Admission Criteria

Applicants would be eligible for admission if they qualify under one of the following scenarios:

• Bachelor's degree* with a cumulative GPA of > or equal to 3.0
• Graduate degree*
• Bachelor's degree* with a cumulative GPA of 2.5-2.99
  • 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.  Will need to complete the first 9 graduate credit hours with grades of B or better
• Individuals with a Bachelor's degree* cumulative 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 institute or foreign equivalent.
**Decisions about admission based upon the evaluation of a resume, a healthcare provider license, professional certification, or additional documentation would be made at the discretion of the Director of 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 certifications include PMI Project Management, Six Sigma Green Belt, SHRM Certified Professional, Charter Financial Analyst, Certified Financial Planner, Certified Scrum Master, etc.  

International Students 

International students applying with a three-year bachelor's degree must have their transcripts evaluated for equivalency by an outside agency with AICE or NACES certification.  

Foundational Knowledge base 

Students without an undergraduate degree in business may need to complete some or all of the following required foundation course work by passing the 3-credit hour undergraduate course(s), passing the 1-credit hour Graduate Business Essentials online mini-course(s), or demonstrating equivalent proficiency before taking the associated MBA course.   Students needing to satisfy prerequisites can start the MBA coursework if they don't take a course that requires a prerequisite not yet met.  

Prerequisites: MBA (all options other than Accounting) 

• AC221    Principles of Accounting I   
• EC215    Microeconomics 
• FI361     Financial Management 
• MI375    Management Information Systems  
• QM257  Business Analytics I or PY571 Intro Behavioral Statistics 

Prerequisites: MBA (Accounting Option) 

• AC221    Principles of Accounting I 
• AC222    Principles of Accounting II 
• AC321    Fin. Accounting and Reporting I 
• AC332    Fin. Accounting and Reporting II 
• EC215     Microeconomics 
• FI361      Financial Management 
• MI375    Management Information Systems 
• QM257  Business Analytics I or PY571 Intro Behavioral Statistics 

Students wishing to enter the accounting track should have completed an undergraduate degree in accounting at a regionally accredited institution or have satisfactorily completed courses in Intermediate Accounting I and Intermediate Accounting II from a program that teaches these courses using U.S. GAAP standards. 

Students must earn a grade of “C” or above in all prerequisite courses or pass the equivalent 1-credit hour Graduate Business Essentials online mini-courses.

The set of graduate online mini-courses include BA601 Graduate Business Statistics Essentials, BA602 Graduate Business Accounting Essentials, BA603 Graduate Business Microeconomics Essentials, BA604 Graduate Business Finance Essentials, and BA605 Graduate Business Information Systems Essentials.   These courses are available in the first and second 8-week sessions of Spring and Fall as well as during the first 6-week session of Summers.   NOTE:  these courses are only offered online and may not be feasible for international students here on a student visa to take in any semester except summer unless sufficient face-to-face coursework can be taken concurrently.

Demonstration of Business Proficiency 

Proficiency in these areas may be demonstrated through any of the following alternatives: 

• 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. 
• Applied knowledge of a given domain in the work environment. The extent to which relevant work experience demonstrates proficiency will be determined by the Director of Graduate Business Studies.  Applicants who would like their work experience to be considered must submit a resume with their application. 

Residence Requirement and Transfer Credit 

In all cases, over one-half of the coursework required in a degree program must be completed at the Cape Girardeau campus, the University's regional campuses, or through Southeast Online. Students must work carefully with their advisor to ensure that the residence requirement is met. Transfer courses do not count toward meeting the residence or 600-level requirements. No more than 12 hours of transfer credit or credit older than 6 years may be applied to a graduate program. Transfer credit must be accepted by the major advisor and is applied to a program at candidacy. Before enrolling for credit at another institution, prior approval must be obtained from the major advisor. Only credit in which a 'B' or better was earned will be accepted for transfer. Credit for transfer is only acceptable if earned from a regionally accredited institution. For programs in education, off-campus credit earned from a non-NCATE accredited institution will not be accepted. 

Second Master's Degree Transfer Credit 

With the approval of the advisor and the Dean of Graduate Studies, twelve hours from the first master's degree may be applied to a second degree. Prior credit is subject to the six-year time limit. 

Application Deadlines 

The application for admission, official transcripts, and other required documents should be submitted no later than the dates listed below. 

Domestic Students 

Fall Semester - August 1 
Spring Semester - November 21 
Summer Semester - May 15 

International Students 

Rolling admission, but preferred deadlines are: 
Fall Semester - July 1  
Spring Semester - November 1 
Summer Semester (for IEP students only) - None