The University of Alabama Courses & FeesTuscaloosa, USA

Advertising is the creative expression of strategic persuasive communication. As a marketing function, advertising focuses on the promotion of products, services, companies, organizations and ideas through paid media space or time. Examples of advertising media include magazines, newspapers, television, radio, online, outdoor/transit and alternative.

Students of advertising will develop and hone critical and creative thinking skills. Students will develop an understanding of the intended audience and use that understanding to create relevant messages, using powerful verbal and visual imagery capable of communicating the intended message(s) in order to capitalize on organizational opportunities and solve communication problems. The skills necessary for creating persuasive messages and developing the means to expose those messages to the intended audience will be learned in this program. These skills include the ability to conduct research to measure program needs, develop program quantifiable objectives and focused strategies, implement state-of-the-art tactics and develop the tools to measure a program’s return on investment.

Students selecting a hospitality management career generally thrive in an environment of assistance to others, personal accountability, and nontraditional work hours. The industry is ideal for individuals who are interested in customer service, travel, and seeking opportunities for quick advancement within an organization. Ability to work with diverse personalities, solve conflicts, and provide innovative leadership are key to a graduate’s success. 

The Management major provides students the opportunity to develop analytical and interpersonal skills that create value for any enterprise. Students learn to efficiently organize and use the organization’s assets, especially its human assets, in a manner appropriate to 21st century enterprises. Students develop their skills and talents through 21 hours of coursework, including one foundational course, “Leadership and Ethics," and a collection of six courses within one specialized area, or concentration. The three concentrations that may be applied toward the management major are entrepreneurship, health care analytics, and human resource management. These concentrations provide students with the in-depth knowledge and experiences necessary to compete in today’s complex marketplace. Many graduates secure careers in such fields as corporate development, family business, health care management, human resource management, and corporate communication. Others choose to continue their education by attending some of the best graduate programs in the nation.

Marketing provides a broad set of skills and interests that cover sales, retail operations, research skills, and import/export operations and logistics.

Marketing is primarily concerned with two main concepts: the identification and assessment of consumer and industrial market needs and the development of marketing programs to satisfy those needs. Marketing personnel in profit and nonprofit organizations analyze markets and industries to define new opportunities and refine existing opportunities. Marketers also are responsible for developing and managing products and services, along with promotion, distribution, and pricing appropriate to the targeted market opportunities. Students who major in marketing enjoy a wide range of employment opportunities. These include sales and sales management, services marketing, retailing, brand management, market research, distribution and logistics, and advertising.

Areas of interest for operations management students include process analysis and improvement, quality control, production planning, inventory management, manufacturing, scheduling, supply chain management, logistics, transportation, and procurement. Operations management focuses on the effective management of the resources and activities that produce and deliver the goods and services of any business. OM professionals manage the people, materials, equipment and information resources that a business needs in order to produce and deliver its goods and services. They also design and manage the business processes and activities that actually produce those goods and services.

The Master of Arts in Advertising and Public Relations is designed for aspiring students who wish to gain advanced knowledge and expertise in creating and managing persuasive communication. We help motivated students transition from a tactical to a more strategic, managerial approach to advertising and public relations, while becoming ethical and globally competent thought leaders in their future careers.

The Advertising and Public Relations Master of Arts program offers three concentrations that enable students to develop expertise in three growing areas of advertising and public relations.

The Advertising Creative concentration helps students build portfolios while learning to solve a client’s problems by beautifully wrapping smart strategies in provocative, layered, and memorable ideas.

The Media Strategy concentration equips students with analytic skills necessary to analyze traditional, digital, and social media data, uncover actionable insights, and develop brand strategies leveraging those insights.

The online-only Marketing Communication Management concentration is designed for emerging leaders who wish to gain advanced knowledge and expertise in creating and managing persuasive communication in an integrated industry landscape in order to pursue managerial careers. 

The objective of the Manderson MBA program at The University of Alabama is to prepare high-achieving, high-potential students for successful business careers in a globally competitive environment. The MBA program has a commitment to providing a high value-added experience within a diverse and collaborative learning environment. The curriculum emphasizes fundamental business concepts, knowledge, and skills through an interdisciplinary perspective. Case studies, projects, teamwork, and technology contribute to a dynamic applied learning environment. 

The Master of Science Business Analytics (M.S.B.A.) program is an on-campus, full-time program that will prepare students for analytics positions in industry and government to manage data, apply cutting-edge methodologies, use current software, interpret and effectively communicate results, make recommendations, and manage implementations. The M.S.B.A. program will also equip students to continue learning about analytics throughout their careers. It will advance the university by creating an emphasis on the dissemination of knowledge in concentrations in the growing technological world of analytics. 

The Hospitality Management, MS degree program prepares students wishing to advance and to excel in leadership/executive positions in the hospitality, tourism, and sport industries.  A thesis option within this program will prepare students who wish to extend their education by providing a robust research foundation to be successful in a doctoral program in Tourism Management, Hospitality Management, Sport and Entertainment Management, Business Management, and Law. The Sport Hospitality concentration prepares students for success in a wide variety of sport, hospitality, entertainment, and tourism careers along with the opportunity to meet and interact with experienced industry professionals.  The hospitality, tourism, and sport industries touch the lives of all citizens and provide economic and social benefits to the State of Alabama and the United States.

