Add cultural perspectives to your business education with a combined MBA/MA degree

If you plan to pursue an MBA/MA joint degree, you must apply and be admitted separately by both the Kelley School of Business and the Hamilton Lugar School of Global and International Studies. If you initially matriculate through one of the Master of Arts programs, you must be accepted into the Kelley MBA Program and begin the joint program no later than the fall semester following your first year of study, provided no more than 24 credits in the Master of Arts program have been completed. If you first matriculate through the Kelley MBA Program, you must be accepted into the Hamilton Lugar School of Global and International Studies and begin the joint program by the fall semester following the first year of the MBA Program.

• Program Requirements: The program requires 24 credit hours for the Master of Arts program and 42 credit hours in Business for graduation. Non-joint participation in the Area Studies degrees requires 30 credit hours for graduation, while the MBA requires a minimum of 54 credit hours. Of the 42 required credit hours for joint-degree students in the MBA program, 21 of these hours are required courses. With the remaining 21 credit hours, students are able to develop a business specialization, pursuing any one of the Kelley School’s 15 credit-hour majors required for graduation, along with additional electives.
• Graduation Requirements: You must earn a cumulative grade point average of at least 3.00 on all work taken in Area Studies and a cumulative GPA of at least 2.75 on all work taken in the Kelley School of Business. To earn your joint MBA/MA degree, you must complete all requirements for both programs for graduation and file separately with both the Hamilton Lugar School of Global and International Studies and the Kelley School of Business. To gain the advantage of the credit hours reduction of the MBA/MA program, the degrees must be awarded on the same graduation date.
• Transfer Credit: Every MBA student must complete 42 hours as a regularly admitted and enrolled MBA student; no transfer credit is ever given to joint candidates. Graduate business course work at Indiana University completed before MBA admission does not count toward the degree. Students cannot use graduate business course work to apply towards both the MBA and MA.
• Tuition: The MBA flat tuition fee and MBA program fee will be assessed for all semesters in which MBA/MA students are enrolled exclusively in MBA courses. Similarly, students will pay the Area Studies per credit-hour tuition fees during the semesters in which they are enrolled exclusively in Area Studies courses. Information about the fee structure during semesters in which students are enrolled in both programs will be provided after matriculation.
• Assistantships, Fellowships, and Scholarships: Joint candidates may apply for fellowships or scholarships from either the Hamilton Lugar School of Global and International Studies or the Kelley School of Business. The MBA Program has a financial aid program, which consists of graduate assistantships and fellowships awarded on the basis of academic merit. MBA graduate assistantships entail working 5 or 12 hours per week in return for a partial fee remission. An assistantship may be continued for a total of four consecutive semesters. However, if a leave of absence is taken, the student must reapply for the assistantship for the semester in which he or she will be returning.

The Joint MBA/MA Program consists of a mix of required and elective courses, providing you with core knowledge in two areas of study and the flexibility to take courses that meet your specialization goals. Students pursuing the joint MBA/MA degree typically begin their first year of studies exclusively in one of the Area Studies programs, followed by a full year in the Kelley MBA program. You’ll spend your third and final year divided between the two schools. 

Grade point averages in both schools are computed separately. Continuation in the joint program requires you meet passing requirements in each school. If you fail in one school but meet passing requirements in the other, and desire to complete your degree in the other school, you may do so as long as you maintain a passing average. Students who do not complete the joint program, however, are required to meet the regular degree requirements which were in effect when they entered the joint program.

The Graduate Career Services office at the Kelley School of Business offers a full range of job search support for students. In addition, the Area Studies Programs may provide a variety of resources related to your job search:

• Latin American and Caribbean Studies
• East Asian Languages and Cultures
• Russian and East European Studies
• West European Studies
• Central Eurasian Studies

Or, you may visit Careers at the Hamilton Lugar School of Global and International Studies.