Mar 29, 2024  
2014-2015 Graziadio Academic Catalog 
    
2014-2015 Graziadio Academic Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

Fully Employed Master of Business Administration


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The Fully Employed Master of Business Administration (FEMBA) is a 52-unit program designed for individuals who possess some business or managerial experience and are interested in developing their functional competencies and leadership potential. Students gain a solid foundation of current business management concepts, including the impacts of globalization, technology, and ethics on the future workplace. A significant amount of students’ class assignments will require ongoing integration and application of acquired knowledge and skills by the students to their professional lives.

The program meets the following objectives for students’ learning:

  • To develop fundamental business knowledge in areas such as finance, marketing, accounting, economics, quantitative analysis, law, human behavior, information systems, management and leadership, and strategy.
  • To develop the skills to analyze business situations in an integrated, multidisciplinary way.
  • To improve written and oral communication skills so that students can persuasively and professionally articulate their thinking.
  • To understand team dynamics and gain self-awareness to enhance their effectiveness as managers and leaders of teams of people. To incorporate ethical considerations into decision making.

Four-unit courses typically meet once a week from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m., with typically an additional 8 to 12 hours a week spent outside class on preparation and projects. Occasionally, selected courses are offered on weekends. A student may take one or two 4-unit courses each trimester. Because Pepperdine courses are offered on a three-trimester-a-year basis, a student may complete the program in as few as 24 months by taking 8 to 10 units each trimester. Graduate students enrolled for 8 units are considered full time.

During the first trimester of study, all members of the class participate in a weekend-long personal and leadership development workshop. The primary purpose of the workshop is to build a cohesive learning team for the class group as well as to explore the dynamics of interpersonal communication, personal ethics and values, and team development. The workshop is a residential experience, and participants are required to stay at the facility overnight. Each participant is responsible for the cost of room and board. This course is graded on a credit or no credit basis.

Electives

Elective courses expanding upon the subjects of the core curriculum will be offered based upon demand and availability. Elective courses enable students to focus on areas of professional interest and qualify for a concentration. Prerequisites may be required for some courses.

Concentrations

Concentrations are currently offered in the areas of:

Concentrations offered are determined by demand and, therefore, may not be available at all graduate campuses.

Global Business Requirement

All FEMBA students must complete at least 2 units of global business course work by satisfying one of the following options:

  1. A one-week, 2-unit Global Business Intensive course hosted by partner schools abroad, led by a Graziadio School faculty member.
  2. One trimester Study Abroad at a global partner business school.
  3. Summer school opportunities at a global partner business school.
  4. A one-week, 2-unit residential Global Business Intensive course hosted at Pepperdine University taught by a visiting professor from a global partner business school.
  5. A 2-unit Going Global with Graziadio (G3) project.
  6. An appropriately scoped Global Business Directed Instruction project.

Global Business Intensive Courses

Two units of credit may be earned by attending one of the Global Business Intensive courses offered at locations in Asia, Europe, Latin America, the Caribbean, and North America. These are short-term intensive courses which students take during trimester breaks.

Study Abroad Program

Students may spend a trimester abroad as a full-time student at one of the Graziadio School international partner business schools. Upon approval by the appropriate academic discipline(s), up to 12 units of course work of comparable scope and content may be taken at the international partner school to satisfy elective requirements. Students will enroll at the Graziadio School in the appropriate number of GSBM Study Abroad course units. When the courses are completed at the international partner university, their course designation will be added to the enrollment record so that they will appear on the student’s transcript. These courses will be graded credit or no credit only.

Admission Requirements for the Fully Employed MBA

The FEMBA application process is intended to ensure a good fit between the program’s objectives and the applicant’s experience, qualifications, and potential. Each applicant is assessed in a holistic way; no single criterion controls the admission decision.

To be considered eligible for admission to the FEMBA program, an applicant must have an undergraduate degree with an acceptable grade point average from a regionally accredited four-year college or university or foreign institution. International academic institutions must be accredited by the ministry of education or like accrediting bodies from their respective countries.       

