By: Sydney McKinnon

At West Virginia Wesleyan College, students have a wonderful opportunity to earn their Master of Business Administration degree traditionally, or in the 5-year program.

West Virginia Wesleyan College has a strong business department that includes multiple areas of focus. Some students decide to further their education by obtaining their MBA from Wesleyan. With the two paths that are offered, students do not have to major in business to become a part of the MBA program here. With this, there are options for anyone who has completed an undergraduate degree, even if he or she graduated from another accredited college or university.

The first path offered is the traditional MBA. This program is for any student with a completed undergraduate degree from Wesleyan or another accredited college or university. The traditional MBA program takes two years to complete and averages nine credits per semester. This gives the graduate students the ability to have a job or be hired as a graduate assistant (GA) at Wesleyan. Graduate students who wish to be hired as a GA must be accepted into the traditional MBA program before being hired. Being a GA provides multiple benefits, including tuition, housing, a meal plan, and a stipend.

Brendan Fitzgerald is a current graduate student enrolled in the traditional MBA program at Wesleyan. He previously earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration in the spring of 2022 and is set to earn his MBA in the spring of 2024. When asked about the traditional MBA program, Fitzgerald stated that he has enjoyed the fact that he can take nine credits a semester, but has always had the opportunity to take more if he wanted to. He explained that the workload is bigger, but meeting for each class only once a week provided him ample time to complete his work. While he did not work as a GA, he elaborated on the fact that he could comfortably balance his internship and master classes throughout each semester.

The second option for students is the 5-year MBA program. This is only available for current WVWC students who have earned at least 60 credit hours toward their undergraduate degree. Typically, students will apply in the first semester of their junior year. Once accepted into the 5-year program, the student will begin taking master classes after completing 75 undergraduate credit hours. This 5-year program is integrated into the students’ undergraduate degree. Since students take both undergraduate and graduate-level courses simultaneously, only one year is added, and students graduate with two degrees.

While the 5-year path can seem overwhelming to some, the business department does an excellent job at making sure the schedules are manageable. The MBA classes are offered in the evening, so they do not overlap with any undergraduate courses the students need to take. Being able to join the MBA program as a junior allows the students to spread out the required courses and average between 15 and 18 credits a semester.

Both MBA paths that Wesleyan offers allow the students to select their concentration from Healthcare Administration, Human Resource Management, Nonprofit Management, customized concentration, or standard MBA. With either path, the students will earn a powerful tool to launch them into the world of business.