Graduate Diploma in Management
Admission Requirements

Applicants to the GDM must have:

• an undergraduate degree from an accredited post-secondary institution, and at least three years of acceptable managerial experience that may include supervisory or professional experience with management-level responsibilities;

  OR

• an acceptable professional designation as approved by the Graduate Management Program Council and at least five years of acceptable managerial experience that may include supervisory and professional experience with management-level responsibilities;

  OR

• a minimum of eight years of substantial managerial experience and relevant education and/or training.

Non-Program Admission Requirements

Individuals who are not enrolled in one of the graduate programs with the Faculty of Business, may be permitted to register in an MBA course for which they have the appropriate prerequisites on a first-come, first-served basis, space permitting and upon meeting minimum program entrance standards. The non-program applicant must:

• meet the qualifications for admission for either the Graduate Diploma in Management (GDM) program of the Master of Business Administration (MBA) program, or
• have an MBA degree from Athabasca University or an MBA or equivalent master degree from another accredited post-secondary institution, or
• be an active student in good standing in another AU graduate program, or
• be an active student in good standing in an MBA or equivalent master degree program from another accredited post-secondary institution and receive approval from the AU MBA Program Director, or
• receive special exemption from the AU MBA Program Director.

The non-program application must demonstrate:

• appropriate level of management experience required (minimum 3 years) to contribute positively to both online and in-residence group discussion/projects;
• have the system requirements to take the course online (hardware and software);
• meet any course prerequisite requirements (with the exception of STMT 500: Strategic Management as a prerequisite will normally be waived for non-program students);
• access to organizational information required for MBA course activities and assignments.

Other

Applicants must be proficient in the English language and confirm access to a computer system that meets the program's requirements. A GMAT score is not normally required, but the Admissions Committee may request one should they deem it necessary. Detailed instructions for assembling an application package can be found on the program's website at MBA and GDM Admissions.

Upon acceptance to the program, students must pay the required non-refundable admission fee.

Transfer Credit

Transfer credit means that students may apply to transfer graduate course credits earned elsewhere at recognized academic institutions into the GDM program.

In order to apply for a transfer credit evaluation, applicants must first apply and be accepted into the GDM program.

Only graduate level course credits that have never been applied toward any degree program, are eligible for consideration.

Courses being considered for transfer credit must be from a fully accredited institution (i.e. members of Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada, Canadian Association for Distance Education, Canadian Association for Graduate Studies, etc.).

Applicants are required to complete a transfer credit form, pay a transfer credit evaluation fee, and provide official transcripts and detailed course outlines for each course (outline requirements will be provided by the MBA Program Director).

The MBA Program Director will determine whether transfer credits will be permitted into the GDM program. If transfer credit is awarded, a study plan will be provided outlining how students will integrate previous coursework with the program.