Admission consideration for the MBA program requires a four-year undergraduate degree or the equivalent, in any discipline, from an accredited institution. The School of Business prefers a minimum of two years of professional work experience along with a strong undergraduate performance. In addition to academic credentials, a GMAT or GRE score, and work experience, personal achievements, motivation, communication skills (written and oral), and recommendation letters are all considered in the admission process at the Master's and doctoral levels.
Note: The Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT) or Graduate Record Examination (GRE) must have been taken within five years prior to receiving an offer of admission. All applicants whose native language is not English must submit scores from the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL), the Pearson Test of English (PTE), Intensive English as a Second Language (IELTS), or show the completion of an Interlink program. A minimum iBT TOEFL score of 100 or equivalent, obtained within two years of the intended start term, is required. International applicants who have completed a degree at an institution whose primary language of instruction was English may request a waiver of this requirement on the application.
How to Apply
Students interested in Business degrees do not apply through the Graduate School application system and should instead refer to the School of Business Admissions page.
Graduate School Resources
Resources to help you afford graduate study might include assistantships, fellowships, traineeships, and financial aid. Further funding information is available from the Graduate School. Be sure to check with your program for individual policies and restrictions related to funding.
Program Resources
Learn about costs and financial assistance on the program website.
Minimum Graduate School Requirements
Review the Graduate School minimum academic progress and degree requirements, in addition to the program requirements listed below.
Major Requirements
MODE OF INSTRUCTION
| Face to Face | Evening/Weekend | Online | Hybrid | Accelerated |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yes | No | No | No | No |
Mode of Instruction Definitions
Accelerated: Accelerated programs are offered at a fast pace that condenses the time to completion. Students are able to complete a program with minimal disruptions to careers and other commitments. Evening/Weekend: Courses meet on the UW–Madison campus only in evenings and/or on weekends to accommodate typical business schedules. Students have the advantages of face-to-face courses with the flexibility to keep work and other life commitments. Face-to-Face: Courses typically meet during weekdays on the UW-Madison Campus. Hybrid: These programs combine face-to-face and online learning formats. Contact the program for more specific information. Online: These programs are offered 100% online. Some programs may require an on-campus orientation or residency experience, but the courses will be facilitated in an online format. |
CURRICULAR REQUIREMENTS
| Minimum Credit Requirement | 53 credits |
| Minimum Residence Credit Requirement | 47 credits |
| Minimum Graduate Coursework Requirement | 27 credits out of 53 total credits must be completed graduate-level coursework; courses with the Graduate Level Coursework attribute are identified and searchable in the university's Course Guide (https://registrar.wisc.edu/course-guide/). |
| Overall Graduate GPA Requirement | 3.00 GPA required. |
| Other Grade Requirements | The Graduate School requires an average grade of B or better in all coursework (300 or above, not including research credits) taken as a graduate student unless conditions for probationary status require higher grades. Grades of Incomplete are considered to be unsatisfactory if they are not removed during the first four weeks of the following semester. Students may be required to retake a course in which they receive a grade lower than a C. |
| Assessments and Examinations | No required assessments or examinations beyond course requirements. |
| Language Requirements | No language requirements. |
Required COURSES
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Required Core Courses | ||
| GEN BUS 704 | Data to Decisions | 2 |
| GEN BUS 710 | Ethics, Integrity and Society | 1 |
| GEN BUS 725 | Consulting Practicum | 1 |
| GEN BUS 750 | Professional Experience in Business 1 | 1 |
| ACCT I S 700 | Financial Accounting | 2 |
| FINANCE 700 | Introduction to Financial Management | 2 |
| M H R 706 | Leading and Working in Teams | 1 |
| M H R 723 | Business Strategy | 2 |
| MARKETNG 700 | Marketing Management | 2 |
| OTM 700 | Operations Management | 2 |
| OTM 732 | Economics for Managers | 2 |
| Required Specialization Courses | ||
| R M I 640 | Management of Insurance Enterprise | 3 |
| R M I 645 | Commercial Insurance | 3 |
| R M I 650 | Sustainability, Environmental and Social Risk Management | 3 |
| R M I 655 | Risk Financing Techniques | 3 |
| R M I 660 | Risk Analytics and Behavioral Science | 3 |
| R M I 670 | Cyber Risk & Regulations | 3 |
| R M I 700 | Principles of Risk Management | 3 |
| R M I 765 | Contemporary Topics 2 | 2 |
| R M I 820 | Advanced Topics in Risk Management | 3 |
| R M I 875 | Seminar-Risk Management and Insurance | 3 |
| Approved Elective Courses | 6 | |
| Total Credits | 53 | |
| 1 | Waivers for this requirement and the associated credit will be offered if students have one year or more of United States work experience, or are not seeking an internship for approved reasons, such as company-sponsored status, active military, starting their own business as a founder/owner, or have a medical or family hardship. There may be other approvals on a case by case basis. |
| 2 | You are required to take the R M I 765 Contemporary Topics for one credit twice during the program. |
Approved Electives
The Academic Director must approve all electives taken by each student.
