College of Business 2011-2012
12. College of Business
Departments: Accounting and Business Law, Economics and Finance, Information Systems and Analysis, Management and Marketing
Enrique R. Venta, Dean 232 Galloway Business Bldg., ph: 409.880.8603
Brad Mayer, Associate Dean, MBA Program 204 Galloway Business Bldg.
Shannon Klutts, Coordinator, MBA Program, ph: 409.880.8604
David Mulcahy, Director, Small Business Development Center 801 Pearl (Beaumont Downtown Library-lower level), Beaumont, Texas, ph: 409.880.2367
Jeff Dyson, Coordinator, Institute for Entrepreneurial Studies 231 Galloway Business Bldg., ph: 409.880.2375
Sarah F. Hawes, Academic Advisor 106 Galloway Business Bldg., ph: 409. 880.8607
The University established the College of Business in 1972. Prior to this time, degrees in business and economics were granted by the Division of Business, which was established in 1951, and the School of Business, established in 1954. All undergraduate and graduate degree programs of the College of Business are accredited by AACSB International.
Four departments—Accounting and Business Law; Economics and Finance; Information Systems and Analysis; Management and Marketing — and the Office of General Business Programs —make up the College of Business. The Bachelor of Business Administration degree is granted in all areas.
The Master of Business Administration and the Master of Science in Accounting degree programs are also offered.
Mission
The College of Business provides a quality education to a diverse student population from Southeast Texas and beyond, resulting in well-rounded business professionals who are prepared to meet the challenges of a dynamic global environment while upholding ethical values and encouraging civic and social responsibility. The faculty promotes an environment supportive of applications-oriented learning by engaging in a balance of discipline-based, business pedagogy, and practice-based intellectual contributions.
Degrees Offered
The Bachelor of Business Administration curriculum consists of three distinct phases: business core, major specialization, and electives.
The business core requirements are patterned to develop an understanding of the social, legal, political, economic and global frameworks within which business organizations exist and operate. A common body of fundamental business and economic theory and principles is also represented in the business core. These theories and principles are developed along with certain basic quantitative tools of analysis and communication skills as preparation for the specialized major courses. Understanding of the interaction of all areas and functions of business operations is the objective of the core courses required of all business graduates.
The major specialization provides opportunities for study in a particular field of interest. This specialized study should enable a graduate to assume a position of responsibility in business, public service or education. Finally, the student may choose electives that complement and supplement the specialization area.
The Bachelor of Business Administration degree will be awarded upon completion of the University core curriculum (section 6.4.1) plus
1. Business core courses (51 semester hours)*:
ECON 2301, 2302 Principles of Economics
BULW 1370 Business Environment and Public Policy
MISY 1373 Introduction to Business Technologies
ACCT 2301, 2302 Principles of Accounting
BUAL 3310, 3320 Business Analysis I & II
MISY 3310 Principles of Management Information Systems
BULW 3310 Business Law
ECON 3340 Macro Economics or
ECON 3390 Managerial Economics
FINC 3310 Principles of Finance
MGMT 3310 Principles of Organizational Behavior & Mgmt
MKTG 3310 Principles of Marketing
BCOM 3350 Business Communications
MGMT 3320 Production Management
MGMT 4370 Strategic Analysis in a Digital Global Economy
- Major Specialization (18-36 semester hours)
- Approved electives to complete a minimum of 120 semester hours
- A minimum grade point average of 2.00 in all College of Business coursework
- A minimum cumulative grade point average of 2.00
- Application for the degree must be made through the Office of the Chair of the department of the student's major or the Office of General Business Programs.
*Slightly different business core requirements exist for Accounting majors.
