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Program Overview

The exciting field of Cloud Computing has experienced explosive growth. This transformative technology has not only altered the way business operate, but it has also shaken up the traditional structure of the IT department and placed new demands on staff members who are faced with reinventing their own careers. With organizations rapidly moving their infrastructures and services to the cloud, jobs are growing at a breakneck pace, with many positions are left unfilled.

Gain an understanding of cloud technologies such as AWS, Azure, Google Cloud, OpenStack, and vSphere and how to leverage them to increase business productivity and effectiveness. In this Cloud Computing MicroMasters program, you will learn about Infrastructure As A Service (IaaS), Platform As A Service (PaaS), Software As A Service (SaaS), and other “X as a service” platforms. You will receive key foundational knowledge about legal and compliance issues, security and risk mitigation and how to follow industry standards and best practices. You will also gain hands-on experience in implementing, configuring and managing cloud technologies.

This applied, graduate-level program is designed for learners who want to enter or advance their careers in this exciting and well-paying field. IT professionals not already working with cloud technologies will gain a solid foundation while those with some cloud experience will gain a more in-depth understanding of other cloud technologies and other knowledge such as security, policy, and legal and compliance issues.

What you will learn

Cloud computing foundations and models
Types of cloud computing technologies (ie: AWS, Azure, IBM)
Methods for managing a cloud computing adoption/migration project
How to design a cloud computing infrastructure or service
Deployment and configuration of cloud computing systems
Insuring cloud security and mitigating risk
SaaS, PaaS and IaaS and other service platforms

Courses in this program

Understand cloud computing technologies and how they can increase business productivity and effectiveness.

Learn how to design, configure, and manage a cloud computing infrastructure.

Learn methods for managing cloud computing projects and build an understanding of the various risks and compliance issues involved.

Learn how to identify security issues in the cloud and industry-standard techniques and procedures to prevent and mitigate risks.

Meet your instructors

Charif El MaMouni

Charif El MaMouni is a Cloud Computing professional with more than fifteen years experience in the Telecommunications and Finance industries with solid technical background in SDLC applied to DevOps, Automation and CICD, coupled with in-depth knowledge of public and private Cloud Infrastructure Architectures and Implementations. He holds a Master of Science in Computer Engineering from the University of Central Florida in addition to AWS Certified Solution Architect, DevOps Architect and PMP.

Jarrod Jordan

Mr. Jarrod Jordan is an Adjunct Faculty at University of Maryland Global Campus and Webster University and currently serves as a Cybersecurity Manager for the United States Army Cyber Protection Brigade (USACPB). His career spans over 18 years working in the Information Technology, Cybersecurity, and Intelligence industries. Mr. Jordan’s experiences as a practitioner extends throughout the Department of Defense (DoD) and Intelligence Community to include the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) and the National Security Agency (NSA).

Patrick Appiah-Kubi

Patrick is the Program Director of Cloud Computing and Networking at University of Maryland Global Campus. He has over 13 years on industry and teaching experience in networks and cloud computing.

Jeff Tjiputra

Dr. Tjiputra is the Chair of the Cloud Computing Architecture program at University of Maryland Global Campus. He has over fifteen years experience teaching computer and information technology courses including computer networking, cybersecurity, and cloud computing.

Program endorsements

The pace of today’s digital transformation requires us all to make a concerted effort to keep our technical expertise current. Programs like UMGC’s MicroMasters program in Cloud Computing are excellent opportunities for people seeking to stay ahead of the curve, learning about cutting-edge cloud and modular technology solutions that are required to excel in a modern, 24/7 environment.

Greg Wenzel , Executive Vice President for Booz Allen’s Digital Solutions group

For the second year in a row, cloud and distributed computing led LinkedIn’s annual list of the skills employers need most in candidates, outpacing statistical analysis and data mining. When I published the world’s 1st Doctoral Dissertation on Cloud Computing in 2011, I envisioned cloud computing revolutionizing the enterprise. The Cloud Computing MicroMasters is an efficient and targeted way for those interested in this career path to obtain the foundational knowledge and skills in the growing cloud computing field.

Jeff Daniels , Senior Manager, Lockheed Martin Corporation

Greg Wenzel , Executive Vice President for Booz Allen’s Digital Solutions group

Jeff Daniels , Senior Manager, Lockheed Martin Corporation

FAQs

Is there any way to reduce the time needed to take and pass the four online courses?
No. To earn the MicroMasters program certificate you need to successfully earn a verified certificate in all four Cloud Computing MicroMasters program courses when they are scheduled and then, pass the final, comprehensive proctored exam. The courses are on an instructor-paced schedule rather than self-paced, so there is no way to reduce the time to complete them.

Who can take this course?
Unfortunately, learners from Iran and Cuba will not be able to register for this course. While edX has received a licenses from the U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) to offer courses to learners from these countries, our licenses do not cover this course. EdX truly regrets that US sanctions prevent us from offering all of our courses to everyone, no matter where they live.

