Frequently Asked Questions
Application and Admission Process


What are the criteria for admission?

Please visit the "Admission Criteria" page.

What is the best undergraduate major to have for admission to the MBA Program?

Although some majors may provide somewhat better preparation for the BYU MBA program than others, the particular major is not relevant to admission. What is important is that applicants try to take key courses as preparation for the program (a basic course in accounting, economics, and statistics) and that they develop skills in the important areas of writing, quantitative abilities, and problem analysis. In addition, a rigorous major may be better preparation for the rigors of the MBA program.

Majors such as accounting, economics, engineering, and computer science are effective in combination with an MBA degree when students seek employment in these areas after the MBA program. Naturally, these are helpful only if students are sure they want to market themselves as having these combined skills.

Are students who earned an undergraduate business degree from BYU admitted to the MBA program?

Yes. The particular undergraduate major is not important as long as applicants are competitive in the admission criteria listed above. In general, undergraduate business majors from BYU do well in the MBA program, find good jobs, and do not find the MBA courses to be redundant to what they learned in the undergraduate program.

How many and what type of letters of recommendation are required?

Three letters of recommendation are required. The preferred combination is two professional and one academic, but the academic letter may be replaced with a personal or professional recommendation. Recommendations may be submitted online or hard copy (see instructions in online application).

*Applications may be reviewed with just two letters of recommendation if the applicant requests it.

When should I submit my application and how soon after I submit my application will I be notified of a decision?

Please see the Application Calendar web page.

If I'm not admitted to the MBA program this year, does that hurt my chances for admission in a future year?

No, your chances for admission are not decreased for future years. In fact, once you have been through the admissions process and are aware of what to expect it should be easier in following years. Also, the admissions committee will explain in a letter why you were not admitted to the MBA program for that year; your chances for admission in following years could be increased by following the suggestions given in that letter.

What is required in the MBA application?

Please see the Application web page.

What is rolling admission and how does it work?

Rolling admissions means that once an application is complete it is immediately sent to the admissions committee for review; we don't wait for specific deadlines to pass before reviewing completed applications

If I want to apply to both the full-time and Executive MBA (EMBA) programs, do I need to submit two applications?

Yes, you need to submit two applications because they are two separate programs. However, test scores, letters of recommendation, and transcripts may be submitted once and used toward both applications; simply submit them with one application then contact the MBA office and request that they be copied for the other.