Departmental Overview

PURPOSE: This program started in 1979 to meet the growing needs of the business community in the Ohio Valley. The program is mainly directed toward part-time students with a small number of full- time students. Most courses are offered in the evenings and some are scheduled on weekends. The MBA Program is a professional program of study intended to provide the educational foundation necessary for personal growth, and an executive career in business. Toward this end, the program includes a core of studies focusing on analytical and behavioral techniques and on institutional considerations confronting managers.

The MBA Program emphasizes a highly integrated approach that focuses on the application of functional business knowledge. The aim of the program is to produce a generalist, rather than a specialist. A major objective of the program is to develop the student’s intellectual skills for solving particular problems, while keeping in harmony with overall principles and decision-making techniques essential to effective management. The goal is to have managers capable of working effectively in a wide range of organizational settings.

Participants in the program will gain a better understanding of themselves and their potential, while developing problem-solving, communication, and leadership skills.

Completion of the MBA Program is possible in 24 months by taking just two courses in each term of the academic calendar. If a student decides to participate in the program on a full-time basis, completion of the program is possible in 15 months.

An option available to students is pursuing an MBA degree with a concentration in accounting. This option is open to students with an undergraduate degree in accounting and students who have completed a minimum of 24 credit hours of accounting courses and three (3) credit hours of business law. This is implemented by students selecting four electives from the BUS 830 series, which are graduate accounting courses. This option is attractive to students interested in increasing their accounting knowledge in breadth and in depth. It is especially useful to students in meeting requirements of professional certification in accounting, such as the Certified Public Accountant (CPA) or the Certified Management Accountant (CMA) designations. This option is currently not open to online students.