How many credits will I be eligible for after completing the MicroMasters program certificate?
Learners who successfully earn the MicroMasters program certificate and are admitted into UMGC’s graduate school are eligible to earn up to 12 credits toward the Master’s degree (36 credits are required for graduation with the MS in Cloud Computing Architecture degree).

Who is the MicroMasters program intended for?
The Cloud Computing MicroMasters program is designed for individuals who want to develop theoretical and technical competencies required to design and manage cloud computing environment.

What is considered a passing grade in the MicroMasters program courses?
Students must achieve a grade of 80% or higher for a passing grade in each of the courses in the MicroMasters program.

May I take one of the courses even though I have not taken its prerequisite?
No. The program content and course projects are sequential allowing the learner to build on subsequent work. Completing the listed prerequisite courses is essential in order to be successful in the course work.

Will I earn a separate certificate for each course or just one for the entire MicroMasters program?
You will receive an individual verified certificate for each Cloud Computing MicroMasters program course that you pass as a verified student. Students passing the final capstone project review and all four Cloud Computing MicroMasters program courses on a verified track will receive a MicroMasters program certificate.

Along with the four Cloud Computing MicroMasters program courses and the final, comprehensive exam, are there any other requirements in order to be eligible for the UMGC Master’s Degree?
Yes. You need to be admitted to the Master’s program. The MicroMasters program certificate does not guarantee admission. The Learner will need to complete the application process to UMGC and meet all entrance requirements for The Graduate School. For more information visit: https://www.umgc.edu/admissions/admission-requirements/graduate-admissions.cfm

Do I need to be a verified student to earn the Cloud Computing MicroMasters program certificate?
Yes. If you are interested in the Cloud Computing MicroMasters program certificate, you must successfully pass and receive a verified certificate in each of the four Cloud Computing Program courses (CC605x, CC607x, CC615x, CC617x) as well as successfully pass the final, comprehensive proctored exam .

How long does a student have to apply to and complete the full UMGC degree?
To ensure that your program remains relevant and up-to-date, UMGC sets time limits for completing a program. Students have five (5) consecutive years from the start of the graduate degree to complete their degree. For students who start with a MicroMasters, their “time clock” begins on the date that they complete their last course in the MicroMasters program and receive their Verified Certificate. This means that students should apply to UMGC promptly to begin the degree and have as much time as possible to complete it.

About this course

This course explores how anyone can be a successful startup entrepreneur or corporate innovator by thoughtfully examining themselves and the business opportunity. By harnessing these insights and cultivating an entrepreneurial spirit, you can create and transform an entrepreneurial idea into a new startup company or corporate venture.

Over 800,000 people have used The Opportunity Analysis Canvas that is the basis of this course. Designed by Dr. James V. Green, the lead faculty for this course, this unique model equips you to identify and analyze a new business opportunity that aligns with your startup entrepreneurship or corporate innovation interests.

The Opportunity Analysis Canvas distills vast amounts of research in psychology, sociology, and business into a practical how-to guide for aspiring and active entrepreneurs and innovators. The course presents a whole new understanding of entrepreneurial mindset and action. The course is structured as a nine-step experience segmented into thinking entrepreneurially, seeing entrepreneurially, and acting entrepreneurially.

What you’ll learn

Develop the skills for identifying and analyzing entrepreneurial ideas;
Foster thinking entrepreneurially with an awareness of entrepreneurial mindset, entrepreneurial motivation, and entrepreneurial behavior;
Cultivate seeing entrepreneurially with attention to industry conditions, industry status, macroeconomic change, and competition; and
Champion acting entrepreneurially with an understanding of value innovation and opportunity identification.

Courses in this program

Learn today’s newest skills and tools for identifying and acting on entrepreneurial opportunities for startup companies and corporate innovations

Build your capabilities to create a value proposition, team strategy, market strategy, and financial strategy to transform your ideas into a startup company or innovative corporate venture

Learn essential marketing concepts and practical commercialization strategies to bring your new venture to market

Demystify key financial concepts for creating a financial plan for your new venture to raise the right funding from the right partners at the right time

Meet your instructors

Michael Pratt

Michael Pratt teaches and mentors students in the University of Maryland's Master’s in Technology Entrepreneurship and undergraduate programs. His career spans over 35 years in management and finance, in both domestic and international organizations. In two decades with startups and venture capital, he’s raised over $100 million for eleven different startup. Michael is the co-founder and Managing Partner in Select Venture Partners LLC, an early stage, post-seed/pre-Series A investment management firm. Prior to co-founding Select, he was co-founder and CEO of SpydrSafe Mobile Security, Inc., a mobile application security management platform that safeguarded enterprise data by controlling apps on smartphones and tablets (iOS and Android). SpydrSafe was acquired in February 2014. Prior to SpydrSafe, he was COO of CardStar, Inc., a mobile loyalty company sold to Constant Contact (NASDAQ: CTCT). From 2006 to 2010, Michael was the CFO/COO of Trust Digital, Inc., a venture-backed Mobile Device Management company sold to McAfee (NYSE: MFE). Prior to Trust, he was CFO of Galt Associates, Inc., a venture-backed software company sold to Cerner Corporation (NASDAQ: CERN) in July 2006. His earlier professional experience includes CEO of CrossMedia Networks Corp.; CEO of Point of Care Technologies (sold to Siemens Healthcare in 1999); various senior finance and operating roles with Mobil Corporation, including President and General Manager of three Mobil subsidiaries. Michael began his professional career with Arthur Andersen & Co. Michael holds a BS in Finance from East Carolina University, an MBA from Massey University in New Zealand, and an MS in Marketing from Johns Hopkins University.

