As Ouachita Baptist University continues to experience record-breaking enrollment, we look forward to exploring new avenues for sharing our highly personalized approach to Christian higher education through an expanding catalog of graduate and online programs. The latest to be approved by a vote of our faculty is a Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree.
Cultivating graduate degree programs gives us a unique opportunity to meet the ongoing and changing needs of the work force by providing Ouachita’s rigorous academic training and career preparation to lifelong learners pursuing professional advancement.
Our enrollment has increased as our master’s and graduate certificate programs in nutrition & dietetics, applied behavior analysis, exercise science and education have attracted growing numbers of students who find close-knit community where they can thrive academically, spiritually and personally.
And there are more graduate programs in development.
We have heard consistently from students and alumni of their desire for Ouachita’s Hickingbotham School of Business (HSB) to launch an MBA degree program. In Fall 2023, pending approval from our institutional accreditors, that dream will be realized.
Among its many distinctions, the HSB is Arkansas’ only private business school accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB). This means that Ouachita’s fully online MBA program will be the only AACSB-accredited program offered by a private university in the state, and one of just a handful of faith-based, AACSB-accredited MBA programs in our region.
The MBA is among the most versatile degrees offered throughout higher education; for MBA graduates, it opens doors across all business, government and not-for-profit sectors. Students will be able to complete our 30-hour MBA in a year, and there’s no internship requirement. Classes in management, financial analysis, digital marketing, entrepreneurship and law will be taught by some of the HSB’s excellent faculty members, as well as industry experts who hold MBA degrees themselves and visiting doctoral-level professors.
In keeping with our goal of providing Ouachita students with an exceptional financial value, tuition will be comparable to that of MBA programs at other Arkansas faith-based schools that aren’t accredited by the AACSB. Another competitive edge of our program: It has the enthusiastic support of the HSB Executive Advisory Board, a group of experienced leaders in their respective fields.
As a faith-focused learning community, the HSB is committed to preparing students for lives of meaningful work through excellence in teaching, scholarship and purposeful engagement with professors as well as professionals representing a variety of careers.
This is the mission that inspired the creation of our MBA program, which we hope will fit students for ongoing intellectual and spiritual growth and reasoned engagement with the world – equipping them not only for career advancement, but also for personal engagement within their communities.
It is a mission that extends to every course of study in Ouachita’s comprehensive catalog, including new undergraduate degree programs in nursing, engineering and criminal justice.
In all that we do, we seek to sustain our distinct Christian identity and ensure a transformative educational experience for our students by fostering a love of God and a love of learning. The founding vision of Arkansas Baptists continues to light our way.