Business Administration - Organizational Leadership (Master of Business Administration)

Application Deadlines

Applications for this program are accepted throughout the year in fall, spring, and summer. 

Application Materials Required for the MBA Degree

Applicants for the MBA must submit all of the following documentation to Graduate Admissions to be considered for admission:

Graduate Admissions
Jacksonville State University
700 Pelham Road North
Jacksonville, Alabama 36265-1602

1. Completed JSU Graduate Application for Admission.
2. Non-refundable $35.00 application processing fee.
3. Official transcript(s) from the baccalaureate degree awarding institution and all transcripts from institutions where post-baccalaureate work has been completed. To be considered for admission, applicants must hold a degree from an institutionally accredited institution or its foreign equivalent. (Students who have previously attended JSU do not need to request a transcript from the University.)
4. Official test scores on the Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT). The GMAT must be taken within the five-year time frame immediately preceding enrollment. Note: A minimum acceptable GMAT score of 400 is required. A GMAT waiver is available for students who meet certain criteria. Please see the admission requirements below.
5. A résumé showing at least 3 years professional work experience. Applicants who choose to submit an official GMAT score or who have graduated from an AACSB-accredited business program with an overall graduating GPA of at least 3.0 or who are applying through the JSU 4 + 1 program are not required to submit a résumé.
6. International student applicants must see the International Student Applicants section of this catalog for other application and enrollment requirements.

Transfer Credit

Transfer credits are accepted from AACSB International accredited schools only.  No transfer credit(s) will be accepted once students are enrolled in the MBA Program, except in cases of extreme hardship to be determined by the Graduate Business Programs Coordinator and the Dean of the Graduate School.

Admission Requirements for the MBA Degree

All students seeking admission to the MBA program must have completed the application process and been admitted to the program prior to enrolling in MBA classes. Applicants are admitted on a selective basis upon review of the completed application package.

Applicants must meet one of the following admission formula requirements. For purposes of computing the undergraduate GPA, a 4.00 grade-point scale is used. The plus (+) and minus (-) grades from undergraduate transcripts are not used in calculating the GPA.

Students Accepted for Entry into the Program

To obtain admission into the MBA program, students must meet one of the following formula requirements:

• have an undergraduate degree from an AACSB-accredited business program with at least an overall graduating 3.00 GPA

or

• have an undergraduate degree from an accredited institution with at least an overall graduating 3.00 GPA

and

• at least 3 years of professional work experience ­or an official GMAT score of 400 or higher

and

• completion of the undergraduate equivalents to the foundation courses discussed in the Foundation Courses section.

Adequate professional work experience will be determined by an evaluation of the applicant’s résumé by a committee of the graduate faculty.

All applicants who are admitted to the MBA program but do not have adequate undergraduate business preparation may be required to complete up to 9 semester hours of foundation business and/or economics courses. These courses can be found under the Foundation Courses section. Applicants who have not fulfilled the undergraduate equivalents of these foundation courses will be admitted on a conditional basis.

JSU Graduates

Jacksonville State University graduates can be accepted for entry into the program without submitting an official GMAT score if their graduating GPA is at least 3.0 and they have satisfied the undergraduate equivalents of the foundation courses listed under the Foundation Courses section.

4+1 Program Applicants

Jacksonville State University applicants admitted under the 4+1 program who have an undergraduate GPA of 3.0 or higher can receive a GMAT waiver.

Conditional Admission

Any applicant failing to meet the requirements for admission, as defined above, may be considered for conditional admission if the student meets the following requirements:

• have an undergraduate degree from an accredited institution with at least an overall graduating 2.75 GPA or an undergraduate GPA of 3.0 or higher on the last 30 hours of the undergraduate degree

and

• at least 3 years of professional work experience or an official GMAT score of 400 or higher

or

• hold a graduate degree from an accredited university.

Adequate professional work experience will be determined by an evaluation of the applicant’s résumé by a committee of the graduate faculty.

Students who are granted conditional admission must achieve a GPA of at least 3.00 on the first 12 graduate hours attempted within the time frame specified in the student’s admissions letter. Failure to comply will result in the student being dropped from the program.

All applications will be reviewed by the Graduate Business Programs Coordinator for the College of Business and Industry. The Graduate Business Programs Coordinator will submit to the Dean, Graduate School their recommendation on the admission of each applicant. The Dean of the Graduate School, in conjunction with the Graduate Business Programs Coordinator, will make the final decision on the admission of the student.