Master of Business Administration (MBAD) - MBA

CRICOS code (International applicants): 066850A

Notes

Not all specialisation courses are available on-campus. For further information refer to the Faculty of Business and Law.
There are limited courses available in semester 3.

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Program focus

The Master of Business Administration is an advanced academic program for graduates from any discipline who have considerable business experience, and who have a recognised potential for advanced managerial responsibility. This program focuses on those areas of modern management that develop judgement, skills and attitudes that are essential to managerial responsibility.

Students undertaking the program may supplement their generalist skills by exploring an area of management in depth, chosen from a Discipline Specialisation. Specialisations within this program are: Accounting, Business Law, e-Business, Environmental Management and Sustainable Development, Finance, Human Resource Management, Information Systems, International Business, Leadership, Marketing, Occupational Health and Safety, Personal Financial Planning, Project Management. Students may also choose the Property specialisation from the Master of Business.

Professional accreditation

The Master of Business Administration (Project Management) is accredited by the US-based Project Management Institute (PMI). USQ is endorsed as a National Provider of Project Management education by the Australian Institute of Project Management (AIPM).

Program aims

The Master of Business Administration is an advanced academic program for graduates from any discipline who have considerable business experience, and who have a recognised potential for advanced managerial responsibility. This program focuses on those areas of modern management that develop judgement, skills and attitudes that are essential to managerial responsibility. Students undertaking the program may supplement their generalist skills by exploring an area of management in depth, chosen from a Discipline Specialisation (Accounting, Business Law, e-Business, Environmental Management and Sustainable Development, Finance, Human Resource Management, Information Systems, International Business, Leadership, Marketing, Occupational Health and Safety, Personal Financial Planning, and Project Management).

Program objectives

The program aims to produce graduates who have been exposed to a range of management skills and who have been trained to use these skills in a manner that will enable them to better handle the managerial demands of modern business practices.

The objectives of the program are to produce graduates who are able to:

• thoroughly understand the basic theories and skills of modern management discipline areas

• display competence in a wide range of areas relevant to management practice at senior levels

• apply their knowledge of current behavioural, policy and strategic issues so as to improve organisational efficiency

• use well-developed communication skills to interact effectively with other people at a superior and lower work level

• comprehend, analyse and evaluate internal and external environmental forces, and develop strategic plans for the management of change

• display a thorough understanding of the relevant political, cultural and business environment, and of ethical standards in modern business

• analyse developments in a chosen area of management, and to critically evaluate the relationships between such developments and contemporary theory and practice

• further enhance their managerial skills through a commitment to ongoing managerial development.

Admission requirements

Candidates for entry into the Master of Business Administration must meet each of the following criteria to the satisfaction of the Director of Postgraduate Studies:

• a tertiary qualification at degree or equivalent level from a recognised institution

• a minimum of two years full-time equivalent work experience, as determined by the Director of Postgraduate Studies.

Candidates who do not have a degree will be permitted to enrol in the Postgraduate Certificate in Business only, provided that they have a minimum of five years full-time equivalent work experience, which includes relevant experience, as determined by the Director of Postgraduate Studies. Upon completion and achievement of a minimum GPA of 4.0, they will be eligible to articulate into the Master of Business Administration.

International applicants must have met the University's English language requirements or have completed the University's ELICOS/EAP programs.

How to apply

Domestic students

Application for postgraduate programs may be made directly to USQ.

International students

This program is offered to international students. An international student is a person who is not an Australian or New Zealand citizen and not an Australian permanent resident. Please refer to USQ International for information about entry requirements, visa arrangements and how to apply.

Program fees

Domestic full fee paying place

Domestic full fee paying places are funded entirely through the full fees paid by the student. Full fees vary depending on the courses that are taken. You are able to calculate the fees for a particular course via the Course Fee Finder.
Permanent Humanitarian Visa holders, Permanent Resident visa holders and New Zealand citizens who reside outside Australia pay full tuition fees.
Domestic full fee paying students may be eligible to defer their fees through a Government loan called FEE-HELP.

International full fee paying place

International students pay full fees. Full fees vary depending on the courses that are taken and whether they are studied on-campus, via distance education/online. You are able to calculate the fees for a particular course via the Course Fee Finder.

Program structure

The MBA consists of 12 courses, each of one unit, and has the following structure:

• core management (eight courses)

• discipline specialisation (four courses) OR general specialisation (any four related courses with the permission of the Director of Postgraduate Studies).

Students will normally be required to complete the foundation management courses before progressing to the other courses.

Specialisations

Students may take four of the courses in one of the following specialisation areas: Accounting, Business Law, e-Business, Environmental Management and Sustainable Development, Finance, Human Resource Management, Information Systems, International Business, Leadership, Marketing, Occupational Health and Safety, Personal Financial Planning, and Project Management, or alternatively these four courses may be selected from several of the Discipline Specialisations.

Students may also choose the Property specialisation from the MBIS Master of Business.

Please note that not all specialisations are offered on-campus. With permission of the Director of Postgraduate Studies and the appropriate Head of School, a work-related Project Course (refer below) may be selected in place of one or more of the single courses.

