Outdoor Industry, Master of Business Administration

The Outdoor Industry Masters in Business Administration is designed to provide the tools and skills required for candidates to advance their careers in the Outdoor Industry. The program includes core business academic content necessary for making informed decisions to further our students’ careers. The coursework engages students with material related to the Outdoor Industry to include issues of sustainability, hospitality management, natural resource law and economics and competitive dynamics of the outdoor industry.

A successful master’s candidate must complete 36 credit hours (39 credit hours if MBA 690 MBA Essentials is required; a prerequisite for all students provisionally admitted with this requirement) as a part of a two-year cohort-based program. The MBA program will prepare students for careers in the outdoor industry with coursework focusing on content specific to this industry. Students can select from one of two emphasis tracks: Products or Services. Completion of the MBA requires a Capstone Project.

The Outdoor Industry Masters in Business Administration is a hybrid program with course delivery online and 3 short-term residency requirements:

  • One week — prior to start of first year (immersion in Gunnison, cohort community building and industry networking) 
  • One week — spring of first year (industry networking immersion) 
  • One week — prior to start of second year  (immersion in Gunnison, project presentation and graduation) 

All successful candidates’ second year includes coursework and a practicum experience where candidates complete a corporate-based project. Upon admission to the program, an advisor will be assigned to the candidate to guide them in the process. 

Program Goals

  • To enhance student understanding of the outdoor industry.
  • To prepare students for increased responsibility within their chosen career path.
  • To give students the ability to put theory into practice as they work with colleagues and customers within the travel, tourism, and outdoor industry fields.
  • To provide students with opportunities to find partnerships, friendships, and colleagues who will continue to work together for the betterment of the field well after their degree is completed.

Student Outcomes

  • Communication – MBA students will master oral and written communication that will allow them to effectively communicate ideas
  • Application – MBA students will be able to put theory into practice as they create marketing messages, financial plans, lead organizations, work with customers, and keep their businesses sustainable.
  • Critical Thinking – MBA students will be able to sift through large amounts of information to find the most important aspects to make decisions that will create profits while maintaining sustainable business practices.

Requirements for full Admission to the MBA

All admission requirements to the MBA Program will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis with respect to work experience, including managerial experience and leadership roles.

  • BA or BS degree in Business or related program from a regionally accredited college or university.
  • Prospective students with a BA or BS in an unrelated area may be provisionally admitted. Provisionally admitted students with this requirement must earn a B- in the fall semester pre-term course MBA 690: MBA Essentials prior to classes starting.
  • Prospective students with a degree in a related area may be provisionally admitted. Provisionally admitted students with this requirement must earn a B- in the fall semester pre-term course MBA 690: MBA Essentials prior to classes starting:
    • Intro to Financial Accounting (lower or upper division)
    • Statistics (lower or upper division)
    • Microeconomics (lower or upper division)
    • Macroeconomics (lower or upper division)
    • Business Finance (upper division)
    • Principles of Marketing (lower or upper division)
  • Minimum undergraduate GPA of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale is desirable. Official transcript required.1
  • Greater than three years of outdoor industry work experience.2
1

Those candidates with significant work experience with less than the minimum GPA will be considered.

2

Candidates with less than three years of outdoor industry experience will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis.

Provisional Admission: If an applicant applies without all of the requirements listed above, they will be reviewed for provisional admission. Students who enter the program with prerequisite deficiencies can make up those deficiencies during the fall semester pre-term prior to their first year. In that case, MBA students will enroll in the required MBA 690 course once accepted to the program. These students will be considered “provisional admits” (this status will be removed once a student has completed the prerequisite). 

International Students: See Graduate Academic Catalog section, Criteria for International Admission.

Program Requirements

Candidates must decide in their first semester which track they wish to pursue. A minimum of 36 credits are required for the degree including the 27 credit core plus nine credits from either the Product or Service concentration.

MBA Core
MBA 600Sustainability Accounting3
MBA 601Managerial Economics3
MBA 602Managerial Finance3
MBA 603Leadership, Ethics, and Organizational Behavior3
MBA 604Business Law for the Outdoor Industry3
MBA 605Project Management3
MBA 606Marketing and Brand Strategy in the Outdoor Industry3
MBA 607Sustainable Strategic Management in the Outdoor Industry3
MBA 611Topics in Outdoor Industry0
MBA 691Capstone Project3
Concentration
Select a concentration9
Total Credits36

Concentrations

Product Concentration

MBA 609Sustainable Outdoor Product Development and Material Sourcing3
MBA 610Supply Chain and Logistics in the Outdoor Industry3
MBA 615Sustainable Finance3
Total Credits9

Service Concentration

MBA 608Resort and Hospitality Management3
MBA 613Natural Resource Regulation and Economics3
MBA 614Sales and Customer Experience3
Total Credits9