Accounting Major (24 semester hours): ACCT 3310 Intermediate Accounting I ACCT 3320 Intermediate Accounting II ACCT 3330 Governmental Accounting ACCT 3340 Cost Accounting ACCT 3370 Accounting Systems ACCT 3380 Tax Accounting I ACCT 4300 Introduction to Auditing ACCT 4375 Accounting & Information Technology
Economics Major (21 semester hours): ECON 3310 Economics of Entrepreneurship ECON 3320 Money & Banking ECON 3340 Macro ECON 3390 Managerial Economics ECON electives 9 semester hours
Finance Major (21 semester hours): FINC 3320 Intermediate Financial Management FINC 4310 Investments FINC 4320 Financial Markets FINC 4330 Commercial Banking Professional Track Elective Professional Track Elective Professional Track Elective
Management Information Systems Major (24 semester hours): MISY 3340 IS Infrastructure MISY 3350 JAVA Development or MISY 3360 Visual BASIC MISY 3370 IS Analysis & Design MISY 3395 E-Commerce Design and Development MISY 4350 Project Management MISY 4370 ERP Overview MISY 4380 IS Development MISY 4390 MISY elective: Business Intelligence
Management Major (21 semester hours): ACCT 3340 Cost Accounting MKTG 4310 Marketing Management MGMT 3330 Human Resource Management MGMT 3340 Project Management MGMT 4320 Organizational Behavior MGMT 4340 Productivity Management MGMT 4380 Seminar on Entrepreneurship
Marketing Major (21 semester hours): MKTG 4310 Marketing Management MKTG 4330 International Marketing MKTG 4360 Marketing Research MKTG 4370 Adv Marketing Problems MKTG 3360 Consumer Behavior MKTG 3350 E-Marketing MKTG 4340 Marketing Promotion
Human Resources Management (21 semester hours): BULW 3320 Employment Law MGMT 3330 Human Resources Management MGMT 4320 Advanced Organizational Behavior MGMT 4330 Compensation Management MGMT 4340 Quality and Productivity Management MGMT 4350 Issues in Human Resources Management PSYC 3360 Psychological Tests and Measurements
General Business Major (24 semester hours): ACCT 3340 Cost Accounting or ACCT 3380 Taxation Accounting FINC 3320 Intermediate Financial Management MGMT 3330 Human Resource Management MKTG 4310 Marketing Management MGMT 4380 Seminar on Entrepreneurship MGMT 4350 Issues in Human Resources or MGMT 3340 Project Management or MGMT 4340 Quality and Productivity Management
Advertising Communications Major (18 semester hours): ARTS 3351 2D Graphics ARTS 3352 3D Graphics MKTG 3360 Consumer Behavior COMM 3361 Desktop Publishing or COMM 4365 A New Media and Publishing on Web COMM 4380 Advertising Campaign Strategies MKTG 4380 Marketing Promotion
Business Education Major (36 semester hours): ACCT 3340 Cost Accounting or ACCT 3380 Taxation Accounting FINC 3320 Intermediate Financial Management MGMT 3330 Human Resource Management READ 3326 Reading/Literacy Strategies for the Content Areas PEDG 2310 Introduction to Teacher Education PEDG 2342 Diversity of Learners PEDG 3310 Child and Adolescent Development PEDG 3320 Human Learning: Education Application and Assessments PEDG 3380 Secondary Curriculum and Methodology PEDG 4380 Secondary Methodology and Classroom Management PEDG 4630 Student Teaching Entrepreneurship Major (18 semester hours) ACCT 3340 Cost Accounting FINC 3320 Intermediate Financial Management MGMT 3330 Human Resources Management ECON 3310 Economics of Entrepreneurship MKTG 4350 Entrepreneurial Market Opportunities MGMT 4380 Seminar on Entrepreneurship
Industrial Engineering Concentration (18 semester hours): INEN 3300 Industrial Engineering INEN 3330 Engineering Economy or INEN 3322 Engineering Materials and Processes INEN 3380 Work Design INEN 4301 Quality Control Applications INEN 4316 Industrial and Product Safety or INEN 4369 Engineering Management INEN 4374 Human Factors Engineering, INEN 4376 Occupational Ergonomics or INEN 4379 Facilities Design
Retail Management Major (18 semester hours): FCSC 1320 Textiles or FCSC 2383 Apparel Analysis and Evaluation FCSC 2379 Visual Merchandising and Display FCSC 4320 Fashion History FCSC 4340 Fashion Production and Distribution FCSC 3370 Fashion Promotion and Advertising MKTG 3350 E-Marketing
Regardless of degree program, all students must earn at least 50 percent of the business credit hours required for any College of Business degree at Lamar University.
