MBA Vision Statement
The Master of Business Administration (MBA) program will be recognized as the leading graduate business program in the 13 counties comprising the south central Tennessee region. The MBA program prepares men and women for high-level leadership and management careers in public and private organizations.
MBA Mission Statement
The MBA provides a rigorous and relevant business educational experience for the development of upper and middle level managers.
Located in the rolling hills of Pulaski, Tennessee, we are an inclusive, respectful community of graduate learners that focuses on making ethical decisions while creating sustainable value for a dynamic, internationally competitive marketplace. The MBA curriculum is designed to afford learners many opportunities to study independently and in teams while building analytical, problem solving, and communication skills.
MBA candidates take a common core of business courses including: accounting, marketing, management, finance, operations, global business, analytics, and strategy. The mission is achieved by using a blend of traditional classroom learning experiences, online experiences, and extra classroom assignments.
Program Learning Goals
Candidates will demonstrate the ability to:
- Exhibit a global awareness;
- Apply ethical frameworks to business decisions while maintaining business value creating activities; and
- Exhibit competence in the analysis, synthesis, and evaluation of solving business problems.
MBA Program Admission Requirements
To receive consideration for admission to the MBA Program, the required admissions materials (listed below) must be submitted to and be on file in the Office of Academic Affairs. The address for the Office of Academic Affairs is: 433 West Madison Street, Pulaski, TN 38478, or you may contact Dr. Judy Cheatham, Provost at 931-363-9823 or jbcheat@utsouthern.edu.
Each individual applicant is responsible for any payments and fees associated with these items. The Provost informs individual applicants of provisional, conditional, or full admission to the MBA Program (refer to Graduate Admissions Procedures section for definitions of Provisional, Conditional, and Full Admission status).
Evaluation for admission to the MBA program is based upon the following requirements:
- A completed Graduate Application Form.
- A letter of intent explaining the reasons the applicant wants to enter the MBA program. The applicant should discuss their managerial or work experience, aspirations, and support systems (financial, personal, and professional) that will contribute to the successful completion of the MBA program.
- Official transcripts for ALL previous undergraduate and graduate course work sent directly from the granting institution to the Office of Academic Affairs at The University of Tennessee Southern. Transcripts issued outside the United States must be evaluated and translated by the World Education Services at http://wes.org. or another accepted organization.
Applicants must hold a baccalaureate degree in business from a regionally accredited institution and MUST have a 3.0 grade point average or a 3.0 grade point average in the last 30 hours of 300/400 level business courses.
Two (2) letters of recommendation in support of the individual’s application:
- one from a faculty member at a baccalaureate or higher institution
- one from a manager or colleague
An interview with the MBA Admissions Committee, consisting of the MBA Director and other full time faculty in the MBA program. The applicant will be contacted to schedule this interview.
For an applicant whose first language is other than English, a minimum TOEFL score of 80 with no subscore below 20. See http://www.ets.org/toefl for information about the TOEFL exam. Upon acceptance to the program and arrival on campus, international applicants will be interviewed by a representative of the English as a Second Language (ESL) program to review of the applicant’s speaking and listening skills during academic discourse in English.
Applicants holding a baccalaureate degree in an area other than business from a regionally accredited institution MUST have a 3.0 cumulative grade point average or a 3.0 grade point average in the last 30 hours of 300/400 level coursework in the major.
Non-business majors: Non-business degree holders MUST show baccalaureate proficiency in the following business subject areas before being allowed to take MBA classes:
- Accounting
- Economics
- Finance
- Human Resource Management
- International Business
- Management
- Managerial Accounting
- Marketing
- Production/Operations Management
- Strategic Management
- Statistics
Thus, applicants deemed deficient in any of the above subject areas will be given an individualized path to fulfilling the proficiency requirements: UT Southern has partnered with Ivy Software, a company that provides assessments and self-paced online courses specifically designed to prepare prospective graduate applicants to enter MBA programs.
Applicants must earn a score of 80 or higher on each Ivy course to exit a subject area test. An applicant is allowed three tries on each test. Contact Dr. Lorie Jones at ljone169@utsouthern.edu for additional details. The Ivy Software is designed for individuals who did not major in business during the undergraduate career.