Business Administration: Management Science and Quantitative Methods (MBA)
Department website: https://www.mccombs.utexas.edu/
Graduate study is offered in the following areas: accounting; business, government, and society; finance; information, risk, and operations management; management; marketing; and technology commercialization. Students in the full-time program may concentrate their coursework in one of these areas by choosing from among 22 available concentrations of elective coursework. This program is classified as STEM Designated Degree Programs by the Department of Homeland Security for the purposes of the 24-month STEM optional practical training extension.
Graduate Handbook
Graduate handbook information is updated and maintained by each program. Graduate handbooks are available within each program's office and online. Please contact the program with concerns or questions.
Admission
Several scheduling options are available to students seeking the MBA: full-time, executive, and evening programs in Austin; alternating weekend programs in Dallas and Houston.
Admission decisions for all programs are based on the applicant’s academic and professional background, letters of recommendation, and other factors such as a pre-recorded or live interview.
With the following exceptions, all applicants must submit a valid score from the Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT), Executive Assessment (EA) or the Graduate Records Examination General Exam (GRE).
The admissions committee may consider waiving the GMAT/GRE/EA requirement for MBA programs when one of the following conditions is met:
- an expired GMAT, GRE, or EA score, or
- a general merit-based test waiver is approved prior to application submission.
TOEFL or IELTS scores are required of all applicants who are not United States citizens or permanent residents and who do not meet one of the following waiver criteria:
- You have lived and worked full-time in the U.S. or in a country where English is the only official language for at least two of the past four years, or
- You hold a master's degree from a college or university located in the U.S. or from a country where English is the only official language, or
- You were educated solely in English for your undergraduate and/or prior graduate degree in a country where English is not the only official language.
Upon admission to the program, students must pay a nonrefundable enrollment deposit to indicate that they accept the offer of admission. The deposit is applied to the payment of tuition when the student enrolls. The deposit is also required of students admitted to the dual degree programs. More information about the admission process for each program is published by the McCombs School of Business online.
Total Hours Required: 62
Requirements
The full-time Master of Business Administration (MBA) is a two-year program taught in Austin. Students enter the program in the fall and graduate at the end of the second spring semester. At least 15 hours of coursework are required each semester. A one-hour career management course is required in the first semester.
The program is 62 semester hours of coursework. Twenty-three hours are provided by required core courses. Students are required to take certain core courses in an assigned cohort.
During the first semester of the program, students are organized into four cohorts of approximately 65 members. The students in each cohort take most core courses together. Within the cohort and in particular courses, students may be assigned to four or five-person study groups to encourage group problem solving and teamwork and the development of leadership skills.
At least 37 semester hours of approved graduate electives are required. The student may concentrate the elective coursework within a discipline, such as marketing, by choosing from among 22 available concentrations of elective coursework; each concentration consists of a sequence of courses that offers strong preparation for a particular career path. This program is classified as STEM Designated Degree Programs by the Department of Homeland Security for the purposes of the 24-month STEM optional practical training extension. Students are not required to choose a concentration.
Further information about prerequisites, requirements, and concentrations is available from the MBA Program Office, online and by email.
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| All students must also follow the requirements and policies below: | ||
| Graduate Business Requirements | ||
| Graduate University Requirements | ||
The objective of each of the programs described below is to develop influential business leaders who are able to assume high-level responsibilities in the rapidly changing national and international environment of the public and private sectors. The curriculum is designed to stimulate intellectual curiosity; to develop analytical and research ability; and to give students the ability to make sound managerial decisions, to plan, organize, and control activities in order to achieve established goals, and to manage people, organizations, and change. Students are expected to acquire the concepts, tools, and understanding to operate in and contribute successfully to new economic environments. Such environments are characterized by rapid technological change, global competition, and information-rich or information-deficient management decisions. Each program is designed to accommodate students with baccalaureate degrees in a wide variety of fields. Each affords the student a wide range of choices to complete a course of advanced study that integrates developments, theory, and applications involved in the exercise of executive and managerial administrative responsibilities.