UNI is home to dozens of innovative graduate programs, including the Master’s of Business Administration program. Accredited by AACSB International, UNI’s MBA program is designed for working professionals who are seeking professional connections and a highly applicable education.

Dr. Dale Cyphert, Program Director, believes that UNI’s flexible and affordable MBA is uniquely suited to graduate students throughout Iowa and across the country.

What makes UNI’s MBA program unique from other schools?

Outside of several consulting and engagement options, which very few MBA programs offer, we also set ourselves apart by offering onsite courses that foster relationship building within a specific business community. The cohort system in the Hometown programs offers the most dramatic evidence: by taking our faculty to the community, we are able to build up the whole community's educational capital by creating a venue for professionals to build relationships and community solutions as they learn management principles together. 

We also offer a flexible and cost effective program, which separates out the core MBA degree from optional certificates in specialty areas. The result is a program that is shorter and less costly than most of our competitors.

What special facilities or opportunities does UNI’s MBA program offer for graduate students?

The most amazing opportunity is the Capstone Consulting Experience. As their final research project, students on the Cedar Falls and Hometown campuses can engage with a local business in a consulting relationship. The projects typically involve 3 or 4 students who research the client's question and make recommendations. It's about a six-month process, and alumni claim it's the most valuable (and also most intense and stressful) part of the entire MBA program.

In most classes, we also offer opportunities for engagement with local businesses, and we also have several interesting study abroad opportunities.

What does the culminating project/experience in your program look like for grad students?

The Consulting Capstone above is the "normal" path for domestic students. Our international students (and a few here who need to leave campus for some reason) participate in an international, competitive simulation that asks students to research an industry, make all business decisions for several annual cycles, and report their findings on both the dynamic market environment and their own ability to perform within it. Students who desire to enter a PhD program also have the option of creating a more traditional research project geared toward academic publication.

What should prospective students know about your graduate faculty?

As an AACSB-accredited Business College, we offer a faculty that meets both academic and social expectations for high impact. Only a small minority of universities worldwide can boast this level of accreditation. Most of our faculty engage with the local community, either as consultants or as a service endeavor, so our students get multiple opportunities to apply or expand their expertise across multiple business venues. Our Graduate Assistants are also involved with research projects, often resulting in conference presentations and sometimes publication. 

How do graduate students fit into your department? How do they bring value to the program and enhance your community?

Our GAs work primarily as research assistants, but they can be called on to assist with classroom and service projects as well.

What else would you like prospective students to know about your program?

I mentioned flexibility, which covers a lot of territory. Classes are scheduled in different ways across the programs (various combinations of evenings and/or weekends), but always with the goal of fitting into the life of a busy professional. We also can accommodate students' needs for travel, variable work or family demands, and a host of other specific situations with a program that allows a seamless transition across cohorts, locations, and even timezones.

Learn more about the MBA program here.