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Stillman School of Business
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M.B.A. Stillman School of Business Prequalification Courses

Pre-qualification courses do not bear credit and are designed to help students update and refresh their basic business skills. All students must complete the pre-qualification sequence as outlined below, or be waived from the courses based upon prior undergraduate coursework or by opting for and passing a challenge examination. All pre-qualification courses are web-based and offered year round during every semester in both the seven week A and B terms.

BMBA 8008 Accounting
The course provides the foundation for understanding how accounting information serves decision-makers in the global business world. The course focuses on the basics of accounting and reporting, outlining the composition and interrelationship of the primary financial statements and the principles that underlie their preparation.

BMBA 8009 Legal Studies
The course provides an overview of the American legal process; an introduction to the relationship between law and business with special emphasis on the law of contracts.

BMBA 8011 Economics
The course provides an introduction to or review of both micro and macroeconomics principles. Topics covered include major economic systems, forces of supply and demand and their effect on equilibrium prices, various markets, government intervention and regulation, fiscal policy and international economic issues.

BMBA 8013 Finance
An introduction to the principles of finance for incoming MBA students with very limited finance backgrounds. Topics deal with the terms and tools of basic finance: money and capital markets, time value of money, capital budgeting, asset pricing/portfolio analysis and derivatives.

BMBA 8018 Mathematics
Students will review a variety of mathematical concepts and their applications to the business setting. Elementary algebra and calculus techniques will be the primary focus, and special attention will be paid to how they can be used in the modeling of basic business situations.

BMBA 8019 Statistics
The course introduces and develops an understanding of statistical concepts and methods as tools in the managerial decision -making process in the face of uncertainty. Descriptive statistics, probability and probability distributions and statistical inference will be discussed. Linear regression and correlation also will be introduced. Emphasis will be placed on the student’s ability to identify appropriate statistical tools for analysis in a variety of business-related problems.

BMBA 8020 Information Technology Management
This course familiarizes students with the software productivity tools used in business today. The class focuses on the use of Microsoft Excel. Topics covered include worksheet construction, use of simple equations, creation of graphs and charts and sorting/filtering of data.

Pre-qualification Waiver Procedure

  • Legal Studies PQ BMBA 8009- A waiver will be granted by completing one undergraduate course in Legal Studies, Business Law, Legal Environment of Business taken within 5 years of enrolling in MBA
  • Accounting PQ BMBA 8008- A waiver will be granted by completing BOTH Financial Accounting and Managerial Accounting within 5 years of enrolling in MBA
  • Economics PQ BMBA 8011- A waiver will be granted by completing one undergraduate course in BOTH micro and macroeconomics taken within 5 years of enrolling in MBA
  • Finance PQ BMBA 8013- A waiver will be granted by completing one undergraduate course in basic finance taken within 5 years of enrolling in MBA
  • Mathematics PQ BMBA 8018- A waiver will be granted by completing one undergraduate course in general mathematics taken within 5 years of enrolling in MBA 
  • Statistics PQ BMBA 8019- A waiver will be granted by completing one undergraduate course in statistics within 5 years of enrolling in MBA
  • Info. Tech. Management PQ BMBA 8020- A waiver will be granted by completing one undergraduate course in IT that involves use of Excel taken within 5 years of enrolling in MBA

Challenge Exam Procedure

In the event that a new student does not qualify for waivers of Pre-Qualifier requirements, but believes that he/she is proficient in a particular discipline, the Stillman School offers a Challenge Exam option for all seven Pre-Qualifier courses. Challenge Exams are designed to test a student's proficiency in a given core curriculum area. If a student passes the Challenge Exam, he/she will earn a waiver of the requirement to take the related Pre-Qualifier course.

  1. Challenge exams are proficiency tests. A student taking a challenge exam with the goal of waiving out of the related Pre-Qualifier course should have a comprehensive knowledge of the subject matter.

  2. Students may register for Challenge Exams by emailing the Stillman Information Office ([email protected]). All Students can request to have a copy of the Challenge Exam study guide sent to them.

  3. Study guides are not test-specific; they are a broad-based overview of the topics that would reasonably appear on a proficiency exam for each particular course. Each study guide is an outline of the material presented in the actual Pre-Qualifier course. Challenge Exam coverage will not be identical to the material presented on the study guide; instead, Challenge coverage reflects a reasonable sampling of Pre-Qualifier course content.

  4. The fee for all Challenge Exams is $60 per exam.

    Students will receive a Challenge Exam form to be filled out with all the Challenge Exams they wish to take. Once the form is processed, the payment will be charged to their student account.

    Challenge Exam fees are NOT refunded to students who do not pass. Challenge Exams may be attempted one time each. Students who do not pass a Challenge Exam will be required to take the corresponding Pre-Qualifier course. In addition, students who have already attempted a Pre-Qualifier course are not eligible to take the Challenge Exam.

    Please note:
    • All challenge exams, except for accounting, can be taken online through Canvas. Accounting will be administered online by a designated professor. 
    • The Math, Legal Studies, Finance and Statistics Challenge Exams are open-book exams. Students may bring/use any materials that they feel would help them pass the exam, except for a computer or a phone.
    • The IT Management Challenge Exam is a computer-based, open-book test, and a SHU computer will be available during the exam session for those choosing to take the exam in person with the Stillman Information Office.