Graduate School Bulletin

Spring 2024

BUS: Business Management

BUS 510: Biotechnology Startups and Operations

A startup is not a smaller version of a large biotech company. Instead, it is a team testing a business plan for viability. In this course, students will learn about the operational side of a biotech startup, with particular focus on the first steps an entrepreneur must take through to the initiation of a Phase I clinical trial. The goal of this course is not to gain expertise in all areas; rather students will be familiar with all of the varied topics a startup must consider and be better prepared to work holistically within a startup environment. Future CEOs will have a better understanding of the myriad topics they must form a team to address, patent attorneys will understand regulatory needs, and clinical trial coordinators will recognize the needs of the marketing department. For additional information on evaluating technologies and marketing strategies, students are encouraged to take BME-511 and BME-512 as part of the Bio-Based Entrepreneurship Advanced Graduate Certificate (BBE-AGC).

3 credits, Letter graded (A, A-, B+, etc.)

BUS 520: Law and Foreign Policy in International Business

Law and Foreign Policy in International Business is designed to provide MBA candidates with an appreciation for the legal regimes and foreign policy issues affecting international business in the 21st Century. The course is designed for non-lawyers, and does not require any previous legal training or familiarity with legal concepts. For each topic, students will consider not only descriptive and practical considerations, such as the substance of a law, the mechanics of the relevant institutions, enforcement regimes, etc., but also normative and ethical questions. The course will rely heavily on current affairs and case studies drawn from the headlines. Although the course will focus predominantly on international regimes and U.S. laws and policies, we will, when appropriate, compare U.S. legal regimes and policies to those in other countries.

3 credits, Letter graded (A, A-, B+, etc.)

BUS 545: Ethics and Health Care

This course provides students with a framework for identifying ethical dilemmas in professional health care settings and the skills and resources for addressing them. The course introduces students to the importance of respecting patient¿s rights, maintaining confidentiality and honoring professional codes of ethics and provides students with an ethical foundation for working as a professional in a health care environment.

3 credits, Letter graded (A, A-, B+, etc.)

BUS 554: The Lean Launch Pad: Turning a great idea into a great company

This course provides real world, hands-on learning of what it's like to actually start a high-tech company. This class is not about how to write a business plan, and the end result is not a PowerPoint presentation to venture capitalists. Instead, students will get their hands dirty talking to customers, partners and competitors as they encounter the chaos and uncertianty of how a startup actually works. Students work in teams learning how to turn a great idea into a great company. They will learn how to use a business model to brainstorm each part of a company and customer development to get out of the classroom to see whether anyone other than themselves would want/use their product. Finally, they will see how agile development can help them rapidly iterate their product to build something customers will use and buy. Offered in Fall and Spring.

3 credits, Letter graded (A, A-, B+, etc.)

BUS 567: Intellectual Property Strategy

Concepts and techniques of strategic management are examined and applied to relevant cases involving the management of intellectual property as applied to a wide range of industries and innovations. From targeted genomic medications based on new nanotechnologies to the Harry Potter series, the monetization of the creative output of scientists, artists, designers, writers, publishers, product designers, directors and so on all involve the use of one or more forms of intellectual property. The course will begin with a brief overview/review of some principals of management strategy. There will then be a survey of the types of intellectual property, and some of the laws that support exclusivity in intellectual property rights. Students will explore the use and importance of intellectual property rights by companies and individual innovators in building and sustaining a competitive advantage, as well as strategies used to realize the highest value from intellectual property. Offered in Fall and Spring. 3 credits. Prerequisite - MBA 501.

3 credits, Letter graded (A, A-, B+, etc.)