Pennsylvania State University Penn State - The Lancaster Center

Master of Business Administration

(Now offered at the Lancaster Center)

THE PROGRAM
This program accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) , the primary accrediting agency for programs in business administration and accounting.

Students served by the MBA program are, primarily, nontraditional and reside in south-central Pennsylvania. With the exception of a small percentage of students who are full-time, they are employees of area businesses, state and local governments, and not-for-profit organizations, who study on a part-time basis. In order to accommodate both full- and part-time students, courses are offered primarily in the evening.

The program is intended not only to satisfy current individual needs for professional growth, but also to foster lifelong learning. As an outcome of the program, students may expect to gain problem-solving skills as well as technical expertise, critical thinking skills, desirable attitudes and values, and participative strengths.

To strengthen the educational experience, the curriculum places high priority on teaching and currency of curriculum. Oral and written communication, research, integration of concepts throughout the curriculum and cross-functional approaches are emphasized.

ADMISSION/ENTRY INTO MAJOR REQUIREMENTS
Applicants to the program must hold a baccalaureate degree in any field from a regionally accredited, college-level institution. Decisions are based primarily on undergraduate junior-senior grade-point average and the Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT) scores. Post-baccalaureate course work, professional experience, and the statements provided in the application are also taken into account.

Students are also required to submit:

The (TOEFL), Test of English as a Foreign Language (www.toefl.org), must be taken by applicants for whom English is not their first language. The test must be passed with a score of 550 (paper based test) or 213 (computer based test) or higher and must have been taken within the last five years. Please contact the Enrollment Services Office, (717) 948-6250, to request an application form or ask questions regarding the admissions procedure.

ENTRANCE INTO THE PROGRAM
Candidates may enter the program at the beginning of the fall or spring semester, or the summer session. To allow time for applications to be processed, all information, including the GMAT score, must be received by the admissions office no later than July 18 for admission to the fall semester, November 18 for the spring semester, and April 18 for admission to the summer session.

Applications from outside the United States must follow the early-admission dates in order to allow the necessary clearances and paperwork to be processed in time.

PREPARATION FOR THE PROGRAM
Mathematics Requirement: Prior to enrolling in their MBA course work, students are required to demonstrate competence in quantitative skills. This may be demonstrated by: (1) satisfactory completion of a college-level calculus course, such as QUANT 310 Mathematical Methods in Social and Managerial Sciences or (2) successful completion of a mathematics proficiency examination approved by the MBA program. This requirement must be satisfied either during the first semester or summer session of the student's matriculation and completed with a grade of C or better.

Credit by examination: Interested students should obtain a Credit by Examination form from Enrollment Services and should consult with the mathematics faculty in the School of Science, Engineering, and Technology to schedule the exam and obtain a list of suggested preparatory materials.

Computer Requirement: Students are required to demonstrate competence through a college-level microcomputer applications course within the past six years (and passed with at least a B) or significant work experience. If this requirement has not been met, a college-level microcomputer course such as INFSY 305 Microcomputers in Business is required. Course work must be taken either during the first semester or summer session of the student's matriculation and completed with a grade of B or better.

Proficiency in Writing: The MBA program requires the ability to think clearly and write effectively. If a score of 4 or more on the Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT) Analytical Writing Assessment is not achieved, students will need to satisfy this requirement through course work in college-level English and/or other remedial work. This requirement must be satisfied during either the first semester or summer session of the student's matriculation and completed with a grade of B or better.

Prerequisite Business Core Requirement (18 credits): The business prerequisite "core" provides a foundation in theory, tools and techniques required for competent legal and ethical management of profit and/or nonprofit organizations. The prerequisites also provide a basic understanding of the concepts and applications of financial reporting, domestic and global economic environments of organizations, creation and distribution of goods and services and human behavior in organizations.

For holders of an undergraduate degree in a business field from an accredited college-level business program, the 18 credits of required "core" is met if the relevant undergraduate course work in the undergraduate degree program was completed with a grade of B or better in each course within seven years prior to admission to the MBA program or similar coursework validated by recent work experience. . Course work not meeting these tests of relevancy, grade, or currency must be taken at the graduate level as a prerequisite prior to starting course work in the 30-credit MBA program.

