UCLA Extension Business Programs: A Comprehensive Overview

UCLA Extension's Business, Management, and Legal Programs (BMLP) department has emerged as a leading provider of continuing education, recognized internationally for its professional development opportunities. Designed to cater to professionals across various levels in business, legal, non-profit, and public service sectors, BMLP offers a diverse range of courses and certificate programs. These programs serve individuals seeking to update skills, explore new career paths, or prepare for industry certifications and examinations.

The UCLA Extension Advantage

UCLA Extension provides several key benefits:

UCLA-Approved Curriculum: The programs benefit from the academic rigor and prestige associated with a UCLA-approved curriculum.
Open Enrollment: Most courses and programs do not have strict admission requirements, making them accessible to a wide range of individuals.
Flexible Scheduling: Courses are offered in the evenings, on weekends, during the day, and online, accommodating diverse schedules.
Convenient Locations: Classes are held throughout Los Angeles, including Westwood and Downtown.
Comprehensive Offerings: Students can choose from certificate programs, transferable undergraduate degree-credit courses, and continuing education credits.
Targeted Design: Courses are specifically designed for working adults, college students, and lifelong learners.

Areas of Study

The BMLP department offers programs and courses across a broad spectrum of business-related fields. From human resources management to marketing, business management to risk management and international trade and commerce, courses are designed for working professionals and recent college graduates. Courses are offered onsite and online, giving you the flexibility to complete classes at your convenience. Many courses can be applied toward continuing education credits.

Agile Methodologies in Management

The Agile Methodologies in Management Specialization prepares professionals, regardless of industry, to meet business needs quickly and efficiently.

Business Fundamentals

Whether you're launching a new career or looking to sharpen your professional edge, the Business Fundamentals Certificate provides a powerful introduction to the core principles of management and is ideal for early-career professionals, career changers, or those looking to enhance their current skills. Our 36-unit program offers a structured, well-rounded overview of today’s business environment, drawing from key financial, economic, and organizational disciplines. It will equip you with the tools to think strategically, lead effectively, and make informed decisions.

General Business Studies

Looking for a business program as unique as your goals? The General Business Studies Certificate offers the freedom to design a personalized curriculum from a wide range of courses tailored to your interests or career ambitions. The General Business Studies program curriculum consists of 36 units of elective coursework in the business management discipline (MGMT X 1-199 and 400-499), and one required ethics course. Courses are typically four units each, but can vary.

Entrepreneurship

Learn key skills in marketing, promotion, and management-essential for any entrepreneur. Build a strong business foundation and gain marketing skills to stand out, drive growth, and succeed in any industry. Starting a new business venture requires an understanding of the business landscape. The foundation of a successful business is a solid business plan.

Human Resources

Study industry trends and learn human resources core competencies to begin or advance your HR career. HR is an important business function of any organization. Effective management of human capital is critical to the success of any company. HR professionals function as a key source of ethical awareness for managers and employees. Benefits are a crucial factor of total employee compensation. Creating a compelling compensation package is crucial to attracting the right talent to achieve organizational goals. HR is heavily governed by laws and regulations. A successful business requires a high-quality workforce.

Leadership and Management

Unlock your leadership potential and gain essential skills and tools to become a confident, effective manager with this dynamic program. This course equips aspiring and newly promoted managers with essential leadership skills to succeed in their roles. Effective leadership and communication skills and are perhaps the greatest determinants of professional success. The 21st century has ushered in a new wave of management development and leadership practices. Challenging times add to the struggle of leadership. In this session, learn the power of making the right decisions at the right time as a leader.

Project Management

Acquire comprehensive training in project planning, execution, and control, seamlessly integrating critical project components such as schedule, cost, quality, risk, and leadership in alignment with Project Management Institute (PMI)® guidelines. Enhance traditional project management practices with Agile approaches to meet the demands of the rapidly evolving workplace. Learn project management process improvements emphasizing efficiency, quality and customer satisfaction. Gain the skills to manage your daily projects efficiently and effectively. Acquire hands-on training and experience on the project management framework and foundation using a real life, single project from start to finish. This course runs four full days and prepares participants for the PMP® V3.2 examination by PMI®. The curriculum is divided into six lessons and is based on the sequence of a project, covering all the domains and tasks as identified in the updated Exam Content Outline (ECO) by PMI®. See below for live optional Q/A session dates. Mastering the art of scheduling and cost management is paramount for project success. This course provides hands-on experience to build a realistic schedule using MS Project® as a tool. Every project comes with risks, especially those contributed externally from vendors.

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Marketing and Sales

Build a strong business foundation and gain marketing skills to stand out, drive growth, and succeed in any industry. Effective marketing and advertising campaigns have creative and resonant messages. Marketing today requires the skills to use various communication channels and mediums. In an increasingly global economy, businesses need to employ marketing strategies that can advantageously position them in a competitive world market. Building, maintaining and managing a company's brand is a critical function of marketing. Understanding your audience is critical to effective marketing. Communications professionals today need to be able to reach audiences via various digital media. Most use social media for personal purposes but not everyone understands how to use social media for business. This webinar provides an overview of social media best practices for professionals. Knowing your audience is key for any sales professionals. Underlying all business development and revenue generation is the ability to sell. This course teaches the power and applications of any comprehensive CRM system, focusing on Salesforce.com.