Lola Koiki

Lola Koiki is a senior product manager at Capital One with responsibility for leading the development, launch, and commercialization of Emerging Payments, which encompasses U.S. Real-Time Payments, Payment Infrastructure Modernization, and Payments Innovation. She is currently leading Capital One’s effort to join the first new payments clearing system in the United States in over 40 years, while developing an enterprise-wide consistent strategy for faster payment capabilities across the company. In addition to her work at Capital One, she is a partner at PoyntFour, a Product Management and Delivery Consultancy based in the DC area, with a focus on pre-seed to series startups and mid-size government agencies looking to build high efficiency teams. She is also a Lecturer with the University of Maryland’s Maryland Technology Enterprise Institute. In her time at University of Maryland, she has taught over 500 undergraduate students, many of which have gone on to launch new ventures or work in start-ups. She is a graduate of Carnegie Mellon University, with a Masters in Information Systems Management. She holds a BS in Marketing and Supply Chain Management from the University of Maryland. She currently lives in Washington DC and volunteers with organizations in the area, such as The Neighborhood Well, a non-profit focused on helping the unstably housed in the DC Area, and Acts1038, a non-profit focused on education and career development for immigrants to the United States.

James Green

Dr. James V. Green leads the education activities of the Maryland Technology Enterprise Institute as the Director of Entrepreneurship Education. He is responsible for designing and teaching undergraduate and graduate courses in entrepreneurship and technology commercialization, leading seed funding programs, and managing residential entrepreneurship programs for students. He directs the Master of Professional Studies in Technology Entrepreneurship, an innovative online degree program enrolling students worldwide. In 2011, he earned first prize in the 3E Learning Innovative Entrepreneurship Education Competition presented at the United States Association for Small Business and Entrepreneurship (USASBE) annual conference to recognize college educators who have created new and challenging learning activities that actively involve students in the entrepreneurial experience. Dr. Green's research interests include entrepreneurship education and the psychology of entrepreneurship. He is a national presenter on entrepreneurship education with refereed papers and presentations at conferences for the Academy of Management (AOM), the United States Association for Small Business and Entrepreneurship (USASBE), the American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE), and the National Collegiate Inventors and Innovators Alliance (NCIIA). Dr. Green serves as the Editor for the ASEE Entrepreneurship Division and as an evaluator for annual conference submissions. Prior to the University of Maryland, Dr. Green held founder, executive, and operational roles with multiple startups to include WaveCrest Laboratories (an innovator in next-generation electric and hybrid-electric propulsion and drive systems), Cyveillance (a software startup and world leader in cyber intelligence and intelligence-led security), and NetMentors.Org (the first national online career development eMentoring community). Dr. Green earned a Doctor of Management and an MS in Technology Management from the University of Maryland University College, an MBA from the University of Michigan, and a BS in Industrial Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology. Connect with Dr. Green on LinkedIn.

What you will learn

How to design your communication so that you enhance your audience’s understanding.
The power of blending logic, emotions, and your personal presence to increase your persuasive abilities.
Best practices for effectively handling the complex information flows in programs and projects.
How to use coordinated management of meaning tools to build program or project teams, negotiate with stakeholders, and convince executives to support your programs/projects.

Program Overview

You may have heard that “90% of a project manager’s work is communication.” Well that’s even more true as a program manager. But do you know why communication is so important and what is good communication for making projects successful?

If you have even a little project management experience, you know communication is no longer just the transfer of information and giving directives to project managers and project teams. Modern communication theory is based upon creating shared understanding – “the coordinated management of meaning.” And nowhere is it more important to manage and coordinate meaning – and understanding – than in programs and projects.

Earn up to 50 PDUs as you progress in this professional certificate, you will learn:

How to communicate for understanding instead of just giving information.
What Aristotle taught us about effective communication and why his 2,000-year old advice is still vital to persuasive communication.
How the “Coordinated Management of Meaning” can help you develop and lead high-performing project teams and programs.
How you can better manage the flow of program or project communication, as the information hub on your project.
How to master both emotional intelligence and cultural intelligence when communicating with your project managers, teams and stakeholders.
How to negotiate effectively using hidden emotional and cultural subtexts.How to effectively communicate online with a distributed workforce by being “virtually present.”
Approaches for communicating for understanding as the foundation of being a coaching, situational leadership, and servant leadership program/project manager.
To use storytelling as a powerful risk management tool.

