Business Administration Graduate Certificate*

General Program Information

Martha M. Pointer, Ph.D., Graduate Coordinator

214 Sam Wilson Hall
Box 70699
(423) 439-5314 Fax (423) 439-5274
e-mail: pointer@etsu.edu

Faculty:

Jafar Alavi; Edward Baryla; Ting-Heng Chu; Andrew Czuchry; Douglas Dotterweich; Michael Everett; Frederick Hipple; Beichen Liang; Kurt Loess; Warren Mackara; Michael Marchioni; Michael McKinney; Phillip Miller; Lorianne Mitchell; Thomas Moore; Robert Morgan; Martha Pointer; John Quigley; Joel Ryman; Gary Shelley; Donald Shemwell; Michael Small; Jon Smith; Allan Spritzer; Jean Stead; Walter Stead; Kerry Swinehart; Karen Tarnoff; Thomas Tull; Craig Turner; Ronald Weir; Mahmoud Yasin; Ugur Yavas.

The Business Administration Graduate Certificate (B.A.G.C.) is offered to individuals who hold undergraduate degrees in nonbusiness fields and who desire some formal education in business. They include employees of business organizations planning to move into management positions, entrepreneurs planning to set up small businesses, and teachers seeking certification or recertification to teach high school business courses. The program is also offered to individuals who earned undergraduate degrees in business several years ago and who seek to update their knowledge and skills. Coursework completed in fulfillment of the Certificate program could subsequently be used to satisfy foundation requirements for the M.B.A. or M.Acc. program. Thus, a student who earned the B.A.G.C. would be closer to meeting the requirements for one of these two degree programs.

Admission Requirements

Applicants for admission to the B.A.G.C. program must hold an undergraduate degree from a regionally accredited institution. Applicants must submit transcripts of all undergraduate work completed. Admission criteria will include the student’s grade point average (GPA); work experience; and general suitability for graduate study. International students must be eligible for admission to the university as a graduate student, as determined by the School of Graduate Studies. The applicant is presumed to have computer literacy and an understanding of mathematics through calculus. A student who does not have these competencies will be required to complete appropriate undergraduate courses before proceeding to take related Certificate coursework.

Curriculum

All students in the B.A.G.C. program are required to complete a minimum of 15 semester credits of graduate coursework. Students, guided by an advisor, will select 15 credits of courses from the following list:

Total Credit Hours Required: 15

Note:

* The prerequisite for FNCE 5000  is ACCT 5000  or equivalent.
** Prerequisites for MGMT 5030  are ECON 5010  and MGMT 5010  or equivalents.

A formal program of study will be drawn up for each student and authorized by the Director of Graduate Studies in Business and Technology.

Students who receive a Business Administration Graduate Certificate are expected to have some basic knowledge in each of the five core areas of business: accounting, economics, finance,  management, and marketing. A student will be permitted to take the elective course in the above list only if he or she can demonstrate previously-acquired knowledge in all five core areas.

Students who have, within a five-year period, completed coursework at the undergraduate or graduate level which is essentially equivalent to a course on the above list and who earned a grade of “A” or “B” in such coursework will be required to select another course in fulfillment of the 15-hour requirement.

Retention and Graduation

Students enrolled in the Certificate in Business Administration program will be subject to the probation policies applicable to all graduate programs at ETSU. In order to receive the Certificate, students will be required to earn a cumulative grade point average of 3.0 on coursework leading to the Certificate.

Gainful Employment

*This is a Gainful Employment Program. For information about Gainful Employment programs, please see http://www.etsu.edu/gradstud/pdf/gainfulemployment1.pdf