Kafui Monu, Associate Professor and Chair
Waqar Haque, Professor
Wootae Chun, Associate Professor
Balbinder Deo, Associate Professor
Chengbo Fu, Associate Professor
Xin Ge, Associate Professor
Darren Brown, Assistant Professor
Leandro Freylejer, Assistant Professor
Liam Kelly, Assistant Professor
Website: www.unbc.ca/commerce/msc/master-science-business-administration-mscba
The goal of the MSc Program in Business Administration is to educate and train business professionals with advanced research skills and extensive knowledge in a specialized area, e.g., accounting, finance, human resources management/organizational behaviour, marketing, operations management/international business.
These individuals meet a growing need in Northern British Columbia and beyond for professional skills in establishing, expanding, and managing all types of business enterprises that have long-term sustainability and contribute to the economic growth and vitality of the North and the country at large. The students in the program come from a wide variety of backgrounds, including business, resource development, mathematics, and the social sciences.
The MSc is a research-based degree with a thesis and is different from the MBA degree which is a terminal and course-based degree. The MSc in Business Administration is normally completed in two years.
Admissions
To be eligible for admission, students are required to have an acceptable academic standing, i.e., a GPA of at least 3.00 (B) in the work of the last 60 credit hours, in a four-year (120 credit hours) baccalaureate degree or equivalent from a recognized institution.
The MSc in Business Administration requires students to complete graduate-level courses in statistical and research methods that in turn are grounded in undergraduate-level preparation in mathematics and statistics. Accordingly, all students admitted to the MSc in Business Administration must have sufficient preparation in mathematics and statistics equivalent to the Bachelor of Commerce degree at UNBC. Students without the necessary undergraduate preparation are required to complete these mathematics and statistics requirements before they are admitted to the MSc Program in Business Administration.
Additionally, students applying to the MSc Program in Business Administration who hold an undergraduate degree other than the BComm must have background preparation in their chosen area of MSc specialization (e.g., accounting, finance) equivalent to that obtained through the BComm degree.
Students without the necessary undergraduate preparation in their intended specialty area must make up this requirement through undergraduate coursework before they are admitted to the MSc Program in Business Administration. Both sets of requirements (i.e., mathematics/statistics and content specialization in business) may be completed as part of a Pre-Entry Program for Admission to Graduate Studies, as set out by the Business Graduate Studies Committee and as approved by the Dean.
The Business Graduate Studies Committee may recommend a conditional offer of admission contingent on completion of additional preparatory courses, but graduate courses within the MSc Program must not be started until the pre-entry coursework is completed.
Within the MSc Program students study and research topics in one of the specialized areas of Accounting, Finance, Human Resources Management/Organizational Behaviour, Marketing, or Operations Management/International Business.
Applicants to the MSc Program must apply to one of the specialized areas within the program and the area faculty will evaluate applications against the background preparation considered necessary for specialized study within the area. Students may apply to other areas of the Business program if their area of first choice is not available.
Application deadlines are found online at www.unbc.ca/admissions/graduate. The MSc Program in Business Administration accepts students for the September Semester.
For additional information about graduate admissions or to download application materials, go to the Office of Graduate Administration website at www.unbc.ca/graduate-administration.
Requirements
The course of study has two major components: (1) 18 credit hours of courses to provide research methods and statistical knowledge and skills as well as substantive breadth of knowledge in business administration; and (2) 18 credit hours of courses to provide additional substantive depth in an area of specialized concentration that includes a Master’s Thesis representing an original empirical investigation in the chosen specialized area of business administration.
| COMM 662-3 | Research Methodology |
| COMM 760-3 | Seminar in Business Administration |
| COMM 762-3 | Independent Research in Business Administration |
| COMM 763-12 | Master's Thesis |
Two graduate-level or upper-division undergraduate level courses in consultation with the student’s Supervisor and approval from the Chair of the School of Business.
One of the following:
| STAT 672-3 | Survey Sampling Design and Analysis |
| STAT 673-3 | Experimental Design and Analysis |
| STAT 675-3 | Methods for Multivariate Data |
The student and supervisor choose the STAT course from the above list to best fit the student’s MSc program of study.
A different graduate-level statistics course may be taken from the School of Business or other UNBC department as an alternative to STAT 672-3, STAT 673-3, or STAT 675-3. Students select required statistics courses in consultation with their supervisor and require the permission of the Chair of the MScBA Program.
Updated: May 22, 2024