Master of Business Administration Admissions

Complete the Boise State Graduate Admissions Application. In the Program section of the application, select your academic area of interest from the program or certificate drop-down list.

In the Academic History section of the Graduate College Application, list all colleges and universities you have attended.

For each school you list, upload an unofficial transcript. This can be a digital transcript, a scanned copy or a photo of each page of your transcript from each institution. You may upload pages as a single- or multi-page PDF, or each page as an image file. The program will evaluate your application for admission using your unofficial transcripts.

Boise State requires that all transcripts from universities located outside of the United States be submitted as official versions. Uploaded or emailed documents from non-U.S. universities will not be considered for admission purposes. For guidance on submitting your official transcript, please see International Admissions’ official transcript guidance.

Military Service

If you have served in the military, please make sure to send your Joint Services Transcript and/or Community College of the Air Force Transcript.

After submitting the graduate admission application (Step 1) and uploading your transcripts (Step 2), you will complete the Online Master of Business Administration program application. 

You can access the program application by logging into your application account, clicking “View Application” and selecting the “Master of Business Administration (MBA), Online Program” orange link in the left navigation menu.

The program application includes:

Resume

Current, detailed resume highlighting your professional work experience

Brevity should not be a concern. Please include start and end dates (month and year) for each position held and indicate full or part-time employment. The Admissions Committee is looking for at least two years of full-time management or professional work experience where you have managed either people, budgets or customer accounts beyond a basic supervisory level.

Personal Statement

The admissions committee reads every personal statement submitted. We review your responses carefully and use them to understand your experiences, your readiness for graduate study and the unique perspective you would bring to the Online MBA program.

If using AI tools for this submission, we encourage you to use them sparingly. AI can be used to help you brainstorm, organize or refine your own ideas, but it should not be used to write or generate content for you. Your personal statement should reflect your voice and your own experiences. Authentic, specific answers help us get to know you and play a meaningful role in our admissions decisions. Generic or clearly AI-generated answers may lead to denial decisions.

Write a 500 to 750-word (approx. 1-1.5 pages single-spaced) personal statement that answers all of the following prompts. Your responses should focus on real, specific experiences, including details such as setting, your role and the people involved. Examples from your professional career are preferred, but other personal leadership experiences may also be appropriate.

• Describe a time when you demonstrated leadership that made a meaningful difference. What happened, what did you do, and why does this moment stand out to you?
• Describe a time when your leadership fell short. What were the circumstances, what choices did you make and what would you do differently now?
• Looking at these two moments together, what did they teach you about how you lead today? How will an MBA shape your leadership and career goals for the future?
• Share three fun facts that reveal something about your personality or interests.

Optional Essay

Optional essay of up to 500 words

This is an opportunity to provide additional information to the Admissions Committee and to explain anything that may not be covered in your Personal Statement—e.g., shortcomings in academic performance, time off from school or work, educational program transfers/discontinuation or any other inconsistencies in the application. Re-applicants are required to submit this essay and respond to the question: Since your previous application, what are the steps you’ve taken to strengthen your candidacy?

Recommendation Forms

Two completed recommendation forms must be submitted by professional contacts.

You will designate recommenders in the online application by entering their email addresses. A form and email request with instructions will be automatically sent to them. They must complete their recommendation electronically.

A recommendation from your current supervisor is preferred but not required. Please select people who can provide details about your professional work and ability to be successful in an MBA program.