadership project; and discover how Babson's entrepreneurship methodology, Entrepreneurial Thought and Action (ET&A), applies to their individual entrepreneurial journey.
This course is offered over 12 weeks with classes held in person once a week for three hours. Students will discover that being an entrepreneur goes deeper than developing a business. In the first part of the course, they will build upon what they learned in "The Art of the Self" course as they further explore how they can cultivate their entrepreneurial abilities, passions, and strengths.
As they discover what inspires them, students will learn about the United Nations Global Goals and how those connect to their own lives and to opportunities in the market. They will strengthen their ability to solve problems through Babson's ET&A methodology and discover how these skills connect to opportunities they can secure once they venture out. Through support, they will learn how to create the story of self, seeing themselves as entrepreneurs with experience and expertise to address real world problems. The course concludes with students' final deliverable, a presentation of their transformed personal narrative as an entrepreneurial leader capable of creating social impact.
Prerequiste: Course is for Humanities and Entrepreneurship students only
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Entrepreneurship
- Course Number: EPS1001
- Number of Credits: 3
HUM4607: Trauma, Culture, Transformation
4 Advanced Liberal Arts credits
What is trauma and how does it impact individuals and societies? The word comes to us from the Greek "wound," and so it has come to mean a lasting injury made by a violent or startling event that penetrates a person's psychic boundary system. The difference between a wound and a traumatic wound is that the latter does not heal; rather, it results in post-traumatic stress, which in turn creates cycles of repetition of uncannily similar events until the event has been "worked through." While the term is largely attributed to Sigmund Freud's 19th and early 20th century work, in fact many of his sources came from classical Greek texts, meaning the concept and experience of trauma have been around for centuries.
In the past, knowledge about trauma came predominantly from psychoanalysis; to a lesser extent, literary theory has explored how cultural texts reflect phenomena related to trauma such as repetition, disruptions of time and temporality, and fragmented points of view. Post-Traumatic Stress was a chronic, cyclical dis-ease with devastating consequences. In the past decade, however, neuroscientists have exponentially advanced our understanding of trauma and its relation to our bodies, not just our minds, and theorists have shown how trauma is also a cultural phenomenon, transmitted from one generation to the next. Most importantly, this new research also shows proven pathways to transformation and healing-pathways that also correspond to collective movements for healing our world.
Starting with Freud's foundational work and the classical texts that inspired him, we will study how cultural texts have represented both traumatic stress and methods for its healing. From there, we move quickly to study new developments in the understanding of trauma and post-traumatic stress, including methods of healing and transcending traumatic repetition that have gained traction in broader change-making contexts. We will conclude our study by exploring the concept of Transformational Literacy operating at the MIT Presencing Institute, and how the notion of collective trauma invites collective healing responses as together we bring "the emergent future" into being.
Prerequisites: Any Combination of 2 Intermediate liberal arts (HSS, LTA, CSP)
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Arts and Humanities
- Level: Advanced Liberal Arts 4600 Requirement (UGrad),Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: HUM4607
- Number of Credits: 4
SCN3601: Triumphs and Trials of the Pharmaceutical Industry
4 advanced liberal arts credits
In 2022, the US pharmaceutical market was valued at over $1.2 trillion, forecasted to reach more than $2 trillion dollars by the year 2025. Bringing a new drug or therapeutic agent to the market is a complex process that can take upwards of a decade with a hefty price tag upwards of $2 billion dollars. The United States pharma industry spends about $60 billion yearly on drug research and development, generating approximately half of the $1.2 trillion market. As a result of this significant investment, the pharma industry has made great strides in the treatment of many diseases and developed therapies that have changed the world, including the development of antibiotics to treat infection and drugs like insulin, which have saved hundreds of thousands of lives Research, technological advances and development have led to new and innovative approaches to treat cancer, has reduced HIV infection from a 100% mortality rate to a chronic illness in the US and led to the development of a vaccine against COVID19 in record time. Despite making many significant scientific strides, public opinion of the industry is lower than ever before. It has been plagued with controversy after controversy about questionable practices including intellectual property arguments, skyrocketing costs, exorbitant executive payouts and inequitable vaccine access across the world. Additionally, a seemingly arbitrary drug pricing system and the indisputable role the pharma industry played in the opioid crisis, have fed into the significant public relations problem the industry currently faces. This course will focus on real world considerations that drive both the good and the bad of the pharmaceutical industry. We will discuss the triumphs and challenges that occur in bringing a drug from bench to bedside, and explore some of the questionable practices that have been connected to the industry. We will discuss the process and impacts of new drug development, translational medicine, and drug pricing models, investigating the ethics of balancing patient access, scientific innovation and the sustainability of a complex and often inefficient system. By the end of this course, students will appreciate the complexity of drug development system and understand the critical scientific and ethical challenges the pharmaceutical industry faces in bringing a drug to market.
