Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business issues the Graduate Certificate in Global Management as part of its strategic partnership with the Nazarbayev University Graduate School of Business (NUGSB).
This certificate recognizes the depth and excellence of the Fuqua-NUGSB collaboration, celebrating graduates’ completion of a rigorous academic program preparing them for leadership roles in global markets.
Certificate holders gain access to the Fuqua alumni network, joining a global professional community dedicated to supporting the success of Team Fuqua.
Eligibility
The Graduate Certificate in Global Management is awarded to NUGSB students who meet the following criteria:
Successful Completion of NUGSB Degree: Conferral of a NUGSB degree while the strategic partnership agreement between Duke University and Nazarbayev University is active.
Five Duke-Taught Courses: Completion of at least five Duke-taught courses as part of the degree requirements for the NUGSB program.
*The certificate will be introduced with the 2026 graduating class.
Description: This course explores the art and science of negotiation, focusing on strategies, preparation, and analysis to improve decision-making in diverse negotiation settings. Through experiential learning, students will develop confidence, manage negotiation processes effectively, and analyze behaviors in both cooperative and competitive situations. Grading includes preparation, participation, negotiation analysis, and a multi-round group negotiation project.
Description: This course explores the principles and practices of managerial and cost accounting, emphasizing the use of accounting data to support decision-making, planning, and performance evaluation. Topics include cost management systems for understanding product costs, modern approaches to costing in diverse business environments, and managerial control systems that incorporate performance measurement and motivational considerations. Through practical cases and discussions, the course equips you to use accounting systems effectively to allocate resources, evaluate performance, and achieve organizational objectives.
Managerial Economics
Years Offered: 2013, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2020, 2023
Instructors: Scott Dyreng, Yun Zhang
Description: This course explores the principles and practices of managerial and cost accounting, emphasizing the use of accounting data to support decision-making, planning, and performance evaluation. Topics include cost management systems for understanding product costs, modern approaches to costing in diverse business environments, and managerial control systems that incorporate performance measurement and motivational considerations. Through practical cases and discussions, the course equips you to use accounting systems effectively to allocate resources, evaluate performance, and achieve organizational objectives.
Raising Capital
Years Offered: 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2020, 2021, 2024
Instructors: David Robinson, Manju Puri, Manuel Adelino
Description: This course focuses on applying finance theory to real-world business scenarios, emphasizing valuation and capital-raising strategies. It is divided into two parts: the first explores diverse valuation approaches in contexts like early-stage companies and M&A settings, while the second addresses financial distress, capital structure, international finance, and industry-specific challenges like real estate and commodity firms. Students engage primarily in case-based learning, requiring high preparation and group collaboration.
Emerging Markets Strategy
Years Offered: 2015, 2016, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022
Instructors: Sharon Belenzon
Description: This course explores how firms succeed in emerging markets by adapting their strategies to dynamic competitive advantages, resource complexity, uncertainty, and political environments. Students analyze real-world cases, applying tools like Five Forces and VRIN. Through active participation, students develop practical insights into navigating the unique challenges of emerging economies. (Value, Rarity, Imitability, and Non-substitutability) (Porter's framework for analyzing industry competition)
Foundations of Finance
Years Offered: 2013, 2014, 2015, 2022, 2023, 2024
Instructors: David Robinson
Description: This course is designed to introduce students to the economics of financial markets. This includes a basic understanding of the types of securities that are commonly used by corporations and how they are valued, as well as a detailed understanding of the economic principles behind the concepts of risk and return.
Operations Management
Years Offered: 2015, 2016, 2018, 2019, 2022, 2024
Instructors: Fernando Bernstein, Kevin Shang
Description: This course explores the principles and challenges of operations and supply chain management, emphasizing how efficient operations can be a source of competitive advantage. Students will engage with topics such as process analysis, inventory management, quality control, and supply chain dynamics through case studies, simulations, and theoretical readings.