  1.  A completed online Application for Admission with a specified essay and a $75 payment for the nonrefundable application fee must be submitted electronically to the Graziadio School Admission Office.
  2. An official transcript with the baccalaureate degree posted and mailed directly by the registrar from the college or university that granted the undergraduate degree must be sent to the Graziadio School Admission Office. If work toward the undergraduate degree or any graduate work was completed at other colleges or universities, official transcripts from all these institutions must be submitted. Transcripts from non U.S. universities which do not calculate a cumulative GPA on a 4.0 scale (A=4.0) must be certified, with GPA calculated, by a NACES member agency. For certification, we recommend WES (Course-By-Course Report or ICAP).
  3. An acceptable score on the Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT) or the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) General Test taken within the last five years is required. The Fully Employed Programs Admissions committee may choose to waive the GMAT for applicants who have at least three years of full-time work experience and satisfy at least one of the following: (a) have a quantitative B.S. degree in science, technology, engineering, math (STEM), finance, or accounting, (b) have a degree in economics that is quantitative in nature, (c) took statistics or calculus in college and got a grade of B or better, (d) graduated from Graziadio’s BSM program, (e) graduated from Seaver College at Pepperdine with a B.S. degree in Business.
  4. Applicants either must be currently employed or must have a minimum of two years of work experience or its equivalent.
  5. All international applicants whose first language is not English must submit scores on one of the following tests. Any applicant who earns a bachelor’s degree from a United States college or university is exempt from this requirement. The bulleted list below contains test and contact information:
  • Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL). Contact: www.toefl.org or call (617) 671-2075.
  • Pearson Test of English (PTE). Contact: usreco@pearson.com or call (323) 255-2771.
  • International English Language Testing System (IELTS). Contact: www.ielts.org or call (609) 921-9000.
  1. International applicants who do not hold a permanent resident visa in the United States must submit an International Applicant Data form. International Applicant Data forms may be obtained through the Office of International Student Services at http://www.pepperdine.edu/internationalstudents/oiss-forms/.

Notification of Admission

The Admission Office will inform the applicant of the status of the application, but it is the applicant’s responsibility to ensure that all necessary documents are on file by published deadlines for admission.

While acceptance to the program may allow a applicant to enroll for 45 days as an unclassified applicant, admission to Pepperdine University will not be fully considered until the application file is complete. Students will not be allowed to continue beyond the first term until all official documents have been received. No amount of credit taken while on unclassified status will assure a applicant of admission. Admission will be confirmed by a letter from the associate dean.

Leave of Absence

A leave of absence may be granted during a student’s course of study. A letter or an e-mail from the student’s Pepperdine e-mail account must be submitted to the Program Office indicating the reason for the leave and the projected time of return. Students may be granted a leave of absence for up to three consecutive trimesters. If a student requires a leave of absence longer than three consecutive trimesters, the student must petition the Program Committee. For information regarding the submission of this petition, contact an academic advisor.

Standards and Measurements of Achievement for Fully Employed MBA Students

Each course in the Fully Employed MBA program has its own method for measuring achievement. At the beginning of each course, the standards of achievement and method of measurement for a particular course will be described in the course syllabus.

A student must maintain a cumulative grade point average of at least 3.0 throughout the program. All course grades assigned in the program are entered on the student’s official transcript and counted toward the cumulative grade point average. A core course in which a grade lower than “C-” is earned must be repeated before the student will be allowed to graduate. A grade lower than “C-” earned in an elective course must be made up by repeating any elective course. Upon approval by the Program Committee, a course in which a grade lower than “B” is earned may be repeated. However, a course may be repeated only once. In cases where a course has been repeated, both course grades earned remain on the transcript and count toward the cumulative grade point average.

Students’ academic records are reviewed at the end of each trimester. If a student’s grade point average falls below 3.0, the student is placed on academic probation. While on probation, students will be limited to enrollment in one course. Students placed on academic probation shall be informed of any conditions for removing the probationary status.

Because students must maintain a minimum grade point average of 3.0 to graduate with an MBA degree, attention to the grade point average is of concern throughout the student’s enrollment. A student is subject to academic dismissal for any of the following deficiencies:

  • Failure to earn at least a 3.0 grade point average in the first trimester of enrollment.
  • Failure to achieve a cumulative grade point average of 3.0.
  • Earning a grade of “B-” or lower during a trimester in which a student is on probation.
  • Earning a grade lower than “B-” in more than two courses.
  • Earning a grade lower than “D” in any course.

Transfer of Graduate Credit and Waiver of Courses

Upon approval of the administration, up to three courses may be waived. BSCI 650 Personal and Leadership Development Workshop , BSCI 651 Behavior in Organizations , STGY 659 Strategic Management , and STGY 670C Integration in Business Operations: Strategic Management  may not normally be waived. Waiver is based on transfer of equivalent graduate-level courses taken at AACSB and regionally accredited colleges or universities and/or appropriate professional qualifications.

Courses to be transferred in must have been taken within the past five years and prior to the first trimester of enrollment. Only courses in which grades higher than “B-” were earned will be accepted. Accepted transfer courses are shown on the transcripts as “credit” only and are not counted in the cumulative grade point average.

Students asking to transfer course work must submit a written request along with transcripts, university course catalog descriptions, and other pertinent course information (for example, syllabus and book list) to the Program Office for faculty review as to adequacy and currency. Requests for waiver of course requirements based on transfer of courses must be submitted within the student’s first trimester of enrollment.

