Master of Business Administration
Introduction
The School of Business at Kentucky State University offers a regular graduate program leading to a Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree and a five-year undergraduate/graduate program leading to Baccalaureate and Master’s (B.A./MBA) degrees in Business Administration. Consistent with the liberal arts mission of the University, the objective of the MBA Programs is to provide essential knowledge and skills that can be directly utilized by business professionals in both the private and public sectors. The programs emphasize a solid grounding in graduate education in business administration, combined with sufficient elective course work to provide for individual preferences and career enhancement. The programs strive to develop outstanding, globally competitive business leaders through high quality educational experience, implemented in an innovative community of learning facilitated by a faculty oriented toward teaching effectiveness, service, and research. The Chair of the School oversees the programs. Admission decisions are made by the MBA Program Coordinator in consultation with the MBA Committee.
Regular MBA Program
The regular MBA program is designed to allow a flexible curriculum plan. A full-time student, with undergraduate business background, can complete the program within two years.
Working professionals can enroll on a full-time or a part-time basis.
Program Description
The program is designed based on the best practices in graduate business education and accreditation standards to meet the changing demands of the global marketplace. The program requires a total of 30 graduate hours, including 21 hours of core requirements and 9 hours of electives. These elective course hours allow students to specialize in the areas of Accounting, Finance, Management, Management Information Systems, Marketing, and Aquaculture. To receive an MBA degree with a specialization in any business area, the student must complete a minimum of 3 elective courses in that area. Elective coursework may also be chosen from other graduate programs at KSU subject to the approval of the MBA Program Coordinator in consultation with the MBA committee.
The program accepts students with a bachelor’s degree in any field. Those students without undergraduate business degrees will be required to show proficiency in the principles of accounting, economics, management, marketing, management information systems, finance, quantitative methods, and statistics before enrolling in the MBA courses. A set of foundation courses has been developed for this purpose. Students without some or all of the prerequisite proficiencies will be required to complete one or more of the foundation courses.
Five-Year MBA Program
Overview
This program provides an opportunity for students to complete their undergraduate business degree along with an MBA degree in five years. The program consists of 150 academic hours, 120 hours at the undergraduate level and 30 hours at the graduate level. At the undergraduate level, students may choose a specialization in the following business areas: Accounting, Finance, Management, Management Information Systems, Marketing, and Aquaculture. At the graduate level, the program requires a total of 30 graduate credit hours, which consists of 21 hours of core requirements and 9 hours of electives.
The 9 hours of graduate elective courses allow students to explore individual preferences, develop additional competencies relevant to their interests, and specialize in an area. Students have the flexibility to take all 3 elective courses in one area for a specialization in that area or select individual elective courses from different areas without any specialization. The specialization areas include: Accounting, Finance, Management, Management Information Systems, Marketing, and Aquaculture.
Program Internships
Students are required to complete an internship. This requirement can be fulfilled during any school semester during their second year of matriculation or during the following academic year. The internship is designed to provide real-world business experiences and opportunities to apply knowledge learned in the classroom.
Application for 5-year MBA Program
Students should apply for formal admission to the MBA Program by the end of the fall semester of their senior year. Students may not take MBA classes until the last semester of their senior year.
Degrees Awarded
The BA degree will be awarded at the end of the senior year and the completion of 120 semester credit hours. The MBA degree will be awarded at the completion of the 30 semester credit hours, a total of 150 semester credit hours.
Disclaimer
The Five-Year MBA Program assumes satisfactory completion of degree requirements on a timely basis. Students have 6 years from the point of admission to the MBA program to complete all graduate program requirements.
Regular MBA Admission Requirements
Regular Admission
For regular admission to the MBA program, the student must:
- Hold a baccalaureate degree from an accredited institution
- Meet program prerequisites
- Have an undergraduate GPA of 2.50 or greater on a 4.00 scale
- Submit completed application including a writing sample and your resume.
