Business Administration, Master of Business Administration

Offered by College of Business and Technology

Program Information and Admission Requirements

Master of Business Administration Degree

The College of Business and Technology at the University of Nebraska at Kearney (UNK) offers an AACSB International (The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business) accredited, 33 credit hour, Master of Business Administration degree. UNK’s MBA is a professional graduate program designed to provide a challenging educational experience for graduate students who desire to assume positions of increasing scope and responsibility in business, nonprofit, or public service sectors. Required courses are offered online to accommodate students who work during traditional business hours.

The students in the MBA Program will develop skills to solve problems in Governmental Organizations (GOs), Non-governmental not-for-profit Organizations (NGOs), and businesses through integration of all organizational functions. The core emphasis of the program is on honing the student’s critical thinking, problem solving, and decision making skills within the context of both the US and the global economies, while preparing the student to meet the inherent challenges in the rapidly changing business environment. The program is also suited to those with baccalaureate degrees in areas other than business.

Admission Considerations

Applicants interested in the MBA program must have a foundation of business.

Admission Options: Applicants may be considered for admission under the following options:

  • Option 1: An applicant may be considered for full unconditional admission if the applicant has earned a baccalaureate degree from an AACSB (The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business) accredited program with a 3.50 GPA or higher on a standardized 4.0 scale.
  • Option 2: An applicant may be considered for full unconditional admission if the applicant has earned a baccalaureate degree with a 2.75 GPA overall on a standardized 4.0 scale AND has at least 2 years of post-baccalaureate full-time work experience with meaningful managerial responsibilities. If you are applying under Option 2, you must upload a document that describes your “meaningful managerial responsibilities.”
  • Option 3: If Option 1 or Option 2 requirements are not satisfied, an applicant who has earned a baccalaureate degree may be considered for conditional admission to the MBA program. Students conditionally admitted must complete 9 credit hours of MBA graduate level courses at UNK, where (a) at least 3 credit hours are in a quantitative course AND (b) a 3.0 Graduate GPA or higher is maintained. Upon successful completion of these 9 credit hours, the student is then considered unconditionally admitted.

An application must be complete in all respects to be considered for admission to the program. Meeting the minimum criteria only assures applicants the consideration of their application for admission to the MBA program.

Additional Notes:

Applicants who do not hold a U.S. equivalent baccalaureate degree in business should apply as a Pre-MBA student and complete the Foundational Core courses with a minimum grade of “C” in each course. This option is not available for international applicants not residing in the U.S.

International students - In addition to the admission requirements stated in the International Students section of this catalog, applicants must meet the following criteria:

  • Those with a baccalaureate degree from a country where English is not the native language must take the TOEFL and receive a minimum score of 550 on the paper TOEFL exam or a score of 79 on the IBT (Internet based TOEFL), or a minimum score of 6.5 on IELTS.
  • Applicants whose baccalaureate degrees were earned outside the United States are required to have their transcripts evaluated by a credential evaluation firm to verify the degree is equivalent to a U.S. baccalaureate. Refer to the international graduate application form for additional information.
  • Students with only a baccalaureate degree from countries that award three-year baccalaureate degrees may not be eligible to be admitted to the Master’s program. To be eligible for option 2 of unconditional admission into the MBA program, international students must hold a Master’s degree equivalent to a U.S. Master’s degree.

To apply to the MBA Program:

  1. Complete online application.
  2. Submit a resume.
  3. Provide a 500-word personal essay, particularly addressing the following:
  • Why are you pursuing the MBA track you specified in the application?
  • Why do you want to pursue your MBA at the University of Nebraska at Kearney? That is, what about the program specifically resonates with you?
  • What are you expecting from the MBA program?
  • Is there anything else you would like to share with the review committee regarding your qualifications for the MBA program?

MBA Office
West Center 151W
University of Nebraska at Kearney
Kearney, NE 68849-4580
Telephone: (308) 865-8346
E-mail: unkmba@unk.edu

MBA Program Policies

In addition to the academic policies listed in the front of this catalog that govern all graduate students, the following policies are specific to the MBA program:

  1. Students may need to complete up to 18 credit hours of MBA Foundational Core courses with a minimum grade of "C" in each.
  2. Students must be fully admitted to the program to take more than 9 credit hours of required "MBA core" courses or graduate level electives.
  3. Students shall maintain an average grade of at least "B" (3.0) in all graduate courses completed at the end of each semester or summer session. No more than two Cs, and no grades below C, will be accepted in the MBA graduate program. Students who receive a third "C" or below a "C" (C- or lower) will have to retake one of the courses to improve to a C+ or better.
  4. All academic policies of the Graduate School stated in this catalog and the MBA Student Policy Handbook will apply.