Advanced Leadership
Years Offered: 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2019
Instructors: Noah Eisenkraft, Rick Larrick
Description: This course explores the challenges and strategies of effective leadership, focusing on influencing others, fostering innovation, and driving organizational change. You will analyze leadership through case studies, simulations, and collaborative projects, developing insights into managing relationships, power, diversity, and crises. By the end of the course, you will create a personalized development plan grounded in self-assessment and class concepts to enhance your leadership skills and align them with your professional goals.
Financial Statement Analysis
Years Offered: 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018
Instructors: Frank Ecker, Per Olsson
Description: This course equips students with tools to analyze financial statements and conduct equity valuation, emphasizing how managerial strategies influence financial outcomes. Key topics include profitability and risk analysis, forecasting pro-forma statements, valuation models (e.g., free cash flow and residual income), and market-multiples valuation methods. Real-world cases and hands-on worksheets deepen understanding, while teamwork fosters collaborative problem-solving. All assignments, cases, and materials prepare students for strategic financial decision-making and communication with financial stakeholders.
Marketing
Years Offered: 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2018
Instructors: Dorie Clark, Ken Wilbur, Mary Frances Luce, Wilfred Amaldoss
Description: This course equips you with the skills and knowledge to develop and implement effective marketing strategies that capitalize on market opportunities. You will learn to analyze market environments, identify opportunities and challenges, and craft profitable action plans using key marketing concepts such as segmentation, targeting, positioning, and the 4 P’s (product, pricing, promotion, and place). By the end, you will be prepared to think strategically and maintain a market-oriented perspective across your career.
Entrepreneurship
Years Offered: 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017
Instructors: Jon Fjeld
Description: This course focuses on creating and executing successful new ventures, emphasizing customer focus, risk management, iterative planning, and efficient resource use. Students explore these themes through case studies, a team project with an investor presentation, and discussions on topics like financing, strategy, and innovation. The course combines practical application and theoretical insights to prepare students for entrepreneurial challenges.
Management and Organizations
Years Offered: 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017
Instructors: Aaron Kay, Cade Massey, Jack Soll
Description: This course prepares you to lead and manage effectively by building your ability to analyze and improve organizational performance. You will explore fundamental principles of leadership, organizational design, ethics, motivation, decision-making, and conflict management to understand how to influence and organize people for positive results. These topics will give you practical insights into building collaborative relationships, fostering ethical behavior, designing effective incentive systems, and navigating challenges in diverse organizational settings.
Supply Chain Management
Years Offered: 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017
Instructors: Fernando Bernstein, Pranab Majumder, Saravan Kesavan
Description: This course focuses on understanding and managing supply chains to create value through efficient processes. Key topics include inventory management, the bullwhip effect, queuing theory, and postponement strategies, explored through case studies and simulations. Students will develop skills to optimize supply chain operations and address common challenges. Assignments, a midterm, and a final exam emphasize the practical application of supply chain principles.
Business Communications
Years Offered: 2014, 2015, 2020
Instructors: Sharon Eisner
Description: This course explores the critical role of communication in personal, career, and organizational success. Through practical exercises and assignments, students will develop skills in crafting and delivering persuasive and impactful presentations, engaging effectively in group communication, and using critical listening to refine messages. Emphasizing clarity, professionalism, and personal integrity, the course equips students to adapt their communication style to various audiences and professional contexts while building confidence and fostering trust.
Corporate Finance
Years Offered: 2014, 2015, 2016
Instructors: Alon Brav, Simon Gervais
Description: This course focuses on financial managers' key investment and financing decisions and their impact on firm value. Using the framework of net present value, adapted for taxes, uncertainty, and strategic concerns, students will explore topics such as capital budgeting, cost of capital, payout policy, and leasing. Emphasis is placed on problem-solving and applying theoretical concepts to real-world business cases, equipping students with the tools needed to evaluate financial strategies and maximize firm value.
Entrepreneurial Finance
Years Offered: 2017, 2018, 2019
Instructors: David Robinson, Manuel Adelino
Description: This course is designed to introduce students to the ways in which entrepreneurs in western capital markets raise money to launch businesses. It focuses not only on traditional venture capital financing, but also on alternative forms of capital like leasing, bank debt and strategic alliance financing.
