Business Administration, Master of Business Administration

In addition to University Requirements:

• Complete individual plan requirements.

Purpose Statement

The Northern Arizona University Masters in Business Administration (MBA) program prepares students with the necessary management, consulting, and leadership skills required for a successful career in the global business environment.

Experienced and dedicated faculty and teaching professionals create an invigorating, experiential, and personalized learning experience in a diverse learning environment through lectures, case studies, and partnerships with various organizations. Our graduates will gain deeper knowledge, experience, and understanding in the disciplines of accounting, finance, economics, management, marketing, strategy, and more. Experiential learning opportunities in conjunction with practical classroom instruction will provide each MBA student with the confidence and integrative business skills necessary to successfully manage and lead organizations in today’s dynamic global business environment.

As a result, our MBA program graduates have several ways to advance their careers. Our graduates gain knowledge and understanding that each organization is unique and is comprised of an integrated set of functional activities. This makes our MBA graduates attractive and competitive prospects for advancement into managerial and leadership positions within their current organizations. Furthermore, the skills and experiences acquired through the NAU MBA program will enable our graduates to pivot and change careers or launch a new career, whether here in the United States or abroad. For MBA graduates with a passion for entrepreneurialism, we will prepare them with the foundation of business skills required to successfully pursue their ambitions. Additionally, the NAU MBA experience offers our students extraordinary opportunities to network, build and maintain relationships with their student cohort, faculty, alumni, and very importantly, with industry, business, and community leaders. Through networking and relationship building, our graduates develop connections and professional relationships to support them in advancing their careers. Importantly, our tuition is extremely competitive, providing our graduates with a very attractive return on investment.

In the NAU full-time program, our students are immersed in an accelerated, 30-credit program which is completed in approximately 10 months. This program is offered at our beautiful and scenic campus in Flagstaff, AZ. The in-person program consists of core courses where students come together as a cohort, acquiring fundamental business knowledge and skills required to succeed in today’s highly competitive global business environment. Furthermore, students may select elective courses that align with their individual career aspirations. For example, our accounting concentration affords students the opportunity to earn credits toward the 150-unit CPA licensing requirement. Students who want to pursue other concentration areas, such as Applied Management, acquire both business analytics and leadership skills through consulting engagements with external clients.

Student Learning Outcomes

The MBA experience in the FCB prepares graduates for professional and managerial careers in business organizations. It also provides a foundation for continuing professional and further graduate education. Each MBA will be competent in the general areas of strategic integrative thinking, ethics and social responsibility, global and business environment awareness, professional self-management skills, and communication.

Strategic Integrative Thinking: MBAs should apply integrative frameworks reflecting appropriate functional knowledge to identify issues and problems, generate alternatives, and develop logical solutions for complex business situations. Solutions should be supported by relevant analysis and decision model selection.

Ethics and Social Responsibility: MBAs can demonstrate the ability to identify ethical dilemmas and be able to recognize and evaluate alternative courses of action.

Global and Business Environment Awareness: MBAs are able to apply a global perspective to the business environment and management issues facing enterprises engaged in international operations.

Professional Self-Management Skills: MBAs should display a professional demeanor through confidence, courtesy, appearance, and a proactive approach to work and career. They should build effective working relationships and pursue opportunities for self-improvement by developing networking and feedback resources.

Communication: MBAs can communicate effectively in written and oral formats for a variety of purposes, situations, and audiences. Additionally, students can communicate effectively as both individuals and as part of a group presentation.

Graduate Admission Information

• The NAU graduate online application is required for all programs. Admission to many graduate programs is on a competitive basis, and programs may have higher standards than those established by the Office of Graduate and Professional Studies.
  
  Admission requirements include the following:

  • Transcripts.
  • Undergraduate degree from a regionally accredited institution with a 3.0 GPA on a 4.0 scale (“A” = 4.0), or the equivalent.

  
  Visit the NAU Graduate Admissions website for additional information about graduate school application deadlines, eligibility for study, and admissions policies.
  
  Ready to apply? Begin your application now.

  International applicants have additional admission requirements. Please see the International Graduate Admissions Policy.

Additional Admission Requirements

• Individual program admission requirements over and above admission to NAU are required.

• • The MBA Admissions Committee takes a holistic approach to candidate evaluation with consideration of academic ability, leadership qualities, communication and interpersonal skills, relevant professional experience, potential for career growth, and motivation for success. No particular undergraduate major is necessary for students applying to the MBA program. Instead, candidates must demonstrate competency in background business subjects if they do not have a foundational business background. Typically, this is a full-time, cohort-based MBA program that begins in the summer.  Under exceptional circumstances, and with the approval of the Graduate Coordinator, students are allowed to enroll in the full-time MBA program on a part-time basis. In such cases, students are allowed to work 20 hours per week as against 10 hours per week for the full-time students.
  • All applicants will conduct a review of their previous coursework and professional experience in consultation with the graduate coordinator and identify whether additional foundation courses are necessary for the students’ future program success, particularly if additional foundation courses in business and math are necessary for the students’ future program success.  Foundation courses are considered part of the program of study, and must be successfully completed before enrollment in MBA core or elective courses.  
  • Reference form with contact information for two references

• • Resume or Curriculum Vitae

• • Responses to Specific Essay Questions

Master’s Requirements

• This Master’s degree requires 30 – 36 units distributed as follows:

  • Core Coursework (21 – 27 units):
  • Select a Concentration (9 units):
    • Accounting Concentration
    • Applied Management Concentration
    • Custom Concentration

  
  Take the following 30 – 36 units

• Core Coursework (21 – 27 units)

  • BA 587, BA 610, BA 650, BA 652, BA 653, BA 654, BA 657, BA 659, BA 660 (21 – 27 units)

• Students completing the program through the Organizational Partnership-Global Campus must also complete the following:

  • BA 521 and BA 609 (6 units)

• Concentration Requirements – Select One (9 units)

• • Accounting Concentration (MBA- ACC) (9 units)
    Prepares students to receive necessary hours for the CPA exam.

    • ACC 570, ACC 580, ACC 590 (9 units)

• • Applied Management Concentration (MBA) (9 units)
    Provides learning and hands-on experience that enables students to enter the workforce with an advanced skill set.

    • BA 641, BA 642, BA 643 (9 units)

• • Custom Concentration (9 units)

    • In consultation with your advisor, select electives that support your chosen field of study. (9 units)

Accelerated Bachelor’s to Master’s Program

• • This program is available as an Accelerated Undergraduate/Graduate Plan wherein a student may start a master’s degree while simultaneously completing their bachelor’s degree.

• • Students enrolled at the Flagstaff campus for both undergraduate and graduate programs are eligible to complete the Bachelor of Science in Accountancy and start a Master of Business Administration at NAU.

• • Students must apply to the master’s program by the graduate program’s application deadline, meet all admissions requirements listed in the policy Accelerated Bachelor’s to Master’s Programs, as well as the admissions requirements for the specified master’s plan to be considered for admission. Admission to programs is competitive and qualified applicants may be denied because of limits on the number of students admitted each year.
    
    Be sure to speak with the Master’s Program Director/Coordinator regarding your interest in the accelerated plan.

• • Students accepted into the Accelerated Program should complete the same requirements for the graduate degree as defined above.

Additional Information

• Be aware that some courses may have prerequisites that you must also successfully complete. For prerequisite information, click on the course or see your advisor.

• Program Fee Information

• Program fees are established by the Arizona Board of Regents (ABOR). A program fee has been approved for this program. See program fee details. Program fees are subject to change and updated July 1 for the next academic year.