MBA Foundational Core

Undergraduate economics course equivalent to:
ECON 270Principles of Economics, Macroeconomics3
or ECON 271 Principles of Economics, Microeconomics
Statistics course equivalent to:
MGT 233Business Statistics3
or STAT 241 Elementary Statistics
or PSY 250 Behavioral Statistics
Accounting/Finance Sequence equivalent to the following: 1
ACCT 250Principles of Accounting I3
ACCT 251Principles of Accounting II3
FIN 308Principles of Finance3
In addition, the Accounting Track requires the following prerequisites:
ACCT 350Intermediate Accounting I3
ACCT 351Intermediate Accounting II3
ACCT 352Cost Accounting3

MBA Essential Core

Some courses require completion of related prerequisites, increasing the number of credit hours to earn the MBA. Please check course descriptions for details on the required prerequisites.

MBA Essential Core
Take one of the following:3
Accounting and Management Decision Making
Financial Reporting and Analysis
Take all of the following:12
Financial Administration
Leadership & Organizational Behavior
Strategic Analysis & Decision Making
Marketing Management Seminar
MBA Tracks
Choose from one of the following tracks: 218
Total Credit Hours33

Professional Track

BSAD 895Integrative Capstone Experience3
CYBR 802Management Information Systems Seminar3
ECON 850Managerial Economics3
MGT 814Operations Management3
Select two elective courses approved by the MBA Director6
Total Credit Hours18

Accounting Track

BSAD 895Integrative Capstone Experience3
CYBR 802Management Information Systems Seminar3
Select 12 credit hours of the following:12
Select at least one of the following:
Managerial Economics
Operations Management
Select at least two of the following:
Tax Accounting
Advanced Tax Accounting
Advanced Accounting I
Government/Non-Profit Accounting
Auditing
Accounting Internship
Advanced Auditing
Advanced Accounting Information Systems
Total Credit Hours18

Marketing Track

BSAD 895Integrative Capstone Experience3
MKT 830P/830International Marketing3
MKT 835P/835Marketing Research3
MKT 838P/838Consumer Behavior3
Select two elective courses in Marketing or related subjects to be approved of by the MBA Director/Chair of the Department6
Total Credit Hours18

 Human Resources Track

BSAD 895Integrative Capstone Experience3
Select 15 credit hours of the following:15
Employment Law
Compensation Management
Labor Relations
Management Internship
Human Resource Management
Sem Human Res Mgt
Soc Res/Iss & Ethics
Management Topics
Counseling Skills
Group Dynamics
Total Credit Hours18

Cyber Security Track (Thesis Track)

CYBR 878PCybersecurity for Managers & Leaders3
CYBR 879PCyber Risk and Threat Modeling3
CYBR 890PInformation Networking Law and Public Policy3
CYBR 893PSocial Dynamics of Cybercrime3
CYBR 894Graduate Thesis6
Total Credit Hours18

Cyber Security Track (Non-Thesis Track)

CYBR 878PCybersecurity for Managers & Leaders3
CYBR 879PCyber Risk and Threat Modeling3
CYBR 890PInformation Networking Law and Public Policy3
CYBR 893PSocial Dynamics of Cybercrime3
Select one of the following:3
Cyber Systems Graduate Capstone
Cyber Systems Graduate Capstone
Select at least one of the following:3
Management Information Systems Seminar
Independent Study
Systems Audit
Graduate Internship in Cyber Systems
Information Systems Strategy and Management
Total Credit Hours18

Business and IT Education Track

BSAD 895Integrative Capstone Experience3
BSED 802PCareer Education Multimedia Applications3
BSED 831PCoordinating Techniques3
CYBR 800Exploring Computer Science Principles3
BSED 870PCareer Education Methods II2
CYBR 834PInformation Technology Teaching Methods3
Total Credit Hours17
1

Students may substitute the following sequence in lieu of the undergraduate accounting/finance sequence: ACC T 250, ACCT 858, FIN 308, FIN 809

2

In all the paired courses, which are designed with the suffix "P" in their course-numbering, graduate students are expected to involve themselves in much deeper scholarly activities by demonstrating through research of the subject matter, and should assume a leadership role in the class, culminating in an educational experience far beyond that of their fellow undergraduate students.