In today's context of a globally integrated and interdependent businesses, ubiquitous information technologies, and mobile workforce, it is critical that graduate education provide students opportunities to develop integrated business and technology skills. Thus, the primary purpose of this dual degree program is to provide this integration by enabling students to complete the MBA and the MS in MIS degrees simultaneously. This track is designed for dedicated students who are willing to take on the challenges related to graduate education from two perspectives -- Business Administration and Management Information Systems. As such, this program involves intensive preparation in both business administration and information systems and a specialization in an area that combines both backgrounds. The dual degree program requires 54 hours of course work beyond foundation requirements. Students who wish to pursue this option will need to work closely with an adviser to develop an integrated plan of study at an early stage. Students who complete the dual degree program will receive two degrees, two diplomas, and will have both degrees recorded on their transcript.

APPLICATION PROCEDURES AND ADMISSION STANDARDS

1. Complete and submit the graduate application form for admission.
2. Submit a detailed resume indicating your work experience and background.
3. Submit a writing sample from work or previous academic experiences. Alternatively, if you do not have a writing sample, please submit a two page double-spaced word processed essay that addresses the following two topics:
   1. Discussion of two accomplishments that demonstrate your potential for success in the dual-degree MIS/MBA program
   2. Discussion of your unique personal qualities and life experiences that distinguish you from other applicants to the dual-degree MIS/MBA graduate program.
4. Provide three letters of recommendation on official letterhead from individuals who can evaluate your work and/or academic achievements.
5. Send two official transcripts of all college coursework. All applicants must have earned a minimum JR/SR GPA of 2.85.
6. Submit Official GMAT score: Minimum GMAT score of 500 with a minimum 20th percentile for both the verbal and quantitative portions.
7. International applicants who do not have a baccalaureate or equivalent degree from an English-speaking institution of higher education in the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, English-speaking Africa, Australia, Ireland or New Zealand are required to submit TOEFL scores. The minimum TOEFL score required for the joint MBA/MS in MIS program is 550 for the paper or 213 for the computer-based test.
8. Interview (optional): Although not required, applicants are strongly encouraged to arrange for an interview with one or more members of the Graduate Program Committees by directly contacting the Committee Chairperson of the College of IS&T. Telephone interviews are highly recommended for applicants outside the local area.
9. Students qualifying for admission based on the standards outlined above but lacking some foundation courses will be granted provisional status until all foundation courses are completed with grades of "B" (3.0 on a 4.0 scale) or above.

Students will be admitted jointly for the MS in MIS and the MBA programs under this track. The MBA and MS in MIS graduate program committee chairs will coordinate the admission process between the two programs. Though not required, it is highly recommended students complete the MBA foundation courses before taking MS in MIS courses.

DEGREE REQUIREMENTS

The degree requirements for the dual MBA and MS in MIS program include the completion of 54 semester hours of graduate credit beyond foundation courses identified at the time of admission. These hours will be completed as follows. Please note that if a core course is waived due to the student's undergraduate major, the student will be required to take an additional elective course to replace the waived course.

• Core Courses: 42 credit hours
  • MBA program: 21 hours required
  • MS in MIS program: 21 hours required

• Electives: 9 credit hours in one of the areas of focus listed below. Students must take a minimum of 3 credit hours of the ISQA 8xxx elective courses and a minimum of 3 credit hours of the BSAD or ECON 8xxx elective courses. Students may enroll in a maximum of 6 credit hours of dual-level (8xx6) elective courses. Students may pursue an alternate area of focus with the approval of the Graduate Program Committee.

• Attendance at a minimum of 3 MBA leadership seminars and completion of the integrative business case requirement.

• Capstone Class: 3 credit hours
  • Students will complete the MBA program capstone course (BSAD 8800 -- 3 hours) with a grade of B (3.0) or higher.

• Comprehensive Exam
  • Students must pass the MS in MIS comprehensive exam.

• Thesis option: To take this option, a student will be required to enroll in six hours of thesis credit either in the MBA program (BSAD 8990) or the MS in MIS program (ISQA 8990). The thesis must be in an area that relates to both the business administration and information systems domains. The Supervisory Committee must include at least one CBA faculty member and one ISQA faculty member.

FOUNDATION COURSES

A student must have completed the following required basic courses. All MBA foundation courses must be completed either as an undergraduate student, prior to, or concurrent with enrollment in the first MBA course. MS in MIS foundation courses must be completed prior to or concurrent with first enrollment in the first MS in MIS course.

• MBA Foundation Courses
  • Accounting BSAD 8110 or one year of Principles of Accounting at the undergraduate level (ACCT 2010 and 2020)
  • Economics BSAD 8180 or Micro- and Macro-economics at the undergraduate level (ECON 2200 and 2220)
  • College Algebra MATH 1310 and MATH 1320 (or their equivalents)
  • English Composition ENGL 1150 is a required course for all international students entering the MBA program who are required to take the TOEFL

• MS in MIS Foundation Courses
  • Six hours of programming coursework or equivalent experience
  • CIST 3100 - Organizations, Applications and Technology or one semester of undergraduate information systems or equivalent
  • ISQA 8040 - An Overview of Systems Development or ISQA 4110 Information Systems Analysis and ISQA 4120 Systems Design and Implementation or equivalent
  • ISQA 8050 - Data Organization and Storage or ISQA 3300 File Structures and ISQA 3310 Managing the Database Environment or equivalent

• Joint Foundation Course
  • Statistics, can be satisfied by either BSAD 3160, Managerial Statistics for Business, or CIST 2500, Introduction to Applied Statistics for IS&T, or one semester of undergraduate statistics

