Master of Business Administration

Master of Business Administration with an emphasis in Leadership, Accounting, Finance, Management Information Systems, Human Resource Management or General Management.

Students accepted into the MBA Program will be assigned a professor who will be their academic and professional advisor. As an academic advisor the professor will assist with registration and academic concerns. As a professional advisor the professor will assist with questions about career choices and professional goals.

The MBA Curriculum is designed to guide students through a process that will help them develop the skills that are in demand in the business world, and also provide them with an opportunity to apply those skills in an intensive format.

MBA Curriculum

The Master of Business Administration consists of a minimum of thirty three (33) semester-hours of credit. The thirty three hour requirement will include a core curriculum, three elective courses, and a series of required integrative courses including the capstone course. In addition, those students who enter the program lacking adequate background in specific areas of business, as determined by our graduate faculty, will be required to take foundational courses in those fields. Any foundation courses (BUSI 501- BUSI 506) that are required must be completed prior to beginning the integrative courses, and may include as many as six additional courses for students with no business background.

The curriculum breaks down into five segments:

Orientation (0 hours)

Foundational Courses (varies, from 0 to 15 hours, depending on background)

Core Curriculum (21 hours)

Quasi Core (3 hours)

Emphasis Curriculum (9 hours)

Orientation

For the Master of Business Administration program

BUSI 600 - MBA Orientation

is mandatory. Students will be furnished with general information about graduate education, oriented to sites on campus, given an opportunity to meet some of the officials of the University, and provided the opportunity to ask questions about the program. MBA orientation will also provide students with an introduction to the academic rules and expectations of the program, an orientation to the type of technology they will be using, and an outline of the curriculum. Successful completion of BUSI 600 with a “P” is required to continue in the program.

Foundational Courses

Foundational Courses are offered to students whose background in the business curriculum is incomplete, outdated, or forgotten, allowing students to update their skills before engaging in more advanced coursework in the discipline. To complete the MBA students must take at least thirty-three (33) credit hours of graduate work above the foundational level.

BUSI 508 - Foundations of Accounting (3 hours)
BUSI 503 - Foundations of Management and Marketing (3 hours)
BUSI 504 - Business Data and Decision Analysis (3 hours)
BUSI 505 - The Market Process and the World Economy hours)
BUSI 506 - Foundations of Finance (3 hours)
Students may seek a waiver for any and all Foundational Courses. Those who have previously taken the prerequisites may demonstrate mastery of the material normally taught in the foundational courses by offering an official transcript demonstrating that an academically-comparable course has been completed within the allotted time frame at an academically-rigorous, regionally-accredited institution with the required grade. Any student may bypass a Foundational Course by successfully passing a qualifying exam in that subject area if an exam is available. At the discretion of the Director of Graduate Programs, Administrator of Graduate Programs or the Admissions Committee, a waiver may be granted based on other evidence that their background in the subject area is sufficient, such as professional certification or years of experience in the subject field.

Upon acceptance to the program, each student will receive an analysis of their background and a breakdown of which foundational courses will be required. Students who have concerns about their ability in a specific functional area, or who fear they have forgotten the basics in that field, are also encouraged to take those additional courses even if they are not required.

A tentative evaluation of transcripts for consideration of waivers of foundational coursework may be provided after the application for admission has been received, based upon unofficial transcripts, but the course waivers will not be credited until official transcripts or other required documentation are received.

Pre-requisite requirements and their corresponding Foundational Course equivalents are:

Accounting: Students must have completed courses in Financial Accounting and Managerial Accounting with a grade of C or better in the past ten years. BUSI 508 Foundations of Accounting  is offered for students who have not satisfied this requirement.

Management: Students must have completed a course in management, including Principles of Management, at the 300-level or above with a grade of C or better in the past ten years.
BUSI 503 - Foundations of Management and Marketing
  is offered for students who have not satisfied this requirement.

