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Right now I'm getting my MBA while working full time. Since I have a good job, is my grad school GPA that important? My undergrad is really where I excelled academically, but for grad school, I'm just trying to get by as fast as possible. Getting a C isn't the end of the world. If I just do well with my job, does grad school GPA suddenly become irrelevant?
GPA is probably more important in an MBA program than it would be in a PhD program, because an MBA is earned almost entirely by coursework whereas a PhD is earned primarily by research (at a good school).
GPA is probably more important in an MBA program than it would be in a PhD program, because an MBA is earned almost entirely by coursework whereas a PhD is earned primarily by research (at a good school).
I thought the connections and networking from an MBA program is just as important..
> GPA is probably more important in an MBA program than it would be in a PhD program
No. In a Ph.D. program course performance that is mediocre will likely lead to being dropped from the program (or not admitted to candidacy, which is the same thing).
> GPA is probably more important in an MBA program than it would be in a PhD program
No. In a Ph.D. program course performance that is mediocre will likely lead to being dropped from the program (or not admitted to candidacy, which is the same thing).
Baloney. Admission to candidacy is determined by its own set of examinations. A grad student with a good research record who passes the prelim/qualifier will be admitted to candidacy with no problem at all provided that he or she clears the minimum GPA requirement. Exceeding that GPA requirement or not makes no difference whatsoever. The whole point of a legitimate PhD is research; course work is incidental. Perhaps there are differences in some fields, but that's the way it is in math, science, and engineering.
Last edited by Hamish Forbes; 11-05-2013 at 12:25 PM..
Right now I'm getting my MBA while working full time. Since I have a good job, is my grad school GPA that important? My undergrad is really where I excelled academically, but for grad school, I'm just trying to get by as fast as possible. Getting a C isn't the end of the world. If I just do well with my job, does grad school GPA suddenly become irrelevant?
Thanks
At my school, GPA wasn't even calculated for graduate students. However, we were not allowed to get C's - only A's and B's counted toward the degree. Actually that was the case for at least 4 schools that I attended as a graduate student.
Not sure about MBA - but when my wife joined one of the big four, GPA was a huge factor.
However, it sounds as though you already have your job, and the MBA is merely for advancing within that job, which may be different than an MBA graduate who is looking for new employment.
I thought almost all graduate programs considered a "C" (or "B-" at schools that use +/-) to be failing. PhDs done primarily by research are not common in the U.S. if they even exist here. There is usually a lot more credit hours for coursework than the dissertation. The required dissertation credits are normally 12-18. I've seen some as low as 6-9.
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