Can you get an MBA with any type of Bachelor's degree?

My first husband got a BA with a concentration in anthropology and then went on for his MBA, both at the same university. What matters to the admission office are your undergraduate course choices, transcript and your success on the GMATS.

“What does the GMAT® exam measure?
The GMAT exam measures basic verbal, mathematical, and analytical writing skills that you have developed in your education and work. It does NOT measure:

your knowledge of business,
your job skills,
specific content in your undergraduate or first university course work,
your abilities in any other specific subject area, or
subjective qualities—such as motivation, creativity, and interpersonal skills.”

Every school has different selection criteria. Some will exclude you for an unrelated degree, however, it is pretty common now days to get an MBA with an emphasis in information management (sometimes a little extra courses beyond the general MBA coursework). Your undergraduate degree should be a good match with most MBA programs. Gailcalled was correct that the GMAT is a big factor in admission to an MBA program.

OK. Now I have to research the 4+1 program at my school (Rochester Institute of Technology). It’s supposed to be seamless, like it’s one big program but you end up with two different degrees (A Bachelors and a Masters) in 5 years. If anyone can find anything post it! :) Their site is quite convoluted.

@Tyler: Anyone who wants a MBA should be able to sort out the site. Or perhaps fix it for them, given your interest in IT. It is, after all, Rochester I of T.

A five-year combined program will be challenging.

I’m not sure that going directly from a bachelors to a masters is a great idea without any work experience. If you are working full time in the business world, then this would be fine, but MBA programs are very dependent upon the students having real-world business leadership experience in order to be successful. I know that in the quest for enrollment, many schools have started moving into programs that have lower requirements or promise quick degrees (I honestly don’t mean any offense here), but the price you pay is in the quality of the education you actually get. If you just need the papers to help you advance, that’s fine, but if you are looking for a quality education for you own enrichment or for your ability to run a business independently, I’d steer away from that sort of program.

First off I’ve been self-employed since the age of 12. I have been an IT in that time and have worked for many different businesses/organizations (taking on larger responsibilities as I have gotten older).

Secondly, the site is convoluted in that it doesn’t address different degree programs under its college of business site. The 4+1 program primarily addresses business undergrad degrees. I was asking more or less to see if anyone could find anything before I called on Monday.

@TylerM

Oh and I do realize that it’s not completely practical business experience but it’s more experience than most teens my age have after graduating from college—I’ve had to talk to managers and owners in conference meetings, while the average person my age is still flipping burgers.

With your MBA, unless you walk on water academically, you really need at least two or three years of professional work experience. It does not matter what your BA is in. The GMAT will make sure you have the basic skills necessary. So you should be covered.

@EmpressPixie

Then why does RIT even offer the 4+1 program? They are accredited and widely known.

I’ve worked in higher education… we need people to enroll in classes to stay profitable. That sometimes leads to offering less than ideal courses to boost enrollment numbers. This is true of both private and public universities.

How well is their business school known?

my husband’s going for his MBA and his majors were philosophy and computer science

I think your best resource is the school. Go in and talk to someone. Find out where the graduates of the program are getting jobs and what per cent are getting jobs. Your major certainly seems like a good fit for an MBA; the main question in my mind is whether the 4 + 1 program will get you where you want to go or whether you should have some additional work experience first. In this economy, it’s possible that staying in school an extra year, if you can afford it, is a good idea, but see if you can get an assessment of their program results before committing to it.

All schools will look at your undergrad classes and determine whether you have the pre-req’s to take their MBA program. Additionally, not all schools require GMATs. I applied to a couple that didn’t. Be weary though of those that don’t. A lot of newer schools won’t require it in order to help them get increased admission, and a lot of “bad” schools won’t require it because they can’t get enough admission.

You see there is a slight benefit to the 4+1 program. I’m considered under my parents the entire time at college which means I get A LOT more aid. I’m getting practically a free ride as of now with scholarships and grants because we’re not very well-off.

You can definitely get MBA degree after completion of Bachelor’s Degree. To know more check this article http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Master_of_Business_Administration .