Marketing: Students must have completed a Principles of Marketing course at the 300-level or above with a grade of C or better in the past ten years.
BUSI 503 - Foundations of Management and Marketing
is offered for students who have not satisfied this requirement.

Statistics: Students must have completed a business or applied mathematics course where they would have learned basic statistics, with a grade of C or better in the past ten years. Topics covered should have included probability rules, binomial and normal distribution, estimation, confidence intervals, hypothesis testing, and regression analysis. Basic differential calculus (definitions of continuity and derivative, rules of differentiation, elementary optimization) is highly recommended, but not required, for regular admission.
BUSI 504 - Business Data and Decision Analysis
  is offered for students who have not satisfied this requirement.

Economics: Students must have completed a two-course sequence in economics, with grades of C or better in the past ten years.
BUSI 505 - The Market Process and the World Economy
  is offered for students who have not satisfied this requirement.

Finance: Students must have completed a course in corporate finance at the 300-level or above with a grade of B or better in the past seven years.
BUSI 506 - Foundations of Finance
  is offered for students who have not satisfied this requirement.

Master of Business Administration Requirements (33 hours)

MBA Core (21 hours)

ALL candidates for an MBA degree must complete the following BUSINESS (BUSI) courses, which account for twenty-one (21) credit hours:

BUSI 610 - Managing with Excellence and Integrity (3 hours)
BUSI 615 - Advanced Marketing Management (3 hours)
BUSI 620 - Contemporary Business Law and the Legal Environment (3 hours)
BUSI 623 - Business Ethics from a Christian Worldview (3 hours)
BUSI 625 - Advanced Managerial Accounting (3 hours)
BUSI 635 - Financial Management Practices (3 hours)
BUSI 650 - Strategic Planning and Analysis (3 hours)

ONE of the following five Quasi-Core courses (3 hours):

BUSI 522 - Macroeconomic Policy in a Global Economy (3 hours)
BUSI 546 - Advanced Investments (3 hours)
BUSI 552 - Advanced Managerial Economics (3 hours)
BUSI 614 - Information Systems Concepts (3 hours)
BUSI 642 - International Finance and Monetary Policy (3 hours)

Choose one of the following Emphases (9 hours):

Accounting (9 hours)

Choose three:

BUSI 509 - Cost Accounting and Management Control (3 hours)
BUSI 517 - Federal Taxation for individuals (3 hours)
BUSI 518 - Federal Taxation for Corporations and Other Entities (3 hours)
BUSI 525 - Advanced Financial Accounting (3 hours)
BUSI 528 - Auditing and Attestation (3 hours)
BUSI 540 - Government & Not for Profit Accounting (3 hours)
BUSI 560 - International Accounting (3 hours)
BUSI 570 - Accounting Information Systems (3 hours)
BUSI 664 - Financial Statement Analysis (3 hours)
Please visit these websites for questions about licensure as a CPA :

National Association of State Boards of Accountancy http://www.nasba.org/exams/cpaexam/

Specific requirements for South Carolina can be found here:

http://www.nasba.org/files/2011/02/Info_ForApplicants_SouthCarolina.pdf

Finance (9 hours)

Choose three:

BUSI 522 - Macroeconomic Policy in a Global Economy (3 hours)
BUSI 537 - Entrepreneurial Finance (3 hours)
BUSI 546 - Advanced Investments (3 hours)
BUSI 641 - International Business and Trade (3 hours)
BUSI 642 - International Finance and Monetary Policy (3 hours)
BUSI 659 - Financial Planning (3 hours)
BUSI 664 - Financial Statement Analysis (3 hours)

Human Resource Management (9 hours)

Choose three:

BUSI 541 - Employee Staffing (3 hours)
BUSI 542 - Employee Training and Development (3 hours)
BUSI 543 - Employee Compensation and Benefits (3 hours)
BUSI 544 - Human Resource Law and Ethics (3 hours)
BUSI 611 - Advanced Human Resource Management (3 hours)

Leadership (9 hours)

Choose three:

