Design & Merchanding BS / Business Administration MBA
Major: Design & Merchandising and Business Administration
Degree Awarded: Bachelor of Science (BS) and Master of Business Administration (MBA)
Calendar Type: Quarter
Minimum Required Credits: 230.0
Co-op Options: One Co-op (Five years)
BS Classification of Instructional Programs (CIP) code: 50.0499
BS Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) code: 13-1022
MBA Classification of Instructional Programs (CIP) code: 52.0201
MBA Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) code: 11-1021
About the Program
Only available to Design & Merchandising majors, this accelerated dual degree program combines study in the areas of fashion retail merchandising, buying, and product development with the MBA degree. The program is designed to allow students to complete both the bachelor's degree and the Master of Business Administration degree in five years.
The program is offered to qualified students who apply for this option prior to the end of freshmen year or prior to the completion of 90.0 credits. All students who apply for this option must take the GMAT entrance exam. Incoming freshmen selected for this program will generally have a minimum of 1350 on the SAT, a GPA of 3.5 or better, and rank in the top 10% of their high school graduating class. A strong candidate for this program will have taken significant AP coursework while in high school.
BS/MBA students may be waived from two LeBow MBA courses, assuming a grade of B or better is earned in specified undergraduate courses. Students can review the Waiver Policies for the Statement of Curriculum Standing on the LeBow College's website for additional information. The above conditions hold only for fully accepted BS/MBA students as identified by Enrollment Management.
Additional Information
Students should visit the Westphal College of Media Arts and Design for more information.
Admission Requirements
Additional requirements for the accelerated dual degree program include:
- A minimum of a 3.2 cumulative GPA must be maintained throughout the entire undergraduate portion of this program or the student will not be able to continue on to the MBA.
- Students must take the GMAT examination and achieve a minimum score of 570 prior to the end of the tenth term in order to continue in the program. It is recommended that students take the GMAT examination late in the student's third year.
- Students must submit an acceptable plan of study at least three terms before anticipated start of the graduate part of the program.
Degree Requirements
General Education Requirements | ||
CIVC 101 | Introduction to Civic Engagement | 1.0 |
COOP 101 | Career Management and Professional Development * | 1.0 |
ENGL 101 | Composition and Rhetoric I: Inquiry and Exploratory Research | 3.0 |
or ENGL 111 | English Composition I | |
ENGL 102 | Composition and Rhetoric II: Advanced Research and Evidence-Based Writing | 3.0 |
or ENGL 112 | English Composition II | |
ENGL 103 | Composition and Rhetoric III: Themes and Genres | 3.0 |
or ENGL 113 | English Composition III | |
ENVS 160 | Environment in the News | 2.0 |
ENVS 260 | Environmental Science and Society | 3.0 |
GEO 111 | Natural Disasters | 3.0 |
MATH 119 | Mathematical Foundations for Design | 4.0 |
UNIV A101 | The Drexel Experience | 1.0 |
Required Arts and Humanities | ||
COM 220 | Qualitative Research Methods | 3.0 |
COM 230 | Techniques of Speaking | 3.0 |
Arts and Humanities Elective ** | 3.0 | |
Required Social Science | ||
Select one of the following: | 3.0 | |
Politics of Hip Hop | ||
Introduction to Social Psychology | ||
Retail Intersections: Social & Cultural Issues | ||
Social Science Electives *** | 6.0 | |
Visual Studies Requirements | ||
ARTH 103 | History of Art III | 3.0 |
Select two of the following: | 6.0 | |
Asian Art and Culture | ||
Art of India | ||
Art of China | ||
Art of Japan | ||