International Trade and Commerce

This course provides working knowledge of export documentation and procedures, including banking, insurance, and traffic. Smart innovations in global trade operations are impacting how countries conduct trade amongst each other. AI-driven tools are gaining prominence in the practice of international trade. This course provides the fundamentals for starting an international trading business. This course covers key concepts for import operations personnel including owners, managers, and brokerage/freight forwarding staff. This course provides students with the background for doing business in China. This course examines international business law through discussion of actual case studies and legal scenarios. This course provides an operational assessment of the key issues involved in the management of international and multinational corporations.

Risk Management

This course introduces the basic principles and concepts of Enterprise Risk Management (ERM). Every project comes with risks, especially those contributed externally from vendors.

Crisis Management and Public Relations

Crisis management is a key skill for public relations professionals. Elevate your crisis management skills with our comprehensive course on crisis and risk communication strategies, designed for professionals across government, private sector, and NGOs.

Other Business Skills

Build essential business skills or refine your acumen with this flexible, customizable program. We recommend you speak with one of our student advisors before beginning this program.

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Specialized Programs

Beyond the core business disciplines, UCLA Extension offers specialized programs catering to specific industries and emerging trends.

Entertainment Studies

Emphasizing how new technologies continue to impact post-production, this course examines the post-production process for film and television. Explore key legal principles and contractual relationships within film and television. Learn to apply advanced financial structures in support of profit optimization and risk mitigation. Gain firsthand experience in the entertainment industry through an internship in your chosen field. Master the art of filmmaking. Whether you want to be in front of or behind the camera, this specialization program teaches the essentials of the entertainment industry. This program can be completed online or in the classroom. Develop the tools essential for working as a cinematographer. Filmmaking is a truly collaborative process. In this certificate, learn about key roles and related aspects of the entertainment industry - from producing to cinematography to directing. This specialization teaches editing fundamentals. Learn about one of the most important roles in filmmaking. This program can be completed online or in the classroom. Prepare for a career as an editor or post-production professional in film, television, and documentaries. Being in the media industry today requires an evolved orientation to buying, selling, and planning.

Event Management

The first course in the two-part event management specialization covers event essentials, from idea generation to successful execution. As Los Angeles prepares to host the FIFA World Cup, Super Bowl, and Olympic and Paralympic Games, the demand for skilled event professionals is rising.

Other Notable Courses

Craft Beer Revolution: Explore the craft beer revolution, which has influenced beer-making worldwide.
Cryptocurrency and Monetary Policy: Explore the fascinating history of currency and the intricate monetary policies of the first decentralized cryptocurrency, Bitcoin.
Writing Skills: Intended for experienced writers, this course is designed to enhance writing skills and careers. In the business world, writing clear, concise and comprehensible copy is critical to success.
SCRUM and Kanban: Learn the principles and practices of popular SCRUM and Kanban.
Sports and Entertainment: This is a dynamic course introducing an interdisciplinary program that explores the powerful intersection of talent, commerce, and cultural influence in sports and entertainment.
Doing Business in China: This course provides students with the background for doing business in China.
Personal Influence: Many professionals are looking to increase their personal influence to grow their own brands, careers and ventures.
Personalization Using AI: Personalization Using AI - Blending “High Tech + High Touch” Service: Sports arenas, restaurants, and hotels are increasingly using technology to deliver high-end customer service.
MS Project: This course provides hands-on experience to build a realistic schedule using MS Project® as a tool.
Salesforce.com: This course teaches the power and applications of any comprehensive CRM system, focusing on Salesforce.com.
Social Media for Professionals: Most use social media for personal purposes but not everyone understands how to use social media for business. This webinar provides an overview of social media best practices for professionals.
Professionalism in Online Communication: While using online communication platforms for business, professionalism needs to translate.
Overcoming Self-Doubt: Never let anxiety, frustration, or self-doubt get in the way of you getting a job, enjoying your work, or advancing on the job.
Agility at Scale: Large organizations need to achieve agility at scale.
Operational Foundation: The building blocks of a successful business require a strong operational foundation.
Budgeting: Budgeting is a critical step in planning and controlling the day-to-day operations of any business. The budgeting process can also be time-consuming, multi-layered and complex.
Upskilling Knowledge: This course will be a great asset to anyone looking to upskill their knowledge.
Emergency Preparedness: Enhance your expertise in disaster management with our in-depth course on public health aspects of emergency preparedness, response, and recovery.
Agile and Flexible: New companies today need to be agile and flexible.
Small Business Legal Landscape: For small business owners, it is vital to understand the legal landscape and have negotiating skills.
Constant Change: In today's business environment, change is constant.
Diverse Workplaces: Organizations today are highly diverse workplaces.

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