Sacred Heart University

Programme overview

The 4+1 Bachelor's–Master of Business Administration dual degree admits students as incoming freshmen and reserves a place in the MBA program from year one. Students finish a traditional four-year bachelor’s degree in a Welch College of Business & Technology major and then complete one year of graduate study to earn the MBA. Up to six graduate credits may be completed during undergraduate study and applied to both degrees.

What you'll study

The MBA emphasizes applied learning and integration across business disciplines. Key curricular features named in the programme materials include an Integrated Core using data from a Fortune 500 company for team strategic and marketing planning, and a Capstone conducted with Sacred Heart’s Center for Nonprofit Organizations, providing pro bono strategic consulting to regional nonprofits. Over the last five years the MBA cohort completed multiple consulting projects and logged tens of thousands of consulting hours for Connecticut nonprofits.

• Integrated Core integrating strategy, international marketing and finance for real-company projects
• Capstone project paired with nonprofit strategic consulting through the Center for Nonprofit Organizations
• Opportunities to earn up to six graduate credits during undergraduate study that count toward both degrees

Entry requirements

Students apply as incoming freshmen and are admitted simultaneously into the undergraduate and graduate programmes. Progression into the MBA requires continued satisfaction of programme-specific progression criteria; to matriculate into the MBA students must successfully complete the bachelor’s degree with a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0. The dual pathway is open to students in specified Welch College majors.

• Application point: incoming first-year admission to the dual degree
• Progression condition: completion of the bachelor’s degree with cumulative GPA ≥ 3.0 to enroll in the MBA
• Eligible undergraduate majors include: accounting; business analytics & applied AI; business economics; fashion marketing & merchandising; finance; financial technology & analytics; management; marketing; sport management; computer engineering; computer science; cybersecurity; electrical engineering; game design & development; information technology

Career prospects

The programme materials cite broader labour-market context for MBA-related occupations, noting about 1.1 million openings projected annually on average for 2022–2032 and stating that an MBA can increase lifetime earnings compared with a bachelor’s degree. Sacred Heart’s MBA highlights experiential consulting, an integrated curriculum, and career services supports intended to enhance employability.

• Experiential projects with real companies and nonprofits to build consulting, strategy and cross-functional skills
• Graduate career supports include Handshake, networking events, career workshops and a dedicated graduate business career development mentor

Scholarships & funding angle (general)

A financial advantage of the dual pathway is that up to six graduate credits completed while an undergraduate are billed as part of full-time undergraduate tuition and count toward the MBA, reducing the incremental graduate tuition cost. Prospective and current students are directed to admissions contacts for further financial guidance.