Admissions and Application Procedure

MBA Prerequisite Competencies

Viterbo University is proud of its students’ diverse backgrounds and welcomes students from all walks of life into its MBA program. Before full admission into the program, students must demonstrate their competency in the following business subjects:

• Accounting
• Management Information Systems
• Finance
• Business Law
• Marketing
• Statistics
• Economics

A student who holds an undergraduate degree from an accredited business school generally fulfills these prerequisites by virtue of previous course work. Students who have not developed these skills in their undergraduate coursework may still enter the MBA program; however, they are considered to be "conditionally admitted" into the program and must fulfill the prerequisite competencies by completing undergraduate courses at Viterbo or elsewhere, passing CLEP examinations, or completing work experience portfolios. Students who are conditionally admitted may take MBA core classes concurrently with completing the prerequisite competencies. Some MBA core classes, however, require that students complete specific prerequisite undergraduate coursework. For the student needing to complete one or more pre-reqs, we have developed 1-credit courses specifically designed to help you achieve the competencies efficiently without adding to the length of your program.

Admission Criteria and Requirements

The Admission Committee evaluates all parts of your application to understand who you are, what you've done, what you can add to the Viterbo community, and how Viterbo's MBA program will help you meet your goals. In addition to reviewing your grades and work experience, the Admission Committee requires a personal essay in which we look for evidence of the kind of curiosity and passion that will allow you to spark a lively discussion in class.  To understand how you will contribute to and benefit from Viterbo’s MBA program, we also encourage a personal interview with the MBA Director and/or MBA Coordinator as part of the application process.

In order to be considered for acceptance into Viterbo’s MBA program, an applicant must have at least two years of leadership experience (formal or informal) and submit the following:

1. A formal application to the program. Once this online application form is submitted, the remaining applications items, with the exception of the transcript(s), may be sent to Maureen J. Cooney, mjcooney@viterbo.edu. An application is considered to be complete when the online application has been submitted and all application materials have been received.
2. An official transcript of the bachelor's degree (and any post graduate degree) from a regionally-accredited college or university; sent directly from the degree-granting institution.
3. Two letters of reference from persons attesting to the applicant's business aptitudes, attitude, values and ethics.
4. Submission of an acceptable GMAT score. However, this requirement may be waived by the MBA Director if the applicant has a 3.00 grade point average (on a 4.00 scale) in his or her undergraduate studies or has successfully completed other graduate coursework.
5. A three to five page personal essay setting forth a description of the applicant's leadership experience (formal or informal), the reasons the applicant desires to attain an MBA degree, and what he or she can add to the Viterbo University MBA program.
6. If required by law, proficiency in the English language as determined by the Admissions Committee, or a score of 550 or better on the TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language).

Viterbo University reserves the right to deny admission to any applicant it deems unfit to participate in its MBA program.

FOR MORE INFORMATION CALL: Sara Schwarz Cook, MBA Director, at slcook@viterbo.edu, or Leanne Hedberg Carlson, MBA Coordinator, at 608-796-3357 or lmhedbergcarlson@viterbo.edu.