California State University, Bakersfield, School of Business and Public Administration Admission
California State University, Bakersfield, School of Business and Public Administration Undergraduate Program
California State University, Bakersfield, School of Business and Public Administration Application

The Facts

California State University, Bakersfield, is a rather moderately-sized, public institution located in the appropriately titled town of Bakersfield, California, and has a combined graduate and undergraduate population of over 7,500 students. The university's graduate business program, however, is significantly smaller, and is home to about 78 graduate business students. Approximately 73% of the currently enrolled students have had an average of about 5 years of full-time professional experience, a factor taken into serious consideration by the admissions committee when reviewing applications. Perhaps as a result of this fact, the average age of enrollment is around 32, however, ages range from 23 all the way up to 67. Approximately 3% of the currently enrolled students enter directly from undergraduate school, while about 2% already have a graduate degree of some sort. The university's graduate business program is perhaps best known for its emphasis on case study as well as practical applications of general business theories and models. The school offers graduate business degrees in the Master of Business Administration (MBA), Master of Public Administration (MPA), as well as the Master of Science in Administration and Health Care Management (MSAHCM). The school also offers its students plenty of internship and work-study opportunities throughout the community, as well as several popular foreign exchange programs. Some of the most popular programs of study include courses in the areas of management, strategy, financial management and policy, as well as operations management.

Admission to California State University's graduate business program is quite competitive among the relatively few students who apply; last year, over 66 students applied for admission to the school, and approximately 28 of those students were accepted. Eventually however, only about 18 of the admitted students actually enrolled for the coming semester. The admitted students had an average undergraduate GPA of about a 3.2, as well as an average GMAT score of about 520. The admissions committee requires all applicants to have a minimum undergraduate GPA of at least a 2.75, as well as a minimum GMAT score of at least 450. Students are able to begin their graduate course work in the fall, winter, spring, or summer, and are notified of their admissions status on a rolling basis.

The graduate business program has 11 full-time faculty members, of whom 90% hold a doctorate degree; there are no part-time faculty members. The average graduate business class usually numbers around 25 students, and most faculty members teach an average of 4 courses at any given time.

Placement Services

The school has rather extensive placement services available to both current students as well as alumni for an unlimited amount of time after they receive their degrees. Some of these services include career counseling, online job listings, as well as networking events and seminars.

What's Good

"All of the professors are here full-time, which makes it quite easy to get a hold of them outside of class."

"Surprisingly, the graduate housing isn't too tough to get into."

"There aren't a huge amount of required courses, and its nice to be able to explore a little bit of everything."

What's Bad

"There are some professors that seem to be convinced that their course must be the only one you're taking..."

"The administration can be a bit elusive. They're very bureaucratic with favor towards red tape."

"I wish the internships were a bit more varied in their scope."

Get assistance with your MBA essay or application.

• View our services
• Send a request now
• Read articles about applying to college