MBA Graduation Guidelines

Please read and follow these guidelines to graduate from the UB MBA program.

The following minimum requirements must be fulfilled to qualify for graduation:

1. Formal admittance to candidacy for the MBA degree in the School of Business.
2. Satisfactory completion of all program requirements with an average grade of B (3.0 QPR) or better.
3. The candidate must file an Application for Graduation with the MBA Advisor's office by no later than the date published in the current academic calendar.
4. The candidate must have completed all requirements within five years of first registration subject to an extension of time upon written petition by the student and approval of the Director of the MBA program.

SCHOLASTIC STANDARDS

Students are expected to maintain a 3.0 grade point average. A student who drops below 3.0 will be placed on academic probation and may be separated from the program if a 3.0 average is not achieved within the next 9 credit hours of course work, or unless clear and substantial improvement is demonstrated in the semester following notice of probationary status.

Click here for downloadable GPA Calculator in MS Excel format.

GRADING POLICY

Passing grades for graduate study range from “A” to “C“.  Any work below a C will be assigned a grade of “F”.  Incomplete work (an “I” grade) must be completed with one year or is automatically changed to an “F”.  To continue in the MBA program, the student should immediately repeat the course in which the “F” was received.  In computing the QPR, the grade attained in the first repeat replaces the former “F” grade.

Grades from transfer or waiver credits and from undergraduate courses taken in satisfaction of MBA core requirements are excluded from calculation of the QPR for the MBA degree.

Terminology:

What does 'certification' mean? When an MBA candidate has completed the required coursework, they have only completed all their courses – they are not certified for graduation. Certification for graduation is a process that the administrative office follows to determine if a candidate can be certified for graduation. Students are eligible for certification only after their official University of Bridgeport transcript shows all required courses have been taken and all the required documentation is in the student's records. Each student is certified as a graduate of the MBA program only when the Director of the MBA Program signs the form 'Certification for Graduation' acknowledging that all requirements have been satisfied.

In which semester do I graduate? UB has 3 semesters in which students may graduate – May, August and December. The semester in which you will be certified for graduation is the semester in which you took your last course. But UB has only one graduation ceremony each May. Any student who intends to graduate in a semester other than May, the previous semester (December), or in the following semester (August), may take part in the graduation ceremony in May. When completing the application for graduation, you will select "Will" attend the May ceremony.  See your advisor if you have questions.

What is an Application for Graduation? The Application for Graduation is a form used to tell the School of Business, the Registrar and Special Events that you soon intend to graduate. Without a completed Application for Graduation we don't know when you intend to graduate. The Application for Graduation alerts the Registrar to order your diploma, and Special Events to order your cap and gown and send you tickets to the May graduation ceremony.

In order to facilitate your desire to be certified for graduation, here is what you need to do, and what we do in return.

1) Confirm with the MBA Advisor that you complete all required courses by the date you intend to graduate. Only when all eight core courses have been passed or waived and grades for the remainder of your 10 advanced courses have been, or will be received before your intended graduation date, are you ready to begin the certification process. If you have questions about course satisfaction, please contact the MBA Advisor.

When you are within 6 months of your intended graduation, apply for graduation by completing an Application for Graduation and submit it to the MBA Advisor for approval. 

GMAT: To be certified you MUST satisfy the GMAT requirement.  This means you either have a GMAT score of 400 or higher, have submitted a resume that documents 3 or more years of professional experience, or have been waived from providing this requirement because of your high undergraduate GPA, as noted in your Acceptance Letter. Poorly written resumes will not receive a waiver. If you are unsure about your GMAT status, please contact the MBA Advisor. If you have not satisfied the GMAT requirement, you will be notified at, or shortly after, the time you apply for graduation.

University of Bridgeport's GMAT program code is JPM - KP - 7I.  Our former ETS DI code is 39I4.

TOEFL: International students who have not earned a degree at an American institution must have a TOEFL score of 550 or have passed Univerisity of Bridgeport's English Language Institute's assessment to be certified, as noted in your Acceptance Letter. If you are an international student, you will not be certified without satisfying the English language requirement. If you are unsure about your TOEFL status, please contact the MBA Advisor. If you have not satisfied the TOEFL requirement, you will be notified at, or shortly after, the time you apply for graduation.

2) Once you have submitted the above documentation, we will request an Advisor's Copy of your transcript from the Registrar at the end of your last semester after all grades have been entered (by the Registrar). It generally takes the Registrar from one week to one month to provide a copy of the transcript. You will be certified for graduation only when we can verify that you have completed your program and satisfied all program requirements, including class work, GMAT and TOEFL.

If after reviewing your transcript we discover course grades or documentation missing we will contact you and ask for your help to resolve the matter.

3) Once you are certified for graduation, we will create a letter that says that you are a graduate of the UB MBA program, and we will mail it to the address provided on your Application for Graduation.  We will also notify the Registrar that you have been certified so the Registrar can release your Diploma. It generally takes the Registrar 6-9 months from the date the Application for Graduation is submitted to deliver a Diploma.

4) This is the process that must be followed to be certified for graduation. You should receive your Certification Letter 1 to 2 months after the end of your final semester – not the end of your courses.  Your diploma will be delivered 4 - 8 months after you receive the Certification Letter.

As always, if you have questions about any of the above, please contact the MBA Advisor.