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.
- Option 4: I am applying into the 4+1 MBA Accelerated program. I am within 30 hours of graduating with my undergraduate degree and have completed all MBA prerequisite courses. My major is Business Administration or Business & IT Education, and my cumulative GPA is 3.30 or higher.
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:
- Complete online application.
- Submit a resume.
- Provide a 500-word personal essay, particularly addressing the following:
- 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:
- Students may need to complete up to 18 credit hours of MBA Foundational Core courses with a minimum grade of "C" in each.
- Students must be fully admitted to the program to take more than 9 credit hours of required "MBA core" courses or graduate level electives.
- 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.
- All academic policies of the Graduate School stated in this catalog and the MBA Student Policy Handbook will apply.
MBA Foundational Core
| Code | Title | Credit Hours |
|---|---|---|
| MBA Foundational Core | ||
| Undergraduate economics course equivalent to: | ||
| ECON 270 | Principles of Economics, Macroeconomics | 3 |
| or ECON 271 | Principles of Economics, Microeconomics | |
| Statistics course equivalent to: | ||
| MGT 233 | Business Statistics | 3 |
| or STAT 241 | Elementary Statistics | |
| or PSY 250 | Behavioral Statistics | |
| Accounting/Finance Sequence equivalent to the following: 1 | ||
| ACCT 250 | Principles of Accounting I | 3 |
| ACCT 251 | Principles of Accounting II | 3 |
| FIN 308 | Principles of Finance | 3 |
| In addition, the Accounting Track requires the following prerequisites: | ||
| ACCT 350 | Intermediate Accounting I | 3 |
| ACCT 351 | Intermediate Accounting II | 3 |
| ACCT 352 | Cost Accounting | 3 |
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.
| Code | Title | Credit Hours |
|---|---|---|
| MBA Essential Core | ||
| ACCT 858 | Accounting and Management Decision Making | 3 |
| FIN 809 | Financial Administration | 3 |
| MGT 890 | Leadership & Organizational Behavior | 3 |
| MKT 856 | Marketing Management Seminar | 3 |
| ECON 850 | Managerial Business and Economic Analytics | 3 |
| MGT 892 | Strategic Analysis & Decision Making | 3 |
| BSAD 895 | Integrative Capstone Experience | 3 |
| Customized Elective Clusters | ||
| Take 12 credit hours from any of the five elective clusters below. 3 | 12 | |
| Financial Analysis: 4 | ||
| Tax Accounting | ||
| Advanced Tax Accounting | ||
| Advanced Accounting I | ||
| Government/Non-Profit Accounting | ||
| Auditing | ||
| Advanced Auditing | ||
| Accounting Internship | ||
| Advanced Accounting Information Systems | ||
| Short-Term Financial Management | ||
| Investments | ||
| Operations Management | ||
| Human Resources: | ||
| Operations Management | ||
| Health Care Management I - Managing People Effectively | ||
| Population Health Management: Systems and Policies | ||
| Human Resource Information Systems: People Analytics and Talent Management | ||
| Human Resource Management | ||
| Sem Human Res Mgt | ||
| Soc Res/Iss & Ethics | ||
| Marketing: | ||
| International Marketing | ||
| Marketing Research | ||
| Sales Management | ||
| Consumer Behavior | ||
| Advertising Management | ||
| Strategic Product Management | ||
| Data Analytics: | ||
| Operations Management | ||
| Human Resource Information Systems: People Analytics and Talent Management | ||
| Business/IT Education: | ||
| Career Education Multimedia Applications | ||
| Coordinating Techniques | ||
| Career Education Methods I | ||
| Career Education Methods II | ||
| Exploring Computer Science Principles | ||
| Information Technology Teaching Methods | ||
| Cybersecurity for Managers & Leaders | ||
| Information Networking Law and Public Policy | ||
| Total Credit Hours | 33 | |
- 1
Students may substitute the following sequence in lieu of the undergraduate accounting/finance sequence: ACCT 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.
- 3
Students may take all 12 credit hours from the same cluster or any combination of clusters of their choice.
- 4
Students interested in the financial analysis cluster may need to take ACCT 350, ACCT 351, and ACCT 352 if interested in a CPA.