Early Career MBA

About

New to your career or a recent graduate? If you’ve been working for five years or fewer, this program is for you. Choose from three tracks that best fit your learning pace and schedule. Classes meet on the SJSU campus, typically in the evenings and Saturdays in six-to eight-week sessions.

Admission Requirements

Our admission requirements are the same for both of our MBA programs:

• Four-year bachelors degree (any major) from an accredited U.S. college or university or an equivalent degree from a recognized institution outside the United States
  • For transcripts or degrees earned outside of the United States and Canada: Graduate Admissions (GAPE) requires that you submit a WES (Basic or ICAP) evaluation. Directions are available on the WES (World Education Services).
• 3.0-grade point average on a 4.0 scale, last 60 semester/90 quarter units.
• GMAT or GRE: Scores at the 50th percentile in both the verbal and quantitative sections of the exam. Conditional on the approval of the MBA Director, the GMAT/GRE requirement may be waived if the applicant has any of the following.
  • Earned a Master’s degree or Ph.D. from an accredited institution in the United States.
  • Graduated with honors from the Lucas College of Business Gary J. Sbona Honors Program within the last five years.
  • A GPA of at least 3.2 AND completed at least 5 years of full-time professional work experience with increasing responsibilities and a managerial role over people and/or budgets. An interview with the MBA Director and/or a letter from the supervisor attesting to the level of work responsibilities may be required. For consideration of the GMAT/GRE waiver, you must complete the CSU application and the waiver request which requires you to attach documentation.
• English Language Proficiency exam may be required if you have earned your degree outside the United States. You may select one of these exams:

TOEFL score of 80 or higher (IBT)
IELTS score of 6.5 or higher

• A grade of B or higher in microeconomics, macroeconomics and business statistics courses earned within the last seven years. If you need to complete any or all of these courses you can find equivalent courses at California colleges or take them online through StraighterLine. The pre-requisites must be completed by August 1 (Fall) and January 1 (Spring).
• Personal Statement
• Resume
• Letters of Recommendation (optional)
  
  

Apply

The Early Career MBA offers admission once a year in fall only. Applications for fall open October 1stand close onMay 1st. All documents, including GMAT/GRE scores, personal statement, and letters of reference, are due by May 20. Application decisions are made on a rolling basis.

For your convenience, please use the tailored step-by-step application and document submission instructions. These include the guidelines for your personal statement, letters of reference and exam scores.

Program Overview

• Student Profile:0-5 years of work experience
• Program Type: Accelerated, full-time, part-time
• Completion Time: 12-36 months
• Courses per Session: 1-3
• Courses required to complete degree: 11 core and 4 electives
• Sessions: 6-8 weeks per class
• International Students F-1 Visa: Yes, except part-time
• Internship for Credit: Yes*
• Schedule: Evening and Saturday classes
• Admission: Fall
• Location: SJSU main campus
• Estimated Costs: Resident $25,072-$34,346; Non-Resident & International $41,704-$50,978

*A Note About Internships
All three tracks allow you to take a three-unit internship. Your internship can count as one of your four required elective courses. If you are an international student on an F-1 visa you can use the internship option as Curricular Practical Training. If you are in the Accelerated Track opportunity to secure an internship is limited due to the program’s pace and time frame for completion.