School of Business and Economics
- Mission Statement
- Faculty and Staff
- Degrees
- Course Descriptions
- School of Business and Economics Contact Information
Mission Statement 
The School of Business and Economics works toward developing effective decision-makers and leaders in both the private and public sectors through a strong practical business education as well as a comprehensive liberal arts education. Academic programs instill excellence, build confidence, and develop strong leadership skills that graduates can use throughout their careers.
Faculty and Staff
Christensen, Ethan - Assistant Professor
Hembd, Jerry - Professor
Mahjabeen, Rubana - Assistant Professor
Opall, Brent - Adjunct Professor
Simkins, Zamira - Associate Professor
Degrees
Course Descriptions
| DS - Data Science | ||
| Catalog Nbr. | Course Title/Course Topics | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| DS 700 | Foundations of Data Science | 3.00 |
| This course provides an introduction to data science and highlights its importance in business decision making. It provides an overview of commonly used data science tools along with spreadsheets, databases, statistics and programming assignments to lay the foundation for data science applications. | ||
Prerequisites: Admission to M.S. in Data Science program | ||
Typically Offered: Fall and Spring Terms | ||
| DS 705 | Statistical Methods | 3.00 |
| Statistical methods and inference procedures will be presented in this course with an emphasis on applications, computer implementation, and interpretation of results. Topics include simple and multiple regression, model selection, correlation, moderation/interaction analysis, logistic regression, chi-square test, ANOVA, Kruskal-Wallis test, MANOVA, factor analysis, and canonical correlation analysis. | ||
Prerequisites: Admission to M.S. in Data Science program | ||
Typically Offered: Fall and Spring Terms | ||
| DS 710 | Programming for Data Science | 3.00 |
| Introduction to programming languages and packages used in Data Science. | ||
Prerequisites: Admission to M.S. in Data Science program | ||
Typically Offered: Fall and Spring Terms | ||
| DS 715 | Data Warehousing | 3.00 |
| Introduce the concepts and techniques to work with and reason about subject-oriented, integrated, time-variant, and nonvolatile collections of data in support of management's decision-making process. | ||
Prerequisites: Admission to M.S. in Data Science program | ||
Typically Offered: Fall and Spring Terms | ||
| DS 730 | Big Data: High Performance Computing | 3.00 |
| This course will teach students how to process large datasets efficiently. Students will be introduced to non-relational databases. Students will learn algorithms that allow for the distributed processing of large data sets across clusters. | ||
Prerequisites: Successful completion of DS 710 and declared Data Science Major | ||
Typically Offered: Fall and Spring Terms | ||
| DS 735 | Communicating about Data | 3.00 |
| This course will prepare you to master technical, informational and persuasive communication to meet organizational goals. Technical communication topics include a study of the nature, structure and interpretation of data. Informational communication topics include data visualization and design of data for understanding and action. Persuasive communication topics include the study of written, verbal and nonverbal approaches to influencing decision makers. | ||
Prerequisites: Admission to M.S. in Data Science program | ||
| DS 740 | Data Mining & Machine Learning | 3.00 |
| This course covers two aspects of data analytics. First, it teaches techniques to generate visualizations appropriate to the audience type, task, and data. Second, it teaches methods and techniques for analyzing unstructured data - including text mining, web text mining and social network analysis. | ||
Prerequisites: Successful completion of DS 705 and DS 710 and Declared DS Major | ||
Typically Offered: Fall and Spring Terms | ||
| DS 745 | Visualization and Unstructured Data Analysis | 3.00 |
| This course covers two aspects of data analytics. First, it teaches techniques to generate visualizations appropriate to the audience type, task, and data. Second, it teaches methods and techniques for analyzing unstructured data - including text mining, web text mining and social network analysis. | ||
Prerequisites: Successful completion of DS 700, DS 705, DS 710, & DS 740 | ||
Typically Offered: Fall and Spring Terms | ||
| DS 760 | Ethics of Data Science | 3.00 |
| This course will focus on the investigation of ethical issues in computer science that ultimately also pertain to data science, including privacy, plagiarism, intellectual property rights, piracy, security, confidentiality and many other issues. Our study of these issues will begin broadly, with a look at ethical issues in computer science at large. We will then make inferences to the narrower field of data science. We will consider ethical arguments and positions, the quality and integrity of decisions and inferences based on data and how important cases and laws have shaped the legality, if not the morality, of data science related computing. Case studies will be used to investigate issues. | ||
Prerequisites: Successful completion of DS 700 or DS 780 | ||
