Business Administration, Project Management Specialization, MBA

Description of Program

The Master of Business Administration (MBA) includes exposure to a variety of business disciplines. Students in this program will critically analyze a broad range of theories, current trends, practices, and knowledge specific to their discipline.

Program Learning Outcomes

The program learning outcomes for the Master of Business Administration degree are:

• Evaluate the health of an organization
• Effectively communicate - in media appropriate to purpose, occasion and audience - ideas and arguments associated with business issues
• Evaluate the challenges and opportunities presented by the global business environment
• Evaluate legal compliance, ethical concerns of stakeholders, and social responsibility in terms of their impact on the conduct of business
• Deliver effective business solutions

Basis for Admissions

Admission to the Master of Business Administration program requires a conferred bachelor’s and/or a conferred master’s or doctoral degree from a regionally or nationally accredited academic institution (including the NCU BBA degree). In addition to these general requirements, MBA applicants have two options for entering the program:

1. Direct Entry - Individuals with a previously completed bachelor’s degree in business from a regionally or nationally accredited academic institution may immediately begin the MBA program.

Note: Students who complete NCU’s BBA bridge path in Business Management may be eligible to apply four graduate-level courses from the BBA program to the MBA program. Graduate-level courses completed in the BBA bridge path must be completed with a grade point average of 3.0 (grade of “B”) or better.

2. Evaluation Track - Individuals who do not meet direct entry requirements will begin their degree plan with MBA5102-8 - Welcome to Changing Times - Business in the 21st Century , followed by SKS5001-8 - Comprehensive Strategic Knowledge Studies , and upon successful completion of SKS 5001-8  take the remaining courses in their degree plan.

Students who feel that they have the business background and knowledge are allowed to take a test-out exam that covers the major business areas. The student must score 70 or above on the exam and can be taken no later than two weeks prior to the beginning of SKS5001-8 - Comprehensive Strategic Knowledge Studies  course. This can be discussed with your enrollment or student academic advisor.

Students who enter through the evaluation track and do not immediately test out of SKS 5001-8  prior to having the course placed in their degree plan are not permitted to participate in the Accelerated MBA program.

Degree Requirements

The Master of Business Administration requires 30 credit hours for degree completion. The MBA program includes 18 credit hours of foundational courses. The foundational courses are taken by all students regardless of their undergraduate degree to form and strengthen fundamental business skills. The next 9 credit hours in the program encapsulate a specialization aligned with a student’s career goals and interests. Elective courses must be appropriate to the student’s degree program. Students end the program with a 3 credit-hour capstone course.

Students in the MBA program are required to demonstrate competency in the areas listed below:

• Research - MBA students are required to show competency in writing skills for research purposes through their Northcentral University coursework.
• Computer Competency - MBA students are required to use appropriate computer skills that are necessary in writing research papers. Students must be able to prepare documents using APA formatting and advanced word processing skills, such as the creation of title pages, abstracts, tables and figures, headers and footers, page breaks, tables of contents, and hanging indents.

Students assume full responsibility for understanding both the foundational, specialization, and capstone requirements of the program. Switching programs after completing coursework may result in reevaluation, monetary loss, loss of credit hours and/or the need to take additional credit hours. Students’ Academic Advisors can assist with any questions related to program requirements.

The University may accept a maximum of 12 semester credit hours in transfer toward the Master of Business Administration for graduate course work completed at an external accredited college or university with a grade of “B” or better. See the Transfer Credit Policy  for additional information.

Note: Students with a conferred BBA degree from NCU who complete graduate-level coursework with a grade of “B” or better to satisfy undergraduate specialization credit hours may be eligible to apply up to 12 graduate-level credit hours from the BBA program to the MBA program. Please see the Bachelor of Business Administration program for program-specific course requirements.

Time to Completion

Northcentral University allows 5 years to complete all 30 credit hour master’s programs.

Normal time to completion for this program is 41 months.

Time to completion varies depending upon the pace in which a student completes courses and the number of transfer credits accepted. As most Northcentral students are working adults balancing educational, professional, and personal commitments, our academic advisors will work with you to develop a program schedule that works best for your needs.

The normal time disclosed above reflects the experience of students who may have entered under different program requirements. In the quest for continuous improvement, academic leadership has revised the program to optimize curriculum and pace, facilitate student learning, and improve chances for success. Therefore, the program is now designed for students enrolling today to take advantage of these revised course structures, lengths, and schedules. New students following the preferred schedule designed by the Dean for this program, and applying no transfer credits, can expect to finish in as little as 16 months.

Course Sequence

Students who complete at least 9 semester credit hours in a single area of specialization at Northcentral University (not counting foundational courses) may elect to have the specialization recorded on their transcript and diploma. A specialization is not required and students may elect 9 credit hours of cross-discipline business courses. Elective courses must be appropriate to the student’s degree program.

All Master of Business Administration (MBA) programs require the following fundamental courses be taken prior to enrolling in specialization courses:

Required Foundational Courses must be taken first and in sequence. Evaluation track students will take SKS 5001-8  after MBA 5102-8  and before MBA 5110-8 .

Required Foundational Courses – 18 credit hours

• MBA5102-8 - Welcome to Changing Times - Business in the 21st Century
• SKS5001-8 - Comprehensive Strategic Knowledge Studies
• MBA5110-8 - Managing People and Teams
• MBA5121-8 - Managerial Decision-Making
• MBA5130-8 - Managing Business Finances
• MBA5140-8 - Operations Management
• MBA5150-8 - Innovation and Marketing