BA/MBA
The SOM undergraduate management program and MBA program offer an accelerated BA/MBA degree program for qualified students with appropriate work experience. There are two tracks to this degree.
Track 1
The student's undergraduate major must be in any one of the four management program majors: finance, management, marketing, or retail management. This track allows the student to substitute up to two specified MBA courses for two undergraduate major courses during her senior year, with the credits counting for both BA and MBA degrees. She is also permitted to waive up to two specified graduate courses based on the recent completion (at Simmons) of five specified undergraduate economics, accounting, and finance courses with a grade of at least B in each.
Track 2
The student may have a major in any department or program of the undergraduate college, and also completes a minor in business metrics (see requirements above). This track allows the student to take two specified MBA courses during her senior year, with the credits counting for both BA and MBA degrees. The two courses do not apply specifically to her major or minor in the undergraduate college, but come out of her free electives. She is permitted to waive up to two specified graduate courses based on the recent completion (at Simmons) of the five courses in the business metrics minor with a grade of at least B in each.
Accelerated degree candidates must have at least a 3.00 GPA to apply to the program. Application is made by June 30 after the completion of the junior year. An applicant is 2 0 0 6 — 2 0 0 8 153 required to have letters of recommendation from her advisor, a faculty member who is familiar with her management program work, and a professional reference. She also submits scores from the GMAT (Graduate Management Admissions Test) as part of her formal application to the MBA program.
Students who are interested in the combined degree program must have the equivalent of at least two years of professional work experience before starting their MBA. This makes the program of primary interest to Dix Scholars, although some traditional undergraduates with significant summer and internship experience may also meet this requirement.
Once accepted into the program, the student is allowed to register for two MBA courses in her undergraduate senior year. She must achieve the minimum SOM graduate grade (currently a B-) in each of these courses, and complete her BA, in order to continue with the combined degree program. Once she begins the MBA program, she may continue on any scheduled track currently offered by the SOM (including the one-year and two-year day programs or a variety of part-time evening programs). Due to the sequence of courses in the MBA and undergraduate programs, students must graduate from Simmons in May or August and start the MBA program in. January starts will not be permitted.
Students interested in the program should make their intentions known to their management advisor early in their Simmons undergraduate career, so that their academic schedules can be planned to take maximum advantage of the program. Contact the undergraduate management program director for further information no later than the start of your junior year.
