Business Administration, M.B.A.

Director: Nick Arena

The Master of Business Administration (MBA) is a professional degree program designed to accelerate entrepreneurial career development by preparing graduates to form their own businesses or to take a leadership role in new corporate ventures. The program is open to all students regardless of their undergraduate major. The expected results and outcomes of the MBA program are to:

• Provide graduates with an opportunity for advanced studies in entrepreneurial business management;
• Prepare graduates to attain entrepreneurial leadership positions in for-profit and non-profit organizations or to establish their own entrepreneurial business;
• Provide a comprehensive knowledge of the functional areas of business, such as accounting, finance, management, economics, and marketing, which are used as the basis for an integrated business endeavor;
• Provide an understanding of the balance required to be a successful leader among the sometimes-conflicting business elements, such as ethical, political, societal, and technical;
• Provide an understanding of the economy, especially as it affects the business environment of North Carolina;
• Enhance the graduates’ competency in oral and written communication because of their impact on leadership success. The program emphasizes case analysis for written and presentation skill evaluation and development;
• Improve the graduates’ competency in the effective use of Business Information Technology (BIT);
• Develop graduates who can function effectively as members of virtual and participative teams;
• Improve graduates’ competencies to integrate and synthesize the various business areas and to develop cross-functional approaches to organizational issues.

Program - Specific Admission Standards

(see also Graduate Admissions )

Students are expected to demonstrate competence in calculus, communication skills, and computer related skills. Students who have not completed at least three semester hours of calculus (MAT 2150 or equivalent) in a prior undergraduate or graduate program must complete at least three semester hours of calculus as part of the MBA degree requirement.

In addition, all students will have to show evidence of either completion of undergraduate “Common Body of Knowledge (CBK)” courses in business or completion of Foundation courses as prerequisites to the formal MBA courses. Since the Foundation courses are at a 500 level, they are considered graduate level courses. Students taking the foundation courses must complete them successfully as defined in the Graduate Studies section on Master’s Degree Requirements.