This certificate program is not just about theory; I also give the working project manager aspiring to program management practical tips and tools to help them improve their most important skill: communication. You’ve worked hard to gain the Project Management Institute, Inc’s (PMI) Project Management Professional (PMP), Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM) certification or similar project management certification. And, you have mastered the PMBOK guide (“A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge) communication knowledge area while preparing for the PMP exam.

These workplace-tested tips and tools are ready to use today as you manage your programs and projects whether you have project management training in traditional or agile project management (PMI-ACP). Even certified scrum masters can benefit from this online course Along with gaining professional development units (PDU), upgrade your project management training with the power skill of communication.

Courses in this program

Go beyond the communication methods you learned in the project management training. Learn how to structure your program and project communications for the most effective understanding by your stakeholders, project managers, and project teams.

Logic is not enough. Program managers need presence and to move stakeholders emotionally. Project professionals only follow people they both respect and trust. Learn to apply Aristotle’s persuasion triad to create successful communication that persuades.

Great program managers understand and heal bad communication habits and conflicts that arise within project teams and stakeholders. Learn how by leveraging emotional and cultural intelligence using the Coordinated Management of Meaning (CMM).

The most valuable resource on a project is timely information. Why? Because information changes the decisions that determine project outcomes. Learn the planning skills and techniques needed to manage information across complex programs or projects.

Storytelling is how leaders lead other leaders. Tell your project’s story to inspire your project teams, encourage your stakeholders, and gain customer commitment to project and program success.

Meet your instructor

Bill Brantley

Dr. Brantley is a certified training manager and certified in creating leadership development programs. He is the program manager for the Career Coaching Program at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. He’s served as a trainer for over two decades, designing courses completely from the ground-up. He concurrently held positions as an adjunct college professor at UMD and the University of Louisville (Kentucky). There he designed and delivered courses in a wide variety of topics, consistently using leading-edge techniques such as microlearning and flipped classroom to create courses and training programs. In 2019, Dr. Brantley was recognized as an Emerging Training Leader by Training Magazine for his work in the Enterprise Training Division - specifically the recovery and redesign of the Supervisory Certificate Program (SCP) training he developed at USPTO. The Emerging Training Leader is a national award given out annually to the top 25 training leaders in industry, government, and the nonprofit sector. Dr. Brantley’s relentless focus on ensuring delivery of benefits and incorporation of modern course pedagogy.

Program overview

In this Professional Certificate program, you will learn the mechanics of how to design and facilitate projects using “pure” Agile Scrum and Lean Kanban techniques. You will also learn the trade-offs of using hybrid techniques such as Lean Startup, Scaled Agile For the Enterprise (SAFe), and Disciplined Agile Development.

We will then go beyond these frameworks to the science and essential principles you’ll need to ensure you get the greatest benefits of Agile Project Management methods: Speed, Innovation, Leadership, and Kaizen (Change for the Better).

After completing this course series, you will be able to clearly explain how Agile techniques address faults in traditional project management techniques, the tradeoffs (benefits and risks) of these approaches, and when it’s best to apply them to maximize value to the organization.

Engineers, managers, designers, writers, creators, and executers of all types will benefit from learning these principles of Agile. Whether you’re delivering a small part of a project or portfolios of large multi-million-dollar government works; these principles scale and apply to all industries to achieve delivery success. This is why companies that are embracing these principles continue to set record earnings and stock prices (e.g. AMZN, APPL, TSLA); and those that ignore them find themselves unable to compete.

Upon successful completion of this program, learners can earn up to 50 Professional Development Unit (PDU) credits, 10 PDU credits per course, which are recognized by the Project Management Institute (PMI). PDU credits are essential to those looking to maintain certification as a Project Management Professional (PMP).

What will you learn

Learn Scrum mechanics and how to translate other Agile frameworks such as SAFe, Disciplined, and LeSS
Gain a deep understanding of Agile principles and how to apply them in any industry, with case studies in Software, Aerospace, Finance, and Construction
Reduce risk of project failure by adopting agile results-based controls to close projects more effectively
Increase speed using lean/agile work management techniques proven to deliver faster
Improve project benefits with innovation and leadership approaches that unlock your team’s potential

Agile Project Management

Learn the project management processes, roles, mechanics, and philosophies behind Scrum, the simplest and most pure approach to managing work at the team level.

Learn how to drive speed into any project by selecting and limiting work-in-progress through agile planning and task management.

Learn how to deliver greater value through Agile solution targeting and theory of constraints that unleash your team’s innovative potential.

Accelerate and improve team decisions by learning Agile's facilitating leadership principles to unleash team productivity, motivation, and problem solving.

Learn Agile controls that get work done with confidence by using true transparency (actuals not estimates) and continuous improvement to ensure your people, process, and products deliver valuable, working solutions.