Prerequisites: Any NST1XXX course
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Mathematics Analytics Science and Technology
- Level: Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: SCN3601
- Number of Credits: 4
LTA2015 Truthful Fictions: Biographical Novel, Memoir & Biopic
4 Intermediate Liberal Arts Credits
What do works as disparate as Lin-Manuel Miranda's Hamilton, Spike Lee's Black KkKlansman, Maggie O'Farrell's Hamnet, Craig Gillespie's I, Tonya, and Tara Westover's memoir Educated have in common? The past two decades have produced a remarkable surge in biographical fictions (what Alain Buisine coined "biofictions" in 1991). Similarly, as three-time memoirist Mary Karr argues, memoir is in its heyday, with a massive increase in readership in the past twenty years or so. And the popularity of biopics, defined by George Custen as films "minimally composed" of a life or "portion of a life" of a real person have become a tidal wave that threatens to spill over into tsunami. What explains why "true life" stories have become the go-to dinner for fiction writers? In this course, we will explore how memory and forgetting, experience and perception, fact and invention, public and private history, personal relationships, social and political forces intersect in these popular literary and cinematic forms. We will examine the myriad ways authors and directors construct an auto/biographical self, how these may differ from the selves of lived experience, and what these forms suggests about how we navigate a world in which truth is often questioned (or even under siege) and fiction may achieve an honesty that more purportedly "truthful" narratives fail to convey.
Prerequisites: (FCI1000 or AHS1000) and (WRT1001or RHT1000)
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Arts and Humanities
- Level: Intermediate Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: LTA2015
- Number of Credits: 4
OIM3650 UI/UX Design for Web and App Development
4 Advanced Liberal Arts Credits
If you want to become a designer, or if you want to improve your coding and development skills, this course is for you. You will learn how to use Figma and other tools to prototype your designs and experiment with AI to boost your productivity. You will also learn how to make better decisions for your websites, mobile apps, and more. OIM3650 is a 14-week course that focuses on user interface design for web-based projects, apps, and sites. You will learn how to design responsive and user-friendly interfaces using advanced CSS techniques and JavaScript frameworks and libraries such as Bootstrap. You will also learn about the key principles of design that guide good interface design, the role of UI in your business success, and the difference between user interface design and user experience (UX). You will gain hands-on experience using tools like Photoshop and Adobe XD to create wireframes and prototypes and take a deep dive into how to use Figma for prototyping. You will also try the latest AI methods for rapid prototyping. This course will teach you both theory and practice of UI for all kinds of web-based projects. It is suitable for those who want to understand how design choices affect their business, and those who want to enhance their web-based projects.
For more information about this course, please review this video: https://babson.instructuremedia.com/embed/693ca0f0-1836-4477-9e57-1acb9c65dc62
Prerequisite: OIM3690 or experience in HTML and CSS
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Operations and Information Management
- Level: Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: OIM3650
- Number of Credits: 4
OIM3635 UI/UX Design for Web and App Development
2 Advanced Liberal Arts Credits
OIM3635 takes a deep dive into user interface design for web-based projects, apps and sites. Students will learn the key aspects of what makes a solid and usable interface on the desktop, a tablet and a mobile device. This course will explore advanced techniques in cascading style sheets (CSS), as well as leverage JavaScript libraries such as jQuery. As part of the course, students will learn about the principles of design, how they relate to solid interface design, and the importance of the UI as it relates to generating and maintaining your business. The course will also introduce the concepts and tools to make working prototypes and wireframes using tools like Balsamiq and Lucidchart. This course will underscore the importance of UI for all types of web-based projects, looking at theory as well as taking a hands-on approach. It is designed for those that are interested in taking web-based projects to the next level as well as those that are interested in how the choices you make as a designer can affect your business.
