After admission, students must demonstrate basic competency in written English, mathematics and statistics by passing either the proficiency exams or the basic courses, as required.

These 3 competencies may not be met by prior course work or exams from other institutions. They must be demonstrated by the end of the second semester in the program by passing either the exams or the courses. They must be completed before registration in the final research project or thesis will be allowed.

Please refer to the SFSU Bulletin for the official details on all three of the basic competencies. Registration for the exams is through the Testing Center, by the stated deadlines.

New Policy

Effective Fall 2007, students who have earned a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration within the past seven years from an AACSB-accredited university, can automatically waive the Basic Competency DS 510 math and DS 512 Statistics courses. A minimum GPA of 3.0 is required in the last 60 semester units of coursework completed. In addition all Phase II, 700-level Foundation courses will be waived (see the Foundation Courses page for more details). Please note that the Basic Competency BUS 514 required course will still need to be fulfilled.

 

The following link provides an up-to-date listing of AACSB schools around the world: http://www.aacsb.edu/General/InstLists.asp?lid=2

 

Written English

First-level competency in written English must be demonstrated by the end of the second semester in the graduate program. There are several ways to demonstrate competency.

One is to score 5.0 or above on the Analytical Writing Assessment (AWA) section of the GMAT. If you did, please bring a copy of your score report in to the office for verification and we will note that you have fulfilled the requirement.

Another way is to take the Graduate Essay Test (GET) as a challenge exam, if you feel that your AWA score does not truly reflect your ability. The GET is described in great detail at www.sfsu.edu/~testing/get.html Test dates and registration deadlines are at www.sfsu.edu/~testing/testcal.html The GET can be taken only once, so if you do not pass, you must take a writing course as described next.

If you know that your writing skills need development, or if you do not pass the GET, the final way to demonstrate written English proficiency is to take and pass BUS 514, an English writing course. You may enroll directly in BUS 514 through Touchtone/Internet registration. The class is offered on a Credit/No Credit basis.

Please note: Only BUS 514 allows you to enroll directly without taking the GET first. All the other English writing classes that fulfill the requirement-CHS 514, CA 514, and EDUC 614-require that you take and fail the GET to be admitted. So, if you can't get into a BUS 514 class, you might consider taking the GET before classes start to allow you to enroll in one of the other writing classes. All the classes are taken on a Credit/No Credit basis.

Students must demonstrate proficiency in written English by the end of their second semester, so if you plan to take the GET, allow enough time to take the course if you do not pass the test. Students must fulfill this requirement to register in the final thesis or research project class, which will demonstrate, on successful completion, the second-level written English proficiency necessary to graduate.

Mathematics and Statistics

Each test may be taken twice. However, if either exam is failed twice, the student must take and pass the corresponding course.

Students may enroll directly in the courses through Touchtone/Internet registration without taking the exams first.

SF State University faculty offer review sessions in both math and statistics prior to the exam dates, in early January and August. Information on the workshops will be sent with admissions information.

Suggested texts for studying for the Mathematics Exam are:

• Mathematics with Applications, Lial, Miller and Hungerford, (Addison Wesley)
• Mathematics for Business, Schmidbauer and Platt
• Almost any intermediate algebra book may be used to review the topics.

• Active Practice of Statistics, Moore, (Freeman and Co.)
• Statistics, Concepts and Conctroversies, Moore, (Freeman and Co.)
• Almost any intermediate statistics book may be used to review the topics.

Updated:11/06/07