Meet Your Instructors

John Johnson

Adjunct Professor, Clarke School of Engineering, College Park; Chief Technology Officer, Softek Enterprises LLC at

Mr. Johnson, serves as the Chief Technology Officer for Softek Enterprises LLC, a minority-owned small business providing technology solutions to government clients since 2007. Softek specializes in evolving business systems using Agile, DevOps, and Cloud technologies to deliver working solutions faster for the government’s most critical IT challenges. He has 10 years of project management, systems engineering, and advanced analytics experience. Prior to joining Softek, Mr. Johnson co-founded Second Nature Software LLC, a data science products company focused on Life Science Research. He helped design and promote their product “Rocketfish,” a data management tool that simplifies preparing data for analysis while automating data tracking and organization. Rocketfish is currently in an organization-wide trial at NCI and NIAID, as well as major universities in the DC Metro Area. Previously, Mr. Johnson was a Senior Agile Project Manager with IBM, where he led multiple development teams building applications for the National Archives Records Administration (NARA). These applications were built on Amazon’s Gov Cloud (AWS) with cutting-edge cloud technologies to process, store, and search the hundreds of petabytes of government records expected at NARA by 2020. This project won “Project of the Year” across all of IBM globally for its success in project management innovation. He also worked as a Management Consultant with Booz Allen Hamilton, where he led projects for the Marine Corps, Air Force, and Navy from optimizing site investments and posture for Reserve forces, to developing award-winning project analysis and portfolio management software to optimize billions in shore energy investments. Mr. Johnson holds a Masters in Systems Engineering and a B.S. in Civil Engineering from the University of Maryland.

Program overview

Engage and inspire students through technology.

Learn how to create enhanced learning opportunities using the latest tools and techniques to connect with today’s digital-first students.

Our unique approach to instructional design focuses on understanding learning theory, blending traditional instructional design models with rapid prototyping and data analytics to create online courses. You will gain hands-on experience developing and publishing online courses using the edX platform.

This Instructional Design and Technology MicroMasters program will provide the knowledge and skills needed to capitalize on one of the fastest growing areas of education – online teaching and learning. This program will prepare you to create engaging and active learning, using digital pedagogy, emerging technologies and data analytics.

Through this program you will learn how to design captivating learning experiences for students who want mobile learning opportunities that are collaborative and accessible, while advancing your knowledge of educational theory.

What you will learn

Understand contemporary learning theories to develop online learning experiences
Apply instructional design models to the development of online learning experiences
Select, evaluate or design digital media to support learning
Identify, evaluate, and integrate emerging technologies to support online learning
Design an implementation process for online learning experiences
Apply data mining techniques to the design and evaluation of learning experiences

Program Class List

Explore emerging learning theories and interactive technologies to create engaging experiences for today’s connected students.

Explore traditional and current instructional design models as you develop your own outline of an online course.

Explore the design, development and use of digital media and emerging technologies to support online teaching and learning.

Develop your Instructional Design & Technology MicroMasters capstone project while you learn course evaluation models to assess the impact of design on the learning environment.

Meet Your Instructors

LeAnn Derby

Associate Collegiate Professor, Learning Design and Technology at University of Maryland University College

Dr. Derby holds a doctorate in education, teaching and learning from The Ohio State University and has over eleven years’ experience teaching undergraduate and graduate courses, leading curriculum design for blended learning environments and working with faculty development. She uses her background in pedagogy, paired with technical expertise of hardware and software, to teach graduate courses on topics of instructional design, leading educational technology change, and designing multimedia learning environments. Her research interests include adaptive learning and online teaching and learning.

Doug Brtek

Associate Professor, Learning Design and Technology at University of Maryland Global Campus Doug Brtek has 15 years of experience of online course design, professional development, and performance evaluation across the corporate learning and development and higher education fields. He has facilitated professional development workshops on a variety of topics including course development, online learning strategies, technology based learning tools, online facilitation, and adult learning theory. Currently, Doug works within the academic and corporate entities and provides consultation on learner analysis, technology implementation, and learning management system configuration. Doug’s educational accomplishments include a Bachelor’s degree in Journalism from the University of Nebraska, a Master’s Degree in Instructional Technology and Adult Learning from Bellevue University, and a Doctorate Degree in Education Technology from Northcentral University.

Randy Hansen

Professor and Program Chair, Learning Design and Technology at University of Maryland University College

Dr. Randy Hansen is a professor and program chair, Learning Design and Technology at the University of Maryland University College (UMUC). Randy’s research interests include innovative online instructional design, technology’s role in engaging learners in the learning process, and design of effective professional learning experiences. In 2015 Dr. Hansen was selected by the Center for Digital Education’s as a Top 30 Technologists, Transformers and Trailblazers. In 2016, the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) awarded him a Making IT Happen award. In 2018, Dr. Hansen was recognized by UMUC with the President’s Award for outstanding work and contributions to the university. Currently, Dr. Hansen servers as a member and Treasurer for the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) Board of Directors.