Prerequisites: MIS3690 or MIS3640
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Operations and Information Management
- Level: Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: OIM3635
- Number of Credits: 2
LIT 4673: Unruly Ghosts: Modern Irish Literature & Culture
4 advanced liberal arts credits
Ireland is haunted by its history as a colony and by the traumatic experiences of famine, emigration, and language loss. Yet at her 1990 inauguration President Mary Robinson spoke not of postcolonial ghosts but of "a new Ireland, open, tolerant, inclusive [....] a new pluralist Ireland…," reflective of optimistic post-independence conditions. The mid-1990s to the late 2000s were a period of rapid economic growth-the 'Celtic Tiger,' the 'Boom,' the 'Economic Miracle'-transforming Ireland into one of the wealthiest countries in Europe and spurring seismic social and cultural change. That accelerated, unchecked economic growth has now expressed itself in early 21st century discontents and reckonings. In cultural specters, so to speak. The critical questions raised by Irish Studies are not confined to Irishness and Irish identity; they are ethical, global questions. Our class will study how modern Irish fiction, drama, and film tackle some of the most pressing issues of our time. Our topics will include late capitalist volatility; economic precarity; institutional abuses; immigration, displacement and belonging; language dispossession; and climate crisis.
Prerequisites: Any combination of 2 ILA (HSS, LTA, CSP, LVA, CVA)
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Arts and Humanities
- Level: Advanced Liberal Arts 4600 Requirement (UGrad),Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: LIT4673
- Number of Credits: 4
ECN3600: Urban and Land Use Economics
4 Advanced Liberal Arts Credits
Cities are great places where populations gather, interact, and create new ideas. At the same time, cities represent problems such as traffic, crime, and economic inequality. Why do cities exist in the first place? Why are buildings in the city center taller and more expensive? How do we explain land use patterns and housing prices? Does building infrastructure relieve congestion or create pollution? Does gentrification help revitalize inner cities? This course offers a rigorous survey of urban and spatial economics, building upon previous knowledge in introductory economics courses. Core theories in urban economics will be introduced, as well as ideas in economic geography, spatial econometrics, and sustainable development. Further skills in data analysis and visualization especially through GIS will be developed.
Prerequisites: ECN 2002
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Economics
- Level: Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: ECN3600
- Number of Credits: 4
HSS2030 US Politics
(Formerly American Politics)
4 Intermediate Liberal Arts CreditsThe course begins with a focus on significant ideas, major political and economic institutions, and key social conflicts and events that have shaped the character of American politics. We will position American politics in its historical context, recognizing and contending with the legacies of enslavement, white supremacy, and imperial violence in its development. As such, the fundamental role of race, colonialism, gender, sexuality, and class will be addressed throughout so that we can understand key and persistent features of American politics. The latter half of the course will examine contemporary ideologies, struggles over civil liberties and rights, the forces generating economic inequality, and the origins of mass incarceration and systemic racism. We will also spend the beginning of classes discussing the news, so the class will be flexible enough to respond to and address political events as they occur. The course will involve a combination of lecturing, discussion, and small-group activities, so class participation is important.
Prerequisites: (FCI1000 or AHS1000) and (WRT1001or RHT1000)
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: History and Society
- Level: Intermediate Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: HSS2030
- Number of Credits: 4
ECN3606 Uses and Abuses of Financial Derivatives: An Economist's View
4 Advanced Liberal Arts Credits
The significant use of derivative instruments began in the 1970s and, since then, has grown at a thunderous rate. Derivatives are used by individuals, businesses, financial institutions, central banks, and governments throughout the world. This course explains financial derivatives from microeconomic and macroeconomic perspectives.
