Dual Degree Opportunities

The Stephen M. Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan and the Center for Russian, East European, and Eurasian Studies (CREES) within the Rackham School of Graduate Studies offer a dual degree program enabling a small number of qualified students to pursue concurrent work in business administration and Russian, East European, and Eurasian Studies (REES) leading to the MBA and MA degrees.

The program is arranged so that all requirements for both degrees are completed in two and one-half to three years of enrollment. The degrees are awarded simultaneously. This combined degree program is not open to students who have earned either the MBA or a Master’s degree in REES. Students enrolled in the first year of either program may apply.

Students admitted to this dual degree program must satisfy the following degree requirements:

1) The MBA 57 credit hour degree program including:

• 45 Business Administration Credits, made up of:
  • Roughly 30 credit hour MBA core (no credit is awarded for Business Administration core courses successfully waived: credit must be earned with Business electives);
  • Roughly 15 elective hours in Business Administration;
  • MBA Communication Requirement.
• Up to 12 credit hours of transferable electives from the Center for Russian, East European, and Eurasian Studies.

2) The REES 30 credit hour degree program including:

• 30 credit hours in REES courses, at least 15 hours of these must be in REES-approved courses at the 500-level and above, and at least one of which is a research seminar (REES 795, Business 750, or the equivalent);
  • REEES 600, Introduction to Graduate Study in REES.
  • REEES 601, REES Graduate Core Colloquium.  Required for a minimum of two semesters.
  • Course distribution in at least three disciplinary fields and covering the three REE regions;
  • Language proficiency in one REE-area language;
  • A master’s essay approved by a REES faculty associate and a Business School faculty member.

See the CREES website at www.ii.umich.edu/crees/academics/graduate for more details about specific requirements.

The total credit hours for the dual degree program must be at least 75. No course work completed prior to admission may be counted towards the MBA requirements of the dual program.

The dual program may begin with studies in either school. However, because of the sequenced nature of the core courses in the MBA program, most students will find it advantageous to start with year one in the Business School. During years two and three, courses may be taken in both schools. Students who wish to begin with REES courses should see a counselor in the Business School to arrange an appropriate plan of study. No coursework completed prior to admission in either program may be counted toward the MBA requirement of the dual program.

Applicants interested in the MBA/MA combined program must file separate applications to and be admitted by both programs. Applicants must indicate on both applications that they are applying for this specific dual degree program.

For basic information on the MA/MBA in Russian, East European, and Eurasian Studies and Business program, please visit the Center for Russian, East European, and Eurasian Studies web site at: www.ii.umich.edu/crees/academics/graduate.

Please see below for a sample plan of this dual degree program.