Master of Business Administration
Mission
The Division of Business and Information Technologies of the University of Saint Mary serves traditional undergraduate and part-time graduate students with diverse educational needs. We seek to develop graduates that are competent, ethical, socially responsible, and globally aware.
The Division of Business and Information Technologies offers a 33 credit hour Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree through the Overland Park and Online campuses. Our MBA is an applied program that seeks to develop graduates who are effective leaders and managers, whose actions are guided by ethical decision-making.
Program Outcomes
Upon completion of the MBA program, graduates will be able to:
- Analyze business issues and form practical responses to these issues.
- Assess the impact of global influences on business decisions.
- Formulate ethical approaches to business decisions and understand how to apply these within a business context.
- Create coherent forms of communication, and present them orally and in written form to diverse professional audiences.
Admission Requirements
- Completed application with a $25.00 application fee
- A bachelor’s degree from a regionally accredited institution and a minimum GPA of 2.75 (on a 4.00 scale). GPA in previous graduate level work, if applicable, will be considered as well. Admission probationary status may be approved by the Division Chair of Business and Information Technologies.
- Official transcripts from all undergraduate work and any graduate work. The undergraduate transcript must show the date the degree was conferred and the GPA for all degree-related coursework.
Program Prerequisites
For students without an undergraduate background in business, up to three online courses in writing, economics, and statistics will be made available after the student has been admitted and accepted into the MBA program if students feel they need further development in these areas. The online leveling courses are self-paced and are strongly recommended before the student is allowed to register into the companion graduate-level course in order to help ensure the student’s success in mastery of the subject.
MBA Academic Policies and Procedures
Students who are reinstated will not be permitted to take two classes simultaneously until they have passed the course(s) that were previously failed.
Students that are not registered at the time a course has begun due to a hold on their account will not be permitted to register for a course.
Incomplete grades are only issued to students in consultation with and approval by their academic advisor. Incompletes are granted only in highly exceptional circumstances. Students who are working to satisfy an incomplete grade in a class will not be allowed to register for other courses until the incomplete course is resolved the final grade is recorded.
Pursuant to Registration Policy, a student signed up for one course during a term will not be allowed to add an additional course (even if they are pursuing an accelerated program) after the term has begun.
No waivers will be given to students to waive prerequisite requirements for a course.
If a student has left the program and seeks readmission, s/he will be required to complete a new application and a letter explaining the circumstances of their departure, a justification for readmission, and a plan to complete the degree in a timely manner. The student must also provide any new transcripts if s/he has taken additional courses from other universities in the interim. The application, letter, and transcripts will be evaluated to determine eligibility for readmission.
Curriculum
The Master of Business Administration requires a total of 33 credit hours and consists of 8 required core courses and 3 elective courses. All courses are three credits, unless otherwise specified.
Core Courses (24 crs):
Concentrations
Students earn a concentration by taking nine elective credit hours (three classes within a specific area). The program offers the following areas of concentration: Accounting, Business Analytics, Finance Management, General Management, Healthcare Management, Human Resource Management, Leadership and Organizational Health, Marketing and Advertising Management.
Accounting Concentration (On campus students only):
| MGT 785 | Forensic Accounting | 3 |
| MGT 786 | International Accounting | 3 |
| MGT 789 | Data Analytics for Decision Making - Finance and Accounting | 3 |
Triple Advantage Accountancy:
In addition to the above Accounting concentration courses, students who complete the MBA courses in Legal Environment and Commercial Transactions Law, Managerial Economics, Managerial Accounting and Managerial Finance, may take the following courses and qualify to sit for the Certified Public Accountant (CPA) Examination providing they have accumulated 150 total credit hours of college (undergraduate or graduate) coursework. Thirty (30) of these hours must be in Accounting Theory and Practice and eleven (11) must be in Communications.
MGT 787:- Exam sections: Regulation [REG] and Auditing and Attestation [AUD]
MGT 788:- Exam sections: Business Environment and Concepts [BEC] and Financial Accounting and Reporting [FAR]
Business Analytics Concentration:
| MGT 715 | Introduction to Business Analytics | 3 |
| MGT 716 | Business Analytics Applications | 3 |
| MGT 717 | Demand and Forecasting | 3 |
Finance Concentration:
Choose three of the following:
| MGT 760 | Advanced Financial Topics | 3 |
| MGT 768 | Financial and Capital Issues | 3 |
| MGT 769 | Financial Decisions | 3 |
| MGT 789 | Data Analytics for Decision Making - Finance and Accounting | 3 |
General Management Concentration:
Choose three of the following: (consult your advisor for eligible course options from other concentrations)
Healthcare Management Concentration:
| HCMGT 720 | Healthcare Informatics and Technologies | 3 |
| HCMGT 721 | Leadership and Business Operations in Healthcare | 3 |
| HCMGT 722 | Legal and Ethical Issues in Healthcare | 3 |
Human Resource Management Concentration:
Choose three of the following:
| MGT 708 | Human Resource Management | 3 |
| MGT 753 | Conflict Management and Negotiation | 3 |
| MGT 757 | Training and Development | 3 |
| MGT 774 | Organizational Change and Development | 3 |
Leadership and Organizational Health Concentration (Online students only):
The following courses must be taken in sequence:
| MGT 780 | Leadership and Organizational Health | 3 |
| MGT 781 | Strategic Leadership and Team Building | 3 |
| MGT 782 | Strategic Communication and Human Performance Services | 3 |
Marketing and Advertising Management Concentration:
The following courses must be taken in sequence:
| MGT 747 | The Advertising Industry in the 21st Century | 3 |
| MGT 748 | Buyer Behavior and Marketing Research | 3 |
| MGT 749 | Advanced Marketing Strategy and Planning | 3 |
Course Sequencing and Scheduling
The MBA curriculum is sequenced in such a manner as to allow program completion in 12 to 24 months depending on the pace that the student takes classes. Courses are taught on a year round 8-week basis with a six term schedule: Fall I, Fall II, Spring I, Spring II, Summer I and Summer II. Students desiring to finish the MBA Program in one year by taking two courses per term may not be able to do so depending on when the courses are scheduled. Students may not be enrolled in more than two classes per term. MGT 714 and MGT 795 are generally expected to be taken at the end of the program and cannot be taken concurrently.
Transfer Credits
Up to 9 graduate hours (3 courses) may be transferred to the program, provided the courses with which the hours are associated are substantially equivalent to Saint Mary graduate courses. Students may be asked to submit syllabi for courses in which they wish to receive transfer credit. The Director of the Graduate Business program will determine equivalency of courses, and the University reserves the right to deny course transfers if they are not equivalent. Credit hours for MGT 714 Global Management and MGT 795 Strategic Management and Ethics may not be transferred into the program. Requests for transfer credit are subject to the requirements described under the academic policies of the graduate division (see Transfer of Credit Guidelines in the graduate section of this catalog).
Graduate Internship
Students may choose to take a three hour intern course if they so desire (see MGT 799). The student will be required to work 150 site hours in a substantive business position, meaning that the faculty advisor must believe that this job will give the student the opportunity to learn important business skills and apply his/her knowledge in a real world context. Enrollment in the internship course requires that the student be in good standing with the University, and receive approval from the Chair of the Division of Business and Information Technologies. At that time, the student will be assigned a full-time business faculty member who will work with the student throughout the internship, and register final grades. The internship class will require the student to develop an internship portfolio including a resume, weekly logs of his/her activities, and a reflection paper. The cooperating employer will also be required to fill out paperwork on the student’s performance, which also comprises a percentage of the student’s final grade.