MBA students work on a team presentation
Virginia Tech students will have the opportunity to earn both the Master of Business Administration and Master of Industrial and Systems Engineering within the same two-year period in a new cooperative program established by the Pamplin College of Business and the College of Engineering.
The program, to start this coming fall, will replace the existing MBA concentration in systems engineering management. “Many applicants to our MBA program have undergraduate degrees in engineering,” says Steve Skripak, Pamplin associate dean of graduate programs. “Engineering graduates often find that a deeper understanding of business is useful, as many work for corporations and seek to advance through management ranks.”
Students would complete the core requirements for the MBA and dedicate their elective credits to completing the requirements for the M.S. in industrial and systems engineering (ISE). The program comprises 53 credit hours, three more than is already required for an MBA.
Prospective students must meet the admissions criteria of both programs, including completion of both the Graduate Management Admissions Test and the Graduate Record Examination. Scores that are in line with those of other entering students will be required by both programs, says Pat Koelling, director of graduate programs in ISE. The target student would have at least 2-3 years of professional work experience. Students will be selected jointly by engineering and MBA administrators.
The double-degree format is similar in concept to two other cooperative graduate programs between the Pamplin College and Tech’s Myers-Lawson School of Construction and the Edward Via Virginia College of Osteopathic Medicine.
For more information about the double-degree programs, please contact Steve Skripak at sskripak@vt.edu.
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Virginia Tech’s nationally ranked,Pamplin College of Business offers undergraduate and graduate programs in accounting and information systems, business information technology, economics, finance, hospitality and tourism management, management, and marketing. The college emphasizes the development of ethical values and leadership, technology, and international business skills. Its centers focus on business leadership, business diversity, electronic commerce, forest industries, organizational performance, and services innovation. The college is committed to serving business and society through the expertise of its faculty, alumni, and students. It is named in honor of alumnus Robert B. Pamplin, who died in June 2009 at age 97 and was the retired CEO of Georgia-Pacific, and businessman, philanthropist, and alumnus Robert B. Pamplin Jr.
The College of Engineering at Virginia Tech is internationally recognized for its excellence in 14 engineering disciplines and computer science. The college's 6,000 undergraduates benefit from an innovative curriculum that provides a "hands-on, minds-on" approach to engineering education, complementing classroom instruction with two unique design-and-build facilities and a strong Cooperative Education Program. With more than 50 research centers and numerous laboratories, the college offers its 2,000 graduate students opportunities in advanced fields of study such as biomedical engineering, state-of-the-art microelectronics, and nanotechnology. Virginia Tech, the most comprehensive university in Virginia, is dedicated to quality, innovation, and results to the commonwealth, the nation, and the world.