CORE & ELECTIVE COURSES

• MBA Core Courses (21 Hours)
  • BSAD 8060 - Essential Leadership Skills (this is the first graduate level course MBA students are to complete)
  • BSAD 8010 - Legal, Ethical, and Social Environment
  • BSAD 8100 - Managerial Economics
  • BSAD 8200 - Managerial Accounting
  • BSAD 8310 - Managing Performance in Organizations
  • BSAD 8400 - Marketing Policies
  • BSAD 8500 - Financial Management

• MS in MIS Core Courses (21 Hours)
  • ISQA 8060 - Research in MIS
  • ISQA 8210 - Management of Software Development
  • ISQA 8220 - Advanced System Analysis and Design
  • ISQA 8310 - Data Communications
  • ISQA 8380 - Managing the Distributed Computing Environment
  • ISQA 8410 - Database Management
  • ISQA 8420 - Managing the IS Function

• Capstone Course and Comprehensive Exam
  • BSAD 8800 - Policy Planning and Strategy. All other core MBA courses must be completed prior to enrollment in this course. A requirement of this course is authoring a business case, analysis of this business case, and preparation of teaching materials for this business case. This course must be completed with a grade of B (3.0 on a 4.0 scale).
  • Students must pass the MS in MIS comprehensive exam

• Focused Elective Courses (9 Hours from one of the areas of focus listed below)
  • Technology Entrepreneurship Focus
    • BSAD 8916 - Special Topics: Marketing in a High Technology Environment
    • BSAD 8910 - Special Topics: Entrepreneurial Planning
    • BSAD 8910 - Special Topics: Business Innovation Consulting
    • BSAD 8706 - Economics of E-Business
    • BSAD 8620 - Valuation of Intellectual Property
    • ISQA 8186 - Electronic Commerce
    • ISQA 8570 - Information Security Policy, Privacy and Ethics

  • Business Process Transformation Focus
    • BSAD 8910 - Special Topics: Quality and Process Improvement
    • BSAD 8706 - Economics of E-Business
    • ISQA 8196 - Process Re-engineering with Information Technology
    • ISQA 8736 - Decision Support Systems
    • ISQA 8570 - Information Security Policy, Privacy and Ethics
    • ISQA 8820 - Project Risk Management
    • ISQA 8810 - IT Project Management
    • ISQA 8596 - IT Audit and Control

  • Applied Quantitative Techniques Focus
    • BSAD 8080/ECON 8310 - Business Forecasting
    • ECON 8300 - Econometrics or ISQA 8340 Applied Regression Analysis
    • ISQA 8160 - Applied Distribution Free Statistics
    • ISQA 8156 - Advanced Statistical Methods for IS&T
    • ISQA 8736 - Decision Support Systems

  • Health Care Information Systems Focus
    • ECON 8600 - Health Economics
    • ISQA 8570 - Information Security, Policy, Privacy and Ethics
    • PA 8760/PSM 810 - US Health Care System: An Overview
    • ISQA 8400/IMED 840 - Clinical Systems Architecture and Function
    • ISQA 8500 - Readings in Clinical Informatics (Note prerequisites for this course)

PLAN OF STUDY

Each student admitted to the dual degree option will, within the first semester of their enrollment, file a plan of study in close consultation with a graduate advisor.

ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE

In addition to UNO Graduate College Quality of Work Standards, Dual Degree (DD) students may repeat only once a BSAD 8-0-level course in which they receive any grade, including "W" or "I". Students earning three "C/C+" grades or a grade of "C-" or below, will be automatically dismissed from the DD program. Dismissed students will be immediately administratively withdrawn from all courses in which they are enrolled for DD credit.

Students who have been dismissed may not enroll in any courses for DD credit in any subsequent semester or summer session until reinstatement has been granted by the Dual-Degree Program Academic Standards Committee (DDPASC) comprised of the 2 GPC Chairs and 1 faculty member from each GPC.

Students who have been dismissed from the DD program may submit a written petition for reinstatement to the DDPASC. Students petitioning the DDPASC for reinstatement may not enroll in any course for DD credit until after the DDPASC has ruled on the petition. Upon receiving a petition for reinstatement, the DDPASC will evaluate the student's written petition for reinstatement. As part of the reinstatement petitioning process, the DDPASC reserves the right to examine the student's academic record and reserves the right to speak to any previous instructor who has taught the student; this information may be used by the DDPASC in the reinstatement decision. Information provided by previous instructors will not be shared with the student. Reinstatement is a privilege and not all students who are dismissed will be reinstated. Students who have been reinstated will serve a probationary period of the DDPASC's discretion and must satisfy the probationary conditions specified by the DDPASC. In addition to probationary conditions, reinstated students will be subject to additional reinstatement conditions as specified by the DDPASC. These reinstatement conditions will include retaking one or more courses in which the student must earn a grade of "B" (3.0) or higher (the exact grade requirements for retaken courses may in fact be higher than "B" (3.0)). Students not satisfying the probationary or reinstatement conditions will be automatically dismissed.

TRANSFER CREDITS

A student may transfer credits into the MBA/MS MIS dual-degree program subject to the following conditions:

1. No more than 1/3 of the credits for the dual-degree program may be transfer credits.
2. No more than 1/3 of the business credits for the dual-degree program may be transfer credits.
3. No no more than 1/3 of the MIS credits for the dual-degree program may be transfer credits.
4. The transfer credits must conform to the transfer policies of the individual programs that make up the dual-degree.

When making decisions related to the Quality of Work Standards issues outlined in the UNO Graduate Catalog, the DDPASC will consider the initial grade(s) received in a course as well as the most recent grade received for the course. This approach differs from the method used to calculate GPA in a student's eBRUNO file, where the most recent grade replaces the grade received in the previous course attempt.