If there is one thing that California has been known for throughout the entire history of the state, it’s letting people go their own way. You want to make your fortune selling goggles for dogs, nobody here is going to blink.
Californians have a knack for turning unconventional ideas into products and businesses that change the world. At some point along the line, someone had to be the one to invent blue jeans and movie theaters. As it turns out, in both cases that someone was a Californian.
Until it was done, the idea of turning sand into silicon wafers that let machines do thousands of calculations a second sounded pretty crazy. And cramming one of those machines into a pocket-sized device sounded even crazier.
Unconventional is the standard in California.
From a business point of view, that freedom to innovate is an enormous strength. Take Hollywood, Silicon Valley, or the Tesla Fremont Factory… groundbreaking things are possible here that may not have been possible anywhere else in the world.
So if your career path includes forging into new territory ‘49er style, these one-of-a-kind master’s programs from California business schools deserve a look. They may not be MBAs, but they are the kind of unique graduate programs with a business bent that could be exactly what you’re looking for.
An MBA Is a Safe Choice for Business, but Not the Only Option
A Master of Business Administration is a known quantity in today’s business world.
That brings value, but also a kind of complacency. MBA programs are carefully ranked, and graduates are relentlessly hammered into approved molds. As much as top business schools like to tout their diversity, there’s a formula to getting in and getting through their MBAs. Each school puts a stamp on the learning experience; graduates from Haas come out with a reputation for social consciousness, while those from Stanford come out with a clear lean toward technology enterprises.
But the fact of the stamp itself might be enough to make some business students feel like a product off the MBA assembly line.
Alpha: the excess return of an investment relative to the return of a benchmark index.
One of the concepts those programs teach is Alpha—how you beat the overall performance of the market in investments. It’s something that every company in every industry is going for; no management team anywhere ever said ‘Let’s put our money into projects that make us exactly even with everyone else in our field.’
By definition, though, alpha only comes with a positive divergence from the benchmark. And in American business today, the MBA is unquestionably the benchmark.
An MBA is still the path most traveled for business students. But that doesn’t mean it’s the only path that leads to making it big.
Will an MBA from the right school nail down a respectable white-collar position collecting mid-six-figures at Accenture or McKinsey? Sure.
MBA degrees are still the right choice for many students. After all, even though it’s a benchmark, it’s a very high one. But there are also some very good reasons to consider a trip down the path less traveled.
One-of-a-Kind Business Degrees are Right at Home in California
Just like California attracts business innovators with grand new visions of the future, we also draw educational innovators with incredible ideas to instruct and empower business leaders. These schools have taken a chance in developing master’s programs that may appeal to the same people considering an MBA, but break the mold when it comes to industries, management techniques, or even visions of business leadership.
You can find innovative programs here in areas like…
Business Degrees Aimed at California's Legendary Fashion Industry
Fashion is big business hiding in plain sight. The global apparel market is a $1.7 trillion industry, employing some 60 million workers in the core and over 300 million throughout the value chain. It’s important enough that MBA-dominated McKinsey puts out a Global Fashion Index each year to track the trends and forecast the demands.
But the typical MBA program doesn’t do a lot to prepare graduates for the unique challenges of the fashion industry. It’s a place where design sensibility meets production planning crossed with marketing and seeded with international logistics planning. Getting traction in fast fashion or other trends in merchandising or manufacturing may be easier with the right kind of MFA (Master of Fine Arts) from a California academy known worldwide.
Academy of Art University
School of Fashion
San Francisco, CA
Website
MFA (on-campus, online)
- Fashion Product Development
- Fashion Merchandising and Management
- Fashion Marketing
- Brand Management
Also offers:
MA in Fashion Merchandising
AA in Fashion Marketing
BFA in Fashion Marketing
BFA in Fashion Merchandising
BFA in Fashion Product Development
- One of the largest private, accredited art and design schools in the nation
- First art university to showcase student work at New York Fashion Week biannually
- Outstanding online support available through the Academy Resource Center (ARC)
Housed within a world-renowned art school and located in San Francisco’s exceptional creative community, the MFA at the Academy of Art University boasts two management options to kickstart or elevate your career in fashion management. Whether you complete the MFA here on campus or online, you’ll enjoy an outstanding exploration of the management of fashion that includes an examination of industry standards, emerging industry practices, design excellence, and digital tools. Your MFA degree culminates in a final collection, portfolio, or project that is designed to prepare you for top leadership jobs in the exciting fashion industry.