Admission to the College of Business
All newly entering freshmen who meet the University's general entrance requirements will be admitted to the College of Business.
Minor Program in Business
Non-business students may minor in business. Such students should complete ECON 1301, ACCT 1301, FINC 3310, MGMT 3310, MKTG 3310, and MISY 3310. One of the following courses must also be completed: BULW 3310, 3320, 3330, 3340, ECON 3310, MGMT 3320, or 3330. In keeping with the spirit of a Minor, the students must have less than 25 percent of their total curriculum in Business subjects. This 25 percent restriction also applies to all students who are not registered for a major in the College of Business, but who wish to have any kind of a business emphasis or concentration.
The minor in Management Information Systems (MIS) is available to any student at Lamar University. To receive a minor in MIS, you must complete six (6) classes: four (4) required classes and two (2) elective classes from the following list.
Four required courses (12 hours) are: MISY 3310 Principles of Management Information Systems MISY 3340 IS Infrastructure MISY 3370 IS Analysis and Design MISY 4370 ERP Overview
Two of the following elective courses (6 hours) should be taken: MISY 3395 E-Commerce Design and Development (with MKTG 3350 E-Marketing as a course substitution) MISY 4350 Project Management and Practice (with MGMT 3340 Project Management as a course substitution) MISY 4380 IS Development MISY 4390 MISY Elective MISY 3350/3360 Java Development/Visual Basic Programming
Economics Minor – 18 hours: ECON 2301, ECON 2302, ECON 3340, ECON 3390, and six hours of electives approved by the department chair.
Prerequisite Policy – College of BusinessStudents registering for business courses must meet all course prerequisites, including the implicit prerequisite indicated by the course level. The chair of the department offering the course must approve any exceptions.
2000 level courses – Student must have 30 hours* 3000 level courses – Student must have 60 hours* 4000 level courses – Student must have 90 hours*
* These hours include the hours in which a student is currently enrolled.
General Business Programs
Director: Marleen R. Swerdlow 232 Galloway Business Bldg., ph: 409.880.7804
The academic major in General Business provides students an opportunity to study the fundamentals of a business enterprise. The program allows students to take courses in General Business only or to concentrate their coursework in one of the following areas: Advertising Communication, Business Education, Entrepreneurship, Industrial Engineering, and Retail Management.
General Business
The General Business major enables an individual to receive a thorough education in business without a major in any one business discipline. This major gives enough flexibility so that an individual can explore career paths in accounting, real estate, insurance, personnel management, marketing, and finance. This major is designed for an individual who is interested in majoring in business but who is undecided about an area of specialization.
Advertising Communication
The Advertising Communications major is an interdisciplinary program between the College of Business, the Department of Art, and the Department of Communication. This major combines a solid knowledge of business with the creation and placement of information designed to produce sales; it is a substitute for the human salesperson. This career, blending commercial business and show business, attracts interesting people with a desire to be creative. Advertising Communications encompasses many areas including marketing, copy writing, art and layout, research, television production, photography, graphics, packaging, printing, and retail promotion.
Business Education
The Business Education major is an interdisciplinary program between the College of Business and the Department of Professional Pedagogy. This major is designed for an individual who would like to pursue a career in secondary education and is interested in majoring in business but who is undecided about an area of specialization. This major enables an individual to receive a thorough education in business without a major in any one business discipline and to prepare for a career in secondary education in the area of business. This combined education provides an individual with the flexibility to also explore career paths in various areas of business, including accounting, real estate, insurance, human resources, marketing, and finance.
Entrepreneurship
The Entrepreneurship major prepares students who are interested in one day starting and running their own businesses. A solid understanding of budgeting and understanding financial statements is obtained from accounting and finance courses. Knowledge of how to hire, train, motivate, and retain employees is gained from the human resources management course. Finally, the three entrepreneurship courses help students crystallize how to identify opportunities in the marketplace and put together a plan to exploit those opportunities through a new business.