Typically Offered: Fall and Spring Terms | ||
| DS 775 | Prescriptive Analytics | 3.00 |
| This course covers procedures and techniques for using data to inform the decision-making process. Topics include optimization, decision analysis, game theory, and simulation. Case studies and applications will be emphasized. | ||
Prerequisites: Successful completion of DS 705 & Admission to Data Science Program | ||
Typically Offered: Fall and Spring Terms | ||
| DS 780 | Data Science and Strategic Decision Making | 3.00 |
| The interaction between data science and strategic decision making. Leveraging data resources for competitive advantage in the marketplace. | ||
Prerequisites: Admission to M.S. in Data Science program | ||
Typically Offered: Fall and Spring Terms | ||
| DS 785 | Data Science Capstone | 3.00 |
| Capstone course; students will develop and execute a data science project using real-world data and communicate results to a non-technical audience. | ||
Prerequisites: Successful completion of Data Science 700, 705, 710, 715, 730, 735, 740, 745 & 775 | ||
Typically Offered: Fall and Spring Terms | ||
| HWM - Health & Wellness Management | ||
| Catalog Nbr. | Course Title/Course Topics | Credits |
| HWM 700 | Contemporary Health and Wellness Perspectives | 3.00 |
| In this course, students will examine health and wellness concepts and probe foundational thinking associated with the contemporary health and wellness field. Expectations and development of the wellness professional will be explored. | ||
Prerequisites: Admission to MS in Health and Wellness Program | ||
Typically Offered: Fall and Spring Terms | ||
| HWM 705 | Strategic Management for Wellness Managers | 3.00 |
| This course introduces students to management concepts to create strategic direction and the role of leadership in setting strategy capable of meeting competitive challenges within the wellness industry. Topics include key management theories; role of stakeholders; issue identification; program evaluation; and business plan development. | ||
Prerequisites: Admission to MS in Health and Wellness Program | ||
Typically Offered: Fall and Spring Terms | ||
| HWM 710 | Research Methods for Wellness Programs | 3.00 |
| This course covers research methods and designs relevant to wellness program managers. Students will be introduced to various research designs including experimental and nonexperimental, as well as quantitative and qualitative research methods. The course will focus on providing a practical understanding of several statistical tools used in wellness-related research. | ||
Prerequisites: Admission to MS in Health and Wellness Program | ||
| HWM 715 | Persuasion Skills for Wellness Managers | 3.00 |
| In this course, students will develop communication and persuasion skills, which are essential for wellness managers. Utilizing a variety of media and techniques, students will hone their communication skills. Students will apply key marketing concepts to mount effective marketing campaigns for their organization. | ||
Prerequisites: Admission to MS in Health and Wellness Program | ||
| HWM 720 | Exercise and Nutrition in Health and Disease | 3.00 |
| This course introduces students to the roles that physical activity and nutritional practices play in the prevention, management, and treatment of chronic diseases and conditions such as obesity, cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes, COPD, arthritis, depression and anxiety. | ||
Prerequisites: Admission to MS in Health and Wellness Program | ||
Typically Offered: Fall and Spring Terms | ||
| HWM 730 | Biopsychosocial Aspects of Health | 3.00 |
| This course is a survey of biological, psychological and social-environmental aspects of wellness. Taking an applied focus, students will learn current theoretical and evidenced-based approaches in psychology, integrative medicine, and behavioral economics that impact wellness. | ||
Prerequisites: Admission to MS in Health and Wellness Program | ||
Typically Offered: Fall and Spring Terms | ||
| HWM 740 | Health Systems and Policy for Wellness Managers | 3.00 |
| This course provides information pertaining to the US Health Care system with emphasis on health and wellness. It provides an overview of the major public and private stakeholders including public health, insurance, and health care providers. Participants will examine how health policy impacts the design and financing of wellness programs. | ||
Prerequisites: Admission to MS in Health and Wellness Program | ||
Typically Offered: Fall and Spring Terms | ||
| HWM 750 | Planning and Evaluation for Wellness Managers | 3.00 |
| This purpose of this course is to examine planning and evaluation as inter-related, cyclical activities. Students will examine major activities and processes involved in planning and evaluating wellness programs. | ||
Prerequisites: Successful completion of HWM 705 and HWM 710 | ||
Typically Offered: Fall and Spring Terms | ||
| HWM 760 | Wellness Law | 3.00 |
| This course introduces students to the legal and ethical environment of wellness management. Topics include the Affordable Care Act, Americans with Disabilities Act and HIPAA. Students will learn effective negotiation skills that can be used when dealing with contracts and vendors. | ||
Prerequisites: Admission to MS in Health and Wellness Program | ||