Financial Accounting
Years Offered: 2013, 2014, 2015
Instructors: Jennifer Francis, Mohan Venkatachalam, Peter Wilson
Description: This course develops your ability to read, interpret, and apply corporate financial reports. You will learn key skills, including bookkeeping basics, accounting terminology, and understanding the rationale behind different methods and disclosures. Through textbooks, case discussions, and real-world articles, you’ll explore accounting principles, practical applications, and the broader environment shaping financial reporting.
Pricing
Years Offered: 2015, 2018, 2019
Instructors: Wilfred Amaldoss
Description: This course focuses on the strategic and tactical aspects of pricing, emphasizing its role as the sole revenue-generating element in the marketing mix. Students will explore theories, analytical tools, and conceptual frameworks to develop effective pricing strategies while addressing common pitfalls. Key topics include price-value communication, customized pricing, promotions, product line pricing, bundling, and pricing in two-sided markets. The course integrates case discussions, lectures, written analyses, and a final exam to ensure practical application and mastery of pricing principles.
Decision Models
Years Offered: 2014, 2016
Instructors: David Brown, Detlof von Winterfeldt
Description: This course provides a practical introduction to decision modeling frameworks to enhance managerial decision-making under uncertainty and complexity. You will explore decision trees, Monte Carlo simulation, and optimization techniques, learning to structure problems, evaluate uncertainties, and identify optimal solutions. Using Excel and specialized add-ins, the course emphasizes hands-on application of these tools to real-world business cases, preparing you to make data-driven decisions that address complex organizational challenges.
Leadership
Years Offered: 2015, 2016
Instructors: Grainne Fitzsimons
Description: This course explores the challenges and strategies of effective leadership, focusing on influencing others, fostering innovation, and driving organizational change. You will analyze leadership through case studies, simulations, and collaborative projects, developing insights into managing relationships, power, diversity, and crises. By the end of the course, you will create a personalized development plan, grounded in self-assessment and class concepts, to enhance your leadership skills and align them with your professional goals.
Marketing Strategy
Years Offered: 2014, 2015, 2016, 2023
Instructors: Christine Moorman
Description: This course focuses on managing customers strategically to maximize long-term company profits through targeted acquisition, retention, and relationship building. Emphasizing customer-centric strategy over tactical marketing, the course explores how to align organizational capabilities with customer needs to drive growth and profitability. Through case-based learning and collaborative problem-solving, you will develop practical tools and insights for managing customer relationships and leveraging them for strategic advantage.
Project Finance
Years Offered: 2021, 2022
Instructors: Vish Viswanathan
Description: This course focuses on project finance, a non-recourse financing method where repayment depends on the project's cash flows. Students explore its application in energy, infrastructure, and impact investing, contrasting it with corporate finance. The course emphasizes designing financial structures to mitigate risks and incentivize stakeholders, particularly in complex, multinational projects. It combines case studies, teamwork, and lectures, culminating in a final exam.
Quantitative Tools for Managers
Years Offered: 2013, 2014
Instructors: Detlof von Winterfeldt
Description: This course focuses on understanding, analyzing, and leveraging data and uncertainty to address management problems. You will learn key statistical concepts and tools, including probability, data description, regression analysis, and forecasting, with an emphasis on practical applications and interpreting results. By combining theory, demonstrations, and hands-on practice, the course equips you to apply analytical thinking and statistical methods effectively in business contexts.
The Process of Innovation
Years Offered: 2019, 2021
Instructors: Jon Fjeld
Description: This course focuses on the innovation process within existing organizations, blending human-centered design with theory on innovation barriers, inference, and organizational dynamics. Students will collaborate on team projects to develop actionable solutions, incorporating stakeholder interviews, prototyping, and iterative testing. Throughout the course, theoretical insights are reinforced through case studies, readings, and checkpoints.