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| ACT SCI 654 | Regression and Time Series for Actuaries | 2-3 |
| ACT SCI 655 | Health Analytics | 2-3 |
| FINANCE 725 | Corporation Finance Theory and Practice | 2-3 |
| FINANCE 757 | Entrepreneurial Finance | 2-3 |
| FINANCE 765 | Contemporary Topics 1 | 1-4 |
| GEN BUS 656 | Machine Learning for Business Analytics | 2-3 |
| GEN BUS 740 | Experiments and Causal Methods for Business Insights | 2-3 |
| M H R 715 | Strategic Management of Innovation | 2-3 |
| M H R 728 | Bargaining, Negotiating and Dispute Settlement for Managers | 3 |
| Other approved courses 600 and above | ||
| 1 | This elective must be taken for the following topic: Financial Modeling & Valuation. |
Graduate School Resources
Take advantage of the Graduate School's professional development resources to build skills, thrive academically, and launch your career.
- Integrate a holistic risk management process (framework) across all dimensions of an organization, implementing RM decisions that add value.
- Apply fundamental insurance principles that support economic development through insurance markets.
- Use appropriate qualitative and quantitative analysis, including statistical and data techniques, to support risk management decisions.
- Demonstrate strong critical thinking skills as observed through their ability to debate various positions, ask skeptical questions, and probe underlying assumptions.
- Set objectives, define success, establish priorities, and implement strategies to achieve goals.
- Identify decision-making challenges, and implement strategies to address those challenges, in environments involving risk and uncertainty.
- Incorporate diverse perspectives, value opinions of others, and work collegially.
- Communicate effectively across diverse social and professional settings.
- Demonstrate leadership qualities in moving the profession forward.
- Build and develop teams and lead effectively at individual, group, and organizational level.
- Communicate effectively on paper, in conversation, and by presentation.
- Summarize complex problems, present results succinctly, and with logical flow, respond effectively to critical and skeptical questions, and listen to critiques.
Graduate School Policies
The Graduate School’s Academic Policies and Procedures provide essential information regarding general university policies. Program authority to set degree policies beyond the minimum required by the Graduate School lies with the degree program faculty. Policies set by the academic degree program can be found below.
Major-Specific Policies
Prior Coursework
Graduate Work from Other Institutions
With program and department approval, up to 6 credits of graduate coursework completed two years prior to admission at an AACSB accredited institution, in which a grade of B or better was earned, may count toward the degree.
UW–Madison Undergraduate
No credits from a UW–Madison undergraduate degree are allowed to count toward the degree.
UW–Madison University Special
With program and department approval and payment of the difference in tuition (between special and graduate tuition), students are allowed to count no more than 15 credits of coursework numbered 600 or above taken as a UW–Madison University Special student. Coursework earned five or more years prior to admission to a master’s degree is not allowed to satisfy requirements.
ProbatioN
The Graduate School regularly reviews the record of any student who earned grades of BC, C, D, F, or Incomplete in a graduate course (300 or above), or grade of U in research credits. This review could result in academic probation with a hold on future enrollment or in being suspended from the Graduate School.
ADVISOR / COMMITTEE
Every graduate student is required to have an advisor. An advisor is a faculty member, or sometimes a committee, responsible for providing advice regarding graduate studies.
