Business Administration

College of Business and Industry

Dr. Sara Freedman, Dean

Dr. Barbara A. Spencer, Department Head and Graduate Coordinator

247 McCool Hall

662-325-1891

gsb@cobilan.msstate.edu

Graduate study is offered in the College of Business and Industry leading to the Master of Business Administration (M.B.A.), the Master of Science in Business Administration (M.S.B.A.) and the Ph.D. in Business Administration.  Specialized programs in Accounting, Taxation, Information Systems, Finance, and Economics are described under those departmental headings.

Master of Business Administration

Program Objectives—The mission of the M.B.A.  program at Mississippi State University is

1.    to expand the student’s knowledge of the   business world;

2.    to improve the student’s business skills;

3.    to help the student integrate business knowledge; and

4.    to improve the student’s ability to apply integrative knowledge and personal skills to real business problems

Admission—An applicant for the M.B.A. program should hold a bachelor’s degree from a fully recognized four-year institution of higher learning that enjoys unconditional accreditation by appropriate regional accrediting agencies.  All general requirements stated in this publication must be met.

An applicant for the M.B.A. program must take the Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT).  Admission to the M.B.A. program requires a GPA of 3.00 or above out of 4.00 points over the last 60 semester hours of baccalaureate work and a GMAT score of 510 or above or a combined score of 1110 using the formula (200 x GPA) + (GMAT).  When a student is deficient in either of the criteria cited, the student’s application, nevertheless, may be considered for admission based on the strength of other materials contained in the student’s application.  However, reasonable minimum levels of performance must be achieved in both the applicant’s GPA and GMAT scores.

International Applicants—An international applicant not holding a degree from a U.S. institution must submit a Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) report from a test administered within the last two years of 575 or higher with their applications in order to be considered for regular admission.

Program of Study—Course work for the M.B.A. program consists of the foundation, core, and electives. At a minimum the candidate for the M.B.A. must complete 30 hours of course work beyond the foundation level.

M.B.A. Foundation—The foundation portion of the program consists of 19 hours that may be satisfied in part or total by prior undergraduate or graduate preparation in business. In the absence of prior preparation, students are required to complete the foundation composed of the following courses.

Foundation Course                                                                                                                       Replaces

Survey of Accounting                                                                         Principles of Financial Accounting and Principles of  Managerial Accounting 

Statistical Analysis for Business Decision Making                                Business Statistical Methods I & II

Survey of Management                                                                       Principles of Management and   Production Management                                   

Survey of Economics                                                                          Principles of Macroeconomics and Principles of Microeconomics

Survey of Finance                                                                               Financial Management

Survey of Marketing                                                                           Principles of Marketing

Any basic computer course 3 hours  

M.B.A. Core—All candidates for the M.B.A. must complete a core of 27 hours. The core is composed of the following courses:

ACC 8112     Financial Statement & Management Accounting for Business Decision Making. 2 hours

BIS 8112       Management of Information Technology and Systems. 2 hours

BIS 8122       Multimedia Presentation & Communication. 2 hours  

BL 8112         Law, Business Ethics, & Dispute Resolution. 2 hours

BQA 8112      Business Case Analysis Using Statistics. 2 hours

EC 8103        Economics for Managers. 3 hours

FIN 8112       Capital Acquisition & Allocation. 2 hours

FIN 8122       Corporate Liquidity Analysis. 2 hours

MKT 8112      Marketing Management. 2 hours

MKT 8132      Business Research. 2 hours

MGT 8111     Human Resource Issues. 1 hour

MGT 8112     Leadership Skills for Managerial Behavior. 2 hours

MGT 8121     Strategic Management. 1 hour

MGT 8122     Business Consulting Project. 2 hours

Electives—The remaining three hours are selected with the advice and consent of the candidate’s advisor.

Minor—A minor may be obtained by taking six additional hours of electives in coordination with the three-hour elective for a total of nine hours.  The courses must be elected with the advice and consent of the candidate’s advisor.

Final/Comprehensive Requirement—The course MGT 8122 (Business Consulting Project) is the capstone course for the M.B.A. program and constitutes the M.B.A. comprehensive examination.  A grade of B or better in this course is required for passage of the M.B.A. comprehensive examination.