Note: It is recommended that

• CIS5001 Information Systems Strategy is completed before attempting the Information Systems Specialisation, or e-Business Specialisation

• ACC5502 Accounting for Managers is completed before attempting the Accounting Discipline Specialisation

• LAW5503 Australian Law and Business or LAW5504 Comparative Law and Business be completed before attempting the Business Law Discipline Specialisation

• MKT5000 Marketing Management is completed before attempting the Marketing Discipline Specialisation, with the exception of MKT8009 Integrated Marketing Communication

• MGT8002 Strategic Management is one of the final courses studied because it is a capstone course

• MGT5000 Management and Organisational Behaviour is completed before attempting the Human Resource Management and Leadership Specialisations

• students who have not completed Finance as part of their undergraduate qualification are strongly encouraged to first complete FIN5000 Financial Management and/or FIN8102 Global Financial Markets, in the Finance Discipline Specialisation

• MGT8022 Project Management Framework is completed before attempting further courses in the Project Management Specialisation.

Students may choose the order in which they study the Discipline Specialisation courses or the four single courses, including any number of Project courses.

Project courses

Students may only enrol in project courses after obtaining permission from the Director of Postgraduate Studies and the appropriate Head of School. Project topics are available in topic areas, subject to the availability of a supervisor.

Required time limits

Students have a maximum of 6 years to complete this program.

Core courses

Students must complete the following core management courses:

Students intending to study on-campus should seek advice about course offerings from the Postgraduate Program Administrator, telephone +61 7 4631 1277.

Major studies

Students may undertake a single four-course specialisation or select any four courses drawn from the range of discipline specialisations.

Note: Only a limited range of specialisation courses is available in on-campus mode at each campus, Toowoomba or Springfield. Further information can be obtained from the Postgraduate Program Manager.

In this section:

• Accounting specialisation
• Business law specialisation
• e-Business specialisation
• Environmental management and sustainable development specialisation
• Finance specialisation
• Human resource management specialisation
• Information systems specialisation
• International business specialisation
• Leadership specialisation
• Marketing specialisation
• Occupational health and safety specialisation
• Personal financial planning specialisation
• Project management specialisation

Accounting specialisation

Business law specialisation

e-Business specialisation

Environmental management and sustainable development specialisation

Finance specialisation

Human resource management specialisation

Information systems specialisation

International business specialisation

Leadership specialisation

Marketing specialisation

Occupational health and safety specialisation

Personal financial planning specialisation

Project management specialisation

IT requirements

For information technology requirements please refer to the computer requirements section.

Other program requirements

Students must maintain good standing in this program. Please refer to Section 2 of the Academic Standing, Progression and Exclusion Policy.

Articulation

It is possible for students who do not meet standard admission requirements to articulate into the Master of Business Administration from the Postgraduate Certificate in Business. Upon completion and achievement of a minimum GPA of 4.0, they will be eligible to articulate into the Master of Business Administration . Students who wish to articulate to a higher award must lodge an application for entry to the relevant program

Students who complete the Master of Business Administration are eligible to apply for the Doctor of Business Administration, provided that they meet all of the admission requirements for that program. Please refer to the Doctor of Business Administration entry in this Handbook for further information, or contact the Postgraduate Program Administrators.

Exit points

A student who chooses not to complete or who does not maintain good standing in this program will be permitted to exit with a lesser qualification as set out below, provided that they have met the requirements of that program.

• A student who successfully completes eight Master of Business Administration units may, upon application, exit with a Postgraduate Diploma of Business. A student who has successfully completed all the requirements of at least one specialisation may have one specialisation shown on their testamur.

• A student who successfully completes all requirements for the Postgraduate Certificate in Business may, upon application, exit with that qualification. A student who has successfully completed all the requirements of a four-unit specialisation may have that specialisation shown on their testamur.

Exemptions

Exemptions may be granted on the basis of equivalent courses undertaken at postgraduate level, or may be credited as electives towards a Master of Business Administration. In order for an exemption to be granted, the claim must meet the following specific requirements:

• the course passed was taken at least at Masters or equivalent level

• the course was passed within five years prior to the application (courses up to 10 years old may be considered if evidence is provided that the applicant has been employed in that field)

• the course passed is equivalent in objectives, content and weightings to a course prescribed in the Master of Business Administration course, or alternatively, the course is suitable as an elective

• where the student has taken out an award from a recognised tertiary institution and is claiming exemptions on the basis of courses completed to meet the requirements of that program, the maximum exemptions on the basis of such courses shall be one-half of the total courses for the program

• the maximum exemptions granted are no greater than six courses for the Master of Business Administration

• exemptions approved in this program will not automatically apply to other programs offered by the USQ.

Exemptions shall not be granted for undergraduate study. However, students who have completed an undergraduate major in an area covered by the foundation or core courses may be permitted to substitute additional, postgraduate electives for such courses.

Note: Where exemptions are granted, maximum and minimum duration will be adjusted in the same proportion as the exemptions, for example, where the maximum of 50 per cent exemptions is granted, maximum and minimum duration will be reduced by one-half.

In this section:

• Recommended enrolment pattern - Toowoomba and Springfield
• Recommended enrolment pattern - Toowoomba and Springfield 4-semester part-time on-campus

Recommended enrolment pattern - Toowoomba and Springfield

Recommended enrolment pattern - Toowoomba and Springfield 4-semester part-time on-campus