Business Administration — Degree Requirements

Students must satisfactorily complete 18 courses, or 54 semester credits, and satisfy the mathematics requirement (through waiver or additional coursework [MBAMS 600]) to receive the MBA degree. These credits may be earned by successfully completing graduate courses at UMass Boston, by the transfer of up to six graduate credits from another university, or by waiver. A minimum of 11 MBA courses must be completed at UMass Boston. The degree must be completed within five (5) years of the date of entry.

Core Requirements

First Semester Required Integrated Experience:

MBAMGT 650 (Organizational Analysis and Skills)

The MBA core consists of MBAMGT 650 and seven additional courses required of all students:

MBA AF 601 (Economics for Managers)
MBA AF 610 (Accounting for Managers)
MBA AF 620 (Financial Management)
MBAMS 630 (Statistical Analysis for Managers)
MBAMS 635 (Operations Management)
MBAMS 640 (Computers and Information Processing)
MBAMKT 670 (Marketing Management)

A maximum of 24 credits of the MBA core may be waived for students who have satisfactorily completed appropriate courses at the undergraduate level. (See “Course Waivers” below.) Required courses outside the core may not be waived.

Non-Specialized Required Courses

All students must complete the following two non-specialized courses:

MBAMGT 660 (Business and Its Environment)
MBAMGT 689 (Strategic Management)

Elective Requirements

In addition to the core and non-specialized required courses, students must satisfactorily complete at least 24 semester credits in advanced courses. Students may choose to use some of their elective credits to specialize in a particular area of management, and must take at least one elective course devoted primarily to international management issues.

Students may choose to specialize in one of the following:

Accounting
Environmental Management
Finance
Human Resource Management
International Management
Internet Marketing
Management Information Systems
Marketing
Operations Management

Additionally, in order to maintain the broad-based focus of the MBA program, and so that each student will leave the program with a strong and diverse skill set and body of knowledge, students are required to distribute their electives across a variety of business areas. Thus, whether or not they choose a specialization, students must complete electives in at least four functional areas. The functional area for each advanced course is noted in parentheses after its title in the course description section below. Functional areas include accounting (ACC), finance (FIN), management information systems (MIS), marketing (MKT), operations management (OPM), management (MGT), and business communication (COM). A detailed explanation of the elective requirements is available in the MBA Student Handbook.

Sequencing of Courses

Organizational Analysis and Skills (MBAMGT 650) must be taken by all students in their first semester. Four of the eight core courses must be successfully completed (or waived) before students may enroll in advanced courses. Students must successfully complete the core course in a given subject area before enrolling in an advanced course in that area. Strategic Management (MBAMGT 689), a non-specialized required course, is the “capstone” course for the program and is taken in the final semester of study.

Course Waivers

The MBA core is designed to provide instruction in what business schools define as the common body of knowledge in management. Some applicants, as part of their undergraduate degree programs, have received instruction in some areas of the common body of knowledge. Such applicants may be eligible for course waivers in the MBA program. If a student has 1) taken sufficient undergraduate course work in the last five years from an institution of recognized standing in a subject included in the core, and 2) received a minimum of B in those courses, the student, on admission to the program, may submit a request for waiver of credits to the MBA program director. Judgments concerning eligibility for course waivers are based on analysis of transcripts, course syllabi, examination, or other relevant material and are not guaranteed. No more than 24 credits shall be waived. A minimum of 11 courses must be taken at UMass Boston.