Now, I'd like to turn to the topic of the grades needed to graduate (earn credits). In order to obtain an MBA, you must earn the number of credits required to graduate (which varies depending on the school but generally amounts to 30 to 40 credits). It is also necessary to pass a capstone requirement. For now, we'll focus on the first requirement, which is earning credits.

An important point to remember when it comes to earning credits is the school's grade evaluation policy, which generally consists of the four factors listed below. Business schools where this policy differs greatly from course to course cannot be internationally accredited. Facilities run as groups of smaller, privately-run institutions are different, but essentially, business schools and MBA programs should have human resource development goals, in which a grade evaluation policy should be incorporated.

・Evaluation targets (attendance, reports, contribution to lectures, exams, etc.)
・Evaluation percentages
・Grading criteria (comparative or absolute assessment)
・Criteria for passing

At the most famous business school in the world, the criteria for passing are extremely strict; many students never make it to the second year. At another business school, the number of seats available for classes in the first year differs from the number available in the second year; when I asked a supervisor about the reason, I was told that 20% of first-year students are expelled. Business schools in developed nations can be quite intimidating. Grading criteria are often relative (i.e. on a curve) instead of absolute, based on the competitive nature of real-world society.

・Evaluation targets (reports, contribution to lectures, exams, etc.)
・Evaluation ratios (reports: 30%; contribution to lectures: 40%; exams: 30%)
・Grading criteria (comparative assessment)
・Criteria for passing (students falling below a certain grade percentage will be expelled)

Many students also fret about their math skills. Math proficiency is required to work with cutting-edge financial engineering. At the bare minimum, if a student is incapable of handling stochastic differential equations, then it becomes difficult for them to grasp the intricacies of the Black Scholes model, and it is therefore difficult to justify allowing them to graduate. ...Just kidding; that's a matter for graduate-level finance (and only in specific fields, at that).

Perhaps because the business schools I described in the above paragraph don't exist in Japan and because MBA programs are places to hone your business skills, it's safe to say that mathematical knowledge is not expected. If I had to name one skill that's required in an MBA program, I'd say, "English-language skills." English is rarely used in standard lectures, but in Global Topics (an elective), which is taught by a foreign instructor, the case discussions are all in English.

Since many students from overseas participate in English-language MBA courses, the case discussions include a variety of viewpoints, and you will be advocating and discussing your ideas in a highly diverse environment. We recommend considering this challenge as a privilege of enrollment; don't shy away from taking it on!

Finally, the management studies that cultivate business leaders consist less of learning mathematics and statistics in a scholarly format and more of mobilizing themselves to tackle issues of economics, philosophy, psychology, and sociology. This is similar to how doctors deal with pharmaceutics, physics, chemistry, and biology in a cross-disciplinary manner. The subjects from your undergraduate career can be challenged from countless angles.

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