Academic Performance—A grade of  C or better is required on all undergraduate prerequisite courses.  A student in any graduate degree program in the College of Business and Industry may not continue in the program with grades below B in more than six hours of core graduate course work, regardless of the overall average. Thus, any program is terminated automatically when a seventh credit hour below B is recorded on core graduate course work.  In addition, the normal MSU requirements for satisfactory progress in a graduate program will be applied.

Provisional Admission—Following University guidelines, a student admitted provisionally to this program must receive a 3.00 GPA on the first nine hours of graduate level courses on the program of study taken at MSU (transfer credits and unclassified graduate credits do not apply).  If the 3.00 is not attained, the provisional student may be dismissed from graduate study.

Project Management Concentration—The project management concentration in the M.B.A. program is an interdisciplinary program between the College of Business and Industry and the College of Engineering consisting of 32 hours.

Students choosing this major will take the following courses:

IE 6553          Project Management. 3 hours

BIS 8112       Management of Information Technology and Systems. 2 hours

ACC 8112     Financial Statement and Management Accounting Report Analysis for Business Decision Making. 2 hours

BQA 8112      Business Case Analysis Using Statistics. 2 hours

MGT 8111     Human Resource Issues. 1 hour

IE 6573          Process Improvement Engineering. 3 hours

MKT 8112      Marketing Management. 2 hours

MGT 8112     Leadership Skills for Managerial Behavior. 2 hours

IE 8583          Enterprise Systems Engineering. 3 hours

BL 8112         Law, Business Ethics, and Dispute Resolution. 2 hours

MKT 8122      Management of Delivery Systems. 2 hours

EC 8103        Economics for Managers. 3 hours

MGT 8132     Project Management Field Study. 2 hours

FIN 8313       Financial Management of Projects. 3 hours

Master of Science in Business Administration (M.S.B.A.)—See Finance and Economics

Doctor of Philosophy in Business Administration—The College of Business and Industry offers a full-time degree program leading to the Doctor of Philosophy in Business Administration ( Ph.D.);  under the Business Administration major, the concentrations available Accounting, Business Information Systems, Economics, Finance, Management, and Marketing.

Admission Criteria—The applicant for admission to the Ph.D. program in business must hold a bachelor’s degree from a recognized institution of higher learning and have demonstrated high promise of benefit from graduate study. All general requirements stated in this publication must be met. The doctoral applicant must also present a GMAT score from a test administered within the last five years of 550 or above; an undergraduate GPA of 3.00/4.00 or above, both cumulative and over the last 60 hours of undergraduate work; and a GPA of 3.25/4.00 on all prior graduate work.  Consideration will be given to an applicant who is deficient in not more than one of the quantitative specifications cited above.

An applicant whose quantitative credentials meet the stated criteria above may still be denied admission.  Included in the qualitative consideration are such factors as the quality of previous academic studies, the meshing of the purpose of study and the opportunities in the proposed field of study, prior professional and employment activities, and a recommendation of the faculty in the proposed field of study, including the availability of faculty support for research.  Enrollment in the Ph.D. program is limited to the number of openings available for each academic year.

An international applicant not holding a prior degree from a U.S. Institution must submit a TOEFL report of 575 or higher with the application.  Such application will not be considered without this indicator of English proficiency.

Application Deadlines—The student is admitted to the Ph.D. program only for the fall semester of each year.  In order to receive full consideration for both admission and assistantship, complete applications must be received by the Office of Graduate Studies in Business by January 15.  The following deadlines apply separately to applications for admission and graduate assistantship.

1.       Admission—The primary decision date for admission, fall only, is the first of March.  Since admission decisions are often competitively based for a limited number of openings, applicants are strongly encouraged to have all application and supporting materials in the Office of Graduate Studies in Business by January 15.  Completed applications received after this date will continue to be screened until the end of April for fall admission.  Applications received from the Office of Graduate Studies after April 30 will be considered for admission only for fall of the following year.  It is the applicant’s responsibility to ensure that all supporting materials are received.

       The applicant should be aware that the transmittal of GMAT scores from the Educational Testing Service generally takes about six  weeks and    occasionally longer if irregularities occur. 