Typically Offered: Fall and Spring Terms | ||
| HWM 770 | Behavior and Development in Organizations | 3.00 |
| In this course, students will study organizations, their members and why people and groups behave as they do. Processes and methods that improve behavior, effectiveness, and efficiency in organizational settings will be examined. The course will also cover various methods for assessing organizational behavior and change. | ||
Prerequisites: Admission to MS in Health and Wellness Program | ||
Typically Offered: Fall and Spring Terms | ||
| HWM 780 | Best Practices and Emerging Issues in Wellness | 3.00 |
| In this course, students will study emerging trends, innovations, and best practices in the health and wellness industry with emphasis on preventative health care. Students will investigate major health challenges, programs, and policies to determine the influence of social, economic, multicultural, and global pressures on successful wellness practices | ||
Prerequisites: Successful completion of HWM 700, 705, 710, 720, and 730. | ||
Typically Offered: Fall and Spring Terms | ||
| HWM 790 | Health and Wellness Management Capstone Course | 3.00 |
| This course provides a cohesive experience designed to synthesize and apply information from the MS HWM curricula. Students complete an individual capstone experience that demonstrates thorough understanding of the knowledge, skills and disposition necessary to be a successful health and wellness manager. | ||
Prerequisites: Successful completion of HWM 780 | ||
Typically Offered: Fall and Spring Terms | ||
| SMGT - Sustainable Management | ||
| Catalog Nbr. | Course Title/Course Topics | Credits |
| SMGT 700 | Cultural and Historical Foundations of Sustainability | 3.00 |
| The changing relationships of humans to the natural environment; changes in dominant scientific perspectives and the process of scientific debate. The quest for understanding, manipulating, and dominating the natural world. Cultural and organizational structures; the role and impact of technology; the systems approach to problem solving and its implications for the future. | ||
Prerequisites: Admission to M.S. in SMGT Program. | ||
Typically Offered: Fall and Spring Terms | ||
| SMGT 710 | The Natural Environment | 3.00 |
| Natural cycles, climate, water, energy, bio-systems, eco-systems, the role of humans in the biosphere; human impacts on natural systems. Use of case studies; some pre-reading, carbon cycle as a unifying theme. Disturbance pollution and toxicity; carrying capacity; natural capital. | ||
Prerequisites: Admission to M.S. in SMGT Program. | ||
Typically Offered: Fall and Spring Terms | ||
| SMGT 720 | Applied Research and the Triple Bottom Line | 3.00 |
| Document and project internal and external costs resulting from the inseparability of the natural, social and economic environments. Assess sustainability issues using basic modeling techniques; cause and effect, root cause analysis, regression analysis and business scenario based cases. | ||
Prerequisites: Admission to M.S. in SMGT Program. | ||
Typically Offered: Fall and Spring Terms | ||
| SMGT 730 | Policy, Law and Ethics of Sustainability | 3.00 |
| The Law and Ethics regarding sustainability of Economic development and emerging environmental challenges at national and international levels; including National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), Carbon Footprints, Kyoto protocol, and Brundtland Commission. The policy and role of government and its agencies such as Army Corps of Engineers; Department of Interior, etc., in building a more just, prosperous, and secure environmental common future. | ||
Prerequisites: Admission to M.S. in SMGT Program. | ||
Typically Offered: Fall and Spring Terms | ||
| SMGT 740 | Economics of Sustainability | 3.00 |
| Understand the economy as a component of the ecosystem within which it resides, with natural capital added to the typical analysis of human, social, built, and financial capital. Explore traditional micro, macro, and international trade theory and policy and the implications of sustainability. Topics include: history of economic systems and thought; globalization and localization; distinguishing between growth and development; the nature and causes of market failure; consumption, consumerism, and human well-being; emerging markets; technological change; business organization and financial market alternatives; demographic change; and the global food economy. | ||
Prerequisites: Admission to M.S. in SMGT Program. | ||
Typically Offered: Fall and Spring Terms | ||
| SMGT 750 | The built Environment | 3.00 |
| Explore how the built environment came to be and the intersection of human needs: water, air, food, water, waste, transportation, healthcare and education. Evaluate community design: what does a sustainable community look like? Study related technologies and evaluate alternatives, discuss unintended consequences. Course will include case studies. | ||
Prerequisites: Admission to M.S. in SMGT Program. | ||
Typically Offered: Fall and Spring Terms | ||
| SMGT 760 | Geopolitical Systems | 3.00 |