Program overview

Business knowledge is in high demand in every area of work. From high-tech start-ups to non-profits, organizations are looking to leverage best practices from the business world to achieve their objectives. That’s why the MBA is widely recognized as a career accelerator, regardless of the industry you’re in.

With the MicroMasters program in MBA Core Curriculum, you will develop business insights and learn to lead others to achieve strategic goals. You’ll learn the different functional areas of a firm, how each area defines success, and how the functions work together to create success in the marketplace. You will be able to build and lead successful teams, influence others, and deliver high-quality outcomes on time and within budget.

The MicroMasters program in MBA Core Curriculum has also been designed to grow your professional and social networks. We will help you find people like yourself, both in your region and around the world, who are looking to advance their careers. In addition to facilitated discussions in your classes, you will be encouraged to interact with colleagues in real time by forming small study groups, holding virtual coffee hours, and discussing current articles and trends in business.

Are you ready? Turbocharge your career with the MicroMasters program in MBA Core Curriculum from the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business.

What you will learn

Devise the right marketing strategy for your idea or firm
Use the vast information available in the world today to gain insight, create a competitive edge, and avoid being tomorrow’s data breach headline
Evaluate corporate investment opportunities to drive shareholder value
Use the language of business to communicate financial information to investors, shareholders, creditors, and regulators
Interact with those in the “C” suite, speaking their language and making your case for your ideas
Lead a team of people and use your influence to achieve strategic goals
Create the right strategy for your firm to gain a competitive advantage over others in your market space, domestically and globally

Program Class List

Learn key marketing strategies and tactics to help your company develop products that match customers' needs, create awareness and demand for those products, and drive sales.

Learn how to capitalize on opportunities, and manage the challenges of the global marketplace, and leverage this dynamic environment for long-term value.

Financial accounting is the language of business. Learn to effectively interpret financial information to make sound decisions and confidently communicate to other leaders in your firm and with potential investors, shareholders, and creditors.

Use data analysis to gather critical business insights,identifymarket trends before your competitors, and gain advantages for your business.

Learn how to capitalize on opportunities, and manage the challenges of the global marketplace, and leverage this dynamic environment for long-term value.

Learn about the explosion of technologies that are transforming business and how to strategically leverage technologies to maximize the value--and minimize the risk--to your firm.

Develop the ability to identify and resource high-value strategic initiatives and ensure a high rate of return for your firm's investments.

Meet Your Instructors

Ritu Agarwal

Professor of Information Systems, Distinguished University Professor, Robert H. Smith Dean's Chair of Information Systems, Senior Associate Dean for Research & Strategic Initiatives, Co-Director of Center for Health Information & Decision Systems at University of Maryland Ritu Agarwal is Senior Associate Dean for Research, Distinguished University Professor and the Robert H. Smith Dean’s Chair of Information Systems at the Robert H. Smith School of Business, University of Maryland, College Park. She is also the founder and Co-Director of the Center for Health Information and Decision Systems at the Smith School.

Kathryn Bartol

Professor of Management & Organization, Management and Organization Department Chair, Co-Director of Center for Innovation, Leadership, and Change at University of Maryland

Dr. Kathryn M. Bartol is the Robert H. Smith Professor of Leadership and Innovation and Chair of the Management and Organization Department at the Robert H. Smith School of Business, University of Maryland, College Park. She is the co-director of the Center for Leadership, Innovation and Change (CLIC). She holds an Executive Coach Certification from the Columbia University Coaching Certification Program.

Progyan Basu

Clinical Professor of Accounting Information Assurance at University of Maryland Professor Basu has over 25 years of teaching a variety of Accounting courses and seminars in the US and abroad at different levels. At Smith School of Business, he teaches Financial and Managerial Accounting at the undergraduate, MBA, and EMBA levels. He has received several awards and distinctions for teaching excellence, including the Krowe Teaching Excellence Award, Distinguished Teaching Award, and Undergraduate Studies Faculty Fellowship. He serves as a Faculty Director for the PTMBA and EMBA program, as well as a Faculty Champion for the Undergraduate Accounting Teaching Scholars program

Margrét Bjarnadóttir

Professor of Decision, Operations & Information Technologies at University of Maryland Dr. Margrét Vilborg Bjarnadóttir is an Assistant Professor of Management Science and Statistics in the DO&IT group. Dr. Margrét Bjarnadóttir graduated from MIT's Operations Research Center in 2008, defending her thesis titled “Data Driven Approach to Health Care, Application Using Claims Data”. Dr. Bjarnadóttir specializes in operations research methods using large scale data; her research centers around data driven decision making, combining optimization modeling with data analytics.

Gilad Chen

Organizational Behavior Department Chair at University of Maryland

Dr. Gilad Chen is the Robert H. Smith Chair in Organization Behavior, at the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business. He received his bachelor degree in Psychology from the Pennsylvania State University in 1996, and his doctoral degree in Industrial/Organizational Psychology from George Mason University in 2001. Prior to joining the Smith School, Dr. Chen was on the faculty at the Georgia Institute of Technology and Texas A&M University, and a visiting scholar at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Technion, and Tel-Aviv University.

