Scheduling and Sequence of Courses
Scheduling and Sequence of Courses
There are a minimum of 37 credits in the standard MBA program (the MBA with Accounting concentration requires a minimum of 40 credits). The program is offered fully online, in an asynchronous learning modality, with each course occurring over an 8-week timeframe. There are two 8-week sessions per traditional 16-week (Fall, Spring and Summer) semester; these 8-week sessions are referred to as “OL1” and “OL2” on published schedules.
Based on recent figures, students typically take between two and three classes each Fall and Spring Semester and between one and two classes during the Summer semester. However, each student should start their first semester in the program with no more than two classes (one each in OL1 and OL2), to become familiar with the online learning environment, course requirements and the pace of learning in an 8-week graduate level course, which can be challenging.
Students should endeavor to complete the 600-level courses before the 700-level courses; however, this may not be optimal considering a student's interest in completing the program in a timely manner. All students in the program are encouraged to contact the
Program Director about initial scheduling and with any other questions that may arise during their MBA journey.
To give proper emphasis to leadership and interpersonal relations skill development, all students are required to take BUS 880 Communications Workshop and BUS 881 Managerial Leadership Workshop. These two courses may be taken at any time in the student’s progression through the program.
Finally, all 700-level courses should be completed before a student takes BUS 900: Business Policy and Strategy, which should generally be reserved until one of the last two semesters in the program.
The University permits selected students to complete a maximum of three credits of independent studies in the MBA program, which involves the following courses: BUS 799 Research Paper (1 credit) and BUS 890 Independent Research (2 credits). Students interested in this option should contact the
Program Director for additional information.