Design & Merchanding BS / Business Administration MBA

Major: Design & Merchandising and Business Administration
Degree Awarded: Bachelor of Science (BS) and Master of Business Administration (MBA)
Calendar Type: Quarter
Minimum Required Credits: 230.0
Co-op Options: One Co-op (Five years)
BS Classification of Instructional Programs (CIP) code: 50.0499
BS Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) code: 13-1022
MBA Classification of Instructional Programs (CIP) code: 52.0201
MBA Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) code: 11-1021

About the Program

Only available to Design & Merchandising majors, this accelerated dual degree program combines study in the areas of fashion retail merchandising, buying, and product development with the MBA degree. The program is designed to allow students to complete both the bachelor's degree and the Master of Business Administration degree in five years.

The program is offered to qualified students who apply for this option prior to the end of freshmen year or prior to the completion of 90.0 credits. All students who apply for this option must take the GMAT entrance exam. Incoming freshmen selected for this program will generally have a minimum of 1350 on the SAT, a GPA of 3.5 or better, and rank in the top 10% of their high school graduating class. A strong candidate for this program will have taken significant AP coursework while in high school.

BS/MBA students may be waived from two LeBow MBA courses, assuming a grade of B or better is earned in specified undergraduate courses. Students can review the Waiver Policies for the Statement of Curriculum Standing on the LeBow College's website for additional information. The above conditions hold only for fully accepted BS/MBA students as identified by Enrollment Management.

Additional Information

Students should visit the Westphal College of Media Arts and Design for more information.

Admission Requirements

Additional requirements for the accelerated dual degree program include:

• A minimum of a 3.2 cumulative GPA must be maintained throughout the entire undergraduate portion of this program or the student will not be able to continue on to the MBA. 
• Students must take the GMAT examination and achieve a minimum score of 570 prior to the end of the tenth term in order to continue in the program. It is recommended that students take the GMAT examination late in the student's third year.
• Students must submit an acceptable plan of study at least three terms before anticipated start of the graduate part of the program.

Degree Requirements

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Co-op cycles may vary. Students are assigned a co-op cycle (fall/winter, spring/summer, summer-only) based on their co-op program (4-year, 5-year) and major. 

COOP 101 registration is determined by the co-op cycle assigned and may be scheduled in a different term. Select students may be eligible to take COOP 001 in place of COOP 101.

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Select 9.0 credits from 100-499 level courses, including T380-480 in AFAS, ARTH, ARCH, COM, DANC, ENGL, FMST, GST, HIST, INTR, IST, JWST, LANG, LING, MENA, MUSC, PHIL, PHTO, PPE, PBHL, RELS, SCRP, THTR, TVST, VSCM, WGST, and WRIT.

Suggested Arts and Humanities electives: ENGL 303, ENGL 335, HIST 163.

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Select 9.0 credits from 100-499 level courses, including T380-T480, in AFAS, ANTH, CJS, CS, ECON, ENSS, ENVS, PSI, PSY, PBHL, SOC, and WGST.

Suggested Social Science electives: SOC 210, SOC 215, SOC 240, SOC 340, SOC I499.

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Career Pathway electives enable students to pursue specific areas of study, which complement the Design and Merchandising major and the student's desired career pathway.

MBA Concentrations

Students selecting a concentration can choose from the following: 

Business Analytics Concentration

Finance Concentration

Marketing Concentration

Strategic Technology & Innovation Management Concentration

Supply Chain Management & Logistics Concentration

Customized  Concentration

Corporate Sustainability and Social Impact Concentration

Effective Leadership Concentration

Writing-Intensive Course Requirements

In order to graduate, all students must pass three writing-intensive courses after their freshman year. Two writing-intensive courses must be in a student's major. The third can be in any discipline. Students are advised to take one writing-intensive class each year, beginning with the sophomore year, and to avoid “clustering” these courses near the end of their matriculation. Transfer students need to meet with an academic advisor to review the number of writing-intensive courses required to graduate.

A "WI" next to a course in this catalog may indicate that this course can fulfill a writing-intensive requirement. For the most up-to-date list of writing-intensive courses being offered, students should check the Writing Intensive Course List at the University Writing Program. Students scheduling their courses can also conduct a search for courses with the attribute "WI" to bring up a list of all writing-intensive courses available that term.

Sample Plan of Study

4+1, 1 co-op (Accelerated program completed in 5 years)

Students complete undergraduate requirements in four years, then convert to graduate status in the fifth and final year.

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COOP 101 registration is determined by the co-op cycle assigned and may be scheduled in a different term. Select students may be eligible to take COOP 001 in place of COOP 101.