Program Description

The complexities of the economic, social, and scientific world of today are increasing the demand of the business community for students with advanced business degrees. The overall objective of the graduate program leading to the Master of Business Administration (M.B.A.) degree is to prepare graduates to serve as effective managers in the business world or in the business aspects of government or other agencies.

• Provide graduates with foundational theory, principles and knowledge at an advanced level for effective management of modern businesses and organizations;
• Provide graduates with critical business skills and competencies needed for effective management of modern businesses and organizations;
• Provide graduates with an understanding of the process of integrating and applying core competencies and skills in business or business-related environments and/or situations.

The M.B.A. student will take from 33 to 45 semester hours of approved graduate course work in satisfying course requirements for the degree. The exact number of required hours will be recommended by the graduate advisor following an evaluation of the student’s previous academic course work. This recommendation is subject to the approval of the Dean of School of Business. Students must take 33 hours beyond the prerequisite courses. The M.B.A. program consists of four parts as outlined below.

I. LEVELING  COURSES*................................................... 0-12 hours

BUS 5013 Business Administration Concepts

ECON 5023 Economic Concepts

ACCT 5033 Accounting and Information Systems Concepts

FIN 5053 Financial and Statistical Concepts

*A student with undergraduate course work in business from a regionally accredited institution may receive a waiver of part or all of these requirements, depending on the student’s background in accounting, business and economic subjects.  The waiver, if any, will be recommended by the graduate advisor and approved by the Dean of the School of Business.

There are many possible combinations of undergraduate courses that would prepare a student for entry into graduate studies.  There are others that would also be helpful, but the following list contains the most important courses for graduate studies in business:  Principles of Economics I & II, Principles of Accounting I & II, Finance, Business Statistics, Management, and Marketing.

II. BUSINESS CORE COURSES........................................... 24 hours

Common Core............................................................................ 18 hours

ACCT 5243 Accounting for Management

BUS 5103 Applied Business Statistics

BUS 5983 Applied Business Strategy

FIN 5613 Managerial Finance

MGMT 5853 Management Information Systems OR

ENT 5303 Technological Entrepreneurship

MKTG 5513 Contemporary Marketing Problems

Core Area I – Economics........................................................... 3 hours

ECON 5213 Macroeconomics OR

ECON 5313 Managerial Economics OR

ECON 5933 Issues in Global Economics

Core Area II – Human/Organizational Administration........ 3 hours

MGMT 5443 Current Issues in Organizational Design OR

MGMT 5843 Current Issues in Human Resource Management OR

MGMT 5703 Organizational Behavior

III. ELECTIVE COURSES.......................................................... 9 hours

Courses may include:

a.   9 hours of courses approved by graduate advisor and Dean OR

b.   3 hours of courses and 6 hours of thesis approved by the graduate advisor and Dean.

Students who choose to write a thesis must complete the following steps:

i.    Complete 24 hours of required core courses,

ii.   Secure approval of graduate advisor,

iii.  Obtain a faculty supervisor in the discipline area of the thesis study,

iv.  Form a thesis advisory committee in accordance with the Thesis Information Handbook,

v.   Complete the Thesis Topic Form, obtaining approval of Dean, prior to data collection, and

vi.  Enroll in BUS 5993-6 Thesis.

For further details regarding the thesis option, contact graduate advisor.  Students who plan to work toward a doctorate are strongly encouraged to select the thesis option.

IV.   COMPREHENSIVE EXAMINATION

A Master of Business Administration (M.B.A.) degree will be awarded to all students who have (1) completed the required course work described above and (2) passed a comprehensive examination administered by the Cameron University School of Business.  A student may attempt the comprehensive examination up to three times following the completion of course work.  If a student is unsuccessful in his/her first attempt, he/she may attempt a second and third examination only with written permission of the Dean (or other persons designated by the Dean). Permission to take a second or third examination will be granted only when the student has completed, in a satisfactory and timely manner, assignments to be determined by graduate faculty holding that responsibility.  Details of scheduling and taking the comprehensive examination may be obtained from  the graduate advisor.  Under no circumstances will a student be allowed to take the M.B.A. comprehensive examination more than three times.  Those students who fail their third attempt will be unable to complete their M.B.A. at Cameron University.

In summary, the M.B.A. student will take from 33 to 45 semester hours of graduate work to satisfy course requirements for the degree.  Six (6) of those hours may be selected as thesis option.  The exact number of required hours will be recommended by the graduate advisor following an evaluation of the student’s previous academic course work that is approved by the Dean.  An M.B.A. will subsequently be awarded only when the student passes the M.B.A. comprehensive examination in a timely manner.

The M.B.A. degree will be awarded when the student has met all of the following requirements:

• Completion of core and core area courses,
• Completion of a minimum of 33 graduate hours listed on the Graduate Plan of Study with a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or above,
• Passing the written comprehensive examination,
• Completion of the Application for Graduate Degree, and
• Completion of an exit interview.

Please check with the graduate advisor about requirements to participate in commencement and hooding.