Admission Requirements
The admissions decision is based on a combination of factors. Consideration is given to a candidate’s academic record, scores on the Graduate Management Admissions Test (GMAT), work and leadership experience, a personal narrative on the application form and recommendation letters.
Applicants are generally required to submit Graduate Management Admissions Test (GMAT) scores. A waiver of GMAT requirement may be requested if applicants meet certain criteria. Please see petition to waive the GMAT: http://mba.umsl.edu/files/pdfs/GMAT-waiver.pdf.
Degree Requirements
Depending on the student’s previous background, programs will require a minimum of 30 hours. Coursework must be completed within a maximum six-year period. At least 2/3 of coursework must be taken while enrolled as an MBA candidate at UMSL.
All students must satisfy the following requirements in professional written and oral communication, business law and ethics/ and social responsibility, economics, and business statistics. The Graduate Business Office in collaboration with department chairs will determine whether a student satisfies these requirements. In general:
The Professional and Written Communications skills requirement can be satisfied by any one of the following:
- Evidence of prior coursework
- Completion of BUS AD 5100
The Business Law and Ethics/Social Responsibility requirements can be satisfied by any one of the following:
- Evidence of prior coursework
- Completion of BUS AD 5900
The Economics requirement can be satisfied by any one of the following:
- Evidence of prior coursework
- Completion of BUS AD 5000
- Completion of Economics boot camp
The Statistics requirement can be satisfied by any one of the following:
- Evidence of prior coursework
- Completion of SCMA 5300
- Completion of Statistics boot camp
Assurance of Learning
All MBA students are required to participate in the BUS AD 6991 Graduate Business Assessment Testing class during their last semester. This learning assessment course is not for credit.
Business Core (18 credit hours)
The following courses or their equivalents are required of all degree candidates1.
| ACCTNG 5400 | Financial and Managerial Accounting | 3 |
| FINANCE 6500 | Financial Management | 3 |
| INFSYS 5800 | Management Information Systems | 3 |
| MGMT 5600 | Managing People in Organizations | 3 |
| MKTG 5700 | Contemporary Marketing Concepts | 3 |
| SCMA 5310 | Supply Chain Strategies | 3 |
| 1 | Students with prior business degrees take advanced courses in each of the functional areas listed in the Business Core, as advised by the Graduate Business Advisors assigned to the students. Based on a formal review and evaluation by the Graduate Business Programs Office, students may be granted waivers in the Business Core section. Waivers depend on the applicability of, and performance in, prior coursework. Regardless of the number of courses waived, all students must complete at least 30 credit hours to earn the MBA degree. |
Strategic Management Required (3 credit hours)
Take one of the following2:
| BUS AD 6990 | Strategy Formulation and Implementation | 3 |
| INTL BUS 5289 | International Business Strategies | 3 |
| MGMT 4614 | Entrepreneurship/Small Business Management | 3 |
| 2 | Students with a non-business undergraduate degree are required to take BUS AD 6990 to satisfy the Strategic Management requirement. |
Electives (9 credit hours)
Students may choose to pursue an Emphasis Area to satisfy the 9 credit hour Electives requirement or pursue an MBA with no emphasis area. No course may be used for more than one emphasis area. If no emphasis area is chosen, students have the flexibility to customize their MBA by choosing from a large collection of elective graduate courses within the College of Business Administration, in consultation with their Graduate Business academic advisor.
Emphasis Area Requirements
Master of Business Administration (MBA) students seeking an emphasis in Business Analytics must complete SCMA 6345, SCMA 6350, and three additional hours from approved Business Analytics electives beyond SCMA 5310 (SCMA 5310 does not count toward the emphasis in Business Analytics). A maximum of 15 hours in any functional area will count toward the degree requirements. A student cannot receive an emphasis in both Operations Management and Logistics and Supply Chain Management for the same set of courses. An overlap of up to 3 credit hours from approved courses, other than SCMA 5300 and SCMA 5310is allowed. Only courses that are substantially different from courses taken for credit in a student’s undergraduate program will be acceptable.
List of approved Business Analytics electives for the emphasis:
| SCMA 5334 | Internship in Logistics and Supply Chain Management | 1 |
| SCMA 5354 | Simulation for Managerial Decision Making | 3 |
| SCMA 5389 | Supply Chain Management Practicum | 3 |
| SCMA 5399 | Individual Research in Logistics and Operations Management | 1-3 |
| SCMA 6330 | Business Logistics Systems | 3 |
| SCMA 6331 | Supply Chain Modeling | 3 |
| SCMA 6395 | Seminar in Logistics and Operations Management | 3 |
| BUS AD 5198 | Seminar in Business Administration 1 | 3 |
| FINANCE 6503 | Computer Applications in Finance | 3 |
| FINANCE 6523 | Fixed Income Analysis | 3 |
| FINANCE 6524 | Portfolio Analysis and Management | 3 |
| INFSYS 6830 | Data Programming for Business Intelligence | 3 |
| INFSYS 6833 | Decision Support Systems for Business Intelligence | 3 |
| INFSYS 6860 | Advanced Data Integration | 3 |
| INFSYS 6862 | Artificial Intelligence Applications for Business and Cybersecurity | 3 |
| MKTG 5740 | Marketing and Business Analytics | 3 |
| 1 | If topic is appropriate. |
Learning Outcomes
Upon completion of the program, graduates will be able to:
- Demonstrate knowledge of core business content in accounting, finance, information systems, supply chain analytics, management, and marketing.
- Apply core business content and principles for effective business decision making.
- Demonstrate analytical skills to solve business problems and evaluate the conditions of corporations and markets.
- Effectively communicate business insights using oral and written formats.
- Identify legal/ethical issues and implications, and make informed decisions.
- Expand leadership skills to effectively engage with stakeholders in a professional manner.
- Demonstrate a global mindset needed to effectively navigate the interconnected nature of today’s business environment.
- Understand the central role of supply chain management in business, and its connections with other business functions internally (marketing, finance, information systems), and supply chain players externally.
- Build models and apply analytical methodologies: descriptive, predictive and prescriptive, for data-driven decision-making in supply chains including supply chain network design, demand planning, production and inventory control, resource allocation, scheduling and transportation.
- Communicate effectively about supply chain related issues and data-driven solutions with business acumen.