Master of Business Administration

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 – June 15
• 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

Northwest accepts a maximum of 12 graduate hours from regionally accredited institutions that have not already been applied to a degree program. Only coursework evaluated "B" or above is acceptable for transfer credit as approved by the specific program coordinator and/or advisor. Official transcripts must show that the credit is at the graduate level. Transfer credit is not processed for graduate students who are not admitted to or enrolled in a graduate level degree or certification program.

Before deciding to attend Northwest, the international student should examine his or her financial situation very carefully. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security - and its related departments of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Student Exchange Visitor Program, and Citizenship and Immigration Services - 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 for one academic year: 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 into the United States. Without this certification, no I-20 form can be issued.

Students entering Northwest are required to have a reading, writing, and conversational knowledge of the English language. If the student’s secondary education was obtained from a non-English speaking school or a school in which the medium of instruction is not English, and that student was hired as a teaching graduate assistant, then he or she is required to meet an English language requirement. Northwest accepts the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL), the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) or the Pearson Test of English (PTE).

Minimum score requirements are:

• TOEFL:
  • 550 paper and pencil
  • 213 computer based
  • 79-80 Internet based
• IELTS: 6.5 overall band score
• PTE: 53

International students are required to have an approved health insurance plan. The student is charged for Northwest’s approved plan. If the international student has a health insurance plan before entering the University, they must contact the International Affairs Office within the first two weeks of classes for approval of that policy. If approval is given, then the charge for Northwest’s policy is removed from their bill.

In addition to the general requirements prescribed by the Graduate School, all MBA candidates without an undergraduate degree in a business field must successfully complete 54201: MBA Business Foundations.

Comprehensive Examination - ETS^® MBA-MFT

Students must take the ETS MBA-Major Field Test (ETS MBA-MFT) comprehensive exam to complete the MBA program. To be eligible to take the exam, students must:

• Be enrolled in their final semester
• Be admitted to candidacy 
• Have achieved a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0
• Have fulfilled the Research Component requirement
• Have applied for graduation (no later than the end of the 2nd week of their final term) 

Research Component

All MBA students must complete a research component as part of their requirements for graduation. The research component will be fulfilled with the completion of the following required MBA courses:

• ACCT-51646 Managerial Accounting
• ECON-52651 Macroeconomics for Business Managers OR
• ECON-52654 Managerial Economics
• FIN-53621 Financial Management
• MGMT-54611 Business Decision Analysis Tools
• MGMT-54616 Organizational Behavior in Administration
• MGMT-54618 Executive Seminar
• MKTG-55630 Strategic Marketing

School of Business