Objective:

The Aviation Management concentration for the MBA program is designed to prepare students from a wide variety of backgrounds for managerial or other decision-making positions in the airline and aerospace industries, in corporate aviation, in the area of management consulting, in the armed forces, and in general aviation. This is accomplished though a broad graduate business education that covers material from the fundamental business disciplines as they relate to specific requirements of the civil aviation community.

Design:

The Aviation Management concentration is designed to be flexible enough to meet the needs of several different student populations; those directly out of undergraduate degree programs, those more experienced students returning for full-time education on-campus, and adult learners who may be on-campus part-time or in the MBA Outreach program.

The concentration also plans to utilize the diverse background of our university by integrating other departments, such as History, in order to maximize the educational experience and knowledge base of the student.

Outreach Students:

This program can be very beneficial for a large subset of aviation professionals who can benefit from this type of concentration but do not have the time to attend an on campus program. Many line and management pilots for major or regional air carriers may find this concentration useful. Many airport managers, corporate and general aviation professionals, military officers, airline and aerospace industry managers, and even aviation consultants may find this concentration useful. Auburn's outreach program has been very useful to continuing education in corporate America, and Aviation and Supply Chain Management intends to capitalize upon our outreach capabilities. Therefore, the majority of the Aviation Management Concentration electives will be offered under the outreach umbrella.

In addition to the requirements of the on-campus students, the outreach student will be required to participate in an on-line bulletin board that will be created for each of the elective courses. This on-line bulletin board will facilitate the student-teacher interaction throughout the semester and beyond. The professor will initiate a topic to discuss or the students themselves may initiate a topic or concern based upon their inside knowledge of the aviation industry. Students will be awarded points based upon the frequency and content of their participation on the bulletin board. These points will be factored into their participation grade.

The outreach program in this concentration area can also benefit the on-campus students by exposing them to real industry problems. On-campus student will also be highly encouraged to participate in the on-line bulletin board.

Electives:

Three electives will be offered during the Fall Semester, and one elective will be offered during the Spring Semester. This design is consistent with the MBA Program's semester model.

Prerequisites:

1. Prior to starting the MBA Aviation Management concentration, students must be enrolled in the MBA program and complete the first semester core curriculum.

2. Degree Requirements Beyond the Minimum Standards Established by the Graduate School

The MBA Aviation Management concentration will consist of at least 9 hours of electives in addition to the MBA Core curriculum. For all MBA Aviation Management concentration students with less than 2 years of full-time professional work experience, or who are not fully employed, an internship of at least 3 credit hours is required. The internship, BUSI 7920 MBA Internship, is graded on a S/U basis.