What will I study as a Master of Business Administration student?

The Adaptive MBA program consists of 36 total credits — a mix of core courses, intensives and electives that allow you to tailor your experience. Courses cover essential topics like financial strategy, marketing, data analysis and business leadership.

21 Core Credits

The Adaptive MBA’s core offers a rigorous foundation, with courses like Organizational Financial Policy and Advanced Financial Management for Corporate Finance, Marketing Strategy for Business Growth, and Management Theory and Practice for Leadership. Biblical Management and Ethics integrates faith-based values, while Business Intelligence focuses on data-driven decision-making. Management Strategy ties it all together with real-world applications.

15 Elective Credits

Beyond the core, you have the freedom to creatively shape your degree around your goals by choosing from a wide range of electives. You’ll select a customized blend of the options below, allowing for a highly personalized and versatile educational journey.

• Intensives: Six to nine of your elective credits will be earned through Intensives — three-day courses taught by industry experts from companies like Amazon, Disney, Nike and more. Each Intensive is a 1.5-credit, in-person learning experience that covers a critical topic like artificial intelligence, innovation and design thinking, with new topics being added as new trends emerge.
• Business Electives: Tailor your degree to your interests with business courses focused on areas like accounting, entrepreneurship, financial planning, innovation, nonprofit management, entertainment and more.
• Cross-Disciplinary Electives: Go beyond business-specific classes with select graduate-level courses across Biola, from such fields as organizational psychology, theology, and science and technology.

As a Christian institution, Biola seeks to admit applicants whose backgrounds clearly demonstrate scholarly aptitude, a commitment to the historic Christian faith, personal character and integrity, and a positive service-oriented motivation toward their field of study. Biola does not discriminate on the basis of the applicant's race, color, sex, socio-economic status, disability, or national or ethnic origin.

1. Complete and submit the online application

2. Submit a non-refundable $65 application fee

   • Note: If you attend an information session, we will waive your application fee.

3. Submit supplemental application materials through your online application portal:

Official Transcripts

• Submit all official transcripts from previous academic institutions.
  • Request official transcripts from all colleges and universities attended.
  • If enrolled at the time the application is filed, be sure to request transcripts of work finished to date and final transcripts upon completion of your course of study.
  • Transcripts will be considered official only when a) mailed directly from the institution to Biola, b) sent electronically through an approved vendor or c) physically delivered in an untampered envelope sealed by the institution. Final approval for admission is contingent on receiving an official transcript.
    • Mail transcripts to:
      Biola University Office of Graduate Admissions
      13800 Biola Avenue, La Mirada, CA 90639
• Note for International Students: All international transcripts need U.S. grade equivalencies noted (i.e. GPA on a 4.0 scale). If your transcripts do not show U.S. grade equivalencies, you must have them evaluated by a credential evaluation agency like SpanTran (Biola Discount), World Education Services (WES) or Foundation for International Services (FIS). Be sure to choose "course by course report" and have SpanTran/WES/FIS send them directly to Biola University via online portal or post (13800 Biola Ave, La Mirada, CA 90639) in order to be considered official.

Three Reference Letters

• Pastor or church leader reference
• Academic or character reference
• Employer reference
• Note: Additional instructions can be found in the online application.

Two Essays

• Christian testimony
  • The circumstances surrounding your decision to become a follower of Christ
  • The scriptural basis for your salvation
  • Your contribution to a local church community
  • A description of how you display attributes of a mature Christian faith
• Vocational objectives
  • Provide a statement (no more than 2 pages) addressing your qualifications for acceptance to the MBA program (leadership potential, creative abilities, motivational aptitude) and your career goals, including a description of how participation in the MBA program will contribute to your growth and development toward those goals. This is included in the online application but must be submitted separately if you are completing the PDF application.
• Note: The essay prompts can be found in the online application.

English Proficiency (required for non-native English speakers)

• Evidence of English proficiency is required for all students to support student success. Proficiency must be shown through one of the methods described below:
  • Minimum test score on a qualifying standardized test
    • TOEFL: minimum score of 100 iBT
    • IELTS: minimum score of 7.5
    • Duolingo: minimum score of 125
  • A degree (bachelor’s, master’s or doctoral) issued by an institution where English is the medium of instruction.
    • Official written communication from the institution (Registrar, Controller of Examinations Office, or Undergraduate College)
    • Official degree statements or transcripts may be accepted given English is stated as the medium of instruction
    • Official catalog verification
    • Note: For universities from non-Anglophone countries, further language assessment may be required.
  • Completion of the English Language Scholars (ELS) with passing status on the ELS's final exit exam, which must be approved by the ELS Director in collaboration with the academic program committee. An updated TOEFL or IELTS score may be used at the end of a term to test directly into the graduate program for the following term.
  • Qualify for English Language Scholars (ELS), which allows students who do not meet the minimum TOEFL, IELTS or Duolingo scores to still enroll in their graduate degree program. Students would be taking academic English courses concurrently with the graduate degree program courses. 
    • Students eligible for ELS will be assessed by the ELS Director to determine the total number of academic English courses to take while enrolled in their graduate program courses. The following are the scores needed to qualify for ELS: TOEFL iBT 90 / IELTS 7.0 / Duolingo 110–124.
    • Note: Students must be admitted to the graduate program first to be considered for ELS.

4. Interview with the Crowell School of Business MBA & Master of Management Department Chair

• Note: We will contact you to schedule your interview once we have received all the above application items

 

Things to Note

• Track your application status at any time. You do not have to complete the application in one sitting. You can complete a portion and finish at a later time. Your information will be saved. When you apply, to guarantee confidentiality, you will be asked to create a user name and a password, and will receive a personalized identification number. Track your application status by logging in to the online application.
• Transfer credits. Students transferring from a regionally accredited graduate program may transfer a maximum of six (6) credits. The courses transferred must be equivalent, have direct applicability to your program, and be approved by the program director. Only courses with a grade of “B” (3.0) or higher will be considered for transfer toward the MBA degree. Credits considered for transfer must have been taken within five years prior to the date of admission.
• Official documents presented for admission or evaluation become part of the student’s academic file and normally cannot be returned or copied for distribution.
• International students who will be studying on campus are required to apply for an F-1 student visa. For more information, visit biola.edu/international/admitted-students.