Overview of MBA

A master’s degree in Business Administration involves the study of management – that is, the process of organizing and directing resources, which includes people, finances, materials and information.

Managers must not only understand these functions and their interrelationships, but also how a rapidly changing marketplace affects them. As described by the Graduate Management Admissions Council, “the modern manager is part forecaster, part problem-solver, part supervisor, and part personal example to others.” Northwest’s MBA program will help you prepare for the challenges you will face in the new millennium.

Northwest’s MBA program gives you an opportunity to be a business leader by developing skills in ethical decision making, financial planning, quantitative analysis, policy formulation and interpersonal relationships, as well as an understanding of the emerging global economy. The program focuses on developing business foundations and then applying this background to business problems in functional areas. You will discover how management skills are applied in achieving business and organizational goals. By learning how to recognize and solve operational problems, the MBA graduate obtains the maximum flexibility vital in today’s dynamic society and multinational environment.

Northwest’s MBA program, accredited by the Accreditation Council for Business Schools and Programs, offers a comprehensive and innovative curriculum that is continuously reviewed to ensure that our mission reflects the changing responsibilities of business leaders, especially within the global context the nation increasingly faces. Preparing future business leaders requires novel and imaginative responses along with a commitment to continual quality improvement. Leading quality experts selected Northwest as a recipient of the Missouri Quality Award in 1997, 2001, 2005 and 2008, an award modeled after the prestigious Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award, so you can be assured that Northwest is committed to delivering quality.

Northwest’s graduate courses build upon traditional theory by combining contemporary insights with classical content-based learning. For example, recent students have visited companies for hands-on learning about internal operations, engaged in question and answer sessions with senior level managers, developed extensive portfolios of current business topics, performed in-depth analyses of individual companies/industries and participated in focus group research for non-profit organizations.

For those with an undergraduate business degree, the MBA can be completed in as short a time as 12 months. For non-business undergraduate degrees, the program takes approximately two years as a full-time student.

Online option is also available.