Degree requirements are provided here for M.B.A. students. Specialty master's students should consult their program administrators for details or the website.
The
general master of business administration (M.B.A.) degree program
requires a minimum of 60 credits. The professional accounting M.B.A.
program requires 66 credits. Completion of the prescribed program of
courses is a necessary, but not sufficient, condition for the award of
a degree. Consult the Degree Programs chapter
for specific course requirements. In no case are students permitted to attempt to take more than 75 credits of approved courses
toward their degree.
Time Limits
A time limit of
eight calendar years from the date of first enrollment to the part-time M.B.A. is permitted for
achieving the M.B.A. degree. Any courses (except for transfer credits, discussed below) taken more than eight
years before the date of graduation are not counted toward the degree.
Students are required to retake such courses.
Incomplete Coursework
If,
for legitimate reasons, a student is unable to complete all the required coursework or examinations, a faculty member may choose to
submit a grade of INC (incomplete). If the coursework is not completed,
the INC is automatically changed to an F on February 1 for the summer
trimester, June 1 for the fall trimester, and September 1 for the
spring trimester. Justified reasons for the submission of the grade of
INC might include illness requiring medical attention, personal emergency obligations claimed by the student and recognized as valid,
recognized religious holiday(s), and severe inclement weather causing
dangerous travel conditions.
Students incurring more than two
INC grades in the same trimester may be contacted by the Scholastic Standing Committee. The committee reserves the right to place on
probation any student who consistently fails to complete coursework on
time, in which case that student will be permitted no future INC grades.
Scholastic Standing
Students
must maintain an academic average of no less than 2.5. The student's
average is computed on the basis of all courses taken for credit. Each
grade received in a course that has been failed and then repeated is
included in the calculation. Grades received in courses not given at a
graduate department of Rutgers University or New Jersey Institute of Technology are not included
in the computation.
Grades are rounded to the third decimal
place; a 2.499 is not equivalent to a 2.5. The MBA Program Office reviews each student's academic record at the end of each
trimester. Students will be placed on probation and receive a letter from the assistant dean of M.B.A. Student Services the first time his or her semester grade-point average falls below 2.5. If
the student's grade-point average falls below 2.5 a second time any time in the future, he or
she will be dismissed from the the M.B.A. program. The student will be notified in writing by the assistant dean of students for the M.B.A. program of the dismissal due to failure to uphold academic standards. Appeals
of these actions may be submitted in writing, to the executive M.B.A. director for review by the M.B.A. Policy Committee. Students should email or drop off such appeals to the
MBA Program Office in Newark. Students on academic probation
may be required to follow a program of study prescribed by their academic adviser or the M.B.A.
Policy Committee during an appeal. The successful completion of such a program is a
condition of the student's continued enrollment at Rutgers Business
School: Graduate Programs-Newark and New Brunswick. All M.B.A. candidates must complete
the program with a grade-point average of 2.500 or better.
Grade Deficiency
A
student may repeat a failed credit or not-for-credit course only once.
Both grades will be used in computing the grade-point average. A second
failure in that course will be grounds for the dismissal of the student
from the program.
*STARTING FALL 2023:
An RBS graduate student who earns a grade of D or F may repeat
the course and have the original grade eliminated from the cumulative
grade-point average.
The option is subject to the following limitations:
1. The original D or F grade remains on the transcript.
2. The repeated course must carry the same subject number
and course title, or the equivalent, as approved by the student's program
director.
3. If the course is repeated more than once, the repeat
option cancels only one D or F grade.
4. This grade
replacement policy may be applied to one (1) RBS graduate course.
Students may repeat additional courses, but the original D or F for every course
exceeding the one-course limit remains in the computation of the cumulative
grade-point average.
5. This policy applies to RBS graduate courses only and will
not be applied to courses offered by other graduate schools.
*This policy is not valid until Fall 2023. No D or F grades prior to Fall 2023 will be eligible to repeat under this policy.
Conflict with Faculty
Sometimes
students want to appeal a faculty member's decision.
Matters such as review of a specific grade given by a faculty member
should first be discussed with the faculty member and then referred to
the department chair. However, if unresolved, the university policy
allows students to appeal to the following persons in the exact order
listed:
- Professor
- Department Chair
- Program Director
- Vice Dean for Academic Programs
- Dean
- Chancellor, Rutgers University-Newark
- University President
Each
appeal to these individuals must be made in writing with a copy to the
school for the student's file. Each person in turn will respond in
writing with a copy for the student's file. If a student appeals to all
of the above persons without gaining satisfaction, they may then
engage independent legal counsel.
M.B.A. Challenge Examination(s) and Credit Transfers
Students
may apply to sit for a challenge examination in core course and
foundations subjects to prove competency and to be allowed to substitute a higher level elective in place of the core requirement. There is a $50 fee for each examination. Contact
the MBA Program Office for information. Students must complete challenge exams within the first three semesters following their initial enrollment. Any exceptions to this rule must be approved by the executive director of M.B.A. programs.
Students
in the part-time M.B.A. program may receive approval for previous
coursework in a degree program from an institution accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business International (AACSB). The
course must have been completed within five years of first enrollment, and
the student must have received a grade of B or better in the course. This approval must occur during the semester of first enrollment. Students must contact the RBS Office of Graduate Admissions for approval of transfer credits.
The
total number of credits that may be granted toward the M.B.A. degree
based on transfers from other institutions cannot exceed 6 credits, except in the case of students enrolled in dual-degree programs at Rutgers University. Please check with the MBA Program Office or our website for the specific requirements of dual-degree programs.
EFFECTIVE FALL 2023:
Transfer Course policy between Rutgers Business School master's
degree programs:
1. Students who are accepted into a second Rutgers Business
School master's degree program (after completing an initial RBS master's
degree) can transfer up to twelve (12) credits between programs so long as
those courses satisfy the applicable degree requirements, all degree
requirements for both degrees are met and pending the program director's
approval.
2. Waived courses cannot be applied as a transfer course
between programs.
3. The transfer course option between Rutgers Business School
degree programs is restricted to a time frame of within five years of
completing the first graduate degree.
4. The transfer course option applies only to courses within
the Rutgers Business School, not academic units within Rutgers nor outside the
university.
5. Only courses with a grade of B or higher will transfer.
6. Individual RBS graduate programs
may impose lower limits on the number of allowed RBS graduate credits, may
impose additional restrictions on the list of approved courses or on the
requisite workload of the courses, or may disallow use of graduate credits
entirely. The director of the graduate program is responsible for reviewing and
approving the use of any courses taken while an RBS graduate toward completion
of the second graduate degree.