Business and Economics – (M.Sc.)

Requirements

Admission requirements for MSc in Business and Economics applicable for the August 2012 intake.

1. Requirements related to the Bachelor’s Degree

The following backgrounds qualify for admission to the MSc in Business and Economics programme:
• A successfully completed Bachelor’s Degree (180 ECTS credits) in the field of business administration, finance or economics.
• A bachelor degree in fields that have a strong quantitative component (such as Engineering, Mathematics and Statistics.) Students admitted with a different bachelor background than business should expect to spend a significant effort on familiarizing themselves with core concepts in economics, finance and accounting. This will be done through a combination of preparation courses prior to the start of the programme, self-study, and extra courses during the programme.

2. Grade requirement

The minimum Grade Point Average (GPA)* requirement is 3.50 on an ECTS scale where A=5.0, B=4.0, C=3.0, D=2.0 and E=1.0.

Applicants with the grade D or lower in individual courses may be refused admission on the basis of an overall academic assessment. Among other things, it will be taken into account whether the grade applies to a course that is considered to be of particular relevance to the programme.
Diplomas and transcripts using other grade scales than A-F will be assessed and compared with the Bologna A-F grade scale

*Calculation of GPA based on diplomas with alphabetical grades: Each alphabetical grade is substituted by numerical equivalent, A=5.0, B=4.0, C=3.0, D=2.0 and E=1. The numerical equivalent is multiplied by the number of credits for the course, and the individual products resulting from the multiplication of the credits by the numerical equivalent are added up for the courses that are included. The product total is divided by the total number of credits for the group of relevant courses. The quotient is calculated with two decimals.

3. Additional tests for applicants who do not hold a Bachelor’s Degree* from a Norwegian institution

GMAT or GRE

A good GMAT or GRE score is required for applicants. The minimum test score required for admission is:
• GMAT – a total score of 600
• GRE – a score of 660 (old scale)/152 (new scale) on the quantitative reasoning section and 570 (old scale)/158 (new scale) on the verbal section.

The Associate Dean of the programme may exempt applicants from the GMAT/GRE requirement. As a general rule, exemptions are given to the following categories of applicants:
• Applicants with a CAT score from India of minimum 90%
• Applicants with a degree from a Swedish, Danish, Finnish or an Icelandic institution
• Applicants with a degree from a partner institution
• Applicants with a degree from a partner institution

Other applicants can also apply for a GMAT/GRE exemption. The Associate Dean will grant or decline the exemption.

* or a Master’s degree, should that degree be the degree qualifying for admission.

TOEFL or IELTS

Applicants must take either TOEFL or IELTS. The minimum standards for test scores acceptable for admission are:
• TOEFL - a total score of 575 points for the written test or 233 for the computer-based version or 90 points on the internet based test
• IELTS- a score of 6.5

Exemptions are made for applicants:
• whose native language is English.
• who have two years or more of higher education where the language of instruction was English.
• from a country which is a member of the EU/EEA and/or the Council of Europe/UNESCO-Cepes and have English as the first foreign language taken over a period of at least 7 years in primary, secondary school and upper secondary education.

4. Ranking of Applicants

The admission requirements are minimum requirements that do not automatically give applicants a right of admission. If the number of qualified applicants is higher than the number of places, the applicants will be ranked according to qualifications. Applicants will be ranked on the basis of grade point average. If the grade point average is the same, applicants with a better GMAT score will be prioritized.

5. Special Assessment

In special cases the Associate Dean for the programme may approve other documented qualifications that are fully or in part equal to the admission requirements referred to above for academically strong applicants.

6. The Siviløkonom Title

To receive the title «Siviløkonom», one must have been admitted based on a Bachelor’s Degree that meets the NRØA (National Council for Economic and Administrative Studies) course requirements. For courses that form part of the NRØA course list, there must also be academic progression through the set of courses that has been chosen to ensure that these courses are not at the same level.

The NRØA course requirements are as follows*:

• Courses in Business Economics: A minimum of 30 ECTS credits
• Administration and Management: A minimum of 24 ECTS credits
• Methodology: A minimum of 15 ECTS credits
• Economics: A minimum of 15 ECTS credits

* These course requirements were adopted by NRØA on September 18, 2001 as a recommended plan for the institutions' design of Bachelor's Programmes in business administration. The requirements were adjusted by NRØA on 9 September 2002.

7. Transition from the four-year programme in Business and Economics

Applicants who have successfully completed a four-year programme in Business and Economics can apply for admission to a +1 model of the programme with the following programme structure:
1. Students who continue on the same specialization:
• 1 core course (usually GRA6038 Applied Business Ethics)
• 3 courses from the specialization
• 3 courses from other specializations
• A master thesis of 18 ECTS credits
2. Students who choose a new specialization:
• 1 core course (usually GRA6038 Applied Business Ethics)
• 6 courses from the specialization
• A master thesis of 30 ECTS credits