Professional MBA Program
Policy Statement
The Professional MBA Program is open to applicants who possess baccalaureate degrees in any discipline from accredited, four-year, undergraduate institutions. Requirements for admission conform to the regulations of the Graduate School of the University of South Carolina and the accreditation standards of AACSB International, the recognized international accrediting association for collegiate schools of business. Admission to the Professional Master of Business Administration Program is based on Graduate Management Admission Test scores, previous academic work, letters of recommendation, and work experience (two years required). Consideration is given to all information in the application file that is relevant to the applicant's ability to successfully complete the program.
The Director of Graduate Studies is responsible for admitting students to graduate study in the Moore School of Business subject to the guidelines and procedures established by the Graduate Admissions Committees. Acceptance to graduate study in the Moore School of Business is coincident with admission to the Graduate School of the University of South Carolina.
Transfer of Credit and Waiver of Course Requirements
To receive transfer credit or a course waiver, a student must complete and submit a Request for Graduate Course Waiver, Exemption or Transfer Credit form to the PMBA Program Manager. Final approval for transfer credit is granted by the Dean of the Graduate School. All requests must satisfy the following requirements:
- The USC Graduate School allows up to 18 semester hours of graduate course credit (nine if part
of an awarded graduate degree in another program) with grades of B or better from other
institutions of approved graduate standing to be transferred.The credits must be dated within the
six-year period allowed for the MBA degree. If the request is approved by all parties listed
above, the Graduate School will post the transfer credits.
The Moore School of Business further stipulates:- Transfer credit may be accepted at either end of the program, but only from AACSB International Accredited programs.
- For PMBA students who have started taking USC classes, but want to take a course at another institution, up to six hours (two courses) of transfer credit may be accepted, if the courses are elective courses with no comparable course offered in the USC PMBA Program. These courses must be taken at an AACSB International accredited institution. All core (required) courses must be taken at USC.
- For students who leave the state and are unable to complete their course requirements at USC,
if no AACSB International accredited program is accessible, USC will consider transferring as many
as two courses from programs that have only regional accreditation.
- Students with extensive work and or experience in specific area (e.g., accounting, marketing,
statistics) may request that a required course be waived. Once waiver is approved,
waived course will replace electives approved by the PMBA Program.
- No graduate credit for the MBA degree is offered by examination only. This is in accord with
the Regulations of the Graduate School as noted in the University of South Carolina Graduate
Studies Bulletin.
- Any student having completed another master's or doctorate program at the University of South Carolina or elsewhere may apply to the PMBA Program and the Director of Graduate Studies to have up to a maximum of 9 hours of previous graduate work accepted as credit toward the MBA degree.
The PMBA Program Manager advises all PMBA students and encourages those interested in specific fields to seek advice from PMBA faculty members concerning their specific area(s) of expertise.
Information on the proper sequence for required PMBA courses is provided here for students entering in any of the four PMBA terms. Any deviation from the published sequence should be coordinated with the PMBA Office, and can delay program completion for at least a year.
Normal program sequencing requires students to take two courses during each twelve-week session and one course during each six-week summer session. Program scheduling is designed to afford those students who remain in sequence the best possible selection of electives.
Saturday class meetings are held in Columbia four times during each twelve-week term and two times in the six-week summer term for a total of fourteen Saturday sessions per year. Each course is scheduled for either the morning or afternoon hours on the Saturday meeting days (mornings only in the summer term). Students are not allowed to schedule more than two PMBA classes in a twelve-week term (one in the six-week summer term) since two classes with the same Saturday meeting time would be required.
Course examinations can be scheduled for any normal class meeting time on week-nights or on the Saturday meeting days in Columbia. When exams are scheduled for a week-night meeting, they will be proctored at the program’s public viewing sites. All students must be prepared to travel to one of these locations for examinations, even if the exam is scheduled for a regular class meeting time during the week.
Faculty members are not required to administer make-up examinations. In the event that make-up examinations are permitted, the student must make arrangements with the course instructor regarding the date and time such testing will occur. All make-up examinations are administered on the Columbia campus during regular business hours.
The University reserves the right to alter its tuition and fees without notice.
Fees are published here.
