Learning Outcomes
Why the major exists, what students are able to do when they finish, and how we teach it — through cases, consulting projects, and AI.
The purpose of the Strategic Management program is to develop Christlike leaders who discern truth, make principled and well-reasoned choices, and harness competitive market forces to drive innovation, improve organizational performance, and create lasting value that promotes human flourishing.
Students completing the major will be able to:
Gather and Analyze Data to Discern Truth
Identify, collect, and critically evaluate diverse and credible data sources to uncover truth in complex, ambiguous, and dynamic environments.
Apply Strategic Reasoning
Use logic, analytical frameworks, and structured problem-solving to interpret data, assess stakeholder impacts, and evaluate alternatives. Recommend courses of action that will create long-term value for individuals, organizations, and society.
Implement Strategic Decisions to Create and Capture Value
Translate strategic insights into realized value through disciplined execution, wise stewardship of resources, and inspiring others to achieve shared goals.
Demonstrate Christlike Leadership and Character
Integrate moral principles and Christ-centered values into decision-making and implementation to promote human flourishing.
Shape the Future of Strategy Research and Practice
Lead the global conversation on strategy by generating cutting-edge insights, pioneering new approaches, and inspiring others to adopt and extend best practices in both academic and applied settings.
The field of strategy explores how organizations are able to create, deliver, and capture value to achieve long-term success. It deals with how firms make decisions about their goals, allocate resources, respond to competition, and adapt to changing environments.
These are complex, ambiguous, and high-stakes questions requiring the integration of knowledge spanning finance, marketing, operations, economics, and technology.
Hard skills and soft skills, together
- Executive-level communication
- Teamwork and collaboration
- AI fluency — Claude Code
- Data analysis — SQL & visualization
- Building decks for executive communication
Cases, consulting projects, and AI
The curriculum is built on two proven pedagogical methods — the case method and the consulting engagement model — both now augmented by AI.
The case method
In every class, students analyze actual companies facing competitive threats, market shifts, and organizational complexity — then debate what they would do and defend their reasoning. It's the same approach used at Harvard Business School and the top MBA programs. Cases train students to pattern-match across industries and develop conviction under ambiguity.
The consulting engagement model
Students work on real client projects — scoping problems, gathering data, building analyses, and presenting recommendations to actual executives. This is where the learning outcomes come to life: gather data from ambiguous sources, apply structured frameworks, and translate analysis into recommendations that create value, all while navigating real stakeholder dynamics.
AI woven into both
Students use AI to accelerate case preparation — running competitive analyses, modeling scenarios, stress-testing assumptions — and on consulting engagements to gather data faster and pressure-test their reasoning before presenting. The goal isn't to teach AI as a subject; it's to produce graduates who instinctively reach for AI and know how to direct it with strategic judgment.
The path through Strategy
Five phases, from your first pre-business prerequisite to your senior capstone — and when each course lands.
Pre-Business
Complete the pre-business prerequisites and explore Strategy through clubs and info sessions.
View prerequisitesApply to Strategy
One cohort of 65 students is admitted each year. You apply in June and are admitted for the fall.
How to applyThe core begins
Your cohort starts together — the first envelope of courses.
- STRAT 4013 cr
- STRAT 4023 cr
- STRAT 3261 cr
- STRAT 4311.5 cr
- + Track electivesvaries
The core continues
The second envelope of courses.
- STRAT 4113 cr
- STRAT 4123 cr
- STRAT 4321.5 cr
- + Track electivesvaries
Senior year
Finishing your last required courses and electives.
- STRAT 4213 cr
- HRM 3913 crAnytime once admitted
- MSB 3903 crAnytime once admitted
- + Track electivesvaries
What you'll actually take
A sample of the core sequence — who teaches it and the tools you'll use.