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Admission Requirements for MBA

 

The admissions committee reviews an applicant’s overall qualifications and takes the following factors into consideration:

  • Completion of a degree equivalent to a four-year U.S. Bachelors degree from a recognized university.

  • Grade Point Average: Ideally a candidate's GPA will be at 3.0 or above. Many circumstances may exist which offer explanation for a GPA below 3.0; candidates are encouraged to submit a statement of explanation if this is the case. An absolute minimum GPA of 2.5 is required for graduate admission at San José State University.

  • GMAT or GRE: The GMAT or GRE is just one part of your overall portfolio. The median GMAT score range over the last few terms ranged from 530-620. A competitive GRE score is 151 in Verbal Reasoning and 152 in Quantitative Reasoning.

  • Statement of Purpose

  • Resume

  • Letters of Recommendation (optional) For certain candidates these may be requested.

  • Foreign Language Test: Applicants who have earned a degree from a higher education institution in which the primary language of instruction was not English must take an English-language proficiency exam. You must score a minimum of 80 on the internet-based TOEFL, 7.0 on the IELTS, or 68 on the PTE.

If you have any questions about our Admissions Requirements, we encourage you to contact us or to attend one of our information sessions. 
Connecting to our department can be an essential step in your MBA decision making process.

Prerequisite Courses
Principles of Macroeconomics; Principles of Microeconomics; and Business Statistics are courses that must be completed as prerequisites for the MBA program and do not count as part of the program of study. A grade of B is required in all three prerequisite courses. Please note: All MBA programs require prerequisite course completion by the first day of Orientation.  Appropriate documentation will be required.

Applicants should plan accordingly for completing these courses.  To see a list of equivalent courses from local community colleges, please visit this link: http://www.sjsu.edu/bsac/concentrations/equiv_courses/ 

For the prerequisites we recommend:

 

For all Lucas MBA programs: The prerequisite courses can be waived for individuals who have completed these courses within the last seven years with a grade of B or better. Admitted students who have taken these prerequisite courses for more than seven years ago or never taken these prerequisite courses must complete these three courses and achieve a grade of B or better before enrolling in our MBA courses. Successful completion of the prerequisites will be a condition of admission for such applicants. 

SJSU Gary J. Sbona Honors Students

Students who successfully complete the SJSU College of Business Gary J. Sbona Honors program, and satisfy the requirements for graduating with honors, are admitted directly to the SJSU Conventional MBA program, thus waiving the GMAT/GRE requirement, provided they meet the following requirements:

  • Graduate with Honors from the Gary J. Sbona Honors Program, which requires the following:

    • Complete two semesters in the program

    • Write a scholarly paper

    • Have a GPA of 3.5 or higher in their major (all upper division business classes)

  • However, for admission to the Conventional MBA program, attain a GPA of 3.75 or higher in their major (all upper division business classes)

Eligibility to apply to the Conventional MBA program extends for two years beyond the students’ graduation date.

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