The Master of Business Administration program develops competencies essential to functioning professionally in a complex and competitive business environment. The program prepares students for responsible administrative positions and provides the background essential for advancement in professional management careers. The Master of Business Administration degree encompasses a program of breadth which builds a wide range of competencies required for effective management while permitting students to specialize in a functional area.
The Master of Business Administration is normally a 48-unit program for the graduate without an undergraduate degree in Business.
The Master of Business Administration program requires completion of a minimum of 36 units of graduate course work as established and approved by the College of Business Administration MBA office. The MBA program must include:
Total units 36‑48
Students who have not had an economics course prior to entering the MBA program must complete an economics course as a condition to obtaining an MBA degree.
MBA students should be guided by the following sequence of events as they progress through their graduate study in the College of Business Administration.
The masters degree presupposes mastery of a common body of knowledge. Individual Business Administration courses taken as an undergraduate student at another AACSB institution may meet specific First Year Core requirements. Upon acceptance to the program, student's transcripts are reviewed for completion of the necessary course work for mastery of the common body of knowledge. A grade of "C" or better is required to meet the criteria.
Waivers of First Year Core are based upon previous educational background at either a graduate or undergraduate level. Information on waivers may be obtained from the College of Business Administration, Graduate Programs Office. Students who have not met the entire common body of knowledge requirements prior to admission to the MBA Program will be required to enroll in the appropriate First Year Core Courses.
If an MBA student does not have an undergraduate degree in business or does not have exposure to business law and ethics, he/she would be required to acquire that knowledge by taking BLAW 520 or an equivalent course prior to graduation.
Students admitted with all First Year Core requirements completed must file an application for Advancement to Candidacy for the degree after completion of their first six units. Other students must file the application during the semester in which the First Year Core requirements are to be completed. Prior to advancement to candidacy, a student must:
Upon completion of the First Year Core, either by waiver or graduate course work, students move directly into the Second Year Core. (See section on Advancement to Candidacy). This core consists of seven courses (21 units) which provide the breadth requirements for the MBA degree at the advanced level.
The General MBA is designed for students with an undergraduate business degree or any other student desiring a more broad‑based MBA curriculum. The General MBA requires 12 units of graduate course work in three different areas within the College of Business Administration subject to approval by the Graduate Programs Office.
Specializations require 12 units with at least nine units of graduate course work in one area.
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May count three units of Directed Studies (697) toward Advanced Study requirements.
Elective courses designed to fulfill specialization requirements must be approved by Graduate Programs Office through the completion and acceptance of student's Advancement to Candidacy form.
Students must complete the Second Year Core and Advance to Candidacy before enrolling in GBA 699. This critical course is given during the Fall and Spring semesters. In this comprehensive analysis, the student will integrate the knowledge obtained in the functional areas. This capstone course serves in place of either comprehensive examination or thesis as the required evaluation of candidate competency.
Students must obtain a grade of "B" or better in GBA 699 in order to receive an MBA degree. Application for acceptance into GBA 699 must be filed in the MBA Office before the end of the fourth week of instruction in the semester preceding enrollment in the course. Application forms and advisement relating to this important requirement are available in the Graduate Programs Office.
All courses on the official student program (Advancement to Candidacy) must be completed within seven years of commencement of the first class toward fulfillment of the Second Year Core requirement.
As a requirement for advancement to candidacy, all graduate students must demonstrate writing competency by:
Assessments of writing competence from non-CSU campuses will be evaluated by the GWAR Coordinator as a fulfillment of the GWAR, on an articulation basis if possible or on a case-by-case basis if necessary.
Students with degrees from non-CSU campuses must either provide evidence of meeting the requirement with adequate scores on a CSULB-approved standardized test or attempt to satisfy the GWAR by the end of their first semester of matriculation at CSULB.