- Provide 3 letters of recommendation (academic and/or professional)
- Send official academic transcripts
Provisional Admission
An applicant unable to supply all of the required application materials prior to consideration for admission, but who otherwise meets the admission requirements, may be granted provisional admission. Complete and satisfactory credentials must be received by the MBA Program Coordinator before the end of the semester in which the student has registered in provisional status. A student will not be permitted to enroll with a provisional status for more than one semester. Provisional admission does not guarantee, in any way, subsequent unconditional admission.
Probationary Admission
An applicant who does not meet regular admission requirements may be granted probationary admission, if the overall undergraduate GPA is between 2.3 and 2.49 (the GPA cannot be rounded up) and the applicant submits documented evidence of potential for success in graduate study. Documented evidence may include demonstrated successful work record, career plans with clear pathway for success, letters of recommendation, or other appropriate documentation. Students admitted on a probationary basis may change their status to regular status by meeting the regular admission requirements or by successfully completing 9 hours of graduate study with a minimum of “B” grade in each course.
Non-Degree Admission
An individual desiring to take graduate MBA courses, but who does not plan to pursue the graduate degree, may be admitted as a non-degree seeking student. The applicant must hold a baccalaureate degree from a regionally accredited institution and must have a minimum overall undergraduate GPA of 2.5. The maximum number of hours that a non-degree student, without undergraduate background in business, can apply toward the MBA degree is 12 graduate hours of foundation courses and 6 graduate hours of core or elective courses.
Admission as a non-degree-seeking student does not guarantee full admission to the regular MBA program. Non-degree seeking students, who decide to pursue an MBA degree, must apply through the regular admission process, and meet regular admission requirements.
Early Admission for Undergraduate Students
Undergraduate students who qualify for admission to the MBA Program (including an acceptable GPA from an accredited institution) and need 6 hours or less to graduate (none of which are repeated courses) may be allowed to take up to 6 hours of graduate courses in their final semester. These graduate courses will not count towards the undergraduate degree.
Visiting Student Admission
Students who are currently enrolled and in good standing in other accredited graduate programs may register for graduate courses as visiting students. In order for a visiting student to be enrolled officially for graduate credit at Kentucky State University, the student must file an application and submit an official Visiting Student Form from the home institution.
Transfer Credit
Candidates for the master’s degree are restricted to a maximum of 9 semester credit hours of credit by transfer of work completed at another accredited graduate institution. Official copies of transcripts must be submitted and evaluated before any transfer credit can be accepted. Certain courses submitted for transfer may not be considered equivalent to specified program requirements even if course titles are the same.
MBA students may be allowed to transfer graduate courses from other degree granting US institutions with regional accreditation or from foreign institutions with equivalent accreditation where a grade of “A” or “B” was earned. No courses with a grade of “C” or below will be transferred.
Five-Year MBA ProgramAdmission Requirements
Special Admission Requirements for New Freshmen
Special admission requirements for new freshmen include:
- A minimum 1050 SAT score or 23 ACT score
- Impressive high school transcripts (minimum of 3.25 GPA)
- 3 strong recommendations (at least 2 from academic instructors).
Admission decisions are made by the MBA Coordinator in consultation with the MBA Committee.
Special Requirements for Pre-MBA Status in Junior Year
Students with an overall GPA of 3.25 and junior standing may qualify for Pre-MBA status.
Transfer Students
Transfer students with 60 – 89 credit hours, an overall GPA of 3.25, and 3 recommendations from faculty, may qualify for Pre-MBA status. Admission decisions are made by the MBA Committee.
Regular MBA Foundation Courses
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| ACC 500 | Survey of Accounting | 3 |
| BUA 500 | Survey of Economics & Finance | 3 |
| BUA 501 | Survey of Management/Marketing | 3 |
| ECO 501 | Surv Stat/Quantitative Mth | 3 |
| Total Hours | 12 | |
Note: A maximum of 2 foundation courses (6 credits) with “B” or higher grades may be applied towards 3 elective courses required for MBA General Business specialization.
