Course Requirements (30 Credit Hours)

New courses are proposed as the business environment changes. The program is willing to consider offering other special electives for employers with special interests. The program is currently exploring additional ways to bring international experience to M.B.A. students.

Although the basic degree requirements exist as distinct courses, the M.B.A. program embraces the integration of courses into a coherent whole consistent with our mission of educating the head, heart and hands. The final course, “Strategies of World-Class Organiza­tions,” ends the curriculum with discussions of business decisions that require students to use life experiences as well as academic experiences to recommend preferred business actions. The faculty identifies and uses integrative cases in applicable courses to allow students to recognize the interrelationships between business disciplines. The majority of M.B.A. classes also require students to apply business theories to practical settings in their own places of employment or in other business environments.

Proficiency Requirements

Students must demonstrate satisfactory completion in all proficiency course work and/or satisfactorily complete the online modules.  Additional expectations for entry into the M.B.A. program include work experience and computer skills in word processing, spreadsheet, and presentation software.

Proficiency requirements may be met in three ways: undergraduate-level courses, graduate-level courses, or an approved online self-paced module.

• Meeting these requirements at the undergraduate level requires successful completion of proficiency course work in business covering or equivalent to the following content areas: Financial Accounting; Statistical Methods; General Management; Macroeconomics and Microeconomics; Finance; and Marketing.
• Meeting these requirements at the graduate-level, students are required to complete 9 credit hours in the following courses or their equivalents:

ACC 520 Essentials of Accounting                                  BUS 520 Essentials of Business Statistics

ECO 510 Essentials of Economics                                   MGT 530 Essentials of Management

FIN 510 Essentials of Finance                                        MAT 111 Elementary Statistics

MKT 510 Essentials of Marketing

• Meeting these requirements through successful completion of approved online self-paced modules. Students may move at their own pace and complete the module as quickly as they choose. After completion of the module, students will be required to pass an exam on the module content. Students interested in this option should contact the MBA Office for additional information and assistance.

Internship Experience

Field Internships, intended to foster linkages between academic life and practical job experience, afford students the opportunity to:

• Apply theories learned in the classroom to practical, on-the-job situations;
• Learn specific job skills from experienced professionals;
• Develop an awareness of job responsibilities and career requirements; and
• Gain valuable experience for employment.

Students enroll in a specific independent study or field internship experience course for academic credit during normal pre-registration. Internships are graded on satisfactory/unsat­is­factory basis only, and such a grade does not alter the Berry grade-point average. Credit may not be granted retroactively if the internship was not approved before the experience began. If the student wishes to make application for an internship in the place of normal employment, convincing evidence must be presented that the internship moves the experience beyond normal duties into new and educationally profitable areas.

Most internships are one semester in length. Students must show a direct relation between the amount of academic credit sought and the number of hours per week devoted to the internship itself. For each semester hour of credit usually sought, there is the assumption of 45 hours of commitment on the part of the student.

Each intern has both an on-site supervisor and a campus supervisor. It is the responsibility of the student and the campus supervisor to work out all the details regarding placement and intern’s responsibilities with the organization wishing to participate as host for the intern. The campus supervisor is responsible for the academic content of the internship; for periodic on-site visits with the intern (where feasible); for continuing communication with the intern and the on-site supervisor; and, upon receipt of a written evaluation by the on-site supervisor, for assessing student performance and assigning a final grade. It is the responsibility of the on-site supervisor to assign responsibilities to the student that will foster the educational goals of the internship and to communicate regularly and accurately with the campus supervisor regarding the intern’s progress. While Berry College exercises control of the academic quality of internships, it cannot be responsible for such quality, for intern performance, or for any personal arrangements (housing, transportation, etc.) that may be called for in connection with the internship.

At least two months prior to registration for the term in which the internship is taken students should begin to take the following steps.

1. The student should consult with his or her academic advisor about the suitability of using an internship experience as a part of the student’s program of study.
2. The student and the campus academic internship supervisor (who may or may not be the student’s academic advisor) must develop a learning plan with a coherent program of academic content that includes a syllabus with reading list and such other requirements as the academic supervisor may stipulate.
3. The student or other Berry graduate program representative should obtain a brief statement from the on-site supervisor indicating willingness to serve and understanding of the conditions of the internship including the student’s duties and responsibilities.
4. Both supervisors must sign the completed Internship Application for Approval form (available from the graduate program director or the provost’s office.)
5. The student’s academic advisor must review and approve the Application for Approval form with the accompanying syllabus and learning plan as part of the semester advising and registration process. The school dean must sign the form upon reviewing the complete internship application packet.
6. Not less than 30 days prior to the beginning of the relevant semester, the student must submit the complete internship application packet to the provost for the provost’s signature. Upon approval, the student will be registered for the internship.
7. Arrangements to pay all fees associated with the credit to be earned must be made prior to the start of the semester in which the intern­ship is taken. Tuition for internship credit is paid at prevailing Berry College rates.
   
   For additional information about internships, students are invited to consult their advisor, their director of graduate programs, their school dean or the provost.

Required Courses: 21 Hours

• ACC 611 - Accounting for Decision Making 3-0-3
• BUS 657 - Strategic Use of Information Technology 3-0-3
• BUS 685 - Strategies of World- Class Organizations 3-0-3
• FIN 601 - Corporate Finance 3-0-3
• MKT 621 - Strategic Marketing 3-0-3
• MGT 655 - Leadership and Change Management 3-0-3
• MGT 664 - Service Management 3-0-3

• OR*

• MGT 665 - Value Chain Management 3-0-3

• * Students who complete both courses will be allowed to count one of the courses as an elective.

Elective Courses: 9 Hours

• BUS 669 - International Entrepreneurship 3-0-3
• BUS 676 - Entrepreneurship and Advanced Business Planning 3-0-3
• BUS 695 - Special Topics in Business 3-0-3
• BUS 697 - Independent Study/ Internship 1 to 3
• MGT 660 - Strategic Human Resource Management 3-0-3
• MGT 667 - Quality Management 3-0-3
• MGT 668 - International Management 3-0-3
• MKT 658 - Social Media and Internet Marketing 3-0-3