Microeconomic Perspective
The wise use of derivative instruments requires the identification, measurement, evaluation, management, and monitoring of major risks. Some risks are willingly held, but many of are not, and derivative instruments provides a way to transfer these risks to others. Uses and Abuses of Financial Derivatives: An Economist's View explains how companies have used derivative contracts to mitigate risks. It also describes how these instruments can be used for speculative, often destructive, purposes, which have little or nothing to do with a well-conceived strategy. In some cases, actions that were intended to hedge positions ended up being speculative, due (usually) to unpriced risks and a lack of understanding.
In the spirit of "Never waste a good crisis," this course explains the steps and missteps of companies connected to some of the most spectacular derivative disasters, such as Amaranth Advisors LLC, American International Group (AIG), JPMorgan Chase ("London Whale"), Metallgesellschaft AG, Orange County, and Proctor & Gamble Inc. In doing so, the course addresses important questions, such as: What risks did these companies fail to identify or incorrectly price? Could these losses have been prevented?
The chances are high that students in this class will be offered employee stock options sometime in their professional careers, so this course explains how to put stock option offers into the broader perspective of different forms of compensation and their risks. We will find that employers (especially those in start-up companies) often look at ESOs quite differently from employees.
Macroeconomic Perspective
Derivative products have been used by central banks to influence exchange rates and by governments to hedge international borrowing and lending costs. This course explains how central banks hedge themselves and the positive and negative impacts these transactions can have on international capital flows, domestic credit markets, and foreign exchange markets.
Uses and Abuses of Financial Derivatives: An Economist's View also connects you to an ongoing debate about whether financial derivatives can have significant negative effects on national and world economies. On one side are those who believe derivatives are zero-sum games, with the losses of some offset by the gains of others. On the other side are those who believe that derivative instruments can negatively influence nations' monetary and fiscal policies and expectations, thereby precipitating national and international economic and financial crises. This course discusses both sides of this debate, with particular focus the currency crises of Mexico (1994), Thailand (1997 - 1998), Russia (1998), and Argentina (2001).
Engaging in a forward contract means agreeing to pay or receive payment in the future at a price agreed upon today, but how can one know if a forward price is "fair." To address this question, we discuss four "parity conditions," which are at the heart of many macroeconomic discussions - particularly those dealing with derivatives.
Prerequisites: ECN2000 or ECN2002
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Economics
- Level: Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: ECN3606
- Number of Credits: 4
LTA2069 Utopia and Dystopia: Literary and Cultural Expressions
4 Intermediate Liberal Arts CreditsThis course will examine the difference between ideas of absolute societal perfection and absolute societal imperfection as expressed in literary and cultural texts. Topics of study through such texts will include the ways we govern, the ways we create order, the ways we progress, and the ways we treat others. Over the course of the semester, students will be confronted with a number of questions. What are the elements of a utopia or dystopia? If one is complete perfection and the other complete imperfection - both by definition unattainable - then why are the concepts even worth talking about, and why have they persisted throughout history and across cultures? And maybe most interestingly, is there much of a real difference between the two? We will read works by Jose Saramago, Cormac McCarthy, Kazuo Ishiguro, Ursula LeGuin, and Margaret Atwood.
Prerequisites: (FCI1000 or AHS1000) and (WRT1001or RHT1000)
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Arts and Humanities
- Level: Intermediate Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: LTA2069
- Number of Credits: 4
MOB3526 Values Based Entrepreneurial Leadership
4 Advanced Management Credits
This course has been created specifically for students who wish to develop their capability as a values based entrepreneurial leader. Specifically, the course is about helping students to better understand and develop their own values and learn how effectively apply those values as a leader. Being a successful entrepreneurial leader requires a clear set of values and a willingness to allow those values to govern decision-making beyond simple decision rubrics like profit maximization.
For more information: http://www.kaltura.com/tiny/0l0yj
Prerequisites: (FME1000 and FME1001) or (EPS1000 and MOB1010)
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Management
- Level: Advanced Management (UGrad)
- Course Number: MOB3526
- Number of Credits: 4
LTA2016 Violence: Theories of Cruelty, Evil, and the Inhuman
4 Intermediate Liberal Arts CreditsThis course will investigate the idea of violence across an extensive spectrum of authors, texts, films, and literary-philosophical perspectives from the East and the West. We seek not merely to engage in a conventional critique but to exceed the boundaries of our embedded understanding by also contemplating this concept's fascinating potential as a form of literary imagination and intellectual expression. Topics will therefore include cruelty, vulnerability, power, betrayal, destruction, vengeance, anger, terror, defacement, pain, disaster, and inhumanity. From the poetics of torture to the damaged writings of war, from theoretical works on catastrophe to cinematic and artistic pieces on the nature of evil, the intent is to explore the many narratives that have emerged across the global horizon in the face of an often violent experience of the modern world.
