Lehigh University College of Business and Economics - Full-Time MBA

Program Structure

The Lehigh Full-time MBA begins with a mandatory weekend orientation held within a week of the start of classes in the fall. Students may complete the Lehigh full-time MBA program in as few as 16 months, beginning in the fall and ending in the spring of the next academic year.

Full-time and part-time MBA students take classes together, primarily in the evenings. Students can work towards their degree through both on-campus and online courses. Online courses are offered through Lehigh’s Office of Distance Education and incorporate a mix of real-time course streaming and conferencing as well as recorded video lectures.

Curriculum

The Lehigh Full-time MBA is a 36-credit program comprising a core curriculum of 21 credits and 15 elective credits. The core courses are Introduction to the Organization and Its Environment, Managing Financial and Physical Resources, Managing Information, Managing Products and Services, Managing People, and Integrative Experience. This last course serves as the capstone for the core and entails a team-oriented business simulation.

Students may use their elective courses to pursue a concentration in one of six fields: Corporate Entrepreneurship, Finance, International Business, Marketing, Project Management and Supply Chain Management. However, students are not required to pursue a concentration, and Lehigh notes that many MBA students select their electives simply to broaden the scope of their MBA coursework.

Class Profile

The Lehigh Full-time MBA class of 2013 was 67% male and 33% female. Students in the class of 2014 had an average undergraduate GPA of 3.32 and an average GMAT score of 623, with an average of 6 years of work experience. International students comprised 6% of the class of 2013.

Careers

Lehigh MBA students and alumni have full access to Lehigh University’s Career Services office, which provides individualized job and internship counseling, mock interview preparation and resume writing workshops. The office also hosts a September career fair.

Tuition & Financial Aid

Lehigh charges tuition by the credit hour. For the 2014-2015 academic year, the cost per credit hour is $1,050. With 36 credits in total, tuition for the Lehigh MBA is $37,800 for both full-time and part-time students. Lehigh also notes that there is a $100 course access fee for all online courses. Tuitions for the MBA dual-degree programs in Engineering and Educational Leadership amount to $1,340 and $810 per credit hour, respectively.

Full-time Lehigh MBA students are eligible for financial aid through Teaching Assistantships, Graduate Assistantships, Research Assistantships and Business Analyst positions.

Teaching and Graduate Assistants are required to work at least 20 hours a week and support CBE faculty with undergraduate teaching, class preparation, and other academic functions over the course of the nine-month academic year. These students receive a tuition waiver for up to nine credit hours per semester, equivalent to the cost of full-time enrollment in the MBA program. In addition, they receive stipends – and are eligible for a health insurance subsidy.

Research Assistants are required to work at least five hours each week providing research support to CBE faculty. These students may receive stipends for their work. Finally, MBA students are eligible to work as Business Analysts at Lehigh’s Small Business Development Center, providing support to entrepreneurs and small businesses in the Lehigh Valley region. These students must work with the Graduate Programs Office to determine their financial compensation.

Full-time international MBA applicants are required to submit the new Internet-based TOEFL score before they are eligible for financial aid. The minimum required score is 28 on the speaking section and 20 on the listening section. Additionally, international students may be required to take an English as a Second Language Test of Presentation and Spoken Skills (TOPSS) upon arriving at Lehigh.

Admissions Procedures

Applicants must have at least two years of full-time work experience to apply, and Lehigh notes that students average six years of work experience upon matriculation in the program. Applicants must also submit either GMAT or GRE scores, unless they hold Ph.D., JD or MD degrees or international equivalents to these degrees. While Lehigh does not stipulate a minimum GMAT score, it notes that the majority of MBA students scored at the 70th percentile or above on the combined exam. The school looks especially closely at applicants’ scores on the quantitative section of the test.

International students must take the TOEFL exam, with a recommended minimum score on the Internet-based exam of 94. The recommended iBT subscores are as follows:

Reading: 25
Listening: 20
Speaking: 24
Writing: 25

International applicants who have completed degrees in the U.S., the UK, Australia or Canada may be exempt from the TOEFL. However, international applicants are not exempt from the TOEFL if they have only studied in a non-English speaking country, even if the language of instruction at their academic institution was English.

International students must also provide an original or notarized financial guarantee demonstrating sufficient funds to pay for their first year of study. This guarantee can be a copy of an original bank statement or a bank letter and must demonstrate that the student has at least $35,270 in funds on hand. Lehigh notes that this is merely the minimum an international applicant must demonstrate to qualify for admission, as the actual cost of the program will be greater.

Lehigh notes that applicants are strongly recommended to request admissions interviews, although interviews are not required for admission.

Lehigh MBA applicants must submit an online application form and application fee, a current résumé, GMAT or GRE test results (GRE scores are only valid if the exam was taken after August 1, 2011), official transcripts from all universities attended, and two letters of recommendation submitted through the online application.

The Lehigh application also includes an essay question, asking applicants to provide a summary of their career objectives and relevant work experience, their chosen field of graduate study, and the leadership experience and skills they plan to contribute to their peers at Lehigh.