Nicole Coomber

Associate Clinical Professor in Management & Organization at University of Maryland

Nicole Coomber is an Associate Clinical Professor in Management & Organization. In addition to teaching management, leadership, and consulting, she is dedicated to helping women manage their complex lives more effectively. Nicole believes the time management, negotiation and communication strategies she teaches in her MBA classrooms at the University of Maryland Smith School of Business can help women navigate both their careers and families.

Michael Faulkender

Professor of Finance, Associate Dean of Masters’ Programs at University of Maryland Dr. Michael Faulkender is the Associate Dean of Masters Programs and a Professor of Finance at the Smith School of Business at the University of Maryland. As Associate Dean, he oversees the Full-time, Part-time, Online, and Executive MBA programs as well as the eight Specialty Masters Programs offered by the Smith School.

Trevor Foulk

Assistant Professor of Management & Organization at University of Maryland

Dr. Trevor Foulk is an Assistant Professor of Management & Organization at the Robert H. Smith School of Business at the University of Maryland. He received his Ph.D. in Organizational Behavior from the Warrington College of Business at the University of Florida, and his Bachelors of Business Administration from the University of Massachusetts. Dr. Foulk’s research interests include deviant workplace behaviors, workplace power dynamics, social perception, and interpersonal influence behaviors.

Judy Frels

Clinical Professor of Marketing, Assistant Dean of Online Programs at University of Maryland Judy Frels is a Clinical Professor of Marketing and teaches Marketing Strategy and leads Action Learning Projects at the EMBA and MBA levels at the Robert H. Smith School of Business at the University of Maryland. At Smith, she is the Assistant Dean of Online Programs.

David Godes

Dean's Professor of Marketing, Marketing Department Chair at University of Maryland David Godes is a Professor of Marketing and is the Chair of the Marketing Department. He holds a Ph.D. and S.M. in Management from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a B.S. in Economics from the University of Pennsylvania. He joined the Smith School faculty in 2009 after teaching for ten years at Harvard Business School. His teaching experiences include undergraduate, graduate and executive courses ranging from Introduction to Marketing to Business-to-Business Marketing and Sales Management.

Anandasivam Gopal

Professor of Information Systems, Van Munching Faculty Fellow at University of Maryland

Anand Gopal is a Professor and Van Munching Faculty Fellow at the Robert H. Smith School of Business, University of Maryland. His research interests are broadly in technology platforms, contracts and entrepreneurship. He has specific projects in technology-based entrepreneurship, secondary markets for tech products, mobile platforms and healthcare.

Anil Gupta

Michael D. Dingman Chair in Strategy and Entrepreneurship at University of Maryland Dr. Anil K. Gupta is the Michael Dingman Chair in Strategy at the Smith School of Business, The University of Maryland, USA. He also holds a Distinguished Visiting Professorship at Tsinghua University, China as well as the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay and has earlier served as a Chaired Professor in Strategy at INSEAD and as a visiting professor at Stanford. He earned his doctorate from Harvard University. Dr. Gupta is widely regarded as one of the world’s leading experts on strategy and globalization.

Rebecca Hann

Associate Professor of Accounting, KPMG Term Professor at University of Maryland Rebecca Hann received her Masters and PhD degrees from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. Her research examines issues surrounding financial reporting and disclosure, corporate diversification, and more recently, the role of accounting information in the macroeconomy and the real effects of financial markets. Her research has been published in leading accounting and finance journals, including The Accounting Review, the Journal of Accounting and Economics, the Journal of Accounting Research, the Journal of Finance, and the Review of Accounting Studies

P.K. Kannan

Professor of Marketing, Dean’s Chair in Marketing Science at University of Maryland P. K. Kannan is the Dean’s Chair in Marketing Science at the Robert H. Smith School of Business at the University of Maryland. His main research focus is on marketing modeling, applying statistical and econometric methods to marketing data. His current research stream focuses on attribution modeling, media mix modeling, new product/service development and customer relationship management (CRM).

Michael Kimbrough

Associate Professor of Accounting, LeRoy J. Herbert Fellow at University of Maryland Michael D. Kimbrough joined the Robert H. Smith School at University of Maryland in 2010 after spending eight years at Harvard Business School as a faculty member in the Accounting and Management Unit. Professor Kimbrough earned his B.A. in Economics from Washington University in St. Louis and his Ph.D. in Accounting from Indiana University in Bloomington.

Henry Lucas

Professor of Information Systems Robert H. Smith Chair of Information Systems at University of Maryland Professor Henry Lucas’ research interests include information technology-enabled transformations of organizations as well as disruptive technologies. He has conducted research on the impact of information technology on organizations, IT in organization design, electronic commerce, and the value of information technology.