BUSI 607 - Fundamentals of Leadership (3 hours)
BUSI 611 - Advanced Human Resource Management (3 hours)
BUSI 612 - Advanced Organizational Behavior (3 hours)
BUSI 613 - Executive Communications (3 hours)
BUSI 619 - Power and Influence (3 hours)
BUSI 624 - Leadership Development (3 hours)
BUSI 634 - Organizational Change and Transformation (3 hours)
BUSI 644 - Leadership Dynamics and Decisions (3 hours)
BUSI 646 - Entrepreneurship (3 hours)
BUSI 654 - Advanced Labor Relations (3 hours)

Management Information Systems (9 hours)

Choose three:

BUSI 519 - Database Design and Management Concepts (3 hours)
BUSI 595 - Information Systems Analysis and Design (3 hours)
BUSI 614 - Information Systems Concepts (3 hours)
BUSI 629 - Data Security and Emerging Information Technologies (3 hours)

General Management (9 hours)

Students who do not wish to earn an emphasis in Accounting, Finance, Leadership, Human Resource Management or MIS, may choose any 3 electives except those that count as a required core course and those that count as a prerequisite for our MBA Program to earn a General Management Emphasis. For example, 501, 502, 503, 504, 505, and 506 cannot count as an elective. Choose three:

BUSI 509 - Cost Accounting and Management Control (3 hours)
BUSI 517 - Federal Taxation for individuals (3 hours)
BUSI 518 - Federal Taxation for Corporations and Other Entities (3 hours)
BUSI 519 - Database Design and Management Concepts (3 hours)
BUSI 525 - Advanced Financial Accounting (3 hours)
BUSI 528 - Auditing and Attestation (3 hours)
BUSI 537 - Entrepreneurial Finance (3 hours)
BUSI 540 - Government & Not for Profit Accounting (3 hours)
BUSI 541 - Employee Staffing (3 hours)
BUSI 542 - Employee Training and Development (3 hours)
BUSI 543 - Employee Compensation and Benefits (3 hours)
BUSI 544 - Human Resource Law and Ethics (3 hours)
BUSI 546 - Advanced Investments (3 hours)
BUSI 551 - Special Topics in Business (3 hours)
BUSI 560 - International Accounting (3 hours)
BUSI 570 - Accounting Information Systems (3 hours)
BUSI 607 - Fundamentals of Leadership (3 hours)
BUSI 611 - Advanced Human Resource Management (3 hours)
BUSI 612 - Advanced Organizational Behavior (3 hours)
BUSI 613 - Executive Communications (3 hours)
BUSI 614 - Information Systems Concepts (3 hours)
BUSI 619 - Power and Influence (3 hours)
BUSI 624 - Leadership Development (3 hours)
BUSI 629 - Data Security and Emerging Information Technologies (3 hours)
BUSI 634 - Organizational Change and Transformation (3 hours)
BUSI 641 - International Business and Trade (3 hours)
BUSI 642 - International Finance and Monetary Policy (3 hours)
BUSI 644 - Leadership Dynamics and Decisions (3 hours)
BUSI 646 - Entrepreneurship (3 hours)
BUSI 654 - Advanced Labor Relations (3 hours)
BUSI 659 - Financial Planning (3 hours)
BUSI 664 - Financial Statement Analysis (3 hours)
*Students are allowed to take multiple Law courses, but if 620 is a required course, then that course cannot count twice.

MBA Exit Assessment

At the end of their program, all students are required to complete

BUSI 699, MBA Exit Assessment

(0 credit hours) in their final semester, as a graduation requirement.

Policies Regarding Emphasis Selection

1. Students receiving an emphasis within the MBA will have the emphasis noted on the official transcript. Diplomas do not reflect the emphasis.

2. Students are asked to declare an emphasis by midterm of their first semester in the MBA program. Students may change their emphasis at any time by contacting the Administrator of Graduate Programs.

3. A student who has received an MBA from Charleston Southern University without an emphasis may return to earn an emphasis by completing the necessary course requirements in the chosen emphasis.