Prerequisites: (FCI1000 or AHS1000) and (WRT1001or RHT1000)
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Arts and Humanities
- Level: Intermediate Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: LTA2016
- Number of Credits: 4
HIS4610 Virtuous Capitalism in Malaysia and Thailand
(Formerly Social Responsibility in Malaysia & Thailand)
4 Advanced Liberal Arts Elective Abroad CreditsProgram fee and group international airfare is paid to Glavin Office - program fee includes accommodations, breakfast, group flights (2), airport transports, ground transportation, site visits, program planned meals, and cultural excursions. Not included: tuition, visa costs, additional meals and personal expenses.
The purpose of our course is to explore the question: "How do Malaysians and Thais think about 'Social Responsibility' and how do they act in order to achieve it?" By extension, we will be asking about how approaches to business ethics in our own countries differ from Malaysians' and Thais'? Often in Western discussions of business ethics, it is assumed that the West is far ahead of Asia in business ethics. We will make no such assumption, but rather, we will ask if Malaysia and Thailand have anything to teach our countries.
More particularly, we will focus on three Asian faiths and cultural traditions - Islam, Buddhism, and Confucianism. We will visit 3 socially responsible companies, each representing, respectively, an approach to social responsibility consistent with one of those 3 traditions. We will aim not only to learn about the implications of Islam, Buddhism, and Confucianism for business ethics. We will also aim to understand what qualities those 3 Asian traditions share which may distinguish them generally from Western traditions in business ethics.
Prerequisites: Any combination of 2 ILA (HSS, LTA, CSP, LVA, CVA)
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: History and Society
- Level: Advanced Liberal Arts 4600 Requirement (UGrad),Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: HIS4610
- Number of Credits: 4
MBA7546 Wealth Management
3 Blended CreditsWealth management does not necessarily have as much to do with how much asset value you now have or how you accumulated that wealth. But wealth management is more about how you manage the wealth you have. There is an accumulation stage and a distribution stage. Wealth management does not involve just investing. Investing is an important element but good management also involves income taxes, estate taxes, how to fund education for children, how to fund a retirement, and how to protect your assets from creditors.
There are 6 pillars of wealth management. This course examines tax planning, estate planning, investment planning, retirement planning, education planning, and risk management including asset protection and insurance, from an individual planning perspective. The course is designed for students who have already accumulated wealth or are in the process of doing so. This could be the successful entrepreneur (or in the process of becoming successful) but also includes students who expect to inherit wealth and those that are interested in helping parents manage their wealth. Also students who have interest in the financial services industry - financial advisors, insurance advisors, bankers, mutual fund managers, etc. will find the course of interest.
The course will use a combination of cases, readings, power point presentations, spread sheet models, and discussions amongst students. Since many of the topics change quickly (for example expiration of the Bush tax cuts and the fiscal cliff legislation known as The American Tax Relief Act of 2012) there will also be cutting edge updates (for example the Affordable Care Act) to planning techniques.
The course is offered in a blended learning format. Thus the course is about 7 weeks long with two face to face sessions. The text will be supplemented with numerous articles which are very practical in nature. Although not a guarantee past students have learned how to save on income and estate taxes!
Prerequisites: None
- Program: Graduate
- Division: Other
- Level: Graduate Elective (Grad)
- Course Number: MBA7546
- Number of Credits: 3
OIM3690 Web Technologies
4 Advanced Liberal Arts Elective Credits
OIM3690 introduces students to web site development. Students will learn general design and programming skills essential for web site development. Students will explore core web technologies for web design and development, including HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. The course will use artificial intelligence (A.I.) to introduce coding HTML pages, enhance them with CSS, and further expand on them, ensuring students truly grasp the languages. Additionally, students will delve into modern JavaScript libraries such as jQuery and Bootstrap to create responsive and dynamic web pages.
