Solving the world’s environmental crises depends on how well tomorrow's business leaders adopt strategies that allow for sustainability to be a leading driver in how they do business.

Loyola’s five-year Accelerated Bachelor’s/Master’s program in environmental studies and business administration introduces students to the fundamental issues involved in global, environmental and ethical business practices.

The academic content and direct, hands-on experiences within the bachelors degrees will provide a base from which to develop skills and knowledge in the MBA program. The program equips graduates to promote and implement sustainable business practices.

CURRICULUM

Students interested in pursuing one of the Accelerated Bachelor’s/Master’s programs will complete all normal requirements for a BA in environmental studies.

Students may take two graduate courses that count toward the MBA during their senior year in lieu of environmental science/studies electives. Students complete the degree requirements for a BA in environmental studies after four years and complete the MBA at the end of the fifth year.

¹

The Quinlan School of Business Graduate Program uses a quarter system rather than a semester system.  The MBA program is an 16 course program (48 hours).

²

ISSCM 400 Quantitative Methods and ISSCM 402N Quantitative Methods II - Statistics Primer can be taken in the first quarter of MBA degree if necessary.

³

Can be waived with grade of B or above in MATH 131 Applied Calculus I or MATH 161 Calculus I.

⁴

Can be waived with grade of B or above in STAT 103 Fundamentals of Statistics or ENVS 203 Environmental Statistics. 

⁵

Can be taken as a free elective in senior year.

⁶

Prerequisite of ISSCM 400 Quantitative Methods or the equivalent can be waived with grade of B or above in ECON 201 Principles of Microeconomics & ECON 202 Principles of Macroeconomics

⁷

Prerequisite of ACCT 400 Financial Accounting for Business Decisions or the equivalent.

BA Electives

Suggested Sequence of Courses

Accelerated Bachelor's/Master's Program Tip

In addition to completing the normal requirements for the environmental studies, students planning to enter the MBA program should do the following:

A GPA of 3.20 or higher is required for admission to this program.

First-year/sophomore years: Arrange undergraduate course scheduling to preserve six hours of free electives until senior year.

During their first two years, students should take ECON 201 Principles of Microeconomics and ECON 202 Principles of Macroeconomics, which will satisfy the social science requirement of the Core Curriculum and allow the student to waive out of ECON 420 Managerial Economics. Take MATH 131 Applied Calculus I or MATH 161 Calculus I to waive out of ISSCM 400 Quantitative Methods.

Junior year (2nd semester): Attend an MBA accelerated Bachelor's / Master's information session.

Senior year: Apply to the program by October 15 if you complete your Bachelor's degree in May.  Apply to the program by April 15 if you are completing your Bachelors degree in December.  After admission, meet with your MBA advisor for planning your graduate business course schedule. 

Take ACCT 400 Financial Accounting for Business Decisions and MARK 460 Marketing Management, which will count as free electives toward the BA degree. Complete all requirements for the BA.

Fifth year: During the fifth year, students who have followed the above directions will have a total of 14 (or less) MBA courses remaining. These courses can be completed full-time at the rate of three or four per quarter (including the summer quarter). Students also have the option to complete the MBA program on a part-time basis (usually one or two courses per quarter).

Students should contact the Quinlan School of Business for specific MBA requirements and an academic calendar.

Guidelines for Accelerated Bachelor’s/Master’s Programs

Terms

• Accelerated Bachelor’s/Master’s programs: In this type of program, students share limited credits between their undergraduate and graduate degrees to facilitate completion of both degrees.  
• Shared credits: Graduate level credit hours taken during the undergraduate program and then applied towards graduate program requirements will be referred to as shared credits.

Admission Requirements

Accelerated Bachelor’s/Master’s programs are designed to enhance opportunities for advanced training for Loyola’s undergraduates. Admission to these programs must be competitive and will depend upon a positive review of credentials by the program’s admissions committee. Accordingly, the admission requirements for these programs may be higher than those required if the master’s degree were pursued entirely after the receipt of a bachelor’s degree. That is, programs may choose to have more stringent admissions requirements in addition to those minimal requirements below.

