UMKC - The Bloch School

If you have questions about the new Bloch MBA program, we hope you'll find the answer here. If you have further questions, please contact MBA Program Director Roger Pick, 816-235-2336.

What is the new MBA?   The MBA is an evening program aimed at currently-employed college graduates who seek to advance into and rise within management ranks.    The core of the program teaches a diverse set of standard business skills along with skills in leadership and innovation.

 When does it start?   It will be phased in starting in the fall of 2011. The old MBA will be phased out, but it will continue to be available to newly-admitted students until January of 2012.   After that, new MBA students must enroll in the new program.   Students will be admitted into the new program at the beginning of each fall and spring semester.  

 How long is it?   The new MBA is a 42-credit hour program.   There is a 24-hour core, 15 credits of electives, and a 3-hour capstone course.   People who are employed full-time should be able to complete the program in three years.  

Does the program have prerequisite courses?   The only prerequisite for the MBA is a Bachelor’s degree in any area.   Everyone takes the same set of core courses regardless of the number of management/business courses taken in the past, and there are no additional prerequisites.

 Do I have to take courses in order?   Yes. By requiring that students take courses in a specified order, we create opportunities for students to form cohort groups and helpful networks with each other.   The course sequence also gives faculty the ability to assume prerequisite knowledge and in some cases to integrate content across simultaneous courses.    Details of the course order are in another document.

What courses are in the core? All of the core courses except the capstone are 1.5 credit hours.   The capstone is 3 credit hours.   Their titles are: 

Management in Context (Immersion)

Financial Performance and Assessment

Corporate Financial Management

Leadership in Organizations

Introduction to Entrepreneurship

Managerial Economics

International Business Environment

Global Macroeconomics

Strategic Financial Management

Legal and Ethical Management (Immersion)

Management Information Systems

Marketing Management

Decision Sciences

Human Capital Management

Operations and Supply Chain Management

Strategic Management

Capstone

How many courses do I take in a semester? We recommend that someone who is employed fulltime take six credit hours in a regular semester, three credit hours in the summer, plus two immersion courses – one each during the week before classes start in year one and year two.

 The recommended course sequence shows only three hours in the summer.   Can I take more hours in the summer?    Yes, but since core courses will not be offered in the summer, it will have to be an elective.

 Can I waive courses?    This new program does not allow you to waive courses.

 Under the old MBA, I could have waived courses and had a 30-hour degree!   That option will not be available to people starting their program after January 2012.    If your heart is set on a 30-hour masters program, look into one of our new Master of Science degrees.

Can I transfer credits in from another school?   You can transfer up to six hours of electives from another school if  the school is accredited, the credits are for graduate-level courses, the courses were successfully completed with a grade of C or higher, the credits will be no more than seven years in the past when you graduate, and faculty approve the transfer.

 What about international students?   The U.S. government requires that people on a student visa be enrolled on a full-time basis.   UMKC defines full-time as 9 credit hours or higher.    We have alternate course sequences allowing international students to complete the program taking 9 or 12 credit hours per semester. Because courses are being phased in over three years, international students who begin the program before fall, 2012 will have to enroll in the old program.

Can a domestic student take a full-time load? Yes.   If they start a full-time load before fall, 2012, they will have to enroll in the existing program.  Starting from fall, 2012, the new program will be available on a full-time basis.

When can I be admitted?   Students will be admitted into the new program with the beginning of every fall and spring semester.    Students will not be admitted in the summer.   The last admission of students into the existing program will be in the spring of 2012.

 What if I need to change the number of hours I take each semester?   You are allowed to do so.   We ask that you continue to take the courses in the sequence order.   We have worked out six, 7.5, nine, and twelve-hour loads for the core and shown how the courses would be scheduled.   That document has been posted to the MBA Blackboard site, or it is available on request from Professor Pick.  

 The immersions put my semester load at 7.5 hours, but my employer will only reimburse me for 6 hours.   We feel your pain.   UMKC itself will only reimburse employees for six hours.    Since this is one of several perfectly valid reasons to limit one’s course load to six hours, we have created a modified course sequence that keeps most of your courses with your initial cohort, but limits you to six hours/semester.   A document that shows this along with other enrollment options has been posted to the MBA Blackboard site, or it is available on request from Professor Pick.  