University Academic Regulations (In accordance with the Graduate Studies Bulletin)
Graduate courses may be passed for credit with a grade as low as "C", but the STUDENT'S AVERAGE ON ALL COURSES ATTEMPTED FOR GRADUATE CREDIT MUST BE AT LEAST "B" (3.00 on a 4-point scale). Additionally, the student's average on all courses numbered 700 or above must be no less than 3.00. Grades earned on credits transferred from other universities do not count in the grade point average.
Academic Suspension Policy (“3.00 Rule”)
Graduate students whose cumulative grade point average drops below 3.00 (B) will be placed on academic probation and allowed one calendar year in which to raise the grade point average to at least 3.00. Students who do not reach a cumulative 3.00 grade point average during the grace period will not be permitted to enroll for further graduate course work in that degree program.
Students in the PMBA Program are also subject to the following “academic regulations” imposed by the PMBA Program Faculty Executive Committee.
- Any student, who receives a grade of D+, D, or F in a required course, is required to retake
the course in the Moore School of Business. A grade of U in a pass-fail course or a grade of
WF is considered the same as a grade of F.
- Although undergraduate courses are not required as part of the PMBA program of study and are not calculated into the graduate grade point average by the University, any that are taken are used by the Moore School of Business in evaluating a student's academic performance. That is, poor grades in undergraduate courses taken while completing requirements for the PMBA program may be grounds for academic dismissal from graduate study in the Moore School of Business.
Appeals for reinstatement from students who have been suspended should be reviewed first by the department and/or college and then forwarded to the dean of The Graduate School for review by the Graduate Council.
Reports of grades are not sent directly to graduate students unless requested or if the student is suspended.
Students are expected to attend all regular class meetings. The percentage of the total grade to be assigned to attendance and class participation is determined by the instructor.
If a class is missed at the time presented (live), it is possible to view the class later, but not participate in class discussion. All televised classes in the Professional MBA program are video streamed on the Internet within twenty-four hours. This capability to view a missed class does not change the expectation of the faculty that all students attend regular scheduled classes at the time they are conducted live. Please do not abuse this service.
The Director of the Graduate Division, in consultation with the Director of Graduate Studies and the PMBA Program Faculty Executive Committee, is responsible for the interpretation of policy and for making policy decisions concerning any issues not specified in this Policy Statement, the Professional MBA brochure, or in the University of South Carolina Graduate Studies Bulletin.
The following official statement of the University is provided for your information:
CODE OF STUDENT ACADEMIC RESPONSIBILITY
The first law of academic life is intellectual honesty. The following regulations are consistent with the high standards expected of students at the University of South Carolina. Violation of any of the following standards will subject the student to disciplinary action:
A. Bribery - The offering, giving, receiving, or soliciting of anything of value in order to obtain a grade or consideration a student would not expect to achieve from his or her own academic performance.
B. Cheating -
- Any conduct during a program, course, quiz, or examination that involves the unauthorized use
of written or oral information, or information obtained by any other means of communication.
- The buying, selling, or theft of any examination or quiz prior to its administration.
- The unauthorized use of any electronic or mechanical device during any program, course, quiz or
examination or in connection with laboratory reports or other materials related to academic
performance.
- The unauthorized use of laboratory reports, term reports, theses, or written materials in whole
or in part.
- The unauthorized collaboration on any test, assignments, or project.
- Participating in, or permitting, any of the above activities as defined in B, 1-5.
C. Lying - Lying is the deliberate misrepresentation by words, actions, or deeds of any situation or fact, in part or whole, for the purpose of avoiding, or postponing the completion of any assignment, duties, test or examination in a course, internship or program.
D. Plagiarism - Plagiarism is the act of taking an idea, writing, or work of another and presenting it as the product of one's own activity, whether in whole or in part. It is the dishonest use of the work of another person. A person has committed plagiarism when he or she:
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Submits the words, sentences, ideas, conclusion, and/or examples from a source, (a book, an article, another student's paper, etc.) without acknowledging the source.
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Submits another person's work in lieu of his or her own work.
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Allows another student, or students, to take all or part of his or her course and/or examination.
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Knowingly aids another student in plagiarizing an assignment as defined in D, 1-3.