Digital Business Minor - Curriculum

This course gives students both a conceptual and hands-on understanding of the launching of web businesses. Students will study the full process of web business creation, including domain name registration, frameworks for application creation, hosting of web applications and search engine optimization. Students will apply their knowledge by designing and building a business website that can actually make money. Lecture 3 (Fall, Spring).

The course focuses on financial issues affecting an entrepreneur. The course emphasizes, identifies and follows the wealth creation cycle. The wealth creation cycle begins with an idea for a good, product or service, progresses to an initial company startup, passes through successive stages of growth, considers alternative approaches to resource financing, and ends with harvesting the wealth created through an initial public offering, merger or sale. Identification and valuation of business opportunities, how and from whom entrepreneurs raise funds, how financial contracts are structured to both manage risk and align incentives, and alternative approaches by which entrepreneurs identify exit strategies are reviewed. (This class is restricted to undergraduate students with at least 3rd year standing.) Lecture 3 (Fall, Spring).

Transforming data into information is critical for making business decisions. This course introduces students to the concepts of data, information and the business database management systems (DBMS) used by modern organizations. Exercises and hands-on projects are used to model the information needs of an organization and implement and query databases using applications such as Microsoft Access and SQL. Lecture 3 (Fall, Spring).

An introduction to the field of marketing, stressing its role in the organization and society. Emphasis is on determining customer needs and wants and how the marketer can satisfy those needs through the controllable marketing variables of product, price, promotion and distribution. (This class is restricted to undergraduate students with at least 2nd year standing.) Lecture 3 (Fall, Spring, Summer).

Internet marketing is critical to an organization's overall strategy. This course focuses on tactics and strategies that enable marketers to fully leverage the internet. Topics include the overall internet marketing landscape, technologies, customer segmenting and targeting, search, analytics and emerging internet-marketing platforms. (Prerequisites: MKTG-230 or NBUS-227 or equivalent course.) Lecture 3 (Fall, Spring).

Marketing analytics is the practice of measuring, managing and analyzing marketing performance to maximize its effectiveness and optimize return on investment (ROI). Understanding marketing analytics allows marketers to be more efficient at their jobs and minimize wasted online and offline marketing dollars. It also provides marketers with the information necessary to help support company investment in marketing strategy and tactics. This course provides the participant with the necessary knowledge and practical insights that will help a marketing manager get more out of available data and take strategic advantage of the analysis. This interactive, participatory course is designed to answer key questions: “What is marketing analytics, how can marketing analytics improve my marketing efforts and how can I integrate marketing analytics into my business? (Prerequisites: MKTG-230 and STAT-145 or equivalent courses.) Lecture 3 (Fall, Spring).

An examination of search engine marketing strategies to maximize site traffic, lower customer acquisition costs and boost conversion rates. Marketing frameworks provide the basis for the hands-on examination of search engine marketing and web analytics. (Prerequisites: MKTG-320 or equivalent course.) Lecture 3 (Fall, Spring).

This course introduces the student to the general theories of Social Media Marketing and its relevance and importance as a Marketing tool. The student will learn how to create campaigns and the strategies and tactics in the most popular social media platforms, as generate reports and actions based on social media analytics. (Prerequisites: MKTG-230 or NBUS-227 or equivalent course and 3rd year standing.) Lecture 3 (Fall, Spring).