| An examination of decision making and public policy for sustainability at the national, state, and local level, with emphasis on the social, economic, political factors affecting decisions within both the public and private sectors. Attention is given to formal American policy making processes, informal grassroots activities and consensus building, public engagement with sustainability decisions, corporate sustainability actions and reporting, the promise of public-private partnerships and collaborative decision making, and practical examples of how decision making fosters effective transitions to sustainability goals at all levels. | ||
Prerequisites: Admission to M.S. in SMGT Program. | ||
Typically Offered: Fall and Spring Terms | ||
| SMGT 770 | Leading Sustainable Organizations | 3.00 |
| A macro-level perspective on leading sustainable organizations. Topics addressed include: organizational change and transformation processes, strategic and creative thinking, organizational structures and their impacts, conflict management and negotiation, stake holder management and situational leadership styles and behaviors. Focuses on how organizational leaders develop and enable sustainable organizations, especially in times of environmental change. | ||
Prerequisites: Admission to M.S. in SMGT Program. | ||
Typically Offered: Fall and Spring Terms | ||
| SMGT 780 | Corporate Social Responsibility | 3.00 |
| Corporate social responsibility and an organization. Evaluation of risks and potential impacts in decision making recognizing the links between the success of an organization and the well being of a community. Integrating corporate social responsibility throughout an organization, creating metrics and communicating CSR policies internally and externally. Development of best practices in an organization pertaining to corporate social responsibility. | ||
Prerequisites: Admission to M.S. in SMGT Program. | ||
Typically Offered: Fall and Spring Terms | ||
| SMGT 782 | Supply Chain Management | 3.00 |
| Planning, organizing and controlling the organization's supply chain is examined in context of the triple bottom line. Total cost analyses or product and process life cycles are considered in the context of strategy and operations. Topics include: sourcing, operations, distribution, reverse logistics and service supply chains. Process measurements and the impact on organizational performance in the context of footprints (e.g. carbon, water, pollution). Discussion of existing and potential software systems. | ||
Prerequisites: Admission to M.S. in SMGT Program. | ||
Typically Offered: Fall and Spring Terms | ||
| SMGT 784 | Sustainable Water Management | 3.00 |
| This course addresses practical applications of sustainability in aquatic environments. Topics covered include water and health, water quality and quantity, governance, assessing the aquatic environment, water treatment technologies, environmental mitigation, and impacts of climate change. Emphasis will be on selected areas of interest from the perspective of public health, engineering, and municipal conservation management. | ||
Prerequisites: Admission to M.S. in SMGT Program. | ||
| SMGT 785 | Waste Management and Resource Recovery | 3.00 |
| Topics include the generation, processing, management and disposal of municipal, industrial and agricultural waste with an emphasis on the technical, economic and environmental aspects of various recovery processes. Additional topics will include producer responsibility, design for environment and life cycle analysis. | ||
Prerequisites: Admission to M.S. in SMGT Program. | ||
Typically Offered: Fall and Spring Terms | ||
| SMGT 786 | Climate Change | 3.00 |
| In this course, you will explore climate change through scientific, humanistic, and sustainability frameworks. After building a strong foundation in the causes, impacts, and study of climate change, you will apply this understanding to evaluate scientific communication, environmental justice and vulnerability, and environmental policy to find solutions and strategies to address anthropogenic climate change. | ||
Prerequisites: Admission to M.S. in SMGT Program. | ||
Typically Offered: Spring Term Only | ||
| SMGT 790 | Capstone Preparation Course | 1.00 |
| Research, data analysis, scholarly inquiry resulting in project proposal. | ||
Prerequisites: Admission to M.S. in SMGT Program. | ||
Typically Offered: Fall and Spring Terms | ||
| SMGT 792 | Capstone Project | 3.00 |
| Completion of approved project utilizing concepts from coursework. | ||
Prerequisites: Admission to M.S. in SMGT Program. | ||
Typically Offered: Fall and Spring Terms | ||
| SMGT 795 | Special Topics in Sustainable Management | 3.00 |
| Various specialized areas of sustainable management will be examined. This course may be repeated for credit with a different topic. | ||
Prerequisites: Admission to M.S. in SMGT Program. | ||
Typically Offered: Occasional by Demand | ||
| SMGT 799 | Study Abroad | 3.00 |
| Study abroad courses are conducted in various parts of the world and are led by one or more faculty members. This course may be repeated in different locations. | ||
Prerequisites: Admission to M.S. in SMGT Program. | ||
Typically Offered: Occasional by Demand | ||
School of Business and Economics Contact Information
School of Business and Economics
University of Wisconsin - Superior
Erlanson Hall 301
Belknap and Catlin Ave.
P.O. Box 2000
Superior, WI 54880
Phone: 715-394-8206
Email: business@uwsuper.edu