Business Administration, M.B.A.

Professor Michael Owens, Assistant Dean of the College of Business
(423) 425-4210 or email at Michael-Owens@utc.edu

Admission

A student who holds a bachelor’s degree in any discipline from a regionally accredited college or university may be considered for admission to the MBA program. Applications are accepted by the Graduate School at any time; however, in order to ensure adequate time for consideration, the completed online application, Graduate Management Admissions (GMAT) test score or alternatively a Graduate Record Exam (GRE) test score, and any other supporting credentials should be received by the Graduate School no later than two months prior to the beginning of the term for which admission is desired.

Application Procedures

To be considered for admission into the MBA program, a student must meet ALL of the following requirements:

1. Have a bachelor’s degree from a regionally accredited institution (any major is acceptable). An official transcript is required from each previously attended college. An application and non-refundable application fee. Domestic applicant fee is $30 and international applicants $35; fees should be submitted to the Graduate School.

AND

2. Be granted admission to the Graduate School at UTC based one of the following:
- 2.70 minimum GPA for all undergraduate work taken for the baccalaureate degree or
- 3.00 GPA for the last two years of undergraduate academic coursework or
- 3.00 GPA for 30 or more semester hours undergraduate credit after earning the first bachelor’s degree or
- 2.70 GPA for the last two years of undergraduate academic coursework and a 3.00 GPA on fewer than 24 hours graduate coursework or
- 3.00 GPA for 24 or more graduate hours or
- An earned master’s degree or higher‐level degree with at least a 3.00 GPA.
All GPAs are based on a 4.0 point scale; the last two years of undergraduate coursework are equivalent to approximately 60-70 semester hours or 90-100 quarter hours. (Updated GPA requirements approved by Graduate Council spring 2011)
AND

3. Have an official Graduate Management Admissions Test (GMAT) score of 450 or above or alternatively an official Graduate Record Examination (GRE) score of 296 or above with a minimum 146 on the verbal section and a minimum 144 on the quantitative section. The GMAT is offered at Pearson Professional Center. For more information on taking the GMAT refer to www.mba.com. The GRE is offered at the Prometric Testing Center. For more information on taking the GRE, refer to www.ets.org/gre.

*Note: Beginning August 2011, GRE instituted the GRE Revised General Test, with a different scoring scale than the GRE General Test, which it replaced. Under the prior scale, a score of 1,000 or above with a minimum 400 on the verbal section and a minimum 500 on the quantitative section is required.

Program Requirements

The MBA program requires that a student complete a minimum of 36 semester hours credit in graduate coursework. Students admitted to the program who lack academic experience in certain areas will be assigned up to 12 hours of additional coursework in the background courses listed below in order to gain needed competencies:

Background Courses (12 hours leveling courses for non-business majors)

Additional Information and Notes

Some or all of the background courses in which academic training has previously been completed may be waived. The requirements to waive a foundation class are:

A grade of “C” or better from an AACSB accredited business school, or
A grade of “B” or better from a non-AACSB accredited business school.

All required background courses must be completed before more than six hours of MBA core or elective courses are completed.

MBA Required Core + Capstone Courses (24 hours)

Core

Capstone Courses (all MBA core courses must be completed before capstone courses may be taken)

Elective Courses (12 hours)

MBA students must complete 12 hours of elective courses. Electives may be selected from any discipline within the College of Business. The offering of electives is determined by student demand. Electives must be chosen in consultation with and approved by the MBA advisor. MBA students may request permission to take electives outside the College of Business based on career and professional objectives. Such requests must be submitted in writing to the MBA advisor along with the course syllabus, reason for taking the course and approval of the applicable department head. All requests to take electives outside the College of Business must be approved by the Associate Dean.

Total: 36 hours

Additional Information and Notes

Graduate level ACC, ETR, FIN, MGT, MKT, and BUS courses for which a student has earned an A or B at UTC or any other institution cannot be repeated for credit. Students registering for courses in which they have earned an A or B will be changed to audit.

Transfer Credit

Six semester hours of courses completed at other universities for graduate credit may be considered to satisfy MBA degree program requirements at UTC. Only courses with a grade of B or better and that are taken at universities accredited by AASCB can be considered for transfer credit. A transferred course generally must form a logical part of the MBA program to be approved.

Those who request transfer credit must be prepared to provide the university catalog in effect at the time at which the courses were completed as well as any other supporting information to the Director of Graduate Programs in the College of Business and the Dean of the Graduate School. For additional requirements see “ Transfer Credit” under “Academic Policies for Graduate Students ” in the UTC Graduate Catalog.

Program of Study

Students must submit a Program of Study during the first semester of graduate coursework. The Program of Study consist of all core courses and any electives and establishes the courses the student must take for partial fulfillment of the degree requirements. The Program of Study form must include all core courses and electives, if known at the time, the student will take. The Program of Study form is located at www.utc.edu/GraduateSchool/CurrentStudentForms.

Admission to Candidacy

Students will typically file for candidacy in the semester prior to their anticipated graduation and should list all courses not listed on the Program of Study and any changes in coursework. To be eligible for admission to candidacy, a student must have earned a minimum 3.0 GPA on all courses taken up to that point and a 3.0 institutional cumulative GPA in all graduate coursework to be eligible for degree conferral.

An Application for Admission to Candidacy may be obtained on-line at www.utc.edu/GraduateSchool/CurrentStudentForms. Students should refer to the “Admission to Candidacy” section under “Academic Policies for Graduate Students ” in the UTC Graduate Catalog for additional information regarding admission to candidacy. The Application for Admission to Candidacy must be approved by the Director of Graduate Programs in the College of Business and the Dean of the Graduate School.

Continuation

Students who earn 3 or more grades of C or below in graduate level courses will be dismissed from the MBA program.

Executive MBA Program (EMBA)

Admission

The Executive MBA Program (EMBA) has the same admission standards as the MBA program. However, the EMBA includes the following additional requirements: three to five years of professional experience and a recommendation from the applicant’s employer.

The College of Business faculty selects a diverse cohort of approximately 12-16 students each year. The EMBA program meets for 16 months on alternating Fridays and Saturdays on the UTC campus in Fletcher Hall. The program follows a Fall-Spring/Summer-Fall sequence. The program requires an international trip for all participants to emphasize globalization in our economy. The EMBA program is tailored to meet the needs of current and rising executives. The same content areas, as specified by AACSB, are covered in the EMBA.

Business Administration: Executive MBA Program (EMBA)