Contemporary Art | ||
African-American Art | ||
African Art | ||
Global Material Culture | ||
Special Topics in Art History | ||
Special Topics in Art History | ||
PHTO 110 | Photography | 3.0 |
VSST 101 | Design I | 4.0 |
VSST 102 | Design II | 4.0 |
VSST 103 | Design III | 4.0 |
VSST 110 | Introductory Drawing | 3.0 |
Professional Requirements | ||
ACCT 110 | Accounting for Professionals | 4.0 |
ARTH 335 [WI] | History of Costume I: Preclassical to 1800 | 3.0 |
COM 181 | Public Relations Principles and Theory | 3.0 |
DSMR 100 | Computer Imaging I | 3.0 |
DSMR 103 | Introduction to the Fashion Industry | 3.0 |
DSMR 201 | Analysis of Product | 3.0 |
DSMR 210 | Presentation Techniques Design and Merchandising | 3.0 |
DSMR 211 | Computer Design for Design and Merchandising | 3.0 |
DSMR 215 | Digital Commerce & Promotion | 3.0 |
DSMR 230 | Textiles for Design and Merchandising | 3.0 |
DSMR 231 | Retail Operations | 3.0 |
DSMR 232 | Merchandise Planning and Buying | 4.0 |
DSMR 300 | Design and Merchandising Trends and Impact | 3.0 |
DSMR 310 | Merchandising Operations & Management | 3.0 |
DSMR 311 | Visual Merchandising | 3.0 |
DSMR 333 | Fashion Product Development | 3.0 |
DSMR 464 | Merchandising Analytics | 3.0 |
DSMR 477 [WI] | Design and Merchandising Seminar | 3.0 |
DSMR 496 [WI] | Senior Problem in Design and Merchandising | 3.0 |
ECON 201 | Principles of Microeconomics | 4.0 |
ENTP 105 | Entrepreneurial Thinking | 3.0 |
MKTG 201 | Introduction to Marketing Management | 4.0 |
MKTG 321 | Selling and Sales Management | 4.0 |
or MKTG 326 | Marketing Insights | |
or MKTG 344 | Professional Personal Selling | |
or MKTG 356 | Consumer Behavior | |
or MKTG 362 | Brand and Reputation Management | |
PHIL 301 | Business Ethics | 3.0 |
PROD 215 | Design Thinking in Product Design | 4.0 |
Career Pathway Electives † | 31.0 | |
MBA Requirements | ||
ACCT 510 | Essentials of Financial Reporting | 2.0 |
BLAW 510 | Analyzing Legal Options in Decision-Making | 2.0 |
BSAN 601 | Business Analytics for Managers | 3.0 |
ECON 601 | Managerial Economics | 3.0 |
FIN 601 | Corporate Financial Management | 3.0 |
MGMT 520 | Strategy Analysis | 2.0 |
MGMT 530 | Managing and Leading the Total Enterprise | 2.0 |
MGMT 770 | MBA Capstone | 2.0 |
MKTG 510 | Marketing Strategy | 2.0 |
ORGB 511 | Leading in Dynamic Environments: A Personal, Relational, and Strategic Approach | 3.0 |
POM 510 | Operations and Supply Chain Management | 2.0 |
Experiential Requirement-Select one course: | 3.0 | |
Graduate Internship | ||
International Business Seminar and Residency | ||
Leading for Innovation | ||
Business Consulting | ||
Business Agility and IT | ||
Negotiations for Leaders | ||
Tax Experiential Learning | ||
Concentration Requirements (Select one concentration from list below) | 9.0 | |
Free Electives | 11.0 | |
Total Credits | 230.0 |
- *
Co-op cycles may vary. Students are assigned a co-op cycle (fall/winter, spring/summer, summer-only) based on their co-op program (4-year, 5-year) and major.
COOP 101 registration is determined by the co-op cycle assigned and may be scheduled in a different term. Select students may be eligible to take COOP 001 in place of COOP 101.
- **
Select 9.0 credits from 100-499 level courses, including T380-480 in AFAS, ARTH, ARCH, COM, DANC, ENGL, FMST, GST, HIST, INTR, IST, JWST, LANG, LING, MENA, MUSC, PHIL, PHTO, PPE, PBHL, RELS, SCRP, THTR, TVST, VSCM, WGST, and WRIT.
Suggested Arts and Humanities electives: ENGL 303, ENGL 335, HIST 163.
- ***
Select 9.0 credits from 100-499 level courses, including T380-T480, in AFAS, ANTH, CJS, CS, ECON, ENSS, ENVS, PSI, PSY, PBHL, SOC, and WGST.
Suggested Social Science electives: SOC 210, SOC 215, SOC 240, SOC 340, SOC I499.
- †
Career Pathway electives enable students to pursue specific areas of study, which complement the Design and Merchandising major and the student's desired career pathway.