General Business – Industrial Engineering
The General Business–Industrial Engineering concentration is an interdisciplinary program between the College of Business and the Department of Industrial Engineering. This concentration combines a solid knowledge of business with the technical expertise of engineering. This combined education enables a graduate to make decisions concerning products to manufacture or services to provide, layout of the production facilities, materials used in manufacturing a product, production procedure, quality control, and inventory control as well as methods of motivating and rewarding employees. Because their skills and knowledge can be used to improve operating efficiency in almost any type of company, graduates from this concentration can be employed by insurance companies, banks, construction firms, public utilities, hospitals, retail organizations, manufacturing companies, and other large business firms, as well as by government agencies.
Retail Management
The Retail Management major is an interdisciplinary program between the College of Business and the Department of Family and Consumer Sciences. This major combines a solid knowledge of business with the understanding of fashion and consumer sciences. With advances in computer technology, large-scale retailers have become much more research oriented. Computerized merchandise systems provide buyers with the information they need to identify trends and reorder fast-selling items of merchandise. The Retail Management major is designed for the individual wanting to pursue career paths in fashion coordination, visual merchandising, and buying and retail management. Other career paths include accounting control, store operations and management, retail sales analysis, and sales promotion.
Suggested Programs of Study – All General Business Majors
| First Year | Second Year* | |||
| American History | 6 | ACCT 2301, 2302 Principles | 6 | |
| ENGL Composition | 6 | ENGL Literature | 3 | |
| MATH 1325 Math for Business Analysis | 3 | POLS 2301, 2302 | 6 | |
| Lab Science | 8 | ECON 2301, 2302 Principles | 6 | |
| MISY 1373 Introduction to Bus Technologies | 3 | Elective (non-business) * | 3 | |
| PHIL 1370 Philosophy of Knowledge | 3 | COMM 3310 | 3 | |
| BULW 1370 Bus Env & Pub Policy | 3 | Fine Arts | 3 | |
| PEGA | 1 | 3 0 | ||
| 3 3 | ||||
| * For GB-Education majors, PEDG 2310 Intro to Teacher Education is substituted for non-business elective before admittance to teacher education program and PEDG 2342 Diversity of Learners is added after admittance to the program. (Second Year would have 33 hours.) | ||||
| General Business Total Min. Hours: 120 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Third Year | Fourth Year | ||
| BCOM 3350 Business Communications | 3 | ACCT 3340 Cost Acc or ACCT 3380 Tax Acc | 3 |
| FINC 3310 Principles of Finance | 3 | FINC 3320 Intermediate Financial Mgmt | 3 |
| MKTG 3310 Principles of Marketing. | 3 | MGMT 3330 Human Resource Mgmt | 3 |
| BUAL 3310,3320 Business Analysis | 6 | MGMT 4370 Strategic Analysis | 3 |
| BULW 3310 Business Law | 3 | MGMT 3340 Project Mgmt or MGMT 4340 Quality & Productivity | 3 |
| Mgmt or MGMT 4350 Issues in Human Resources | |||
| ECON 3340 Macro Economics or ECON 3390 Managerial Economics | 3 | MGMT 4380 Seminar on Entrepreneurship | 3 |
| MGMT 3310 Principles of Management | 3 | MKTG 4310 Marketing Management | 3 |
| MGMT 3320 Production Management | 3 | Electives (College of Business 3000-4000 Level) | 6 |
| MISY 3310 Management Info Systems | 3 | 27 | |
| 30 | |||
| Advertising Communications MajorTotal Min. Hours: 120 | |||
| Third Year | Fourth Year | ||
| BCOM 3350 Business Communications | 3 | ARTS 3352 3D Graphics | 3 |
| FINC 3310 Principles of Finance | 3 | COMM 3361 Desktop Publishing or COMM 4365 New Media & Publishing on Web | 3 |
