Master of Business Administration in Financial Management

Core Requirements (21 hours)

• BA600 Organizational Behavior in Practice (3)
• BA620 Business Research Methods (3)
• BA630 Integrated Decision Information Systems (3)
• BA650 Strategic Decision Making1 (3)
• BA651 Strategic Marketing (3)
• BA660 Accounting for Managers (3)
• BA668 Managerial Finance (3)

Choose 9 hours:

• FI540 International Finance (3)
• FI550 Financial Modeling (3)
• FI565 Financial Institutions, Credit Markets & Regulatory Policy (3)
• FI568 Portfolio Seminar (3)

Choose 3 hours:

• BA657 Applied Research Project2 (3)
• EC561 Managerial Economics (3)

*BA650 is the capstone course experience for the MBA program.
*Applied Research Project must be in the accounting area.

 Minimum of 18 hours in the degree program must be at the 600 level.

Students who previously earned a bachelor’s or graduate degree in Finance may substitute a 5th FI5xx elective in place of BA668. Students who previously earned a bachelor’s or graduate degree in another MBA
core business discipline may substitute a 5th graduate elective in that discipline in place of the associated BA6xx core course.

Students without an undergraduate degree in business may need to complete or demonstrate proficiency in the following required foundation coursework* prior to taking courses for which there are prerequisites.

The foundation knowledge/coursework includes:

• Principles of Accounting I or Graduate Business Accounting Essentials
• Microeconomics or Graduate Business Microeconomics Essentials
• Financial Management or Graduate Business Finance Essentials
• Management Information Systems or Graduate Business Information Systems Essentials
• Business Analytics or Introductory Behavioral Statistics or Graduate Business Statistics Essentials

Students must earn a sufficient grade in all of the above classes. [“CR” for Graduate Business Essentials courses. “C” or better for other courses listed.] *Proficiency in these areas may be demonstrated through any of the following alternatives:

1. Completion of BA601-605 Business Essentials coursework, as needed.
2. A CLEP or DANTES exam if available. Credit will not be given for these courses with a passing grade on the exam, but a passing score will indicate proof of course knowledge.
3.  Applied knowledge of a given domain in the work environment. The extent to which relevant work experience demonstrates proficiency will be determined by the program director. Applicants who would like their work experience to be considered must submit a detailed resume with their application. 

Individuals admitted to the MBA program must have an undergraduate degree from an AACSB-accredited business program or have satisfactorily completed the equivalent coursework from an accredited institution.

Students without the foundation knowledge base in business and economics, yet meeting other admission requirements, may receive provisional admission to the MBA program. Regular admission status may be granted upon completion of prerequisite coursework.

In addition to the criteria established for general admission to graduate studies, there are departmental criteria. Applicants are eligible for admission if they qualify under one of the following four scenarios:

• Any bachelor’s degree* with a GPA of ≥ 3.0.
• Any graduate degree*
• Bachelor’s degree* with a GPA of 2.5 to 2.99
  • Regular Admission with documentation** of one of the following:
    • 5 years of managerial work experience.
    • An active healthcare provider license
    • Recognized Professional certification
  • Probationary Admission otherwise. Students admitted with probationary status will need to complete the first 9 graduate credit hours with grades of B or better.
• Individuals with a bachelor’s degree* GPA under 2.5 may be considered for Probationary Admission with additional documentation** demonstrating the applicant’s preparation for graduate school.

*Degrees earned from a U.S.A. regionally accredited institution or foreign equivalent.
**Decisions about admission based upon the evaluation of a detailed resume, a healthcare provider license, professional certification, or additional documentation would be made at the discretion of the Director – Graduate Business Studies. The healthcare provider license should be something like nursing, pharmacist, etc. that has recognized standards and requires continuing education. Examples of professional certification include PMI Project Management, Six Sigma Green Belt, SHRM Certified Professional, Charter Financial Analyst, Certified Financial Planner, Certified Scrum Master, etc.

International students applying with a three-year degree must have their transcripts evaluated by an outside agency endorsed by AICE or that is a member of NACES.