MBA Concentrations
Students selecting a concentration can choose from the following:
Business Analytics Concentration
Select three of the following: | 9.0 | |
Datamining for Managers | ||
Aligning Information Systems and Business Strategies | ||
Inter-Active Decision Support Systems | ||
Database Analysis and Design for Business | ||
Customer Analytics | ||
Marketing Experiments | ||
Managerial Decision Models and Simulation | ||
Supply Chain Analytics | ||
Statistics for Business Analytics | ||
Time Series Forecasting | ||
Special Topics in STAT | ||
Total Credits | 9.0 |
Finance Concentration
Select three of the following: | 9.0 | |
Advanced Financial Management | ||
Business Valuation | ||
Corporate Governance | ||
Environmental and Social Issues in Finance | ||
Financial Institutions & Markets | ||
Risk Management | ||
Investment Management | ||
Entrepreneurial Finance | ||
FinTech | ||
Behavioral Finance | ||
International Financial Management | ||
Special Topics in FIN | ||
Total Credits | 9.0 |
Marketing Concentration
Select three of the following, of which two MUST be from MKTG (any course with MKTG subject code and course number between 600-699): | 9.0 | |
MKTG Course 600-699 | ||
Special Topics in BLAW | ||
Intro to Econometrics and Data Analysis | ||
Microeconomics | ||
International Business Management | ||
Knowledge Management | ||
Systems Analysis & Design | ||
Database Analysis and Design for Business | ||
Managerial Decision Models and Simulation | ||
Supply Chain Management I | ||
Quality & Six-Sigma | ||
Time Series Forecasting | ||
Total Credits | 9.0 |
Strategic Technology & Innovation Management Concentration
Required Courses | ||
MGMT 602 | Innovation Management | 3.0 |
MGMT 603 | Technology Strategy | 3.0 |
Electives | ||
Select one of the following: | 3.0 | |
Business & Economic Strategy: Game Theory & Applications | ||
Introduction to Change Management: An Integration of Macro and Micro Perspectives | ||
Strategic Change Management | ||
Strategic Human Resource Management | ||
Knowledge Management | ||
Sustainability and Value Creation | ||
Leading for Innovation | ||
Strategy Implementation | ||
Change Management Experiential Capstone | ||
MIS Policy and Strategy | ||
Business Agility and IT | ||
New Product Planning, Strategy, and Development | ||
Managerial Decision Models and Simulation | ||
Leading and Executing Change | ||
Negotiations for Leaders | ||
Time Series Forecasting | ||
Total Credits | 9.0 |
Supply Chain Management & Logistics Concentration
Select three of the following: | 9.0 | |
Leading the Digital Supply Chain | ||
Systems Analysis & Design | ||
Managerial Decision Models and Simulation | ||
Supply Chain Management I | ||
Supply Chain Management II | ||
Management of Service Firms | ||
Transportation & Logistics Management | ||
Sustainable Supply Chain Management and Logistics | ||
Revenue Management | ||
Supply Chain Analytics | ||
Special Topics in POM | ||
Quality & Six-Sigma | ||
Time Series Forecasting | ||
Total Credits | 9.0 |
Customized Concentration
Students can self customize a concentration with coordination between their program manager and with faculty guidance. Please see your program manager/academic advisor for further information. | 9.0 | |
MBA Graduate Credits include courses in Accounting (ACCT), Statistics (STAT), Economics (ECON), Finance (FIN), General Business (BUSN), Interdisciplinary Business (INDS), International Business (INTB), Legal Studies (BLAW), Management (MGMT), Management Information Systems (MIS), Marketing (MKTG), Operations Research (OPR), Organizational Behavior (ORGB), Production Operations Management (POM), Sport Management (SMT) or Taxation (TAX), with a course number range between 500-799 or other approved course at the graduate level. | ||
Total Credits | 9.0 |
Corporate Sustainability and Social Impact Concentration
Choose three from the following: | 9.0 | |
Legal Aspects of Employment | ||
Corporate Governance | ||
Environmental and Social Issues in Finance | ||
Special Topics in Interdisciplinary Business | ||
Business Ethics | ||
Sustainability and Value Creation | ||
Corporate Brand & Reputation Management | ||
Special Topics in ORGB | ||
Sustainable Supply Chain Management and Logistics | ||
Social Issues in Sport |
Effective Leadership Concentration
Choose three of the following: | 9.0 | |
Leading the Digital Supply Chain | ||
Business Ethics | ||
Sustainability and Value Creation | ||
Leading Virtual Teams | ||
Negotiations for Leaders |
Writing-Intensive Course Requirements
In order to graduate, all students must pass three writing-intensive courses after their freshman year. Two writing-intensive courses must be in a student's major. The third can be in any discipline. Students are advised to take one writing-intensive class each year, beginning with the sophomore year, and to avoid “clustering” these courses near the end of their matriculation. Transfer students need to meet with an academic advisor to review the number of writing-intensive courses required to graduate.
A "WI" next to a course in this catalog may indicate that this course can fulfill a writing-intensive requirement. For the most up-to-date list of writing-intensive courses being offered, students should check the Writing Intensive Course List at the University Writing Program. Students scheduling their courses can also conduct a search for courses with the attribute "WI" to bring up a list of all writing-intensive courses available that term.
