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MASTER OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION DEGREE

The Arkansas State University MBA Program is a professional degree program designed to prepare students of all educational and professional backgrounds for management positions in all types of organizations. As such, the program stresses the development of analytical, problem solving and decision making competencies for the dynamic, complex global organizational and social environments.

The program of study includes the functional areas of business with the opportunity to obtain emphasis areas in each, as well as the option to select specialty emphasis areas. This provides students with the flexibility to tailor their MBA degrees to individual needs and goals.

With courses offered in late afternoon and evenings in several locations and in a variety of delivery methods, the program accommodates working professionals seeking career advancement and/or career changes as well as recent graduates desiring to move into positions of responsibility in organizations.

Admission Requirements

All general admission requirements of the Graduate School are applicable to the program and the student should refer to these requirements which are listed elsewhere in the bulletin. Non-degree candidates cannot enroll in College of Business graduate courses unless they meet all the admission requirements of the degree candidate. Students who are admitted to Masters degree programs outside the College of Business will not be permitted to take more than nine semester hours of College of Business graduate courses unless they meet all the admission requirements of the degree candidate.

An applicant's complete application package, including application to Graduate School, official transcripts, official GMAT scores, required application fee and, when required, proof of immunization must be received in the Office of the Graduate School no later than 30 days prior to the beginning of classes each semester. To ensure time for issuance of an I-20, international students must submit a complete application, including all the above plus official TOEFL scores and a financial guarantee no later than 90 days prior to the beginning of classes each semester.

Unconditional Admission:

Applicants for the Master of Business Administration (M.B.A.) degree program must submit a score on the Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT). Entering students will be granted unconditional admission if they meet one of the following sets of criteria:

  1. A minimum of 400 on the GMAT and at least 950 points based on the formula: 200 times the overall undergraduate grade point average (minimum 2.75) plus the GMAT score, or:
  2. A minimum of 400 on the GMAT and at least 1000 points based on the formula: 200 times the grade point average on the last 60 hours (minimum 3.00) plus the GMAT score.
  3. Information pertaining to the GMAT may be obtained by contacting the Testing Center at(870) 972-2038 or by writing to:
Graduate Management Admission Test
Educational Testing Service
P.O. Box 966
Princeton, NJ 08540

Conditional Admission:

An applicant for the Master of Business Administration (M.B.A.) degree program may be admitted conditionally with a minimum overall undergraduate GPA of 2.50 and an acceptable GMAT score at the discretion of the director of graduate business programs.

Pre-MBA:

No applicant will be admitted to the MBA program without a satisfactory score on the GMAT. Applicants are encouraged to take the GMAT early in order to be admitted to the program. An applicant without the GMAT may take a maximum of seven hours of regular graduate MBA courses as a Pre-MBA (non-degree) student. Foundation courses do not apply toward the MBA. International students are not permitted to enroll as pre-MBAs and cannot take courses or be admitted to the MBA without submitting the required GMAT and TOEFL scores.

MBA Foundation Courses:

The foundation courses serve students who wish to enter the MBA program from a non-business baccalaureate background. The required foundation courses may be taken at the graduate level (fast track) or the undergraduate level, or a combination of both. Each graduate level course substitutes for one or two undergraduate courses, as shown below. No foundation course is a part of the MBA program.

Graduate Foundation Courses (Fast Track): 

Undergraduate Foundation Courses:

MBA 500V, Survey of Accounting

ACCT 2003, Principles of Accounting I

MBA 501V, Survey of Finance

ACCT 2013, Principles of Accounting II

MBA 502V, Survey of Microeconomics

FIN 3713, Business Finance

MBA 503V, Survey of Macroeconomics

 

MBA 504V, Survey of Management

ECON 2313, Principles of Macroeconomics

MBA 505V, Survey of Information Systems

ECON 2323, Principles of Microeconomics

MBA 506V, Survey of Marketing

 

MBA 507V, Survey of Law

MGMT 3123, Organizational Management or

MBA 508V, Survey of Statistics

MGMT 3153, Organizational Behavior

MBA 509V, Survey of Operations Management

MIS 3013, Management Information Systems

 

MKTG 3013, Marketing

 

LAW 2023, Legal Environment of Business

 

QM 2113, Business Statistics

 

QM 3523, Operations Management

All applicants must have completed, or must complete, the foundation courses or their undergraduate equivalent at an IAME accredited institution. When a student has completed the foundation course(s) in a specific area, she/he may take the core course in that area. All the foundation courses must be taken before a student is admitted to candidacy.

PROGRAM OF STUDY FOR THE MASTER OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION DEGREE

The program consists of a core curriculum of 28 hours. This common body of knowledge is aimed at developing competency for overall management and leadership. In addition, students may select electives in their field of choice to develop emphasis areas to meet their needs. The core courses plus the electives result in a 34-hour program.

Students with a non-business undergraduate degree typically must take up to 15 hours of the Fast-Track foundation courses, or their equivalent, resulting in as much as a 49-hour program for such students.

A maximum of 12 semester hours of course work in any one area may count toward the degree. All courses must be taken at the 6000 level. However, those students seeking to sit for the CPA exam may take one 5000 level course in accounting to help prepare them for the exam while meeting the 150-hour rule for the exam. Management 6423, Strategic Management, must be taken after all core courses have been taken or during the student's last semester of course work. Students may take an internship course which can count for a three-hour elective. All internships must be taken after a student has completed 15 hours of course work. Only one three-hour internship or one directed independent study may count toward the degree.

Core Courses required of all students:

  • ACCT 6003, Accounting for Planning and Control

  • ECON 6313, Managerial Economics

  • FIN 6723, Advanced Management of Finance

  • IBS 6593, Global Competitiveness

  • MIS 6413, Management Information Systems

  • MGMT 6001, Adventures in Leadership and Team Building

  • MGMT 6403, Seminar in Organizational Behavior and Leadership

  • MGMT 6423, Strategic Management

  • MKTG 6223, Marketing Policies

  • QM 6433, Management Science

Elective Courses:

Six hours of electives may be selected in business or economics, as approved by the director of graduate business programs, to provide a desired emphasis or to have a flexible MBA.

Under special circumstances, a student may substitute a directed individual study for an elective. All directed individual studies must be taken after a student has completed 24 hours of coursework with a GPA of 3.5 or higher. Directed individual studies should be targeted toward a publication and/or paper/presentation as an outlet for the research. Students are also expected to make a presentation on their research to a group of Graduate Faculty.

Minimum hours required for this program: 34


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