Master of Business Administration

Master of Business Administration 

Degree Requirements

The MBA Program requires a total of 13 to 21 courses, depending on the student’s undergraduate preparation, which includes a required foundational course, 

  (0 credits). Students must fulfill the MBA foundation (prerequisite), core, and elective courses to complete the degree. Detailed information and MBA program plans can be found at http://business.providence.edu/mba-programs.

Foundation/Prerequisite Courses

The MBA Program requires that students achieve competency in the foundation/prerequisite courses listed, to graduate. 

Equivalent Graduate Foundation Course	PC Course Equivalent	MBA Course Equivalent
Financial Accounting and Managerial Accounting	ACC 203/204	MBA 548
Managerial Finance I	FIN 207	MBA 532
Micro Economics and Macro Economics	ECN 101/102	MBA 533
Mathematics for Business Analysis	MTH 108
Statistical Analysis of Business	MTH 217
Principles of Marketing	MKT 205

MBA Core Courses

The following core courses are required:

• MBA 502 - Foundations of Business
    (0 credits)
• 300-Hours Professional Business Internship
• MBA 603 - Accounting and Decision-making in Organizations
     
• MBA 626 - Financial Management for Corporations
     
• MBA 651 - Marketing Management in Competitive Environments
     
• MBA 676 - Organizational Effectiveness through People and Teams
     
• MBA 677 - Professional Ethics and Responsibility
    OR
  MBA 611 - Accounting Ethics
    OR 
  MBA 674 Global Business Ethics
    
• MBA 687 Statistics for Business Analytics
    
• MBA 689 - Managing Information Resources
     
• MBA 690 Analytics in Operations Management
         
• MBA 700 - Strategic Management in a Global Business Environment
     

MBA Electives

In addition to the MBA core, students are required to take at least three to four elective courses. The quantity of electives differs for each student, based on eligibility to waive coursework.

Prerequisite courses may not be taken to count towards electives.

Elective and prerequisite offerings may vary by term/year and cannot be guaranteed.

Students may apply their electives towards a concentration and/or a certificate. 

Questions about current or future offerings should be directed to the PCSB Graduate Programs Office, or the PCSB Graduate Portal, or can be found on CyberFriar each semester.

Graduate Certificate Programs 

Students may choose to enroll in a Graduate Business certificate before or while working towards their MBA degree. Course credits may not be counted towards both a concentration and a certificate. If a student would like both a concentration and a certificate, they must take the additional elective courses to be applied towards the concentration/certificate. Please see the Graduate Business Certificates page for more information. 

Graduate Concentrations 

MBA students may declare a concentration in management or a concentration in finance. A student must take three electives in either management or finance to fulfill a concentration. 

MBA Course Waiver

Students who have six undergraduate courses with a “B” average or better in accountancy, finance, management, and marketing may waive the corresponding MBA core course. This course must be replaced with an elective. Students must complete at least 36 credits plus MBA 502 and all prerequisites to satisfy the degree requirements.

Graduate Certificate in Business Analytics  

Professional Work Experience Requirement

Students are required to have work experience to begin the PC MBA Program. A student entering the program must meet at least one of the criteria outlined below to satisfy this requirement:

• One year or more of full-time post-baccalaureate work experience. This requires proof of work experience in the form of approval from Human Resources that verifies the position title and the timeframe of work. Please complete a Work Experience in Handshake (https://providence.joinhandshake.com/login) labeled PCSB Work Experience-Full Time.
• A 300-hour internship, taken the first term of matriculation into the program, not for credit. Please complete a Work Experience in Handshake labeled PCSB Work Experience-Internship without MBA 699. This requires proof of the internship experience in two forms:
  • 1) approval from Human Resources that verifies the position title and the timeframe of work, and
  • 2) a second approval from Human Resources providing proof of completion.
• A 300-hour internship, taken the first term of matriculation into the program, for MBA 699 credit. Concurrent enrollment in the MBA 699 Internship course is optional. This option is in place primarily for international students (CPT) and for internship providers that require course enrollment. Students who are not required to take the MBA 699 Internship course to meet CPT or employer requirements will need permission and full support from their internship supervisors to register for the course. Students enrolling in MBA 699 will need to gain approval from the course instructor, and their employer must meet the course’s minimum requirements. This option requires completing a Work Experience labeled MBA Learning Agreement in Handshake.
• An approved PCSB consulting project. The PC MBA Program offers a business consulting project course for students entering the program in the fall.
• An approved petition by junior MBA admits to use a 300-hour internship taken after junior year of college. This requires proof of the internship experience in the form of approval from Human Resources that verifies the position title and the timeframe of work.

Students who need support for the internship process or internship placement can contact the PCSB’s Graduate Career Coach Susan Riley at sriley4@providence.edu. 

Please note that graduate assistantships do not fulfill the internship requirement.

  Registration (optional course*)

To earn credit, students may choose to take the MBA 699 3-credit course concurrently with the internship. Students with internships that require course credit or international students who need CPT credits, may select the option to take MBA 699. The student must submit a learning agreement and obtain final approval from the MBA program office before registering for MBA 699 by the date specified from the PCSB Graduate Programs Office. Students must be in an internship while taking MBA 699. This course counts as an elective.

• Obtain internship
• Submit Learning Agreement in Handshake
• Once the learning agreement is approved, make payment in CyberFriar · Forward the receipt to pcsb-grad@providence.edu
• Student is registered for MBA 699: Internship (3-credits) Payment for MBA 699 should be made in CyberFriar (Student Services > Bursar’s Office > enter in tuition cost > cash out) and the receipt sent to pcsb-grad@providence.edu so the student can be registered.

MBA Capstone Policy

  is the capstone course for the MBA degree and should be taken toward the end of a student’s program. An MBA candidate must have completed the required prerequisites ( ,  ,   ,  ) and be in good academic standing (GPA 3.0 or higher) to enroll or have permission from the Graduate Program Director. This course must be completed at Providence College.

Transfer Credits

Graduate courses that have not been applied toward another degree, can be evaluated for transfer credit by the PCSB Graduate Programs Office. Additionally, the transfer of graduate courses is governed by the following College policies:

1. A maximum of six graduate credits may be transferred;
2. They must be from an AACSB-accredited graduate business program and institution of higher learning;
3. They must have been taken within five years of the date of transfer (unless an exception is made for a particular course by the program); and
4. A minimum grade of “B” is required.

Students must complete a PCSB Graduate transfer form, submitted with a syllabus and transcript, for approval from the program. Current students must gain preapproval from the PCSB Graduate Program Office.

Global Education

There are multiple international study abroad options available, including short-term programs, and an international internship. The PCSB Graduate Program Office markets these options to students. Please see https://business.providence.edu/go-global/ for more details and past international experiences.

Thesis

A thesis, while not required, may be completed and can substitute for two elective courses (6 credits) with permission of the PCSB Graduate Programs Office. The thesis should be academic and include significant research. PCSB Graduate Program Office approval of the thesis topic and committee is required prior to registration in the thesis course(s).