Advanced Corporate Finance
Years Offered: 2019
Instructors: Manuel Adelino
Description: This course focuses on developing students' ability to make financial decisions through the application of advanced corporate finance theory to real-world cases. It covers a wide range of topics, including valuation in diverse settings, financial distress, capital structure, and specialized industries like real estate and commodities. Through case discussions and group projects, students tackle complex, ambiguous problems and develop actionable financial strategies. Assessment includes class participation, case write-ups, and a final project, emphasizing practical application and teamwork.
Competitive Analysis
Years Offered: 2015
Instructors: Ryan McDevitt
Description: This course examines why some firms succeed while others fail and what allows certain firms to sustain their competitive advantage over time. Through case studies, readings, and discussions, students will explore key concepts and frameworks grounded in economic principles to analyze industry dynamics, strategic positioning, and firm performance. The course emphasizes practical application of these tools to real-world scenarios, preparing students to make informed, strategic decisions in complex and competitive environments.
Foundations of Strategy
Years Offered: 2014
Instructors: Sharon Belenzon
Description: This course explores why some firms succeed while others falter, equipping you with the tools and frameworks necessary to analyze, evaluate, and craft competitive strategies. You will develop skills in strategic thinking, decision-making, and communication through case studies, team projects, and class discussions. Designed for aspiring consultants, managers, and entrepreneurs, this course provides a foundation for addressing complex business challenges and achieving sustainable competitive advantage.
Investments
Years Offered: 2015
Instructors: Emma Rasiel
Description: This course analyzes the structure and workings of the financial markets, as well as developing tools for pricing and assessing the risk of a broad range of financial products, both independently and as part of a portfolio. While we will apply some relatively technical and theoretical tools, we will try to maintain at all times a practical approach to finance. The goal of the class is to give students a solid foundation on how financial assets are priced in the marketplace, and what questions investors should ask (both of themselves and their financial advisors) prior to making investment decisions.
Macroeconomics
Years Offered: 2015
Instructors: Krishna Kumar
Description: This course explores how national and global economic conditions impact businesses, with a focus on both short-term shocks and long-term growth drivers. Key topics include the effects of monetary and fiscal policies, causes of economic downturns, global trade determinants, and the implications of globalization. Students will analyze contemporary issues like the uneven recovery from the Great Recession, the decline in commodity prices, and the economic dynamics of emerging markets. Emphasizing the interdependence between businesses and their economic environments, the course equips participants to make informed strategic decisions in a globalized economy.
Marketing Research
Years Offered: 2021
Instructors: Mary Frances Luce
Description: This course teaches the principles of gathering, analyzing, and interpreting market and customer data to support marketing decisions. Key learning areas include defining decision problems, acquiring and evaluating data, and using data for informed business decisions. Students will engage with case studies, participate in discussions, and complete a team project to apply these concepts practically.
Power and Influence
Years Offered: 2021
Instructors: Kimberly Wade-Benzoni
Description: This course delves into the nature of power, how it is acquired and utilized, and its impact on individuals and organizations. Through case studies, readings, and experiential activities, students will develop skills to identify power sources, build influence, and navigate social dynamics effectively. The course also emphasizes self-reflection, ethical considerations, and the long-term implications of power on decision-making and relationships.
Thesis Project
Years Offered: 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019
Instructors: Multiple Fuqua faculty members provide supervision for this capstone project.
Description: The Thesis Project serves as the capstone of the program, requiring students to apply their learning to a real-world business challenge. It involves extensive research, analysis, and strategic recommendations on a chosen topic, often addressing complex organizational or industry issues. The project demonstrates mastery of core MBA concepts and integrates knowledge across disciplines, culminating in a written report and presentation.
Valuations
Years Offered: 2015
Instructors: Per Olsson
Description: This course focuses on analyzing companies and valuing them, emphasizing the connection between business strategies, financial statements, and valuation models. Students will learn tools like forecasting financial statements, estimating free cash flows, applying valuation models, and using market-multiples approaches. The course is designed for those pursuing careers in finance or management and emphasizes real-world applications through active participation, cases, and class discussions.