Curriculum
The program consists of eight courses (three of these are six weeks in duration, and five are 13 weeks in duration, including the final examination week) taken over three semesters. Each course is delivered in weekly or bi-weekly modules, and each module is structured to make use of supporting technology, e.g. eLive sessions, chat/discussion rooms, whiteboard, voice-over graphs/charts.
Semester I
Financial Accounting / Managerial Accounting
This course combines basic accounting fundamentals and processes, enabling students to make business decisions based on analyzing financial information and organizational objectives.
Human Resource Management/Organizational Behaviour
The course focuses on understanding how individuals and teams effectively function in work situations. Emphasis is placed on organizational behaviour themes such as emotions, motivation, and group dynamics and how they are related to functional issues such as job design, salary structures, and recruitment.
Semester II
Quantitative Business Methods
This introduction to the key concepts of probability and statistics provides the basic tools to approach statistics critically. Students focus on the use of quantitative or statistical techniques in managerial decision-making and learn to apply them in business settings.
Management Information Systems
The role of information systems ranges from providing support for daily operations to creating strategic opportunities for organizational growth. Learn to understand the choices managers need to make to improve efficiencies. Issues in aligning business strategies, organizational structure and culture, and information systems strategy will be discussed.
Managerial Economics
Students are introduced to basic concepts in economics and explore the relevance of economic reasoning to managerial decision-making, both tactical and strategic. The importance of economic concepts, economic models and quantitative applications are emphasized and applied to problems regularly encountered by managers.
Professional Decision Making: Ethical and Analytical Perspectives
The essence of professional decision making is moving from complexity and ambiguity to action. This course will equip you with an integrated set of ethical and analytical reasoning tools for addressing the challenges that arise in real-world decisions.
Semester III
Marketing Management
The purpose of this course is to gain a better understanding of marketing management strategies. To this end, students will utilize a variety of tools including lecture, case studies, debates and hands on implementation. This course provides an overview of the marketing process. Strategic decision making on the marketing mix: pricing, product design, promotion and distribution are analyzed. Marketing Management is a highly interactive course where students are expected to apply what they learn to real cases.
Managerial Finance (Pre-requisite: Financial/Managerial Accounting)
Building upon the principles taught in Financial/Managerial Accounting, students gain a practical understanding of managerial finance and the role of the financial manager. This course explores a wide variety of subjects that include maximizing shareholder wealth, agency conflicts and ethical corporate behaviour. Students learn to apply a variety of financial tools such as financial statement analysis, valuation techniques, capital budgeting, and project analysis.
Course Requirements
Each course in the program ends with a final exam. Local students write the examinations at Simon Fraser University, while distance students have their exams supervised by a proctor.
GDBA students must maintain a cumulative grade point average of 2.5 or greater in order to continue their studies and successfully complete the program.
Find Out More:
At-a-Glance
- Online
- 1–2 years
- Cost: $14,500*
*Subject to senate approval.









