From Business Analytics to Real Estate, An Explosion In Specialized Degrees by: Ethan Baron on December 04, 2015 | | 15,059 Views December 4, 2015 Copy Link Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Email Share on LinkedIn Share on WhatsApp Share on Reddit NYU Stern School of Business – Ethan Baron photo For many mid-tier business schools, the last few years have been tough. The hyper growth of the MBA degree, making it the most popular graduate degree in the U.S., has long stalled. Some schools, including Wake Forest University and Simmons College, have recently pulled out of the full-time, on-campus MBA market after years of declining applications and enrollment. Only three months ago, Rochester Universityās Simon School of Business slashed the price of its two-year MBA by nearly 14%. Meantime, enrollment in many part-time MBA programsālong a profit-making mainstay of business educationāhas been sliding as well. Against this sobering backdrop, however, an explosion in alternatives to an MBA are multiplyingĀ in business schools, as increasing numbers ofĀ specialized masterāsĀ degree programs offerĀ a quick ticket to a job. Since around 2009, top schools have been adding such programs at a dizzying pace, inĀ traditional fields such as finance and marketing,Ā but also responding to job-market demands with a proliferation of business analytics ābig dataā degrees, as well asĀ programs covering a broad spectrum of business niches. Half of the top-25 schools have unveiled new specialized master’s programs in the past three yearsĀ – they’ve beenĀ popping up across the country like mushrooms,Ā and attracting huge numbers of applicants. Globally, more than a fifth of prospective business students are focused exclusively on specialized master’s programs, according to the Graduate Management Admission Council. ‘THESE PROGRAMS ARE MUCH CLOSER TO UNDERGRADUATE PROGRAMS ON STEROIDS’ But some business school insiders warn that some schools see the increasingly popularĀ master’s degrees as a license to print money, and may not provide the outcomes students desire. For people considering graduate business education,Ā a specialized master’s presents an opportunity for a jumpstartĀ into business, and keepsĀ open the possibility of getting an MBA later, when advancement or a movement into general management may requireĀ it. Many programs are aimed at recent college graduates, while a smaller numberĀ offer an early- or mid-career boost. “We donāt see these programs as sort of ‘MBA-lite,'” Ā says Eric Johnson, Dean of the Vanderbilt University Owen Graduate School of Management. “They really are much closer to undergraduate programs on steroids.” NOT MBA PAY, BUT NOT BAD Six fields dominate among the specialty master’s programs at the top 50 U.S. business schools: accounting, business analytics, finance, management, financial engineering, and supply chain management. