There are various policies governing the electives that you choose to take to get the most out of your MBA experience here at the Foster School. They are as follows:

Graduate Business Electives: You may take no more than 24 elective credits in any single subject area. For example, you may take a maximum of six 4-credit elective courses in marketing or a maximum of 24 credits combining 2, 3, and 4-credit classes.

Certificate Programs: Students may choose to participate in one of the special programs available through the MBA Program. Requirements for these programs vary and the electives count towards the required amount for your Evening MBA degree. Some programs require a formal application to participate. Students who are officially pursuing these certificates are given priority into required program electives.

Concurrent/Joint Degrees: Formal concurrent degrees are official programs in which students pursue two degrees simultaneously. Some students may satisfy elective credits toward their Evening MBA degree through classes taken in another graduate degree program.

Graduate Courses outside the Business School: You may take a total of 16 credits (four 4-credit courses) of graduate-level coursework outside the Foster School. The MBA Program Office must approve these credits before you register for them. Approval is based on demonstrated relevance of this coursework to your degree. Complete and submit the Non-MBA Class Request Form (pdf). Credits earned in business courses taken at an approved overseas exchange program do not count toward this 16-credit (four 4-credit course) limit.

Undergraduate Courses: Most or all of your course work is completed at the graduate level (courses numbered 500 or above). You may request to apply up to two undergraduate courses toward your degree. As with graduate courses outside the Foster School, undergraduate courses must be approved by the MBA Program Office before you register. It is necessary to fill out the Non-MBA Class Request Form (pdf) to get course approval. Language courses are approved only if they are at an advanced, non-introductory level.

You may take undergraduate business courses under the following conditions:

• An equivalent course is not offered at the graduate level for an entire year.
• The equivalent graduate-level course conflicts with other desired courses.
• The undergraduate course is not elementary in nature.

Students may petition the Masters Program Committee for consideration of additional courses or special circumstances that fall outside these guidelines.

The Non-MBA Electives page has a list of pre-approved undergraduate courses for which you are not required to submit an approval form. However, taking any of these courses does require meeting the conditions listed above. In addition, you must meet the established prerequisites for any class before enrollment and obtain permission from the instructor in order to enroll.

Accounting 505: Accounting 505 is an intensive 18-credit summer course that is required of some MPAcc students. MBA students may take this class, but only 8 credits are counted toward your Evening MBA degree. The 8 credits count as two of your 12 required electives.

Independent Study: You may register for a maximum of 4 credits of 600-level Business School coursework (independent study) during any one quarter. The MBA Program Office must approve independent study in excess of 4 credits. Although 600-level courses count toward degree requirements, the grades are not included in your cumulative GPA. To register for a 600-level course, you must have written permission from the instructor. A maximum of 8 credits count toward the Evening MBA degree. The Independent Study Form (pdf) can be found in the Forms link on the right-hand side of your browser.