CREDITS PER TERM ALLOWED
15 credits
Time Constraints
Master’s degree students who have been absent for five or more consecutive years lose all credits that they have earned before their absence. Individual programs may count the coursework students completed prior to their absence for meeting program requirements; that coursework may not count toward Graduate School credit requirements.
grievances and appeals
These resources may be helpful in addressing your concerns:
- Bias or Hate Reporting
- Graduate Assistantship Policies and Procedures
- Hostile and Intimidating Behavior Policies and Procedures
- Dean of Students Office (for all students to seek grievance assistance and support)
- Employee Assistance (for personal counseling and workplace consultation around communication and conflict involving graduate assistants and other employees, post-doctoral students, faculty and staff)
- Employee Disability Resource Office (for qualified employees or applicants with disabilities to have equal employment opportunities)
- Graduate School (for informal advice at any level of review and for official appeals of program/departmental or school/college grievance decisions)
- Office of Compliance (for class harassment and discrimination, including sexual harassment and sexual violence)
- Office of Student Conduct and Community Standards (for conflicts involving students)
- Ombuds Office for Faculty and Staff (for employed graduate students and post-docs, as well as faculty and staff)
- Title IX (for concerns about discrimination)
Any student who feels that they have been mistreated by a faculty or staff member has the right to lodge a complaint. Complaints may concern course grades, classroom treatment, program admission, or other issues. To ensure a prompt and fair hearing of any complaint and to protect both the student's rights and the person at whom the complaint is addressed, the grievance procedures below are used in the Wisconsin School of Business.
The person whom the complaint is directed against must be an employee of the School of Business. Any student or potential student may use these procedures unless other campus rules or contracts cover the complaint:
- If the student feels comfortable/safe doing so, the student should first talk with the person against whom the grievance is directed. Most issues can be settled at this level. If the complaint is directed against a teaching assistant (TA) and the student is not satisfied after discussion of the grievance with the TA, the next step would be to talk to the TA's supervisor, who is usually the course professor. If the complaint is still not resolved satisfactorily, the student may continue to step 2.
- If the complaint involves an academic department, the student should contact the chair of the department. The chair will attempt to resolve the problem informally. If this cannot be done to the student's satisfaction, the student may submit the grievance to the chair in writing. This must be done within 60 calendar days of the alleged unfair treatment.
- If the complaint does not involve an academic department, the procedure outlined in Step 4 below should be followed.
- On receipt of a written complaint, the chair will refer the matter to a departmental committee, which will obtain a written response from the person at whom the complaint is directed. This response shall be shared with the person filing the grievance. The chair will provide a written decision within 30 days to the student on the action taken by the committee.
- If either party is not satisfied with the decision, they have five working days from receipt of the decision to contact the dean's office (at the number below), indicating the intention to appeal. If the complaint does not involve an academic department in the school, the student must contact the dean's office within 60 calendar days of the alleged unfair treatment.
- In either case, there will be an attempt to resolve the issue informally by the appropriate associate dean. If this cannot be done, the complaint can be filed in writing with the Office of the Dean. This must be done within 10 working days of the time the appealing party was notified that informal resolution was unsuccessful.
- On receipt of such a written complaint, the Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer will convene a subcommittee of relevant stakeholders pending the nature of the issue. This subcommittee may ask for additional information from the parties involved and may hold a hearing at which both parties will be asked to speak separately. The subcommittee will then make a written recommendation to the dean of the School of Business who will render a decision. Unless a longer time is negotiated, this written decision shall be made within 20 working days from when the grievance was filed with the Office of the Dean.
Questions about these procedures can be directed to the School of Business, Office of the Dean, 4339 Grainger, 975 University Avenue, 608-262-7867.
State law contains additional provisions regarding discrimination and harassment. Wisconsin Statutes 36.12 reads, in part: "No student may be denied admission to, participation in or the benefits of, or be discriminated against in any service, program, course or facility of the system or its institutions or center because of the student's race, color, creed, religion, sex, national origin, disability, ancestry, age, sexual orientation, pregnancy, marital status or parental status." In addition, UW–System prohibits discrimination based on gender identity or gender expression. Students have the right to file discrimination and harassment complaints with the Office of Compliance, 361 Bascom Hall, 608-265-6018, uwcomplianceoffice@wisc.edu.
The Graduate School has procedures for students wishing to appeal a grievance decision at the school/college level. These policies are described in the Graduate School’s Academic Policies and Procedures: https://grad.wisc.edu/documents/grievances-and-appeals/
Other
Students are expected to be enrolled full-time for all semesters. Exceptions may be granted in the final semester.
For information about the faculty and their research interests, please visit the directory.
Joan Schmit, BBA, MBA, Ph.D.
Professor
Faculty Director
joan.schmit@wisc.edu
Linda Barrett
Assistant Director
linda.barrett@wisc.edu
Accreditation
AACSB International—The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business
Accreditation status: Accredited. Next accreditation review: 2021–2022.