Curriculum

Core Courses

Consumer Behavior

This course offers an evaluation of psychological, sociological, and cultural theories of consumer behavior through the examination of factors influencing consumers' decision-making process.

Financial Merchandising Implications

This course is an advanced study of financial trends in the merchandising industries. This includes implications related to sole proprietors, partnerships, franchises, S corporations, and C corporations. The course focuses on financial implications of recent advances in the field of merchandising of importance to graduate students as they embark on careers in academia and/or merchandising industries.

Historical and Contemporary Issues in Trade

Students in this course examine fiber, textile, and apparel industries in a global context. Students look at the historical development of the global and U.S. textile and apparel industries and how the global environment (economic, political, and social systems) affects the textile/apparel production and trade.

International Retail Expansion

In this course students gain comprehensive understanding of theory, practices, and trends on international merchandise management. Students analyze global retail systems and the methods of distribution to consumers in various countries.

Product Design, Development and Evaluation

This course is an advanced study of issues and management strategies necessary to design and produce a competitively priced product. Students examine the role of globalization and rapidly changing technology in development of a successful product.

Professional Advancement

In this course, students analyze leadership and how it affects organizational culture and change through a prism of past and current experiences. Students examine various leadership styles and develop a personal leadership philosophy for professional advancement in merchandising.

Promotional Strategies in Merchandising

Students in this course examine integrated marketing communications to understand promotional strategies and techniques and pursue cultural and global awareness, social responsibility, and ethical decision-making.

Research Methods

In this course, students learn the research process and use various methods to conduct a consumer research study. Students also analyze the practical and theoretical issues involved in the designing, conducting, and evaluating of research used in the industry. Prerequisites: Graduate level course in statistics and completion of MERCH 500-level courses.

Retail Theory & Current Practices

In this course, students learn to evaluate effectiveness and/or appropriateness of retail theories and current practices. Students learn to assess internal and external environmental forces impacting strategic decisions by retail firms and to synthesize past and present trends in order to forecast probable future patterns. Prerequisite: Retail Management course.

Strategic Planning

This course is an examination of the executive planning process used to develop successful corporate strategies with emphasis on the importance of a market orientation for building customer value and sustaining a competitive advantage. Prerequisite: Instructor's permission.

Practicum/Creative Component/Thesis

Masters Research Project

Consult with your academic advisor at your home university about course selection and scheduling.