Some related design concepts are also discussed, along with aspects concerning design methodology and project management. As part of the course requirements, each student will publish a website to a hosting service. The primary editor used in this course will be Visual Studio Code, complemented by various text editors and graphics design editors. This course emphasizes hands-on computer skill development in a computer lab setting.
Prerequisites: SME2012 or OIM2000
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Operations and Information Management
- Level: Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: OIM3690
- Number of Credits: 4
HUM4606 What Does it Mean to Live a Good Life?
4 Advanced Liberal Arts Credits
This advanced liberal arts elective investigates what it might mean to live a 'good life', and how these interpretations might contribute to your own discoveries and thinking as you head out into the 'real world' beyond Babson. Rather than a philosophy or psychology or self-help course (although all of this is intertwined), this course is based around how writers and filmmakers and other creative thinkers have tried to explore this enduring focus of human inquiry. Through a wide range of literature, film, podcasts, and other media, we will examine differing efforts to perceive and live out a 'good life.' How can we define and measure happiness, and whether that should even be our ultimate goal? How important are extrinsic rewards like achievement and money compared to more internal ones like relationships and human connection? How do we avoid being overwhelmed by the news of the world and instead to create stories that matter and move us to positive action? Where can we find value in odysseys and unexpected detours? What is the meaning of work and its relationship to play? How can we better approach mortality and loss? And how can we grasp the simultaneous individuality and immensity of the human condition in ways that strive to make ourselves and the world better? Together, we will wrangle with these and other ongoing life questions.
Prerequisites: Any combination of 2 ILA (HSS, LTA, CSP, LVA, CVA)
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Arts and Humanities
- Level: Advanced Liberal Arts 4600 Requirement (UGrad),Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: HUM4606
- Number of Credits: 4
SEN1343​ When in Rome: Arts, Literature, and History of Ancient Rome
(Student Instructor: Richard Gwinn) The arts, literature, and history of the Roman Empire are still vibrant in American political institutions, culture, and media. This course seeks to give the history of Roman society, from 753 BCE to 476 CE, a thorough examination. Each section of the course (Roman Kingdom, Roman Republic, and Roman Empire) will analyze primary sources of art and literature produced in the given era. We will read poetry, study battles, and learn about architecture, among other things. Immerse yourself in Roman history without worrying about homework or essays!
Wednesdays 6:30 - 9:00 pm
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Other
- Course Number: SEN1343
- Number of Credits: 0
HIS4682 Women in China
4 Advanced Liberal Arts CreditsCourse considers Chinese history through an emphasis on the social and cultural roles of Chinese women and their changing role over time. Topics include women and the family, and women as shamans, prostitutes, nuns, rulers, writers, revolutionaries, and politicians. Close attention is given to the social-historical context, regional class, and ethnic differences in order to counter the common misconception that pre-modern China is an unchanging monolith. Through this approach and concentration on the roles of women, students gain a more realistic understanding of traditional Chinese society and of the complex legacy of the pre-Communist past in contemporary China.
Prerequisites: Any combination of 2 ILA (HSS, LTA, CSP, LVA, CVA)
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: History and Society
- Level: Advanced Liberal Arts 4600 Requirement (UGrad),Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: HIS4682
- Number of Credits: 4
WRT1001 Writing Across Contexts
4 Foundation Liberal Arts Credits
This course introduces students to key concepts in meaning-making and helps them develop rhetorically sophisticated approaches to reading, writing, and composing across contexts. Students refine and reflect on their own composing practices and processes past, present, and future as they read, analyze, and create texts for a wide variety of audiences, purposes, and media forms. At the end of the term and with the vocabulary developed in the course, each student articulates in an essay their own working theory of and approach to writing that they can mobilize and adapt for future academic and professional contexts.