Regular MBA Program Requirements
The Core of the MBA Program is designed to provide students with the knowledge and skills necessary for successful careers in business and nonprofit organizations. The core of the MBA program consists of 7 courses (21 hours) as follows:
Core Curriculum Courses (21 hours)
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| ACC 502 | Managerial Accounting | 3 |
| ECO 502 | Managerial Economics | 3 |
| FIN 530 | Corporate Finance | 3 |
| MGT 560 | Human Behavior in Org | 3 |
| MGT 590 | Strategic Management | 3 |
| MIS 510 | Management Info Systems | 3 |
| MKT 520 | Strategic Marketing Manage | 3 |
| Total Hours | 21 | |
Electives (9 hours)
Three (3) elective courses (9 hours) allow students to explore their individual preferences and develop additional competencies appropriate to their interests. The students have the flexibility to take a minimum of 3 elective courses in one area for a specialization in the area. The individual may select elective courses from different areas without any specialization with approval from the MBA Program coordinator.
The elective areas include: Accounting, Business Data Analytics, Finance, Management, Management Information Systems, Marketing, and Aquaculture (in collaboration with the School of Aquaculture).
The electives in the business area are as follows:
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Accounting | ||
| ACC 503 | Auditing | 3 |
| ACC 510 | Gov/Not-for-Profit Acct | 3 |
| ACC 563 | Adv Federal Income Taxation | 3 |
| ACC 597 | Contemporary TopicAccounting | 3 |
| Finance | ||
| FIN 540 | Financial Institutions | 3 |
| FIN 550 | Investment Analysis | 3 |
| FIN 575 | Behavioral Finance | 3 |
| Management | ||
| MGT 533 | Strategic Human Resource Mgt | 3 |
| MGT 555 | Operations Management | 3 |
| MGT 565 | Entrepreneurship | 3 |
| MGT 601 | ContempTopics in Management | 3 |
| Management Information Systems | ||
| MIS 510 | Management Info Systems | 3 |
| MIS 597 | Contemp Topics Mgt inform Sys | 3 |
| Marketing | ||
| MKT 510 | Marketing Communications | 3 |
| MKT 530 | Marketing Research | 3 |
| MKT 540 | Consumer Behavior | 3 |
| MKT 560 | Marketing of Services | 3 |
| Aquaculture | ||
| AQU 522 | Principles of Aquaculture | 3 |
| AQU 525 | Aqua Economicsand Market | 4 |
| AQU 591 | Internship: Aquaculture | 1-4 |
Course Load
The normal load of a graduate student during any semester is 9 semester credit hours. It may only exceed 12 credit hours with the approval of the MBA Program Coordinator. Part-time students who are employed are advised to carry no more than 6 semester credit hours of graduate-level coursework in any semester.
Grades
All students must maintain a GPA of at least 3.00. If a student’s GPA falls below this minimum requirement, fulltime students have one semester to raise the GPA to 3.00 and part-time students have 2 semesters to improve their GPA to the minimum of 3.00. All students must receive a grade of “B” or “A", and no more than two “C” grades in all courses.
Repeat Option
A student may repeat a graduate course. Only the highest grade will count toward total hours or toward the student’s grade-point-average.
Probation
Students who fail to maintain a cumulative grade-point average of 3.0 or better and/or have more than two grades of “C” will be placed on academic probation. Students will have one full-time semester or its equivalent (9 semester credit hours) to remove the academic probation by attaining a 3.0 average. Students placed on academic probation are not eligible for assistantship. Probation may not be appealed.
Dismissal from the University
A student who is on academic probation, and whose current grade-point average falls or remains below 3.0, or who fails to complete coursework required to be removed from probation, will be dismissed from the graduate program. A dismissed student may, after one year, appeal in writing to the MBA Committee for readmission. The student’s appeal must include at least two letters of support from MBA faculty. If readmission is granted, the student will be placed on up to 9 credit hours of probation. If the student does not reach an overall GPA of 3.0 during the subsequent 9 credit hours will be permanently dismissed from the University without appeal.
Time Limit for Degree Completion
All program requirements must be completed within six years of initial admission, unless otherwise approved by the MBA Program Coordinator.
MBA Student Award
The Outstanding MBA Student Award will be based on nominations from all School of Business and Technology faculty. These nominations will be forwarded to the MBA Committee, who will make the recommendation. This award is based on outstanding academic achievements and the student’s potential for success in business. A minimum GPA of 3.5 and the completion of a minimum of 18 hours are also required.