Fast-Track Fully Employed MBA Option

Students holding an undergraduate major in business from an AACSB accredited university who have achieved a minimum grade point average of 3.5 or better in their business major course work, a minimum GMAT score of 600, and accumulated a minimum of two years of professional work experience will qualify for the fast-track option within the Fully Employed MBA program. Students admitted to the fast-track option can waive up to 12 units of Fully Employed MBA core courses except the core course associated with the concentration that they intend to pursue unless they completed a major in this area in their undergraduate degree. To qualify for a Fully Employed MBA core course waiver under the fast-track option, students must have obtained a “B+” or better grade in at least 6 semester units of comparable upper-division undergraduate course work at an AACSB-accredited university. The upper division undergraduate course work must have been completed within the past seven years. Requests for course waivers under the fast-track option must be made by the end of the first trimester of enrollment and must be approved by the relevant department chair.

Pathways to FEMBA Program

Admission Requirements for the Pathways to FEMBA Program

  1. To be considered eligible for admission to the Pathways program, a student must have an earned grade point average of 3.0 or higher in the Graziadio School’s BSM program in one of two situations:

    • Graduated with a BSM degree from the Graziadio School no more than five years prior to the term of matriculation.

    • Currently admitted to and have completed 40 or more units of the Graziadio School’s BSM program and have no outstanding lower-division course work.

  2. Applicants must have a minimum of three years of work experience.
  3. A minimum grade of “B” is required in each BSM course for which the equivalent FEMBA core course is waived through the Pathways to FEMBA program. Students who have not achieved this minimum “B” grade in the BSM course will be required to complete the equivalent FEMBA core course in addition to the normal course requirements of the Pathways to FEMBA program.
  4. Applicants must have completed ACCT 500 Advanced Topics: Accounting (2)  and FINC 502 Advanced Topics: Finance (2)  during the BSM program and must have earned a letter grade of “B” or better or applicants must complete ACCT 652 Accounting Information and Control Systems (4)  and FINC 655 Financial Management of the Firm (4)  within the first two trimesters of the program. The credits will be deducted from the normal 52 FEMBA minimum units required for the MBA degree (remaining FEMBA units). The units required for the FEMBA program are based on the earned grade point average in the BSM program:
  • 3.4 grade point average or greater in the BSM units earned at the Graziadio School may qualify for the MBAJ program and waive up to 22 units and the Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT) (see MBAJ section for further information and application process).
  • 3.3 grade point average or greater in the BSM units earned at the Graziadio School, may waive up to 16 units and the GMAT. A minimum of 36 units to be completed at the MBA level.
  • 3.2 grade point average or greater in the BSM units earned at the Graziadio School, may waive up to 12 units and the GMAT. A minimum of 40 units to be completed at the MBA level.
  • 3.1 grade point average or greater in the BSM units earned at the Graziadio School, may waive up to 8 units and the GMAT. A minimum of 44 units to be completed at the MBA level.
  • 3.0 grade point average or greater in the BSM units earned at the Graziadio School, may waive the GMAT. A minimum of 52 units to be completed at the MBA level.  
  • Grade point average less than 3.0 refer to the FEMBA program for admission requirements.

Notification of Admission

An Application for Admission packet may be obtained from the Program Office. The completed application must be submitted to the Graziadio School Admission Office.

The Admission Office will inform the applicant of the status of the application, but it is the applicant’s responsibility to ensure that all required documents are on file by published deadlines for admission. Admission will be confirmed by a letter from the associate dean.

Course Requirements for the Pathways to FEMBA Program

  1. The following courses may not be waived:
  2. GSBM 670X  must be taken prior to STGY 659 /STGY 670C . GSBM 670X  cannot be taken with STGY 659 /STGY 670C  

Policy Exceptions


Please refer to the Policy Exceptions information located here .

Course Requirements for the Fully Employed MBA


The Fully Employed MBA program requires 52 units of course work with some flexibility in scheduling. BSCI 650  and BSCI 651  must normally be taken in the first trimester, and STGY 659  and STGY 670C  must be taken after all core courses.

GSBM 670X  and STGY 670C  are integration courses. Students must complete the following courses before taking GSBM 670X : ACCT 652 , BSCI 650 , BSCI 651 , DESC 656 , ECNM 657 , FINC 655 , and MKTG 658 . Students must enroll in GSBM 670X  before enrolling in their last course, STGY 659 . STGY 670C  must be taken in conjunction with STGY 659 .

Following is the suggested course sequence for students wishing to complete the program in two years:

Trimester IV


Notes:


If a student would like to take an elective earlier in the program and there are no prerequisites for that course or the student has met the prerequisite, a program counselor will advise the student. A program counselor is available at each graduate campus.

Elective Concentrations


The Fully Employed MBA allows students to choose one of eight elective concentrations offered:

Concentrations consist of 12 units of course work.

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