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The Master of Science in Marketing is an intensive, non-thesis program designed to give students advanced analytical marketing skills and hands-on experience to launch a career in one of marketing's many fast-growing fields: Digital and Social Media Marketing; Marketing Analytics and Decision Making; Marketing Research and Insight Development; Management Consulting and Project Management; Professional Selling and Sales Management.

The MS program requires 30 hours of coursework (33 hours for the marketing analytics specialization), with the expectation that the degree will be completed in two semesters (plus a summer for marketing analytics). 

Operations management focuses on the analysis, design, and management of the operations that produce and deliver goods and services. It applies structured, quantitative techniques to analyze and design business operations and to support effective business decision making. Operations management helps evaluate and select actions based on information, process analysis, and quantitative modeling. There are tremendous opportunities for the effective application of these tools, techniques, and methods in a wide range of business operations including service operations, manufacturing, distribution, transportation, logistics, supply chain management, revenue management, quality management, finance, human resources, information systems, marketing, and strategic planning. Operations management can be effectively applied to virtually every component of an organization. The OM master's degree program features two curriculum options, operations management and operations management with the decision analytics track.

The mission of the Master of Public Administration (MPA) program at The University of Alabama is to prepare students to lead and manage public service organizations. We strive to develop critical thinking skills enabling our graduates to formulate policies and approaches to management while ensuring the integrity of the public service. Our program emphasizes public service values while facilitating intellectual and professional development through learning experiences that integrates theory with practice. We provide an institutional culture that promotes diversity and advances governance while preparing students to reach standards of excellence in the public service.

The Master of Public Administration (MPA) program is designed to prepare students for leadership and administrative roles in federal, state, and local government. It is directed at pre-career students seeking to enhance their employability and level of entry into public service, as well students already working in public service who desire to upgrade their skills, enhance promotion opportunities, or deepen their appreciation for the science and art of public administration.  Through exposure to a rich body of theoretical and applied knowledge, students develop talents for managing employees, formulating budgets, structuring organizations, analyzing policies, and evaluating programs.

This program gives students a broad knowledge of the software and hardware components of modern computing and cyber-physical systems, detailed computer-systems design, and the role of computer systems in various engineering disciplines.  Students completing the program will be prepared for a computer-oriented engineering career with emphasis on design and applications of embedded computing systems.

Graduates with a Computer Engineering BS degree commonly begin their careers in a variety of functions including: hardware engineers, software engineers, computer systems analysts, computer support specialists, network system & data managers, communication analysts, network & computer systems administrators, computer programmers, database administrators, operations research analysts, and computer & information scientists.  These graduates also pursue post-graduate degrees in Computer Engineering, Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Business & Commerce, and even professional areas such as Law and Medicine.

The Cyber Security program is designed to provide a rigorous, technical degree that imparts the necessary knowledge, skills, and motivations to protect and defend digital information from attacks.  The degree in Cyber Security will provide students with the technical skills and theoretical concepts needed to protect the Internet-connected hardware, software and data of computer systems.  The Cyber Security program is a rigorous curriculum that will prepare a student for continued education at the graduate level. This degree will also help to develop, conduct and disseminate innovative research in cyber security, fostering dedication to excellence in education, research and service.  

Students should be interested in how to apply technology to improve business and quality of life for individuals. MIS is where business meets technology. Students should be interested in jump-starting their careers to become business analysts, consultants, innovators, and entrepreneurs. Students interested in MIS are typically good problem solvers, can multi-task, like a challenge, like working on new projects, can handle ambiguity, like to work in teams, are not discouraged easily, can see both the big picture and work on the detail, and will work hard for high payoff. Students should consider specializations available in the business school to supplement the core business and MIS curriculum, including areas such as: management communications, professional sales, international business, supply-chain management, and accounting. Some students minor in computer science or a foreign language.

The Master of Science in Management Information Systems (MS-MIS) program emphasizes the development of students' information technology (IT) leadership skills. Students admitted to the MS-MIS build on the foundation of a four-year undergraduate major in Management Information Systems (MIS), Computer Information Systems (CIS), Computer Science (CS), or a closely related field, enabling MS-MIS students to focus on advanced courses in solutions delivery, cyber security, and IT strategy. Further, students develop their problem identification, critical solution creation, and communications abilities via the execution of experiential projects and a research paper focused on practical, relevant industry topics.

The successful Aerospace Engineering student and professional is skilled in mathematics, physics, and computer programming and usage.

Basic principles and elements of design, including color theory, are introduced, reviewed, and applied throughout the four-year program. Two- and three-dimensional work, as well as color principles and their application, are studied and used in freshman studio projects. By the completion of the sophomore year, students have developed the ability to render garments and fabrics on croquis. Students refine and individualize their abilities for visual organization, color utilization, sketching/drawing, and design process in the upper-level design studio courses. Progressing from the modification of commercial patterns to development of unique patterns through the flat pattern and draping methods, students take projects from original concepts to finished products.

Architectural engineering students are interested in how buildings are designed, how they stand up against the forces of nature, and how they are built and maintained. Students are also concerned with how buildings function as a coordinated set of structural, electrical, communication, and mechanical systems. Architectural engineers are also interested in how these systems support a building’s mission and its occupants’ needs in a sustainable manner. They are creative problem solvers addressing national and international challenges of energy needs, sustainable new and reconditioned building systems, urban development, and community planning.