2.       Assistantship—While application for assistantship may be submitted at any time for vacancies which may arise, regular appointments are for the academic year (i.e., fall and spring semesters) and begin with the fall semester.  To receive full consideration for a fall appointment, the Application for Graduate Assistantship in Business must be received by the Office of Graduate Studies in Business by January 15 of that year.  Since only applicants who have been admitted to a degree program can be considered for graduate assistantship appointments, all admission application materials must also be received by February 15 for those desiring full consideration for a graduate assistantship offer.

3.       Prerequisite Courses—The following are undergraduate courses (prerequisite courses) that must be completed either in the student’s undergraduate program or after enrollment in the Ph.D. program at Mississippi State University.  These courses are not considered as part of the student’s formal graduate program of study and do not apply toward fulfillment of minimum credit hour requirements.  A grade of C or better must be received in all prerequisite courses.

Prerequisite Courses:

Business Computer Systems                       3 hours

Business Finance                                        3 hours

Business Statistics                                      6 hours

Calculus                                                    3 hours

Legal Environment of Business                   3 hours

Principles of Accounting                            6 hours

Principles of Economics                            6 hours

Principles of Management                         3 hours

Principles of Marketing                             3 hours

Production Management                          3 hours

Graduate Committee—Each student’s course of study and research is directed by a committee of graduate faculty called a graduate committee.  A graduate committee must contain at least five members, all of whom must be members of the graduate faculty. 

The graduate committee that works with the student through the course work stage of the program is the graduate program committee.  When the student completes all course work and requirements thereof, the graduate program committee is dissolved and the graduate committee is reformulated as the graduate dissertation committee.

Program Committee—The initial graduate committee is the student’s program committee. The committee is composed of: the chairman, who must be a Level I member of the graduate faculty and from the major field; at least two other members from the major field of study; one member from the support area or minor field; and one member from the College of Business and Industry.  This graduate committee is charged with specifying the courses that will constitute the student’s program of graduate study and administering the comprehensive examination. The graduate program committee is dissolved when the student passes the comprehensive examination.

Dissertation Committee—The graduate committee formed following a successful comprehensive examination is the student’s dissertation committee.  The base requirements in constituting the committee are as follows: all members must be on the graduate faculty; three members, one of whom is the chairman and must be a Level I member of the graduate faculty, are from the major;  one member from the support area or minor; and the remaining members from areas germane to the dissertation.  One member of the committee, who may or may not be the chairman, is designated as the dissertation director.  This committee is charged with approval of the dissertation topic proposal and administering and grading of the final defense of the dissertation.

a.       Dissertation Sub-Committee—The sub-committee is composed of the dissertation director and two other members from the graduate dissertation committee. While all members of the dissertation committee should be viewed as resources available to the student, the sub-committee is the group that will work actively with the student throughout the dissertation process.  The members of the dissertation sub-committee are referred to as active members and for this reason the sub-committee is often referred to as the active committee.

b.       Dissertation Readers—Members of the graduate dissertation committee who are not part of the dissertation sub-committee are referred to as readers.

Program of Graduate Study—The doctoral degree is awarded based on the demonstration of mature scholarship and ability to conduct meaningful and independent research. The degree is not granted as a result of taking a given set of courses or earning a given number of credit hours.  While formal course work is important, the specific courses and number of hours needed will vary for different students.  Thus, there is not a total number of courses or hours that will satisfy the degree requirements uniformly for all students.  The course work required for each student is based on: the student’s ability to demonstrate to the graduate faculty a thorough grasp of the fields selected; the student’s particular interests with regard to teaching and research; and the student’s ability to conduct meaningful and independent research.  A minimum of 36 credit hours must be taken in the student’s program at Mississippi State University .

The proposed program of graduate study is specified by the student’s graduate program committee in consultation with the student.  During the first semester of enrollment, a proposed program of graduate study, approved by the graduate program committee, is to be submitted to the Office of Graduate Studies in Business for approval by the director of Graduate Studies in Business.  A copy of the fully approved program of graduate study will be provided to the student and each individual whose signature appears on it.  The student’s signature is required on the program of study.  The program at a minimum consists of a designated major field and a support area or minor field from within the College of Business and Industry, a research and teaching tools component, and dissertation research.

Proposed changes in an approved program of graduate study must be approved in the same manner as the original program.

Course Work Requirements—Following are the minimum course work requirements beyond the baccalaureate stipulated by the graduate faculty in the College of Business and Industry for the Ph.D.