Requirements:

• Declared appropriate undergraduate major,
• By the time students begin taking graduate courses as an undergraduate, the student has completed approximately 90 credit hours, or the credit hours required in a program that is accredited by a specialty organization,¹
• A minimum cumulative GPA for coursework at Loyola that is at or above the program-specific requirements, a minimum major GPA that is at or above the program-specific requirements, and/or appropriate designated coursework for evaluation of student readiness in their discipline.²

Students not eligible for the Accelerated Bachelor’s/Master’s program (e.g., students who have not declared the appropriate undergraduate major) may apply to the master’s program through the regular admissions process. Students enrolled in an Accelerated Bachelor’s/Master’s program who choose not to continue to the master’s degree program upon completion of the bachelor’s degree will face no consequences.³

Ideally, a student will apply for admission (or confirm interest in proceeding towards the graduate degree in opt-out programs) as they approach 90 credit hours. Programs are encouraged to begin advising students early in their major so that they are aware of the program and, if interested, can complete their bachelor’s degree requirements in a way that facilitates completion of the program. Once admitted as an undergraduate, Program Directors should ensure that students are enrolled using the plan code associated with the Accelerated Bachelor’s/Master’s program. Using the plan code associated with the Accelerated Bachelor’s/Master’s program will ensure that students may be easily identified as they move through the program. Students will not officially matriculate into the master’s degree program and be labeled as a graduate student by the university, with accompanying changes to tuition and Financial Aid (see below), until the undergraduate degree has been awarded. Once admitted to the graduate program, students must meet the academic standing requirements of their graduate program as they complete the program curriculum.

¹

Programs that have specialized accreditation will adhere to the admissions criteria provided by, or approved by, their specialized accreditors.

²

The program will identify appropriate indicators of student readiness for graduate coursework (e.g., high-level performance in 300 level courses). Recognizing differences between how majors are designed, we do not specify a blanket requirement.

³

If students choose not to enroll in the Accelerated Bachelor’s/Master’s program, they still must complete all of the standard requirements associated with the undergraduate degree (e.g., a capstone).

For more information on Admissions requirements, visit here.

Curriculum

Level and progression of courses. The Accelerated Bachelor’s/Master’s programs are designed to be competitive and attractive to our most capable students. Students admitted to Accelerated Bachelor’s/Master’s programs should be capable of meeting graduate level learning outcomes. Following guidance from the Higher Learning Commission, only courses taken at the 400 level or higher (including 300/400 level courses taken at the 400 level) will count toward the graduate program.^1,2  Up to 50% of the total graduate level credit hours, required in the graduate program, may come from 300/400 level courses where the student is enrolled in the 400 level of the course. Further, at least 50% of the credit hours for the graduate program must come from courses that are designed for and restricted to graduate students who have been admitted to a graduate program at Loyola (e.g., enrolled in plan code that indicates the Accelerated Bachelor’s/Master’s program, typically ending with the letter “D”).³

In general, graduate level coursework should not be taken prior to admission into the Accelerated Bachelor’s/Master’s program. Exceptions may be granted for professional programs where curriculum for the Accelerated Bachelor’s/Master’s program is designed to begin earlier. On the recommendation of the program’s Graduate Director, students may take one of their graduate level courses before they are admitted to the Accelerated Bachelors/Master’s program if they have advanced abilities in their discipline and course offerings warrant such an exception.⁴ Undergraduate degree requirements outside of the major are in no way impacted by admission to an Accelerated Bachelor’s/Master’s program.⁵

Shared credits. Undergraduate courses (i.e., courses offered at the 300 level or below) cannot be counted as shared credits nor count towards the master’s degree. Up to 50% of the total graduate level credit hours, required in the graduate program, may be counted in meeting both the undergraduate and graduate degree requirements. Of those shared credits, students in an Accelerated Bachelor’s/Master’s program should begin their graduate program with the standard introductory course(s) for the program whenever possible. So that students may progress through the Accelerated Bachelor’s/Master’s program in a timely manner, undergraduate programs are encouraged to design their curriculum such that a student can complete some required graduate credit hours while completing the undergraduate degree. For instance, some of the graduate curriculum should also satisfy electives for the undergraduate major.

