Please note:
To view the current Academic Calendar, go to www.sfu.ca/students/calendar.html.
Business Administration
The graduate diploma in business administration (GDBA) provides core business skills. Delivered online, the GDBA is a convenient and practical alternative to a traditional classroom-based program and provides business fundamentals to improve career prospects.
The social innovation and entrepreneurship cohort of the GDBA provides knowledge and experience to interested students from a variety of disciplinary backgrounds to create new social ventures and enhance the success of existing ones. The program builds upon the existing GDBA offerings in core business knowledge and supplements them with knowledge and experiential learning opportunities specific to social ventures. It brings together faculty knowledgeable in social innovation and social entrepreneurship with community partners who will participate in class sessions as well as the field study.
Admission Requirements
Applicants must satisfy the University admission requirements as stated in Graduate General Regulations 1.3 in the SFU Calendar. Candidates must be computer literate and familiar with the internet. The program requires a strong command of the English language.
Applicants should also refer to the program website located at http://beedie.sfu.ca/gdba
Program Requirements
This program consists of course requirements for a minimum of 24 units. Courses may be substituted from other graduate business programs at the discretion of the academic director.
Students complete all of
An examination and review of contemporary thinking on the changing role of business and business persons in the operations of society. This course examines how we make good ethical decisions, how we act on those decisions, and the impact of our ethical decisions on the reputational capital of individuals and firms. Students who have taken BUS 707 or BUS 753 may not take this course for further credit.
| Section | Instructor | Day/Time | Location |
|---|---|---|---|
| G100 | TBD |
Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship Cohort
Students completing the social innovation and entrepreneurship cohort must complete the following courses for a minimum of 24 units
Social entrepreneurs are innovative, resourceful and use market-based approaches to find new solutions to social, economic and environmental challenges. Application of Social Entrepreneurial concepts in a practical manner to issues you care about. Focus on real world problems and the elements that leaders need to consider when building impactful and economically viable ventures.
Explores a method of problem solving based on design that can be effective in dealing with challenging social problems. Includes deep user understanding and analysis of the social, economic and technological issues surrounding the problem, by learning and applying tools that push us to think differently about users' needs.
Students will work on field projects developing an innovative, market based approach to a social problem, either in collaboration with a community partner organization or working on an entrepreneurial initiative of their own. In addition to the instructor each team will have exposure to experts, investors and entrepreneurs who will provide feedback and guidance.
The following courses may also be used towards the GDBA course requirements with prior permission of the academic director
Developing and maintaining a good understanding of the relationship between IT and organizational performance is important to your career. You will be expected to adopt a broader perspective that includes IS managers, business and executive managers, senior bureaucrats and top level strategists. The focus is to create knowledge / primary understanding of how management information systems can be effectively and efficiently applied by managers. Students may apply for advance credit for BUS 756 or BUS 739.
Prerequisite: Requires prior permission of the academic director.
Being able to manage projects is a critical skill for all leaders, since it gives you the knowledge to deliver strategic change to the organization. Project Management is a combination of technical skills and soft skills, both of which will be discussed and practiced in this course. This course is the educational preparation needed to qualify to write the Certified Associate in Project Management exam offered by PMI. Students with credit for BUS 762 may not take this course for further credit.
Program Length
Students are expected to complete the program requirements within six terms.
Academic Requirements within the Graduate General Regulations
All graduate students must satisfy the academic requirements that are specified in the Graduate General Regulations, as well as the specific requirements for the program in which they are enrolled.