Tennessee Tech University’s Plus One program that kicks off this semester adds up to a quick and convenient way for students in any major to broaden their career opportunities.

That’s because it allows them to add just one year to their undergraduate fields of study in order to earn a master of business administration degree.

Traditionally, it takes about two years — one for completing pre-requisites and another for taking graduate courses — for students to earn an MBA, but the Plus One program lets students with a grade point average of 2.8 or higher begin working on those pre-requisites as early as their sophomore undergraduate year.

“We started this program because we felt that a student in any undergraduate field could benefit by adding an MBA,” says Bob Niebuhr, dean of the College of Business.

An English degree plus an MBA, for instance, could open doors to a career as an advertising executive; adding it to an art degree could lead to a career as an art gallery director; or adding it to a Spanish degree could lead to the opportunity to become an international corporate liaison, Niebuhr says.

The Plus One program helps students gradually complete the business pre-requisites in a combination of two ways: by adding them as electives during their current field of study or by taking non-credit modules in self-paced, independent study on a CD-ROM format.

“Students might be able to take only two or three pre-requisites as electives, but by working at their own pace through the remaining modules — say, over winter break or spring break — they could easily complete their MBA pre-requisites before they graduate and then earn an MBA by adding only one year to their study,” Niebuhr says.

“Because of our ability to offer pre-requisite content in module format, the Plus One program has a great deal of flexibility,” Niebuhr says. “That, of course, means an easier transition for students into our MBA program. We think this is the kind of program that could lead to higher enrollment throughout the university, since the program is designed for students in any major.”

Acceptance into the MBA program — whether a student completes his or her pre-requisites traditionally or through the Plus One program — is based on both GPA and scores received on the GMAT standardized test.