Operations Research/Business Administration, M.S./M.B.A.

Joint Master of Science in Engineering/Master of Business Administration Program

Overview

The Bobby B. Lyle School of Engineering and the Edwin L. Cox School of Business offer a two-year, dual-degree in Master of Science in Engineering (with one of the specific degrees listed above) and Master of Business Administration, with as few as 68 semester credit hours. The program is intended for full-time graduate students with Bachelor degrees in engineering or science. The program is offered on-campus although some of the engineering courses may be taken by means of the Lyle School’s distance learning options. This program is geared toward recent graduates as well as early-career professionals employed in the engineering and technology sector who desire to broaden and deepen their skills to further their career opportunities and become leaders in technology with the appropriate business and management acumen.

This program takes advantage of the 44-credit hour Fast Track MBA degree offered by Cox School and double-counts up to 6 credit hours of MBA courses as electives in the 30-credit hour MS Engineering degree programs making it possible to obtain two degrees with a total of 68 semester credit hours (24 credit hours of engineering and 44 credit hours in MBA program). As an example, students first complete the 24 credit hour of required courses for the specific MS engineering degree sought during the fall and spring semesters of the first year. Students then start the year-long Fast Track MBA (starting with the summer term and continuing in the fall and spring terms) completing both degrees at the end of the second academic year.

At the conclusion of the dual degree program, students obtain an MS in the specific engineering degree and the MBA.

The overall educational objective of the joint MS-MBA program is to impart the necessary breadth and depth in business and in technology for those individuals preparing for leadership roles in technology firms. The program provides a reduction of 6 credit hours from the total credits that would be required for a student earning the two degrees separately (one of the MS engineering degrees listed at the title page and the Fast Track MBA) and reduces the time to complete both degrees to 2 years, including a summer semester.

Admission Requirements

The applicants must meet both Lyle School of Engineering admission requirements (general School requirements and program admission requirements) for the specific Lyle Master of Science degree and Cox School of Business Fast Track MBA requirements. See admission requirements in each School program section for details. Applicants must submit separate applications to the Lyle and Cox programs.