Sample Plan of Study
4+1, 1 co-op (Accelerated program completed in 5 years)
Students complete undergraduate requirements in four years, then convert to graduate status in the fifth and final year.
First Year | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Fall | Credits | Winter | Credits | Spring | Credits | Summer | Credits |
DSMR 103 | 3.0 | DSMR 100 | 3.0 | CIVC 101 | 1.0 | VACATION | |
ENGL 101 or 111 | 3.0 | DSMR 230 | 3.0 | DSMR 201 | 3.0 | ||
ENVS 260 | 3.0 | ENGL 102 or 112 | 3.0 | ENGL 103 or 113 | 3.0 | ||
UNIV A101 | 1.0 | GEO 111 | 3.0 | ENVS 160 | 2.0 | ||
VSST 101 | 4.0 | VSST 102 | 4.0 | MATH 119 | 4.0 | ||
VSST 110 | 3.0 | VSST 103 | 4.0 | ||||
17 | 16 | 17 | 0 | ||||
Second Year | |||||||
Fall | Credits | Winter | Credits | Spring | Credits | Summer | Credits |
ACCT 110 | 4.0 | ARTH 103 | 3.0 | DSMR 210 or 215 | 3.0 | COM 230, 220, or 181 | 3.0 |
COM 181, 220, or 230 | 3.0 | COM 220, 230, or 181 | 3.0 | DSMR 232 (or Career Pathway Elective) | 4.0 | DSMR 215 (or Career Pathway Elective) | 3.0 |
DSMR 211 | 3.0 | COOP 101* | 1.0 | ECON 201 | 4.0 | ENTP 105 | 3.0 |
DSMR 231 (or Art History Elective) | 3.0 | DSMR 210 or 211 | 3.0 | MKTG 201 | 4.0 | PHTO 110 | 3.0 |
Select one of the following: | 3.0 | DSMR 215 or PHTO 110 | 3.0 | (UG) Career Pathway Elective | 3.0 | ||
DSMR 231 or 232 (or Art History Elective) | 3.0 | ||||||
16 | 16 | 15 | 15 | ||||
Third Year | |||||||
Fall | Credits | Winter | Credits | Spring | Credits | Summer | Credits |
COOP EXPERIENCE | COOP EXPERIENCE | DSMR 300 or 477 | 3.0 | DSMR 311 (or Art History Elective) | 3.0 | ||
DSMR 310 | 3.0 | DSMR 477 or 300 | 3.0 | ||||
DSMR 311 (or Art History Elective) | 3.0 | PROD 215 (or Marketing Choice) | 4.0 | ||||
DSMR 333 | 3.0 | (UG) Social Science Elective | 3.0 | ||||
(UG) Career Pathway Elective | 4.0 | ||||||
0 | 0 | 16 | 13 | ||||
Fourth Year | |||||||
Fall | Credits | Winter | Credits | Spring | Credits | Summer | Credits |
ARTH 335 or DSMR 464 | 3.0 | DSMR 464 or ARTH 335 | 3.0 | PHIL 301 | 3.0 | Awarded UG Degree | |
DSMR 496 (or Career Pathway Elective) | 3.0 | DSMR 496 (or Career Pathway Elective) | 3.0 | (UG) Art and Humanities (choice) | 3.0 | Student converts to Grad status | |
PROD 215 (or Marketing Choice) | 4.0 | (UG) Career Pathway Elective | 8.0 | (UG) Career Pathway Electives | 3.0 | ||
(UG) Career Pathway Elective | 4.0 | BSAN 601 | 3.0 | (UG) Social Science Elective | 3.0 | ||
ACCT 510 | 2.0 | ECON 601 | 3.0 | ||||
16 | 17 | 15 | 0 | ||||
Fifth Year | |||||||
Fall | Credits | Winter | Credits | Spring | Credits | Summer | Credits |
FIN 601 | 3.0 | BLAW 510 | 2.0 | MGMT 520 | 2.0 | MGMT 770 | 2.0 |
MGMT 530 | 2.0 | ORGB 511 | 3.0 | (GR) Concentration Requirement | 3.0 | (GR) Concentration Requirements | 6.0 |
MKTG 510 | 2.0 | (GR) Electives | 6.0 | (GR) Electives | 5.0 | (GR) Experiential Elective | 3.0 |
POM 510 | 2.0 | ||||||
9 | 11 | 10 | 11 | ||||
Total Credits 230 |