The Big-Picture Perspective that Comes with Organizational Leadership Degrees Bring Key Pieces Into Focus
Leadership is a course taught in pretty much every MBA program, but there’s always a tension there between leadership and management: the role of inspiration versus bean-counting.
It’s the rare MBA graduate who can really go all-in on visionary leadership, and it’s no coincidence that the Steve Jobs and Sam Altmans of the state aren’t coming from the ranks of top B-school MBA graduates.
And soon they may be coming from a trio of leadership-focused master’s programs that put inspiration, cutting-edge technology, and organizational practicality front and center. Authenticity and communication skills take precedence over number-crunching in some of the most critical industries in the country—healthcare, sustainability, and AI. Those same soft skills are what ensure graduates are ready to lead the way in the next big breakthrough industry to come out of California.
University of West Los Angeles
School of Business
Inglewood, CA
Website
MS in Leadership Management and Technology (online, hybrid)
Concentration options in Business Analytics, AI, and Digital Marketing (coming soon)
Also offers:
BSBA (Organizational Leadership and Management, Marketing, Finance, International Business, Entertainment)
- Two, convenient campus locations
- Offered in an online, hybrid, or intensive weekend (hybrid) format for outstanding flexibility
- Convenient curriculum schedule features six, nine-week terms of two courses each
The MS in Leadership Management and Technology is the University of West Los Angeles’ crowning jewel – an interdisciplinary graduate program that’s designed to create tomorrow’s leaders, managers, and entrepreneurial-minded professionals. Offering a unique offering that flies in the face of the traditional MBA, the MS in Leadership Management and Technology is designed to address leadership, innovation, and technological advances in today’s competitive, global business environment. This dynamic program is targeted at implementing and communicating innovative ideas and creative solutions for top enterprises. Designed as six, nine-week terms of two courses each, this program is offered in an online format, a hybrid format combining online study with on-campus classes (LAX or SFV campus), and a weekend intensive format, which features online courses complemented with a weekend of on-campus study.
Claremont Lincoln University
Claremont, CA
Website
MA in Organizational Leadership (online)
- Healthcare
- Human Resources
- Management
- Professional Studies
- Sustainability
Also offers:
Graduate Certificates in:
- Advanced Practices in Public Finanace and Administration
- Executive CLU Core
- Innovations and Trends in Public Administration
- Land Policy
- Leadership Practices in DEI
- Resource Management
- Urban Management
- Urban Planning
MA in Healthcare Administration
MA in HR Management
Master in Public Administration
MA in Sustainability Leadership
MA in Social Impact
BA in Organizational Leadership
- Fully online program features no set class times for maximum convenience and flexibility
- Scholar-practitioner model focuses on leadership theory with practical applications
- Choose a concentration that aligns with your professional goals
Claremont Lincoln University’s MA in Organizational Leadership is what elevated graduate business study looks like! Expertly designed to prepare managers and executives who lead diverse organizations of all sizes, the MA in Organizational Leadership offers a robust curriculum that blends organizational leadership theory and practical applications, with core coursework focused on topics like critical analysis, strategic communication, and research skills. This graduate course of study is offered in a fully online format to suit the schedules of today’s busy, working professionals and includes your choice of concentration in healthcare, human resources, management, professional studies, or sustainability for a personalized program that aligns with your professional ambitions.
Pacific Oaks College
Pasadena, CA
Website
MA in Organizational Leadership and Management (on-campus, online)
Also offers:
BSBA
- Designated Hispanic Serving Institution
- Convenient and flexible – take classes in Pasadena or online
- Choose part- or full-time study – graduate in as little as 14 months
- Designed to create leaders able to balance organizational effectiveness with social responsibility
Pacific Oaks College’s MA in Organizational Leadership and Management is a dynamic graduate course of study that’s expertly designed to prepare students to become leaders and managers able to deftly align the organizational needs of an organization with the public good. A unique alternative to a traditional MBA, this program is built on the concept that authentic leadership is essential for creating effective organizations that value social responsibility. Grounded in foundational management and leadership competencies, this program comes complete with the opportunity to specialize your master’s degree through the completion of an Applied Research project. Students of this program can attend classes on campus or online to suit their busy, professional schedule.
