MBA FAQ

Multiple criteria are used to make decisions for admission into the MBA program in the College of Business. The admissions committee focuses on the following indicators of successful graduate study:

• Undergraduate GPA
• Work experience
• Two letters of recommendation (optional)
• GMAT score (500 or above is desired) within the last five years OR waiver  - THIS IS ONLY NECESSARY IF ONE OF THE OTHER ADMISSION CRITERIA IS NOT MET

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  GMAT waiver can be requested if you have:

  • An undergraduate GPA of 3.40 or higher from a regionally accredited bachelor’s degree program.

  • Prior completion of a graduate degree from an institution accredited by an agency listed on the U.S. Department of Education list (PhD, JD, DBA, MD, MS, MA etc.)

  • A minimum of five years, full-time, post undergraduate degree, professional experience involving progressively more responsibility within the last 8 years. 

We do not give preference to any particular undergraduate majors. However, we do require prerequisite foundation courses for those without an undergraduate degree in business. A student must demonstrate competency in the areas of accounting, economics, business statistics, and finance. The competency can be demonstrated either of two ways:

1) Through prior completion of the following undergraduate courses:

• ACCT 200 – Financial Accounting
• ECON 202 – Principles of Microeconomics
• ECON 207 – Business Statistics
• FINA 362 – Business Finance

2) Deficiencies can be completed online in a self-paced, reduced-price format through our Fastrac program. Each course costs between $130-$170. Contact Bobbi Urban for more information of Fastrac.

Any undergraduate deficiencies will be specified at the time of application. You may still be admitted to the MBA program and begin coursework with deficiences. 

A student may take up to 8 semester credits of 600 level MBA courses without being admitted to the MBA program. A student, however, must be admitted to the graduate college and have earned a bachelor’s degree. *permission of the Director required

On average, we expect students to earn their MBA within 2 years if you take 2 classes every 8 weeks. You can take up to 6 years to complete your degree.

Graduate students are eligible for financial aid, in two forms: Student loans and graduate assistantships. For more information on student loans, visit the Office of Financial Aid's webpage.

For more information about graduate assistantships, visit the Graduate Studies webpage.

Yes, graduate assistantships are available to all students in graduate courses (such as MBA courses) who qualify to work in the United States and reside in Minnesota. More information about graduate assistantships can be found on the College of Graduate Studies and Research website.

When a student has completed all requirements for graduation, the examining committee endorses a Recommendation for Awarding the Degree or Certificate Form and an Application for Graduation Form and forwards the form to the College of Graduate Studies and Research. This requires completion of all course requirements, research requirements, comprehensive examinations and the capstone activity. The student must also have maintained a 3.0 grade point average for all graduate work. All courses applied to the master's degree, specialist, or certificate program must have been completed in the six years prior to graduation. Credit earned as part of a degree or specialist program cannot have been used to complete the requirements of a previously earned degree. Contact the College of Graduate Studies and Research for form submission deadlines.

For all Master's degree programs, at least one-half of the credit must be earned in courses restricted to graduate students and listed as 600-699 (excluding Thesis and APP credits). Additionally, the candidate must complete or meet all special requirements established by the student's examining committee and approved by the Dean of the College of Graduate Studies and Research.

All graduate programs must include a minimum of one research methods or statistics course of at least two credits. Any substitute course or variance must be approved by the Dean of the College of Graduate Studies and Research.

Each recipient of a graduate degree is invited to hold an exit interview with the Dean of the College of Graduate Studies and Research for the purpose of program evaluation. The graduate is encouraged to participate in commencement ceremonies, but participation is not required.

TOEFL.org is the official website for the test of English as a foreign language and includes all the pertinent information you should need in both preparing for and taking the exam.

For TOEFL site:

• If you would like to test in India, China, or Taiwan there are special instructions on this page. For all other countries, click on the location of your interest.
• Follow the instructions on the website to check for cities, and time availability.

What are the admissions requirements for international students?

All students, domestic and international must first apply through the College of Graduate Studies and Research. International students are advised to check the College of Graduate Studies and Research website for specific instructions. Please note, your application will not be forwarded to the MBA program until you have been accepted by the College of Graduate Studies and Research.

I am an international student, but I received my undergraduate degree from a U.S. college or university. Do I still need to take the TOEFL exam?

No, students who have received degrees (undergraduate or graduate) from U.S. institution do not need to take the TOEFL exam.

Scores from the GMAT and TOEFL exams will be considered valid for five years.