Wendy Moe

Professor of Marketing | Director of MS in Marketing Analytics at University of Maryland Wendy Moe is Professor of Marketing and Director of the Masters of Science in Marketing Analytics at the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business. She is an expert in online and social media marketing with a focus on analytics. Professor Moe is a highly published academic with her research appearing in numerous leading business journals. She is also the author of Social Media Intelligence (Cambridge: 2014). Professor Moe has been recognized by the American Marketing Association and the Marketing Science Institute as a leading scholar in her field with the Howard Award, the Young Scholar Award, the Erin Anderson Award and the Buzzell Award.

Neta Moye

Clinical Professor of Management at University of Maryland

Dr. Moye has over 25 years of experience in the field of human resources with particular expertise in helping individuals develop leader skills. She has spent the last 10 years focused on the practice of leadership development across academic, industry, and government settings. She has experience both designing and delivering leadership development solutions across the full range of development activities including formal classroom curricula, experiential development activities, executive coaching, and leader assessments and debriefs.

Myeong-Gu Seo

Associate Professor of Management and Organization at University of Maryland

Myeong-Gu Seo is Associate Professor of Management and Organization at the University of Maryland's Robert H. Smith School of Business. His primary areas of research regard issues relating to work-related emotions, organizational- and institutional-change. Seo received the 2001 Best Doctoral Student Paper from the Academy of Management's Organizational Development and Change Division.

Nick Seybert

Associate Professor of Accounting at University of Maryland Nick Seybert received his M.S. and Ph.D. from the Johnson Graduate School of Management at Cornell University. He conducts experimental and archival research in financial accounting with a focus on manager personality traits as well as on investors’ and managers’ decision-making biases.

Subra Tangirala

Associate Professor of Management & Organization at University of Maryland

Subra Tangirala is an Associate Professor of Management & Organization. He teaches the leadership course in the MBA program. His research focuses on interpersonal communication in organizations. Specifically, he explores reasons why employees often remain silent despite having information, concerns, or suggestions to share, and what organizations can do to facilitate candid exchange of ideas at the workplace.

Susan White

Clinical Professor of Finance at University of Maryland Susan White is a Clinical Professor at the University of Maryland, College Park, teaching corporate finance for undergraduates and MBAs. She received my undergraduate degree from Brown University, MBA from Binghamton University and PhD in finance from the University of Texas, Austin.

Program Overview

What you will learn

Courses in this program

1Cloud Computing for Enterprises

Course Duration

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2Cloud Computing Infrastructure

Course Duration

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3Cloud Computing Engineering and Management

Course Duration

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4Cloud Computing Security

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Meet your instructors

Charif El MaMouni

Jarrod Jordan

Patrick Appiah-Kubi

Jeff Tjiputra

Program endorsements

FAQs

About this course

What you’ll learn

Courses in this program

1Identifying Entrepreneurial Opportunities

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Price

2Creating Innovative Business Models

Course Duration

Time Commitment

Price

3Marketing Innovative Products and Services

Course Duration

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Price

4Financing Innovative Ventures

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Price

Meet your instructors

Michael Pratt

Lola Koiki

James Green

What you will learn

Program Overview

Courses in this program

1Effective Communication for Program and Project Stakeholders and Teams

Course Duration

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Price

2Persuasion and Presence for Program and Project Managers

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Price

3Managing Conflicts on Programs and Projects with Cultural and Emotional Intelligence

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4Designing Project Information Hubs for Program and Project Performance

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5Storytelling That Delivers Program and Project Outcomes

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Price

Meet your instructor

Bill Brantley

Program overview

What will you learn

Agile Project Management

1Applied Scrum for Agile Project Management

Course Duration

Time Commitment

1
Cloud Computing for Enterprises

2
Cloud Computing Infrastructure

3
Cloud Computing Engineering and Management

4
Cloud Computing Security

1
Identifying Entrepreneurial Opportunities

2
Creating Innovative Business Models

3
Marketing Innovative Products and Services

4
Financing Innovative Ventures

1
Effective Communication for Program and Project Stakeholders and Teams

2
Persuasion and Presence for Program and Project Managers

3
Managing Conflicts on Programs and Projects with Cultural and Emotional Intelligence

4
Designing Project Information Hubs for Program and Project Performance

5
Storytelling That Delivers Program and Project Outcomes

1
Applied Scrum for Agile Project Management

2
Sprint Planning for Faster Agile Team Delivery

3
Agile Innovation and Problem Solving Skills

4
Agile Leadership Principles and Practices

5
Agile Process, Project, and Program Controls

1
Instructional Design and Technology: Learning Theories

2
Instructional Design Models

3
Instructional Design: Digital Media, New Tools and Technology

4
Instructional Design Course Evaluation & Capstone Project

1
Marketing Management

2
Leadership and Influence

3
Financial Accounting

4
Data Analysis for Decision Making

5
Global Business Strategy

6
Digital Transformation in Business

7
Corporate Finance