ü  Major Minimum Requirement: 24 Hours—No more than six of these hours may be taken outside of the College of Business and Industry.

ü  Support Area Minimum Requirement:

9 Hours—With the approval of the program committee and the director of Graduate Studies in Business, the student selects at least nine hours of coursework to support his or her study of the major field.  The courses can be chosen from one or several disciplines; hence no examination will be given.  No more than six of these hours may be taken outside the College of Business and Industry.

OR

ü  Optional Minor:  12 Hours—With the approval of the program committee and the director of Graduate Studies in Business, a student who prefers to do so may substitute a minor field for the support area.  A minor in a doctoral program must consist of at least twelve hours of graduate coursework in one discipline within the College of Business and Industry.  A written examination will also be required.

ü  Research and Teaching Tools: 18 Hours—The student selects 18 hours of research methods, statistics, and teaching methods courses.  Six of these hours are specified as BQA 8443 and BQA 9533. Three of these hours are specified as a graduate level instructional methods course.  The remaining required nine hours are selected by the student’s programming committee with the approval of the director of Graduate Studies in Business.  None of the courses in this area may be counted toward the course requirements in the major or support area.

A minimum of 51 hours of course work excluding dissertation hours is required beyond the baccalaureate degree for all majors.  Should a student choose to earn a minor in lieu of or in addition to the support area, this will increase this requirement by three to 12 hours per minor depending on the additional field selected.

Dissertation Research Requirements—The student is required to complete a minimum of 20 credit hours of dissertation research in the major field.  All of these must be taken in the student’s program at Mississippi State University .  All students who have completed course work and/or who have been admitted into degree candidacy must be continuously registered during at least two academic terms per year.

Doctoral Examinations/Completion Requirements—The following written and oral examinations are required of all Ph.D. students.

1.       Quantitative Area Qualifying Examination—

      The Qualifying Examination in the Quantitative Area is a three-hour written examination covering the subject matter of BQA 8443 and BQA  9533.  The examinations is offered twice a year by the graduate faculty in Quantitative Analysis.  The Office of Graduate Studies maintains the schedule of examination dates in Business.  The student must be enrolled during the semester in which the examination is administered.  The student must register for the examination with the Office of Graduate Studies in Business at least 30 days prior to the scheduled date of the examination.  The student must sit for the qualifying examination in the quantitative area by the end of the third regular semester of study. Two failures on the qualifying examination result in automatic termination of the student’s program.

2.       Preliminary Examinations— Preliminary examinations are written examinations required in the major and each minor field.  For each field in the College of Business and Industry, preliminary examinations are offered twice a year by the graduate faculty of the respective field.  The Graduate Studies in Business office maintains the schedule of examination dates.  The student must register for the examination with the Office of Graduate Studies in Business at least 30 days prior to the scheduled date of the examination.

The student may sit for a preliminary examination after completing 18 hours of graduate course work at Mississippi State University and completion of all required course work in the field of the examination. An academic area may stipulate additional requirements to sit for the major preliminary      examination in that area.  All preliminary examinations must be taken within 42 months after beginning course work if the appropriate course work is available.The student must be enrolled during the semester the examination is administered. Three failures on a preliminary examination in a given field result in  automatic termination of the student’s program.

        a)  Major Field Preliminary Examination— An eight-hour written examination is required in the major field.

   b)  Minor Field Preliminary Examination(s)— A four-hour written examination is equired in each minor field.

3.      Comprehensive Examination—The comprehensive examination is an oral examination over the student’s entire program of course work.     Following completion of all course work required by the student’s program, passage of the qualifying examination, and passage of all preliminary examinations, the comprehensive examination may be scheduled.  The comprehensive examination must be scheduled within the first year of the student’s eligibility to sit for the examination. The examination is scheduled through the Office of Graduate Studies in Business at least two weeks prior to the date desired for examination.  The student or a committee member may request that the Office of Graduate Studies appoint an outside observer to attend the comprehensive examination.

The examination is administered by the student’s graduate program committee.  A student may pass the examination with no more than one failure   or dissenting vote from a member of the graduate program committee. A student who fails the comprehensive examination cannot apply to re-sit for the examination until a period of four months has elapsed from the date of the original examination.  Two failures on the comprehensive examination result in automatic termination of the student’s program. The student’s graduate program committee is dissolved upon passage of the comprehensive examination.