| MKTG 3310 Principles of Marketing | 3 | ECON 3340 Macro Economics or ECON 3390 Managerial Economics | 3 |
| BUAL 3310,3320 Business Analysis | 6 | MGMT 4370 Strategic Analysis | 3 |
| BULW 3310 Business Law | 3 | COMM 4380 Advertising Campaign Strategies | 3 |
| MKTG 3360 Consumer Behavior | 3 | MISY 3310 Management Info Systems | 3 |
| MGMT 3310 Principles of Management | 3 | MKTG 4340 Marketing Promotion | 3 |
| MGMT 3320 Production Management | 3 | Electives (College of Business 3000-4000 Level) | 6 |
| ARTS 3351 2D Graphics | 3 | 27 | |
| 30 | |||
| Business Education Major* Total Min. Hours: 129 | |||
| Third Year | Fourth Year | ||
| BCOM 3350 Business Communications | 3 | ACCT 3340 Cost Acc or ACCT 3380 Tax Acc | 3 |
| FINC 3310 Principles of Finance | 3 | FINC 3320 Intermediate | 3 |
| Financial Mgmt | |||
| MKTG 3310 Principles of Marketing | 3 | MGMT 3330 Human Resource Mgmt | 3 |
| BUAL 3310,3320 Business Analysis | 6 | MGMT 4370 Strategic Analysis | 3 |
| BULW 3310 Business Law | 3 | PEDG 3320 Human Learning: Educ App & Assess | 3 |
| ECON 3340 Macro Economics or ECON 3390 Managerial Economics | 3 | PEDG 3380 Secondary Curriculum & Meth | 3 |
| MGMT 3310 Principles of Management | 3 | PEDG 4380 Secondary Meth & Classroom Mgmt | 3 |
| MGMT 3320 Production Management | 3 | PEDG 4630 Student Teaching | 6 |
| MISY 3310 Management Info Systems | 3 | 27 | |
| PEDG 3310 Child and Adolescent Dev | 3 | ||
| READ 3326 Reading/Literacy Strategies for the Content Areas | 3 | ||
| 36 | |||
| *For details concerning requirements for teacher certification and information on professional courses, consult the College of Education and Human Development section in this catalog. | |||
| Entrepreneurship Major Total Min. Hours: 120 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Third Year | Fourth Year | ||
| BCOM 3350 Business Communications | 3 | ACCT 3340 Cost Accounting | 3 |
| FINC 3310 Principles of Finance | 3 | FINC 3320 Intermediate Financial Mgmt | 3 |
| MKTG 3310 Principles of Marketing | 3 | MGMT 3330 Human Resource Mgmt | 3 |
| BUAL 3310,3320 Business Analysis | 6 | MGMT 4370 Strategic Analysis | 3 |
| BULW 3310 Business Law | 3 | ECON 3310 Economics of Entrepreneurship | 3 |
| ECON 3340 Macro Economics or ECON 3390 Managerial Economics | 3 | MGMT 4380 Seminar on Entrepreneurship | 3 |
| MGMT 3310 Principles of Management | 3 | MKTG 4350 Entrepre Market Opportunities | 3 |
| MGMT 3320 Production Management | 3 | Electives (College of Business 3000-4000 Level) | 6 |
| MISY 3310 Management Info Systems | 3 | 27 | |
| 30 | |||
| General Business – Industrial Engineering Concentration Total Min. Hours: 120 | |||
| Third Year | Fourth Year | ||
| BCOM 3350 Business Communications | 3 | INEN 3330 Engineering Economy or INEN 3322 Engineering Materials & Processes | 3 |
| FINC 3310 Principles of Finance | 3 | INEN 3380 Work Design | 3 |
| MKTG 3310 Principles of Marketing | 3 | ECON 3340 Macro Economics or ECON 3390 Managerial Economics | 3 |
| BUAL 3310,3320 Business Analysis | 6 | MGMT 4370 Strategic Analysis | 3 |
| BULW 3310 Business Law | 3 | INEN 4301 Quality Control Applications | 3 |
| INEN 3300 Industrial Engineering | 3 | INEN 4316 Indus Prod Safety or INEN 4369 Eng Mgmt | 3 |
| MGMT 3310 Principles of Management | 3 | INEN 4374 Hum Factors Eng or INEN 4376 Occup Ergonomics or INEN 4379 Facilities Design | 3 |
| MGMT 3320 Production Management | 3 | Electives (College of Business 3000-4000 Level) | 6 |
| MISY 3310 Management Info Systems | 3 | 27 | |
| 30 | |||
| Retail Management Major Total Min. Hours: 120 | |||
| Third Year | Fourth Year | ||
| BCOM 3350 Business Communications | 3 | ECON 3340 Macro Economics or ECON 3390 Managerial Economics | 3 |
| FINC 3310 Principles of Finance | 3 | FCSC 3370 Fashion Promotion & Advertising | 3 |
| MKTG 3310 Principles of Marketing | 3 | FCSC 4320 Fashion History | 3 |
