MS-QA Prerequisite Requirements

Mathematics Foundations

These ensure adequate preparation in calculus, matrix methods or linear algebra, and computer programming; these are all required. A few courses may be taken after admission and beginning the Program, but it is highly advisable to have taken at least the first three of the calculus courses before starting the program, as this material is needed in even the beginning QA courses in the program.

• Calculus through multivariate. While many universities have sequences of 'short' or 'light' or 'business' calculus courses, they are not at a level of coverage or depth required for our Program. Topics of coverage should include: functions; limits and continuity; derivatives; applications of the derivative; the integral and applications; exponential and logarithmic functions; inverse functions; techniques of integration; polar coordinates; conic sections; Taylor's formula; improper integrals; sequences and series; vectors; lines; planes; vector-valued functions; partial derivatives; multiple integrals; and calculus of vector fields. At UC, the appropriate courses are (refer to http://math.uc.edu/course/calculus.html or http://www.math.uc.edu/course/courseDecs.html for details):
  • 15-MATH-251 (5), Calculus I
  • 15-MATH-252 (4) and 256 (1), Calculus II and lab
  • 15-MATH-253 (4) and 257 (1), Calculus III and lab
  • 15-MATH-264 (5) Calculus IV
• Matrix methods or linear algebra. Topics of coverage should include: systems of linear equations; matrices; vector spaces; bases and dimension; orthogonality; linear transformations; determinants; eigenvalues and eigenvectors; diagonalization. At UC, the appropriate courses are either 15-MATH-276, Matrix Methods (3), or 15-MATH-351, Linear Algebra I (3).
• A fundamental knowledge of computing, including facility in a procedural programming language like C, C++, Matlab, Java, Visual Basic, Pascal, or FORTRAN (facility with spreadsheets is itself not sufficient). Of course, we also assume that you are already comfortable with word processing, spreadsheets, e-mail, web browsers, etc.

Basic Business Knowledge (BBK)

Any or all of these courses may be taken either before or after admission and beginning the Program.  Three areas are required (economics, finance, and accounting), and you must pick two from four more areas (operations management, information systems, marketing, or management).  Courses listed below are pre-approved for students satisfying this requirement at UC, but others are possible with approval of the Program Director; prior undergraduate or graduate courses may also count with the Program Director's approval (numbers in parentheses are credit hours).

• You must take (or have taken) courses in all three of the following areas:
  • Economics:  15-ECON-711 Managerial Economics (4), or 15-ECON-271 Microeconomics (4)
  • Finance:  22-FIN-711 Financial Management (4), or 22-FIN-713 Financial Analysis Tools (2), or 22-FIN-361 Foundations of Finance (3)
  • Accounting:  22-ACCT-711 Financial Accounting (4), or 22-ACCT-261 Financial Accounting (4)
• You must take (or have taken) courses in any two of the following four areas:
  • Operations Management:  22-OM-711 Operations Management (4)
  • Information Systems:  22-IS-711 Information and Technology Management (4)
  • Marketing:  22-MKTG-711 Marketing for Managers (4), or 22-MKTG-377 Introduction to Marketing (5)
  • Management:  22-MGMT-710 Teams and Interpersonal Effectiveness (2), or 22-MGMT-714 Leadership and Organizations (4)

For upcoming quarters, the following sections of BBK courses are available; the Program Director's approval is needed before registering for italicized sections:

Autumn 2009