Business Administration | Graduate Program | Academics

If you wish to be considered for admission to the MBA program, send your application for admission to the Northwest Graduate Office by the following dates.

Domestic Student Application Deadlines:

• Fall Semester—July 1
• Spring Semester—December 1
• Summer Semester—May 1

International Student Application Deadlines:

International students must submit applications and all required materials to the Office of Admissions by the following dates. International students should allow approximately two months from the time all application documents are received for notification of acceptance.

• Fall – July 1
• Spring – November 1

Applicants to the MBA program at Northwest Missouri State University with a bachelor’s degree in business from a regionally accredited university must have a cumulative grade point average (GPA) of 2.5 on a 4.0 scale, and one of the following:

• Three years of continuous professional full-time work experience
• Three years of continuous full-time United States enlisted or commissioned military service
• Graduate degree from a regionally accredited university with a minimum 3.0 cumulative GPA
• A GMAT score of 440 or above
• An admission index of 1100 (undergraduate GPA x 200 + GMAT)
• A GRE score of 285 or above
• An admission index of 965 (undergraduate GPA x 200 + GRE)
• A 70th percentile on the Business Major Field Test score or above.
• Applicants to the MBA program who do not have a bachelor’s degree in business are required to successfully complete the 54201: MBA Business Foundation course which is designed specifically for students who are new to business curriculum. 
• All students who are conditionally admitted must complete the 54201: MBA Business Foundation course regardless of prior degrees. 

International applicants must meet one of the following English proficiency requirements:

• TOEFL score of 550 (paper), 213 (computer) or 79/80 (internet-based) or above
• IELTS score of 6.5 or above
• PTE score of 53 or above

The English proficiency requirement may be waived for international applicants with a bachelor’s degree from any United States regionally accredited institution.

International students must submit applications and all required materials to the Office of Admissions by the following dates. International students should allow approximately two months from the time all application documents are received for notification of acceptance.

Transfer Credits

Only students who are in good standing as graduate students at a regionally-accredited institution are eligible to apply as graduate transfer students.

No more than nine semester hours of graduate credit consisting of no more than four courses may be transferred for a graduate program. Transfer credit must be from a regionally-accredited institution. The acceptance of the full nine hours is conditional on the applicability to the student’s planned degree program. The student must be working on a specific master’s degree at Northwest and have completed the Degree Audit Agreement in order to receive consideration for eligible transfer credit. The student’s advisor must request, in writing, consideration of potential transfer credit from the Dean of the Graduate School. Transfer credit is not processed for non-degree or certification graduate students. Transfer credit applied toward a degree may not be older than eight years.

Only work evaluated “B” or above is acceptable for transfer credit and applicable to a specific master’s degree program. Coursework taken for ungraded credit cannot be used toward a degree. Official transcripts must show that the credit is at the graduate level. No transfer credit will be accepted for courses taken by correspondence.

Credit completed at any institution as part of an advanced degree from that institution is not acceptable for transfer toward a graduate degree at Northwest.

Northwest has the option of not accepting transfer credit from a regionally- or nationally- accredited institution for courses offered by that institution in a state outside of the state where the institution has its home campus.

All undergraduate prerequisites must be completed by the time the student has completed 15 hours of graduate course work. No MBA graduate course may be taken before the undergraduate prerequisite has been satisfactorily completed. Students who are notified in their acceptance letter that they must complete prerequisites must obtain a grade of “B” or better. (Prerequisite courses cannot be taken by audit or pass/fail.)The following courses are prerequisites to all MBA programs:

• 51-201 Accounting I
• 51-202 Accounting II
• 52-150 General Economics I (Macroeconomics)
• 52-151 General Economics II (Microeconomics)
• 53-324 Fundamentals of Business Finance
• 54-313 Principles of Management
• 55-330 Principles of Marketing

Students with an undergraduate degree in business usually meet the course prerequisites listed above and can complete the MBA program with 33 hours of graduate courses. Those students from non-business fields can complete the prerequisites by taking the 21 hours of prerequisites from any accredited four-year institution. Students may then complete the program by taking the 33 graduate hours.

Any student who scores 3.0 or less on the writing assessment portion of the GMAT or GRE examination will be required to complete 10-110 Developmental English during the first semester of enrollment. A grade of “C” or better in that class will satisfy the writing sample requirements.

Before deciding to attend Northwest, the international student should examine his or her financial situation very carefully. The U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service requires Northwest to certify that international students have been fully accepted in a graduate master’s program for full-time enrollment (degree seeking) and have sufficient funds to meet all expenses: tuition, housing, transportation, etc. Northwest requires a Statement of Support from the student’s family, sponsor or government. The statement certifies that tuition, room and board, and personal funds are available, and that the student is permitted to export and exchange those funds. Without this certification, no I-20 form can be issued.

International students must also carry adequate medical insurance. Northwest offers an insurance plan if students do not have their own insurance, or there are other insurance agents in Maryville.

New International Students

International students must meet all admission requirements as described in “Admission Requirements” and must have a baccalaureate degree from an approved four-year university or college. In addition, to be fully admitted to Northwest, students must submit the following items to the Northwest Office of Admissions.

• International Application, including supplemental and financial information which requires sponsor signature and notary seal.
• Official academic transcripts from each secondary and post-secondary institution attended. Partial transcripts will be accepted if the student is currently enrolled in a college or university.
• Official GMAT or GRE general test scores.
• Application fee in U.S. dollars.
• Official Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) or International English Language Test System (IELTS) or Pearson Test of English (PTE) score.
• Original financial statement from a banking institution to certify that tuition, room and board and personal funds are available.
• Copy of passport or birth certificate.

Upon receipt of these items, international students will be notified of acceptance or denial. Accepted students will receive a completed I-20 form, which they must then present to a U.S. Consulate when applying for their student (F-I) visas. Student visas should be obtained before entering the United States, as converting from a tourist visa to a student visa is by no means assured.

International information flyer for the M.B.A. program »

Research Component

All MBA students must complete a research component as part of their requirements for graduation. A research paper, at a minimum, is a paper that surveys the literature on a particular topic. In such papers, students should demonstrate that they understand various arguments, hypotheses or theories put forward in the literature, can compare and contrast such, and draw appropriate conclusions therefrom. Term papers meeting these specifications can qualify as research papers. Research papers can be written either individually or as a team as directed by the academic program. The student’s advisor must approve the research paper and file the Research Component Form with the Graduate Office.

Comprehensive Examination – ETS^® MBA-MFT

Students must pass the ETS^® MBA-MFT comprehensive exam in order to complete the MBA program. Students who wish to take the ETS exam must submit their application to take the comprehensive examination and an application to graduate to the Graduate Office no later than the end of the first week of the term in which they wish to sit for the exam.

The ETS^® Major Field Test for MBA is available on campus in Maryville and remotely in the United States. 

• On-campus testing will be scheduled each semester and students who are in their last and had applied for the comprehensive exam will be notified of the date and location.
• Remote testing must be arranged with the Assessment Office and the test must be completed two weeks prior to the scheduled date for on-campus testing.

Alternate Exam for International Students

An alternate comprehensive exam is available to students who live outside of the United States upon the approval of the MBA Program Director. Students must identify a proctor for the exam and submit the proctor’s name, telephone number and e-mail address to the MBA Program Director.

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