 What is the fastest I can finish this program?   You can do it in three regular semesters plus a summer session if you take enough courses.    Because new courses will be rolled out gradually, you cannot do this until fall of 2012.

What is the slowest?  No more than seven years are allowed to elapse between when you take your first courses and when you graduate.  

 When are the classes? There are two immersion classes (at beginning of 1^st and 2^nd year) that will take place for 5 consecutive evenings plus all day Saturday.   If you are admitted in the fall and stick to the recommended load (2 courses at a time plus required immersions), your core courses will be on Monday and Wednesday evenings for the first two years.   If you are admitted in the spring and stick to the recommended load, your core courses will be on Tuesday and Thursday evenings for the first two years.    Once you are past the first two years and anytime you take an elective or capstone course, your classes might generally be on any of Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday evenings.   A very small number of elective classes may have schedules that vary from this.

What if I have to drop a course? We hope you can avoid this because you will lose touch with the cohort you were admitted with and delay your graduation.   If it is unavoidable, we recommend that you take the rest of your courses with the cohort that was admitted the semester after you started the program.

What if I need to take a lighter load?   Although we don’t encourage this, it is allowed.   Take your courses in the same order as if you were taking six hours per semester.

Are there majors? We offer eight different 12-credit hour emphasis areas. Students who wish to pursue an emphasis in a particular functional area may do so by taking 12 specified credits in a functional area.   Currently, emphasis areas are available in Entrepreneurship, Finance, General Management, International Business, Leading and Managing People, Management Information Systems, Marketing, and Supply Chain & Operations Management.   The emphasis areas are unchanged from those in the existing MBA.

Can I take more than 12 credit hours in an emphasis area?   No.   No more than 12 credit hours may be taken from any emphasis area and count towards your program.   Not even as elective credit.   No more than 12 credit hours beyond the core in any one field may count towards the MBA degree.

Do I have to choose an emphasis area?   No.   Your electives can be chosen from among courses offered by several different emphasis areas if you feel that is what gives you the most value.

Do my electives have to be taken from among the emphasis area courses?    No.   If you are in the joint MBA/JD program, certain law courses will be eligible to serve as electives.   You may also count 12 hours of graduate-level accounting courses or 12 hours of graduate-level public administration courses towards your degree.

Are core courses prerequisites for the elective courses?   It depends upon the elective.   Check the course catalog description to be sure you have the prerequisites you need.

When do I take a capstone?   Capstone courses will be taken during your final year in the program.   To enroll in a capstone course, you must have completed or be enrolled in MGT 5509 “Strategic Management.”   We plan to offer at least three capstone options each year, and to announce them a year in advance.    Although they were intended as a final experience in the program, you may take a capstone earlier than your final semester if that is when the best one for you is being offered.

I want to take more than one capstone! May I?    Yes.    You can take an additional capstone and count it as an elective towards my degree.

When does it take effect? The program will be phased in beginning in the fall of 2011. Students who matriculate during the 2011-2012 academic year will have the option of choosing to graduate under the new MBA or under the rules of the existing MBA

What about the old MBA program?   The existing program will be phased out.   Students already in the program prior to the fall of 2012 have the choice of enrolling in either the new or the existing MBA programs.   

I’m getting the existing MBA!   Is my degree worthless?   Diplomas do not distinguish between the old program and the new program.   Our MBA curriculum today is very different from the first MBA we offered.  We have to revise the degree every few years in order to keep up with the times.

What if I take longer than two years to finish the existing program?   On another document, we have a listing of course equivalencies between courses in the existing program and the new program.   We will allow you to finish the existing program using equivalent courses from the new program.

I am in the existing MBA program.   Can I switch?   Yes, but you will have to start the core from the beginning if you choose to switch to the new MBA program.  

I have a question you haven’t answered above!   Send an email with your question to your academic advisor or to the MBA Program Director, Prof. Roger Alan Pick, pickr@umkc.edu.