Administered by Department of Management
Effective Fall, 2003
All MBA program courses are taught by College of Business graduate faculty. Graduate faculty are dedicated teachers with doctoral degrees who have demonstrated subject area expertise by extensive experience and/or scholarship. MBA faculty provide an active learning experience with a variety of teaching methods, such as, case studies, applied research, problem solving, and team projects.
One of the strengths of the MBA program is the high quality of students enrolled. Recent graduates scored an average of 500 on the GMAT. Most bring considerable business experience to the classroom. As of Spring 2001, the 70 active students were comprised of 31 percent female and 69 percent male, with an average age of 36 About 10 percent of the MBA students are foreign nationals. The program has about 500 alumni pursuing careers around the world.
Admission
The program admits students based on an evaluation of past academic achievement, aptitude for advanced study, professional accomplishments, and motivation to succeed. Applicants must provide a completed application to the Dean of Graduate Studies and Research (570) 389-4015. The MBA Coordinator will evaluate MBA applicants with complete applications. Complete applications include the following items:
Official transcripts from an accredited academic institution indicating an earned baccalaureate degree.
Official transcripts from all institutions where the applicant earned undergraduate or graduate college credit must be provided. Degrees earned from non-United States universities will be judged individually.
International applicants whose native language is not English must provide official Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) score within the prior year as well as current evidence of financial capability. International applications must be complete at leaset four months prior to the start of the semester of application
Required Courses
The curriculum consists of 36 graduate credit hours delivered in eight required and four elective courses. Students without sufficient preparation also complete prerequisite foundation courses.
Foundation Courses - Students must possess the common body of knowledge essential for the advanced study in business. Students with an undergraduate degree in business will likely have taken course covering those areas. Students with non-business undergraduate degrees will usually be lacking a least some of these courses and therefore must take foundation courses to make up for this deficit. Foundation courses are not included in the 36 hours of credit required for the MBA degree.
The following chart lists foundation courses and their undergraduate equivalents. Students who have earned a C or better in an undergraduate equivalent course are exempted from taking the foundation course
| Foundation Course | Undergraduate Equivalent |
| 40.512 Economic Theory | Micro Economics and Macro Economics |
| 91.504 Introduction to Financial Accounting | Financial Accounting |
| 93.500 Managerial Principles | Principles of Management |
| 93.511 Statistical Analysis and Design | Inferential Statistics and a college-level math course |
| 97.510 Marketing Foundations | Principles of Marketing |
Core Courses - All students are required to take the eight core courses. These courses cover the core of knowledge of a business education in the basic function areas of accounting, finance, management and marketing and the supporting field of management information systems. Strategic management is the capstone course of a business education program and is the major integrative force in an MBA program. It is here that specific information from the functional areas is put together to addres the concerns of the total firm.
91.524 Managerial Accounting
92.554 Management Information Systems
93.558 Social Responsibility and Business Ethics
93.560 Operations Management
93.566 Organizational Behavior
93.581 Strategic Management
96.535 Financial Management
97.551 Marketing Management
Elective Courses - select four courses from the following list:
91.501 Financial Accounting
91.502 Advanced Financial Accounting
91.503 Government and Fund Accounting
91.521 Advanced Cost Accounting
91.522 Advanced Auditing Theory
91.523 Advanced Tax Accounting
91.551 International Accounting
91.552 Controllership
93.540 Small Business Institute Seminar
93.545 Human Resource Management
93.556 International Management
93.562 Organizational Theory
93.563 Operations Research
93.583 Human Resources Development
96.540 International Finance
96.550 Security Analysis and Portfolio Management
97.552 Marketing Research
98.507 International Legal Environment of Business
Special Topics
Concentrations - While the MBA is a generalist degree, preparing graduates to be able to understand a broad overview of the workings of a firm, the program provides students the opportunity to take their four elective courses in a single area, thus "concentrating" their studies in that field. The provision of a concentration thus allows a student to develop greater depth in a particular area. Concentrations include Leadership and Managerial Skills, Management Science/Operations Management, and Accounting.
Leadership and Managerial Skills - Many of the students enrolled in the MBA program seek to become managers, executives, administrators or program directors in their chosen professions, such as advertising, banking, finance, health, hotels, manufacturing, restaurants, transportation and utilities. The possession of strong leadership and people management skills is a crucial prerequisite for success in these fields.
The concentration consists of four required courses:
93.584 Seminar in Leadership
93.567 People Management Skills
93.582 HR Skills for Managers
93.532 Professional Development Skills
Seminar on Leadership introduces the students to leadership theory and its application to business management. Specifically the course covers theories of leadership and sources and uses of power in the organization. People Management Skills and HR Skills for Managers are experiential type courses that focus on developing the interpersonal skills needed by managers, such as communication, motivation, conflict management, leading teams, employee staffing, employee development and performance appraisal. Professional Development Skills, also an experiential course, focuses on developing the students' personal skills that are necessary for effective leadership, like developing self-awareness and confidence, effective decision-making, business etiquette and stress and time management.
Management Science/Operations Management - This concentration is designed to develop the quantitative and decision-making skills necessary for managers working in a manufacturing setting. The courses are designed to enhance the students' competencies in the areas of database decision making.
The concentraiotn consists of four required courses:
93.520 Business Research Methods
93.547 Quantitative Models for Management
93.548 Decision Models for Managers
93.550 Quality Management
These courses build significantly on the foundation courses of 93.500 Managerial Principles and 93.511 Statistical Analysis and Design, and the core course of 93.560 Operations Management. Each course brings a unique and different blend of management theory and applied mathematical models to the students.
Accounting - This concentration is designed to enhance the MBA student's ability to move into and advance in the accounting/finance area.
Students with an accounting concentration will take the following courses:
Required:
91.521 Advanced Cost Accounting
91.523 Advanced Tax Accounting
91.552 Controllership
Elective - Choose one of the following:
91.551 International Accounting
91.522 Advanced Auditing Theory
91.501 Financial Accounting
These courses provide the student with advanced knowledge of accounting processes within organizations, including cost systems, tax policies and finance/accounting department management. The elective option provides students with advanced knowledge of a particular area of interest.