The Barton School of Business offers the Master of Business Administration (MBA) through faculty in the accounting; economics; finance, real estate and decision sciences; management and marketing departments, as well as in other colleges of the university. The MBA program is designed to prepare students for responsible positions of professional leadership in business, government, health-related organizations and other institutions. The program concentrates on general management, with particular attention given to developing within the student an understanding of the organization as an integrated system. Areas of concentration are available for those students wishing to focus their elective coursework in a specialized area. Concentration areas currently available are business data management, finance, health care administration, human resource management, marketing, and supply chain management.

Classes are taken for graduate credit and all of the courses are offered in the evening.

Policies

  1. All incoming MBA students must attend an orientation session, which includes an introduction to the philosophy of graduate business education, development of networking skills, discussions about the history of the Barton School and the MBA program, and an overview of success strategies for MBA students. Only after completion of the orientation is a student considered for full standing in the MBA program.
  2. A candidate’s individual plan of study must be approved by the director and submitted to the Graduate School for final approval. This plan must be filed within a month of the completion of 12 credit hours of graduate work.
  3. All candidates must complete 36 credit hours of 800-level courses including:
    Course Title Hours
    ACCT 801Managerial Accounting3
    DS 850Operations Management3
    ECON 804Managerial Economics3
    FIN 850Managerial Finance3
    MGMT 803Business Decision Making and Analysis3
    or MKT 803 Marketing Analysis
    MGMT 862Organizational Behavior3
    MGMT 885Advanced Strategic Management3
    MKT 801Marketing Management3
    MIS 874Management Information Systems3
    IB 836International Business and Competitiveness3
    BLAW 810Law and Ethics for Business3
    And 3 credit hours of electives which must be at the 700–800 level3
    Total Credit Hours36

Additional Policies

Graduates of the WSU Master of Engineering Management (MEM) and the WSU Master of Science in Management Science and Supply Chain Management (MSSCM) may be allowed to use up to 12 credit hours from the technical electives taken from the WSU MBA courses if they enroll in the Master of Business Administration program.

The total credit hours required of students and the level at which they begin participation in the MBA program depend on their academic preparation. Students without a background in business may be required to take up to 6 credit hours of undergraduate prerequisite coursework, and may also be required to complete up to 9 credit hours of graduate-level preparatory coursework that will count toward the degree. The total number of credit hours required for completion of an MBA therefore ranges from 36 to 45, depending on the student’s background.

Concentrations in the Master of Business Administration Degree Program

The MBA degree program is a general management degree equipping students with an understanding of organizations as integrated systems. Within the program the curriculum provides knowledge across organizational functions. Students may wish to focus their elective coursework in a specific area of study to enhance their general organizational knowledge base by selecting a concentration from the following options provided in the MBA program.

Courses in Master of Business Administration