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Arts and Humanities
- Level: Foundation Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: WRT1001
- Number of Credits: 4
ENG4620 Writing Creative Non-Fiction
4 Advanced Liberal Arts CreditsIn this class, you will have the chance to write about moments in your life, and passionate interests, you wish to deeply explore. You will "read like a writer" to learn the elements and forms of creative nonfiction, including memoir, contemplative, nature, and travel essays. We will read creative nonfiction by such writers as Virginia Woolf, Zadie Smith, and David Foster Wallace, and consider both what the writers say and how they say it. You will write your own personal essays, developing your facility with such elements as conflict, persona, and character development, and, by sharing your work with peers, you will gain a critical understanding of your own writing. You will find, like creative nonfiction writer Dinty Moore, that "the happy by-product" of exploring, expressing the previously unspoken, "is that one has a richer life."
Prerequisites: Any combination of 2 ILA (HSS, LTA, CSP, LVA, CVA)
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Arts and Humanities
- Level: Advanced Liberal Arts 4600 Requirement (UGrad),Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: ENG4620
- Number of Credits: 4
ENG4605 Writing Fiction
4 Advanced Liberal Arts CreditsShort-story writer Flannery O'Connor believes that there is _a certain grain of stupidity that the writer of fiction can hardly do without, and this is the quality of having to stare, of not getting the point at once._ This class develops and nurtures close attention to the art and craft of making short stories. We will read excellent practitioners of the short story form in order to understand the elements of fiction: character, dialogue, place/setting, plot, and so on, and we will look for pleasure in our reading. Throughout the semester you will write short stories of varying length, aiming for authority over language, characterization, plot, and more. Your fiction will be received and read by your peers and professor. You will be a willing, open and active participant, prepared to discuss the work of others, and to reflect on responses to your own work. Short-story writer Tobias Wolff suggests that "in the short-story form you sense… that perfection is attainable. That's an amazing invitation to have: here, at last, is something I can control."
Prerequisites: Any combination of 2 ILA (HSS, LTA, CSP, LVA, CVA)
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Arts and Humanities
- Level: Advanced Liberal Arts 4600 Requirement (UGrad),Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: ENG4605
- Number of Credits: 4
ENG4604 Writing Poetry
4 Advanced Liberal Arts CreditsA poet is a maker, an architect of words, spaces, and ideas and seeks expression through the use of various poetic techniques. This course challenges students to make original poetry through the study of contemporary American poetry and poetics. In addition to exploring the creative process through the crafting of poems, students read the poetry and essays of a wide variety of modern poets, work collaboratively to respond to peers' poems, attend poetry readings, and pursue independent study in an area of their own choice.
Prerequisites: Any combination of 2 ILA (HSS, LTA, CSP, LVA, CVA)
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Arts and Humanities
- Level: Advanced Liberal Arts 4600 Requirement (UGrad),Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: ENG4604
- Number of Credits: 4
WRT 4601: Writing with Robots: Authenticity, Ethics, and AI
4 advanced liberal arts credits
This genre-based writing course takes students through the experience of writing different kinds of text with and without the use of AI tools while simultaneously looking at the ethical concerns related to each genre (e.g., one might feel differently about using AI to help write a LinkedIn post vs. a poem) as well as the larger ethical concerns of AI (e.g., data, bias, academic integrity, and so on).
Prerequisites: Any Combination of 2 intermediate liberal arts (HSS, LTA, CSP)
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Arts and Humanities
- Level: Advanced Liberal Arts 4600 Requirement (UGrad),Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: WRT4601
- Number of Credits: 4
AMS4672 Working in America: Labor in the US Since 1892
4 Advanced Liberal Arts Credits
How has blue, white, and pink collar work changed in the U.S. across the past centuries, and how sustainable are our models of work? This course focuses on the historical experiences of American workers, beginning with the mills of early industrialization and ending with the global corporations and big box chain stores of the contemporary U.S. We will study workers' unions, and also look at how workplaces have changed with the liberation movements of women, people of color, and LBGTQ+ workers. We will use written texts, films, and other rich sources to study how workers have shaped and adapted to the new, global economies of labor.
Prerequisites: Any combination of 2 ILA (HSS, LTA, CSP, LVA, CVA)
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: History and Society
- Level: Advanced Liberal Arts 4600 Requirement (UGrad),Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: AMS4672
- Number of Credits: 4