The program’s Graduate Director will designate credit hours to be shared through the advising form and master’s degree conferral review process. Shared credit hours will not be marked on the undergraduate record as having a special status in the undergraduate program. They will be included in the student’s undergraduate earned hours and GPA. Graduate credit hours taken during the undergraduate program will not be included in the graduate GPA calculation.

¹

If students wish to transfer credits from another university to Loyola University Chicago, the program’s Graduate director will review the relevant syllabus(es) to determine whether it meets the criteria for a 400 level course or higher.

²

Programs with specialized accreditation requirements that allow programs to offer graduate curriculum to undergraduate students will conform to those specialized accreditation requirements.

³

In rare cases, the Graduate Director may authorize enrollment in a 400-level course for a highly qualified and highly motivated undergraduate, ensuring that the undergraduate's exceptional participation in the graduate class will not diminish in any way the experience of the graduate students regularly enrolled.

⁴

For example, if a particular course is only offered once every 2-3 years, and a student has demonstrated the necessary ability to be successful, the Graduate Director may allow a student to take a graduate level course to be shared prior to the student being formally admitted to the graduate program. See, also, footnote 3.

⁵

Students should not, for example, attempt to negotiate themselves out of a writing intensive requirement on the basis of admission to a graduate program.

Graduation

Degrees are awarded sequentially. All details of undergraduate commencement are handled in the ordinary way as for all students in the School/College/Institute. Once in the graduate program, students abide by the graduation deadlines set forth by the graduate program. Students in these programs must be continuously enrolled from undergraduate to graduate degree program unless given explicit permission by their program for a gap year or approved leave of absence. In offering the option of an Accelerated Bachelor’s/Master’s program, the university is making possible the acceleration of a student’s graduate degree completion. It should be understood that students may not request deferral of their matriculation into the Master’s degree program. If students would like to delay their graduate studies after earning the undergraduate degree, they may apply for admission to the traditional master’s degree program. Any application of graduate credit earned while in the undergraduate program is subject to the policies of the graduate degree granting school.

LEARNING OUTCOMES 

• Demonstrate an understanding of scientific, social, and humanistic approaches to environmental questions. [BA]
• Appraise the interactions and synergies between the natural world, social systems, and human cultures. [BA]
• Advance environmental and social sustainability that integrates scientific research, social analysis, and cultural awareness. [BA]
• Engaged actions of self-awareness and social solidarity that reflect a commitment to integral ecology. [BA]
• Integrative Business Knowledge: Graduates will be proficient in integrating the techniques, processes, and procedures of the fundamental business disciplines (accounting, economics, finance, marketing, management, human resource management, operations management, and information technology). They will be able to apply theory, skills, and knowledge from these disciplines to business practice. [MBA]
• Critical Decision Making: Graduates will demonstrate their capacity for critical analysis in processing, interpreting, and managing the quantitative and qualitative information necessary for effective managerial decision making. [MBA]
• Ethics and Responsible Leadership: Graduates will understand how to be a leader in business who exhibits personal integrity, ethical awareness, and an ability to apply ethical principles to business practice. [MBA]
• Global Perspective and Awareness of Diversity: Graduates will have a global perspective by recognizing international business issues and appreciating diversity, including culture, race, religion, and gender. [MBA]
• Communication: Graduates will be able to communicate effectively, orally. Graduates will be able to communicate effectively, in writing. [MBA]

SES Shared Learning Outcomes

All SES majors share the following Program Learning Objectives, in addition to their unique major-specific Program Learning Objectives:

1. Articulate the foundational principles of natural and social sciences and humanities essential to solving environmental problems.

2. Critically evaluate the accuracy and credibility of information relating to environmental topics.

3. Employ knowledge and skills to design and implement solutions that contribute to a just and sustainable world.

4. Exemplify the values of environmental and social justice through actions to care for our common home and one another.