The Alvah H. Chapman Jr. Graduate School of Business and the Latin American and Caribbean Center at Florida International University have approved a joint degree pathway culminating in both a Master of Business Administration degree (MBA), awarded by the College of Business, and a Master of Arts in Latin American and Caribbean Studies degree (MALACS), administered by the Latin American and Caribbean Center (LACC) for the College of Arts and Sciences. Under the joint degree pathway, a student can obtain both degrees in significantly less time than it would take to obtain both degrees if pursued consecutively. Essential criteria relating to the joint degree pathway are as follows:
- Candidates to the joint degree pathway must meet the entrance requirements established by each individual program.
- Applications for the joint degree pathway will not be accepted from candidates who have already completed either degree. Business Administration students must apply and be admitted by no later than the semester in which they are expected to complete 18 pre-core and core credit hours in the MBA program. MALACS students must apply and be admitted by no later than the semester in which they are expected to complete 18 credit hours in that program.
- Candidates must satisfy all requirements for each degree. Twelve (12) credit hours from the MBA curriculum pre-core and core requirements may count toward the MALACS degree to satisfy MALACS concentration requirements. Nine (9) credit hours from the MALACS course offerings may be applied to satisfy MBA elective requirements. All courses transferred between degrees must be completed with a grade point average of 3.0 or higher. MALACS courses transferred to meet MBA elective credit must be 6000 or 7000 level courses approved by the University Curriculum Committee and be from the approved MALACS course list in the social science disciplines of anthropology, economics, environmental studies, history, international relations, Latin American and Caribbean Studies (interdisciplinary), political science, or sociology. The Dean of the Chapman Graduate School of Business (or his/her delegate) has final authority on the approval of which courses may be transferred to meet MBA elective requirements.
- Based on existing MBA and MALACS curriculums, specifics on the transfer of credits between include the following. Participants in the joint degree pathway will obtain a MALACS concentration in International Business. Four MBA pre-core or core courses (12 credits) may be transferred to meet the student’s MALACS concentration requirements. Students who have not taken MAN 6910 Research Methods in Management as an MBA elective course will be required to take a MALACS-approved social science research methods course as one of their first MALACS courses. With the 12 credit transfer from the MBA program, to obtain the MALACS degree, the student will be required to take the MALACS gateway interdisciplinary course LAS 6003 Survey of Latin America and the Caribbean (3 credits), the MALACS required data analysis course LAS 6930 Latin American and Caribbean Data Analysis (3 credits), one additional course in the MALACS concentration of International Business (the social science research methods course may meet this requirement) (3 credits), three additional courses in at least two MALACS concentrations other than International Business (9 credits), and a MALACS graduation exit option (6 credits), for a total of 24 MALACS credits. Candidates for the MALACS degree must also meet MALACS language proficiency requirements. With the 9 credit transfer from the MALACS program, to obtain the MBA degree, the student will be required to take all MBA pre-core, core, and professional development seminar courses, plus one MBA elective, for a total of 46 MBA credits. Directors of the MBA and MALACS degree programs may adjust the exact course numbers and titles required for degree completion as a result of future changes to the MBA or MALACS curriculums.
- If the joint degree pathway candidate chooses the thesis exit option for the MALACS degree, the thesis must address a Latin American or Caribbean business or management issue. The thesis committee must be chaired by a College of Arts and Sciences faculty member. Furthermore, the thesis committee must have at least one member from both the College of Business and College of Arts and Sciences. Thesis committee co-chairs with faculty members from both colleges are recommended. Candidates selecting a MALACS exit option other than the thesis must follow the procedures established by the MALACS program. MALACS will establish the necessary thesis, internship, independent study, or directed research course numbers to allow Graduate School of Business faculty to participate in MALACS exit options for joint degree students.
- Candidates accepted to the joint degree pathway may begin their studies in either program first. All candidates must register for classes during the regular registration period for the respective program. Additionally, joint degree students must register for a course or courses in their second degree no later than the semester commencing the second half of their first degree program.
- Joint degree pathway candidates will not receive either degree until all requirements for both programs have been satisfied. Students deciding against completing a second degree must satisfy all first degree program requirements as if the student had never been a joint degree candidate. Subject to prior approval, graduate students are normally allowed six (6) credit hours from graduate level courses offered by other units of the University as counting toward single degrees.
- Candidates in the joint degree pathway will be eligible for the graduate teaching assistantships, graduate research assistantships, and scholarships in the Chapman Graduate School of Business and LACC on the same basis as other graduate students, subject to the guidelines and restrictions set by either program.
- Future changes to the joint MBA/MALACS degree pathway must be endorsed by the College of Business Faculty Curriculum Committee and Associate Dean of the Chapman Graduate School of Business; the College of Arts and Sciences Faculty Curriculum Committee and Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences; and approved by the University Curriculum Committee, Graduate Council, the Faculty Senate, Dean of the University Graduate School, and the Provost.
For additional information, contact the International MBA office at (305) 348-6880 or imba@fiu.edu.