Graduate Catalog 2003-2004

The Master of Business Administration (M.B.A.) degree is offered in the College of Business Administration in full-time, evening, and executive formats. The broad, integrated curricula are designed to prepare individuals for roles as creative leaders in an increasingly dynamic and global business environment by broadening their knowledge, vision, and perspective and enhancing their managerial skills. The full-time program serves primarily students with limited work experience. The full-time program begins in July, stipulates that the required courses be taken in a specific sequence, and features a series of required skill seminars. The evening program serves primarily students who are working full-time. The evening program allows students to begin in any semester, offers classes Monday through Thursday evenings, and moves students through the courses in a logical sequence. The Executive M.B.A. program is discussed below. All three of the programs are designed to serve students with or without an undergraduate degree in business and attract participants from business, engineering, the applied sciences, liberal arts, medicine, and other fields. The faculty for the M.B.A. degree consists of graduate faculty members from all of the College of Business Administration departments: Accounting and Management Information Systems, Applied Statistics and Operations Research, Economics, Finance, Legal Studies and International Business, Management, and Marketing.

The M.B.A. degree stresses an understanding of the major facets of business operations and involves course work organized into three components. The foundation courses introduce topics in accounting, economics, information systems, and quantitative methods. The core courses cover ethics and law, finance, marketing, and operations management. The capstone courses delve into economic policy, leadership and change, business strategy, and the management of a global enterprise. The M.B.A. degree emphasizes various aspects of business decision making, including the social, political, and economic implications of those decisions. More detailed descriptions of the three M.B.A. programs are found under the heading of Graduate Business Administration in the “Graduate Programs and Courses” section of this catalog.

Executive M.B.A. Program
The Executive M.B.A. program serves individuals with significant professional experience and an ongoing career who are in a position to integrate what they learn with what they do. The E.M.B.A. program has fall-only admissions, is delivered in a unique format, and emphasizes managing within a global context. The admission criteria, structure, and requirements differ from the full-time and evening M.B.A. programs and are described in greater detail under the heading of Graduate Business Administration in the “Graduate Programs and Courses” section of this catalog. Students begin the Executive M.B.A. program in the fall. They attend classes on campus in two-week sessions held twice per year in October and May. During each two-week session, executive students complete two graduate courses that require some pre- and post-session assignments. The two-week format works well for individuals who cannot guarantee their availability for one or two nights per week or on weekends for an entire semester. An executive student can complete the M.B.A. degree after twelve courses and 31 months.

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