4.       Proposal Defense—Following passage of the comprehensive examination the student is eligible to defend a dissertation topic proposal.  The proposal defense is scheduled by the chairman of the graduate dissertation committee through the Office of Graduate Studies in Business and is administered by the student’s graduate dissertation committee.  The student must be enrolled during the semester in which the examination is administered.  The request to schedule the proposal defense must be made at least two weeks prior to the anticipated date of the defense.  A proposal defense will not be scheduled sooner than two weeks after a copy of the written dissertation proposal has been distributed to all members of the graduate dissertation committee and the unit within which the major field is housed.  The proposal defense is open to all interested parties, and copies of  the proposal are available through the unit housing the major.

At the conclusion of the public defense, the graduate dissertation committee will meet in closed session, with and/or without the student, regarding    approval of the proposed dissertation topic.  The committee may approve subject to revisions, delay the decision, or fail to approve the proposal.        The Office of Graduate Studies in Business is notified by the committee chairman of the committee’s decision.  Upon unanimous approval of the dissertation proposal by the members of the graduate dissertation committee, and the approval by the director of Graduate Studies in Business, the student is admitted to candidacy for the doctoral degrees

5.       Dissertation and Final Defense—The dissertation shall be required of all candidates for the doctorate.  The dissertation must show mastery of the techniques of research and a distinct contribution to the field under investigation and study.  The dissertation must conform to the regulations set    by the Graduate Council as specified in the manual Guidelines for Preparing Dissertations and Theses.  This manual is available on-line at http://www.msstate.edu/dept/grad/thesis_guidelines.htm.

The final defense of the dissertation is an oral examination.  The examination is scheduled by the chairman of the graduate dissertation committee through the Office of Graduate Studies in Business and is administered by the student’s graduate dissertation committee. The student must be enrolled during the semester in which the examination is administered.  The request to schedule the final defense must be made at least two weeks prior to the anticipated date of the examination.  The examination will not be scheduled sooner than two   weeks after a copy of the final manuscript has been distributed to all members of the graduate dissertation committee and the unit within which the major field is housed. To qualify for graduation in a given semester the final defense must take place at least by the “Last day for final examination for doctoral degree” as published in the graduate academic  calendar of this publication. The final defense of the dissertation is open to all interested parties and copies of the manuscript are available    through the unit housing the major. At the conclusion of the public defense, the graduate dissertation committee will meet in closed session, with and/or without the student, regarding the results of the final defense of the dissertation.  The committee may pass subject to revisions, delay the decision, or fail the student on the final defense.  A student may pass the examination with no more than one failing or dissenting vote from a member of the    graduate dissertation committee.  The results of the final defense are transmitted to the Office of Graduate Studies in Business by the chairman of the graduate dissertation committee at the conclusion of the meeting. To qualify for graduation in a given semester, the Office of Graduate Studies in Business must report the results of the final defense to the Office of Graduate Studies at least by the “Last day for submitting examination results” as     published in the graduate academic calendar of this publication. A student who fails the final examination cannot apply for reexamination until a period  of six months has elapsed from the date of the original examination.  Two failures on the final examination will result in the student being terminated from further consideration as a doctoral candidate

For further information on dissertation and defense please refer to the “Doctor of Philosophy” section in this publication.

Transfer of Credits—It is anticipated that an appreciable percentage of the students in the doctoral program will hold master’s degrees in business or economics from recognized institutions for which they will be allowed credit approximating the first year of the doctoral program.  In exceptional cases, limited additional transfer credit may be allowed.  In no case will transfer credit be allowed for courses in which grades of C or less were earned.

Residence Requirement—At some time in the doctoral course work, the student shall be required to devote two consecutive regular semesters (fall/spring) with a minimum load of nine hours per semester to the graduate program at Mississippi State University .

Academic Requirements—A student in the Ph.D. program may not continue in the program with grades below B in more than six hours of course work on the program of study. 

Time Limit—The student must complete the doctoral program within eight years of initial entry.

For More Information—For more information about the Ph.D. program in Business or application materials, inquiries should be addressed to:  Director, Graduate Studies in Business, P.O. Drawer 5288, Mississippi State , MS 39762 ; or call 662-325-1891.  Fax:  662-325-8161; E-Mail: gsb@cobilan.msstate.edu