| BUAL 3310,3320 Business Analysis | 6 | FCSC 4340 Fashion Production & Distribution | 3 |
| BULW 3310 Business Law | 3 | MISY 3310 Management Info Systems | 3 |
| MGMT 3310 Principles of Management | 3 | MKTG 3350 E-Marketing | 3 |
| MGMT 3320 Production Management | 3 | MGMT 4370 Strategic Analysis | 3 |
| FSCS 1320 Textiles or FCSC 2383 Apparel Anal & Evaluation | 3 | Electives (College of Business 3000-4000 Level) | 6 |
| FSCS 2370 Visual Merchandising & Display | 3 | 27 | |
Master of Business Administration
Lamar University's MBA is fully accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB). Students with degrees in non-business fields as well as business undergraduates are encouraged to earn the Master of Business Administration degree through Lamar University's Cohort MBA or Traditional MBA.
Strategic Role
The strategic role of the Lamar MBA is to deliver a dynamic integrated management education to a variety of student groups. Our students range from those who are exploring their career goals, through students who want to advance their existing business knowledge, and to students who have a focused career path. These different student needs are met through either the flexible part-time or the full-time Lamar MBA.
The Lamar MBA places a heavy emphasis on an experiential-based approach to problem solving including the knowledge, skill and ability to incorporate ethical considerations, leadership, teamwork, and a global perspective into the decision-making process. Lamar University blends its students' MBA education with passionate teaching, active learning, specialized knowledge and professional development to enhance their career potential.
Traditional MBA
Students with undergraduate degrees in business and those from non-business disciplines are equally encouraged to apply for a Lamar MBA. The MBA is a highly respected vehicle for enriching undergraduate study in science and engineering, liberal arts, and the social and behavioral sciences as well as for adding depth to the traditional undergraduate business disciplines.
For students without any previous undergraduate study in business, the Lamar MBA consists of 54 semester hours (21 courses). The program consists of nine leveling courses, a required core of eight courses and four elective courses that will allow a student to develop a concentration. One or more of the nine leveling courses may be waived if the student has completed equivalent undergraduate coursework or can demonstrate proficiency in the area covered by the leveling course.
The nine leveling courses may be completed after admission to graduate study or before admission when registering as post baccalaureate student. Undergraduate students are limited to six semester hours of graduate work in their last twelve hours of coursework.
Students entering the Lamar MBA with undergraduate degrees in business from an accredited business school will likely have satisfied the graduate leveling work and all of the nine leveling courses may be waived. The MBA will then consist of 36 semester hours (12 courses), including eight core courses and four elective (concentration) courses.
Dual Degrees offered:
- Master of Science in Nursing/Master of Business Administration
- Master of Science in Accounting/Master of Business Administration
- BSIE/MBA Industrial Engineering undergraduates are eligible to participate in a 5-year academic program that leads to two degrees: a BSIE and MBA
Industrial Engineering students will complete all of the normal INEN degree requirements, with one exception: INEN Electives are replaced with MBA Leveling courses. The program is designed to be completed in 5 years, with a general structure as follows:
- Years 1, 2, and 3 are spent in pre-engineering and Industrial Engineering coursework.
- Years 4 and 5 are spent taking MBA Courses.
