The MSBA Curriculum
Students can pursue the MSBA under one of two options:
- A traditional post-undergraduate plan
The traditional post-undergraduate MSBA program allows students to complete the required course work at their own pace. Students can finish the 33 hours of graduate credit in one year by attending on a full-time schedule. Those who attend on a part-time schedule may take up to two or three years. The program is very flexible, allowing you choose your own timetable according to your particular needs and circumstances.
The 3 + 1 accelerated plan permits students to receive both the B.S. and MSBA degrees in four years. Students admitted to this program will be allowed to take all 33 hours of graduate coursework prior to receiving their undergraduate degrees. Students interested in the 3+1 program must apply when they apply for undergraduate admission to Elon.
Graduation and Degree Requirements
To earn an M.S. in Business Analytics degree, the graduate student must:
- Have an overall minimum grade point average of 3.0 in all graduate courses.
- Satisfactorily complete 33 hours and, if needed, two courses in undergraduate foundation classes in accounting and finance.
Degree Requirements
Foundations in Accounting & Finance
The Elon MSBA program requires that all students demonstrate adequate preparation in accounting and finance prior to enrolling in graduate level accounting and finance courses. *Adequate foundational knowledge can be demonstrated in one of four ways:
- Evidence of prior undergraduate coursework in accounting and/or finance. To be acceptable, coursework should have been completed within five years of entering the MSBA program. If after review, the coursework is deemed as acceptable, students must also pass a qualifying exam (waiver exam) in accounting and/or finance. Course evaluations will be completed by the Martha & Spencer Love School of Business. Waiver exams are administered by the Martha & Spencer Love School of Business.
- To complete a waiver exam in accounting and/or finance, a student must be enrolled in the program (have Elon student status).
- Completion of Elon learning modules in accounting and/or finance. These learning are online, asynchronous and are taught by Elon MSBA faculty and are designed specifically to prepare students for the core MSBA classes. A satisfactory grade must be obtained (at least a “C” or “P” grade).
- Completion of Elon undergraduate courses in accounting (ACC) and/or finance (FIN). classes. A satisfactory grade must be obtained (at least a “C” or “P” grade).
- Completion of learning modules or foundation classes, usually taken at the undergraduate level, in accounting and/or finance from other approved course providers and institutions. Approval is granted by the Martha & Spencer Love School of Business. After completion or upon approval, students are required to take the waiver exam in accounting and/or finance and obtain satisfactory score. Waiver exams are administered by the Martha & Spencer Love School of Business.
Students are not required to complete foundation courses before enrolling in the MSBA program. Upon admission to the program, students may take classes that do not require accounting or finance. However, foundational knowledge must be demonstrated in one of the four ways described above at least 2 weeks before you plan to take a class that has accounting and/or finance as prerequisites.
*Adequate foundational knowledge in accounting and finance are reviewed independently; therefore, a student does not have to demonstrate adequate knowledge for each in the same manner. For example, a student may demonstrate foundational knowledge in accounting through option one (evidence of prior undergraduate coursework) but utilize option two (completion of Elon learning module) to demonstrate foundational knowledge in finance.
Organizational Systems: 3 semester hours
Students select from one of the following two courses:
Core Courses: 18 semester hours
| MSBA 6230 | Management and Organizational Behavior | 3 sh |
| MSBA 6250 | Economic Policy and the Global Environment | 3 sh |
| MSBA 6270 | Marketing Management | 3 sh |
| MSBA 7150 | Accounting for Managerial Decisions | 3 sh |
| MSBA 7150 | Accounting for Managerial Decisions | 3 sh |
Business Analytics: 15 semester hours
| MSBA 6430 | Analytics I-Quantitative Methods | 3 sh |
| MSBA 6610 | Analytics II: - Analytics II: Natural Language Processing with Deep Learning for Business | 3 sh |
| MSBA 6620 | Analytics III: Business Data Mining | 3 sh |
| MSBA 6630 | Programming Basics | 3 sh |