Understand Complex Systems as a Sum of Individual Parts with a Degree in Systems Management
Today’s world, in California as elsewhere, is completely reliant on complex systems.
Complexity: the quality of being intricate and compounded; results in non-linear and emergent behaviors that cannot be predictably addressed or confined in rule-based systems
Everything from ecosystem management to computer programming and artificial intelligence involves the kind of complex systems that California companies operate – and operate within – every day.
MBA programs teach graduates how to handle complicated business problems. But that doesn’t have anything to do with dealing with complex systems that don’t respond predictably to by-the-book solutions.
UC-Merced has spotted the gap in the education that managers typically get and turned it into a degree that prepares future leaders for the kinds of problems businesses have to contend with.
University of California-Merced
Department of Management of Complex Systems (MCS)
Merced, CA
Website
MS in Management of Complex Systems (on-campus)
Master of Management (on-campus)
Also offers:
PhD in Management of Complex Systems
Major in Management and Business Economics
- Ranked first in the nation for social mobility by the Wall Street Journal
- Ranked among the top public schools in the nation by U.S. News & World Report
- Master of Management – earn your degree in just 12 months
- MS in Management of Complex Systems – interdisciplinary examination of managing complex systems allows students to focus on disciplines in engineering, science, and social science
The University of California – Merced offers two unique offerings for graduate business students: the MS in Management of Complex Systems and the Master of Management. The MS in Management of Complex Systems is an interdisciplinary program that explores the challenges involved with understanding, designing, and managing complex systems. Students of this program enjoy a course of multidisciplinary training that pulls from business, management, economics, sociology, psychology, cognitive science, environmental science, and engineering. This distinctive educational experience allows students to study under faculty members with expertise in the areas of engineering, science, and social science as they develop next generation management skills for complex, adaptive systems. The Master of Management, which can be completed in just 12 months, is designed to elevate and enhance your business knowledge and leadership capabilities. Featuring a cutting-edge curriculum that blends traditional and contemporary management topics, this dynamic program comes complete with hands-on learning experiences and case studies that simulate real business scenarios.
See Entirely New Ways Forward with a Business Degree in Innovation
Innovation is a buzzword you’ll see in the marketing materials of every MBA program. But being different means taking risks, and an MBA is a pretty safe choice in the business world today.
Our position is that we hire someone in spite of an MBA, not because of one. ~ Elon Musk, founder of SpaceX, Tesla, Starlink, Neuralink, etc
Instead, one California college is doubling down on changing things up with an MBI: Master of Business Innovation.
The program is aimed at people with big ideas who need hands-on instruction in how to make dreams come to life, whether in startups, at enterprises stuck in neutral, or even just in their own careers. The MBI whispers to entrepreneurial animal spirits from the heartland of modern American innovation in Silicon Valley.
University of Silicon Valley
Department of Business Entrepreneurship and Innovation
San Jose, CA
Website
Master of Business Innovation (online)
Also offers:
BBA with focuses in:
- Audio
- Animation
- Game Development
- Cybersecurity Software Development
- User Experience Software Development
Graduate Certificate in Project Management
- Tuition includes a Tech Pack™ - a new laptop that includes all the necessary files and coursework for the program
- Superb, hands-on learning that’s led by a faculty with experience in creating startups in the gaming, animation, and audio production realm
If the traditional MBA is not for you, it’s time to consider the Master of Business Innovation through the University of Silicon Valley, a truly exciting graduate program that’s designed to create leaders and entrepreneurs in the gaming, animation, and audio production realm. Offered in a fully online format, this program features a rich, dynamic curriculum that’s focused on hands-on learning. Students here explore ideas, innovations, and their own entrepreneurial aspirations as they learn the tools and techniques aimed at startup success. Each student of this program receives a Tech Pack™ (it’s part of the program cost) – a new laptop that includes all the files and coursework you’ll need for success.
Not only do these master’s programs take you in new directions, but they do it in innovative ways that would break ankles at most conventional MBA programs.
You can expect unconventional instructors, an emphasis on fast-paced, digital technologies, and online instruction backed up by all the tech talent that California can muster. In many cases, the material being taught shifts as fast as the industries behind the degree.
A dynamic curriculum plan can mean that your education differs considerably from what graduates encountered only a year behind you. That kind of active curriculum management holds a lot of potential for helping you beat the benchmarks in your field.