Online ERP Certificate
Four courses taught online No GMAT required SAP ERP Academy (TERP10) offered Students must obtain a 3.0 GPA for the four courses with a "C" or better in each class
Courses Offered: MISY 5340 ERP Overview MISY 5350 ERP E-Commerce MISY 5360 Business Intelligence OR INEN 5382 Enterprise Data Mining MGMT 5370 Supply Chain Management OR INEN 5357 Supply Chain Management
MBA students who have completed 3 ERP courses or more are encouraged to take the SAP ERP Academy (TERP10). TERP10 is a highly intensive training by certified SAP trainers focusing on the integration of business processes and covering 16 different SAP modules. The Academy is concluded with a certification exam on Day 10. It is the first step toward becoming an SAP Certified Associate.
Leadership Certificate
Students must have bachelor's degree
Students may select 12 hours from the following list:
BULW 5320 Leadership and Negotiation (Spring)
MGMT 5360 Human Resource Management (Summer II)
MGMT 5310 Entrepreneurial Strategy (Fall)
MKTG 5340 International Marketing (Fall)
BULW 5340 Business Ethics (Spring)
MGMT 5380 Strategic Management (Fall and Spring)
MGMT 5350 Service Marketing and Management (Spring)
MGMT 5340 International Business (Fall)
Certification courses will apply to a full degree once you gain full admission to the MBA program. In addition, students entering the MBA program who do not have an undergraduate degree in business administration may be required to take leveling courses before entering the MBA program.
MBA Admission
Persons seeking admission to this program must meet the general requirements for admission outlined in the Graduate Information section of this catalog, with the following exceptions:
- The student is required to take the Graduate Management Admission Test, GMAT.
- The applicant's undergraduate grade point average and GMAT scores must equal or exceed the minimum standards. The student must meet at least one of the following standards:
- A. A total of at least 950 points based on the formula: 200 times the overall undergraduate GPA (4.0 system) plus the GMAT score. (See Note below)
- B. A total of at least 1,000 points based on the formula: 200 times the GPA (4.0 system) of the last 60 hours of undergraduate work plus the GMAT score. (See Note below). Note: Students must make a minimum score of 450 on the GMAT for unconditional acceptance, and meet standard "A" or "B" above. Students who make 400-450 and meet either standard "A" or "B" above will be admitted conditionally pending satisfactory completion of nine hours with a "B" (3.0) average on graduate work. A student who makes less than 400 on the GMAT will not be admitted regardless of GPA.
- All applicants are required to complete two essay questions.
- A student whose native language is not English is expected to score over 525 (paper-based), 197 (computer-based), or 71 (internet-based) on the TOEFL.
- Post Baccalaureate students are not permitted to enroll in Business courses for graduate credit without the prior consent of the Associate Dean.
- All applications will be reviewed on the basis of the profile material required and submitted for admission consideration. Each required document contributes to the overall profile of the candidate for admission. Qualified applicants for graduate study must provide evidence of good standing at the college or university from which they earned their undergraduate degree. No single application element will be either an automatic qualifier or disqualifier for admittance.
