General MBA Program Curriculum (2004)

The MBA program consists of the following set of courses:

• MBA Foundation courses (32 semester units)
• MBA Required courses (21 semester units)
• MBA Elective courses (9 semester units)

A student who has completed the MBA foundation courses (see below) prior to admission need only complete the MBA required and elective courses (a total of 30 semester units).

MBA Foundation Courses (32 semester units)

The MBA Foundation courses provide the fundamental knowledge of business principles to prepare students for the study of business at the graduate level. This set of courses is taken at the undergraduate level. The Foundation courses include the following:

• BUS 230A and 230B Principles of Accounting (8)
• BUS 344 Organizational Behavior (4)
• BUS 360 Introduction to Marketing (4)
• BUS 370 Introduction to Managerial Finance (4)
• BUS 211 Business Statistics (4)
• ECON 204 and 205 (previously 201A and 201B) Introduction to Economics (8)

Foundation courses may be waived for competencies demonstrated by the undergraduate courses or their equivalents listed above or by examination. All courses listed at the 200 level may be taken at a junior college. All courses listed at the 300 level must be taken at a four year institution at the upper division level. If acceptable equivalents of these courses have been taken at another institution, but the total units earned do not sum to 30 semester units, the student must take supplementary business courses to achieve the 30-unit minimum. A student needing one or more foundation courses will be admitted as a Conditionally Classified Student.

MBA Required Courses (21 semester units)

As the title signifies, the MBA required courses are a cluster of graduate business courses that must be taken by all students. These 3-unit courses are intended to provide the graduate with those skills necessary to become an effective leader and manager in today’s business environment. The required courses include the following:

• BUS 516 Seminar in Operations Management
• BUS 519 Management Information Systems
• BUS 530 Financial Statement Analysis
• BUS 540 Strategic Human Resource Management
• BUS 560 Seminar in Marketing Management
• BUS 570 Seminar in Managerial Finance
• BUS 591 Seminar in Strategic Management
  or BUS 592 Entrepreneurship and New Venture Creation

MBA Elective Courses (9 semester units)

• BUS 550 Seminar in Organizational Behavior and Management Theory
• BUS 552 Leadership and Team Building
• BUS 554 Social Entrepreneurship
• BUS 559 Seminar in Advanced Management Topics
• BUS 581 Research Methods for Managers
• BUS 593 Seminar in International Management
• BUS 595 Special Studies in Business Administration
• BUS 596 Graduate Internship
• BUS 599 Master's Degree Directed Research

An MBA student must complete 9 units of elective courses to graduate. Elective courses are typically worth 3 units each.

MBA Program Special Requirements

Analytical Writing Requirement

All candidates entering SSU as graduate students who do not score at least 4.00 on the analytical writing portion of the GMAT must pass the CSU Written English Proficiency Test (WEPT) either during their first semester or before completing the foundation courses.

Transfer Credits

Up to 6 units of approved graduate level work may be transferred to meet part of the 30 units for the MBA. Graduate courses equivalent to our foundation courses will not be accepted to meet elective or required MBA courses. Transfer credits will normally only be accepted from AACSB accredited universities. Transfer courses must be approved by the MBA Coordinator. Be sure to get approval prior to taking any transfer courses.

Grades

All courses applied to the program must be completed with an overall GPA of 3.00, and no course for which a final grade below C is assigned may be used to satisfy this requirement. Graduate programs must be completed in no more than 7 years, which is computed as 14 semesters.

Culminating Project

All candidates for the Masters in Business Administration must complete a culminating project. The culminating project will be a group project completed as part of the capstone course (BUS 591 or BUS 592) This culminating project should show evidence of originality and independent thinking. A project report and public defense of the project are required.

Last modified 04.23.2008 . Tracy Navas