An applicant holding a baccalaureate degree in a non-business field from an accredited, college-level institution may satisfy a core requirement through completion of a minimum of 6 credits of advanced undergraduate work in a single area of concentration completed with a grade of B or better within seven years prior to admission to the MBA program (e.g., BUS 501 Statistical Analysis for Business Decisions might be met by holders of an undergraduate degree in statistics) or through credits earned in an equivalent graduate-level program at an accredited college-level institution with a grade of B or better within seven years prior to admission to the MBA program or similar coursework validated by recent work experience. Course work not meeting these tests of relevancy, grade, or currency must be taken at the graduate level as a prerequisite prior to starting course work in the 30-credit MBA program.

Graduate Business Core Courses Offered at Penn State Harrisburg:

BUS 501 - Statistical Analysis for Business Decisions
ECNMS 510 - Managerial Economics
MNGMT 510 - Organizational Behavior
MNGMT 522 - Operations Management
MRKT 520 - Marketing Management
P ACC 501 - Financial Statement Analysis

TRANSFER CREDITS AND COURSE WAIVERS
Transfer Credits: Up to 10 transfer credits may be applied toward the degree. However, credits used to complete a previous degree may not be applied. These courses must have been completed within the past five years, appear on a graduate transcript, and have been passed with a B grade or better earned in an equivalent graduate-level program at an accredited, college-level institution. It must be the opinion of the reviewing faculty that these courses are equivalent in quality to those offered at Penn State Harrisburg. Credit will not be given for any course used to complete a previous graduate degree.

Course substitutions: Except for BUS 588, which must be taken at Penn State Harrisburg, up to 6 credits of Breadth courses may be replaced with more advanced courses in the same field. Substitutions are based on a minimum of 6 credits of advanced undergraduate course work in an area of concentration or credits earned in an equivalent graduate-level program at an accredited, college-level institution. These courses must have been completed within the past five years and have earned a grade of B or better. Substituted courses must be replaced with other advanced graduate courses in the same field for which the substitute is an important foundation/prerequisite. Students will be informed of this in a letter received from the program office. Substitutions are based on past academic performance. An examination cannot be used for earned graduate course credit.

GRADUATION REQUIREMENTS
In addition to the mathematics, computer, and writing proficiency requirements and the prerequisite courses, the M.B.A. degree requires 30 credits of course work at the graduate level (500-level or higher). These are distributed over two groups of courses: Breadth and Electives.

Breadth Courses (18 credits)
Breadth courses are aimed at developing general competence for overall management.

Graduate Breadth Courses offered at Penn State Harrisburg:

BUS 584 - Business in a Global Society
BUS 588 - Strategic Management
FINAN 521 - Financial Management
INFSY 540 - Information Resources Management
P ACC 540 - Managerial Accounting
BUS 502 - Business Research Applications
or
BUS 554 - Master's Project

Elective Courses (12 credits)
Electives allow students to select additional courses of interest. Six credits of elective courses must be taken from courses offered by the School of Business Administration. Other electives may be selected from courses offered by the School of Business Administration and/or graduate-level courses offered by other academic programs. Electives must be selected in consultation with a faculty adviser and have prior MBA approval.

GRADE POINT AVERAGE AND TIME LIMIT
A 3.00 (out of 4.00) minimum grade-point average is required before a student is awarded an MBA degree. All course work must be completed within six years, or seven consecutive summers of matriculation.

FINANCIAL AID
There are a limited number of scholarships, fellowships, and research grants available, as well as several graduate assistantships. For more information on these, contact the School of Business Administration.

Many students work full-time and take classes part-time. In many cases, employers have a tuition-reimbursement plan paying for partial or full tuition. To find other options available to you, contact one of the following offices:

Financial Aid Office (717) 948-6307
Enrollment Services (717) 948-6250

OTHER QUESTIONS
Please contact the following with any questions or concerns you may still have:

Penn State Harrisburg Penn State Harrisburg
Director, Graduate Studies Enrollment Services
School of Business Administration Graduate Admissions
777 W. Harrisburg Pike 777 W. Harrisburg Pike
Middletown, PA 17057-4898 Middletown, PA 17057-4898
(717) 948-6140 (717) 948-6250
  1-800-222-2056

Or visit the School of Business Administration's home at:
http://www.hbg.psu.edu/sbus/

This publication is available in alternative media on request.

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