Mar 28, 2024  
Graduate Record 2014-2015 
    
Graduate Record 2014-2015 [ARCHIVED RECORD]

Master of Science in Commerce


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The Master of Science in Commerce with a concentration in Financial Services or Marketing & Management is a one-year, 40-credit hour degree program. It is designed to help recent graduates integrate their strong foundation in the liberal arts, sciences, or engineering with concentrated studies in commerce. It encompasses a solid education on business fundamentals and international business topics, as well as a study-abroad component. The program exposes students to business fundamentals through three mandatory terms of study.

  • Fall Term: Integrated Core Experience (ICE) emphasizes the development of strategic, behavioral, communication, and analytical skills that address real business problems and projects. (16 credits)
  • Spring Term I: Specialty Tracks helps students develop a functional area of expertise through focused coursework within their chosen track—either Financial Services or Marketing & Management. (13 credits)
  • Spring and Summer Terms: Global Immersion Experience (January–June) requires all students to participate in sequence of courses aimed at developing an understanding of global business practices.  January through March, all students will participate in a 3-credit foundations course designed to develop a framework for understanding the context influencing global business.  In April, all students will participate in a 2-credit course focusing on the business and cultural environments impacting business in the regions where they will travel as part of their Global Immersion Experience.  Finally, all students will complete a 6-credit  global immersion and capstone experience at one of McIntire’s designated overseas locations  All courses will be taught by McIntire faculty members (11 credits.)

Students must apply to one of the two specialty tracks (Financial Services or Marketing & Management) and will only be accepted into the track to which they apply. The track designation will appear on the student transcript. Any requested change of track after admission requires a re-evaluation of the student’s application by the admissions committee.

Program Prerequisites:


The program is designed for candidates who have graduated or will be graduating within 12 months prior to matriculation with a strong liberal arts, science, or engineering bachelor’s degree. Students who have an undergraduate major in business are ineligible to apply for the program. The following prerequisite UVa coursework or equivalents from other institutions must be completed prior to formal acceptance into the program. *

  • Economics 2010: Principles of Economics: Microeconomics
  • Commerce 2010: Introduction to Financial Accounting
  • Introduction to Statistics **

 *Full acceptance is contingent on completion of a four-year bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution and the applicant’s performance in the three prerequisite courses.

** UVa statistics courses that would qualify to serve as a pre-requisite are: STAT 1120, STAT 2120, STAT 3710, MATH 3120, APMA 3120, and APMA 3110.

Admission Requirements


  • Completed online application form, including all required documentation and $75 application fee
  • Official transcript from all colleges and universities attended   
  • Official GMAT scores sent to the McIntire School of Commerce 
  • Official TOEFL or IELTS scores, if applicable, sent to the McIntire School of Commerce (McIntire requires a minimum TOEFL score of 250 computer/ 600 paper-based/ 100 iBT or higher, or an IELTS score of 7.5 to be competitive for admissions)
  • Two letters of recommendation (at least one letter must be from a professor who is familiar with the student’s core academic performance.)
  • If accepted, a non-refundable deposit of $500 will be required and is credited toward the first tuition payment. For more information or to access the online admissions services, please visit online or contact: 

Office of Graduate Admissions

McIntire School of Commerce
Rouss & Robertson Halls, East Lawn
University of Virginia
P.O. Box 400173
Charlottesville, VA 22904-4173
(434) 243-4992 Toll-free (877) 349-2620
mscommerce@virginia.edu
www.commerce.virginia.edu/mscommerce

Grading Policy


Grades are awarded only to those students who are registered for, and who complete a course for, credit. All courses are on a credit basis only. The letter grade symbols used for grading graduate students in the Commerce program are: A+, A, A-, B+, B, B-, C, D, F.  Students are required to maintain a GPA of 3.00 to remain in the program and graduate. Student performance may be evaluated periodically by the faculty. At these points of evaluation, students found not to be in good academic standing, may be placed on academic probation or if already on probation will be dismissed from the program.  In addition, a student who earns six credits of sub-standard performance (C or lower) is placed on academic probation; a probationary student who earns one additional grade of C or lower may be dismissed from the program. A student, who receives a grade of F (non-performance) in any course, may be dismissed from the program.

Audit Graduate and undergraduate Commerce courses may not be taken on an audit (i.e. credit awarded on transcript without a grade) basis. Students who wish to further their study of a particular subject beyond required program courses must receive advance permission from the course instructor and program director.

Employment and other Extracurricular Activities


Students may not engage in employment or other extracurricular activities in excess of what is compatible with a full-time commitment to the study of commerce. No full-time student may be employed for more than 20 hours per week or receive financial compensation or financial award for activities requiring more than 20 hours per week.

Global Immersion Attendance Policy


The program attendance policy described earlier applies to all McIntire graduate programs. Though beyond our on-Grounds classes, all students are expected to fully participate in M.S. in Commerce’s  11-credit hour global immersion experience (GIE). Participation in GIE constitutes international travel as part of one of the regional tracks offered in the summer term (usually lasting from late May to late June) and students are expected to arrive on time and remain with the track for the duration of the international experience. Exceptions to this requirement are very rare and require the approval of the Program Director and Global Immersion Experience Program Director. Requests for exceptions must be made in writing to the Program Director as far in advance of the scheduled global immersion term as possible.

Obtaining all required visas and travel documents is the student’s responsibility. Failure to obtain proper documents may result in inability to complete required study abroad coursework, and degree requirements.

M.S. in Commerce Courses


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