Degree Requirements
First Year: Courses (Designed primarily for students whose undergraduate degree is not Business). ACCT 5200 Financial Accounting Foundations BCOM 5200 Administrative Communications BUAL 5200 Statistics for Decision Making BULW 5200 Legal Environment of Business ECON 5200 Foundations of Economics FINC 5200 Foundations of Finance MGMT 5210 Organizational Behavior MGMT 5220 Operations Management MKTG 5200 Marketing Concepts
Second Year: Courses ACCT 5370 Managerial Accounting BUAL 5380 Managerial Decision Making ECON 5370 Managerial Economics ECON 5380 The Environment of Business and Ethics FINC 5310 Financial Management MKTG 5310 Marketing Management MGMT 5340 International Business MGMT 5380 Strategic Management
Additional four courses within one of the following concentrations:
Accounting
This concentration provides students the opportunity to study the accounting function from a management point of view. Students will be able to understand the role of accounting in managing a business and in financial planning and decision making. (Requires a Bachelor's degree in Accounting)
Enterprise Resource Planning
The Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) concentration in the MBA program is about exposing our MBA students to the concept of integrating different business functional areas such as Marketing and Sales, Supply Chain Management, Accounting and Finance, and Human Resources to achieve company goals of improving business processes by using ERP software. An ERP software such as SAP can support integration of business processes that cut across different functional areas. This concentration will demonstrate how ERP systems can help a company cut costs and improve efficiencies of business processes by providing managers with accurate, consistent, and real-time data across all business functions. The courses offered in this concentration are: 1) ERP Overview, 2) ERP – E-Commerce, 3) Business Intelligence, and 4) Supply Chain Management. (Available to all MBA students)
Experiential Business and Entrepreneurship
Having an idea is one thing, commercializing it is another. This concentration contains curriculum that is designed to take teams of Graduate Students through the process of idea generation to business concept and from business concept to sustainable value through the completion of a competition-ready business plan. Student teams may generate their own ideas and concepts or "commercialize" a technology created by an Engineering Design Team. Program participants are taught how to perform an opportunity analysis and develop a business plan and proposal to help them launch a new venture. Teams that work with the design projects experience how business and engineering work together to achieve the common objective of bringing a product to market. In addition, this concentration prepares students with hands-on application of practical business skills to use in the workforce. (Available to all MBA students)
Financial Management
The Financial Management specialization provides the student with advanced skills in corporate finance and investments. Students study how to select different instruments for investments, financing business activities, and managing financial risk. (Available to all MBA students)
Healthcare Administration
The Lamar University MBA Healthcare Concentration Program is uniquely suited to graduate students planning a career in Health Care Administration, Management, or Entrepreneurial Investment. The program augments general MBA graduate courses in strategic planning, finance, management, information technology and economics by concentrating the students' business acumen to the specific entities and conditions of the Healthcare Market Structure. Presently, the program consists of structured lecture oriented courses in Healthcare Economics, Strategy, Entrepreneurship, and Medical Information Technology. Each student, during their participation in these courses will have hands on real time experiential problems to solve and present to the instructors, classmates, and practicing healthcare professional and/ or their organizations. These healthcare professionals are active in Southeast Texas as physician business executives, physician group managers, healthcare financial investors, as well as hospital and other healthcare institution administrators and will present the students with unique problems for solution from their organizations. Lamar University School of Business has developed a working relationship with the American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE) so that qualified graduate students may apply for internships at healthcare systems and institutions throughout Texas and the United States. Healthcare MBA Concentration students are urged to join the ACHE as members and to actively participate in the organization's planned education meeting events and programs presented throughout the region. Students' and ACHE members' interaction promotes professional contacts that may lead to mentoring and career path acquisitions. Some Healthcare MBA Concentration Program Courses may require business course prerequisites. (Available to all MBA students)
Service Management and Marketing
This concentration prepares Lamar University MBA students for careers in which they will establish customer relationships, build loyalty and increase profits through effective service delivery. This will include the unique challenges involved in marketing and managing services. Students will consider the sources of competitive advantage in service businesses such as managing supply and demand, relationship management, customer satisfaction and loyalty, and the overlap in marketing/operations/human resource systems. (Available to all MBA students)
Thematic
For students who seek a tailored approach to their degree, the MBA program at Lamar University offers a thematic concentration. The thematic concentration allows students to choose their elective courses from a list of elective courses offered in the MBA program. To develop a thematic concentration, students develop a plan of study, including courses to be taken and then submit them to the Director of the MBA program for approval.
Thesis
Students may choose a thesis route through the MBA program at Lamar University. MBA students may elect to complete a thesis of at least 6 credit hours total under the guidance of a Thesis Committee. The student is responsible for compliance with all Graduate College rules and procedures, with respect to formation of a thesis Committee and completion of a thesis. (Available to all MBA students)
International Business Support Concentration (in addition to the core and main concentration)
In the increasingly global economy, many of our graduates will be seeking employment in the field of international business with hopes of traveling and working abroad in a variety of countries and cultures.
