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 and experiential, 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 primarily in the evening or 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 may choose to be considered for admission through any one of the following five options:

Unconditional Admission: An applicant may be considered for full unconditional admission if one of the four following sets of requirements are met:

NOTE: Students admitted conditionally must complete 9 credit hours of MBA graduate level courses at UNK, with at least 3 credit hours in a quantitative course, and maintain a 3.0 Graduate GPA or higher. Upon successful completion of these 9 credit hours the student is then considered unconditionally admitted.

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

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:

• 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 4 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. Go to http://www.unk.edu/admissions/graduate-student.php
2. Fill out the application.
3. Submit a resume.
4. Provide a 500-word personal essay, particularly addressing the following:
   • Professional and personal accomplishments
   • Personal strengths that helped accomplishment of the above
   • Personal values, including what is important in a career
   • Motivations to pursue an MBA at UNK
   • Anticipated contributions to enhancing the educational experiences of other students in the program
   • Post-MBA goals
5. Ask two references (college professors, supervisors etc.) to complete their recommendation online. (Those applying for admission to the MBA program through options 2 and 3 must have at least one recommendation letter from their supervisor who has evaluated the applicant's performance within the past 2 years.) Candidates with significant professional experience may get an additional recommendation from a subordinate.

For information regarding the requirements for admission to the MBA Program, please contact:

MBA Office
West Center 135C
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

Course List

Code	Title	Credit Hours
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	3-4
or STAT 241	Elementary Statistics
or PSY 250	Behavioral Statistics
Accounting/Finance Sequence equivalent to the following:
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.

Course List

Code	Title	Credit Hours
MBA Essential Core
ACCT 858	Managerial Accounting Systems 2	3
FIN 809	Financial Administration	3
MGT 890	Leadership & Organizational Behavior	3
MGT 892	Strategic Analysis & Decision Making	3
MKT 856	Marketing Management Seminar	3
BSAD 895	Integrative Capstone Experience	3
MBA Tracks
Choose from one of the following tracks:		15
Generalist
Accounting
Marketing
Human Resources
Human Services
Total Credit Hours		33

Generalist Track

Course List

Code	Title	Credit Hours
ECON 850	Managerial Economics	3
MGT 814	Operations Management	3
MIS 802		3
Select two elective courses approved by the MBA Director		6
Total Credit Hours		15

Accounting Track

Course List

Code	Title	Credit Hours
MIS 802		3
Select 12 credit hours of the following:		12
Select at least one of the following:
ECON 850	Managerial Economics
MGT 814	Operations Management
Select at least two of the following:
ACCT 851P	Tax Accounting
ACCT 852P	Advanced Tax Accounting
ACCT 853P	Advanced Accounting I
ACCT 865P	Government/Non-Profit Accounting
ACCT 870P	Auditing
ACCT 871P	Advanced Auditing
ACCT 891P	Advanced Accounting Information Systems
Total Credit Hours		15

Marketing Track

Course List

Code	Title	Credit Hours
MKT 830P/830	International Marketing	3
MKT 835P/835	Marketing Research	3
MKT 838P/838	Consumer Behavior	3
Select two elective courses in Marketing or related subjects to be approved of by the MBA Director/Chair of the Department		6
Total Credit Hours		15

 Human Resources Track

Course List

Code	Title	Credit Hours
Select 15 credit hours of the following:		15
ACCT 812P/812	Employment Law
MGT 810P/810	Compensation Management
MGT 811P/811	Labor Relations
MGT 880	Human Resource Management
MGT 885P/885	Sem Human Res Mgt
MGT 893P/893	Soc Res/Iss & Ethics
MGT 899	Management Topics
Total Credit Hours		15

Human Services Track

Course List

Code	Title	Credit Hours
FAMS 830P	Grantwriting and Fundraising for Human Service Programs	3
MGT 880	Human Resource Management	3
Select one of the following:		3
ACCT 812P/812	Employment Law
MGT 893P/893	Soc Res/Iss & Ethics
Select two elective courses of Human Services Electives to be approved by the MBA Director/Chair of the Department		6
Total Credit Hours		15

1	Students may take FIN 490 in lieu of ACCT 250, ACCT 251, and FIN 308.
2	Accounting Track students shall take ACCT 860 Financial Accounting Seminar (3 s.h.) in lieu of ACCT 858.
3	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 thorough 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.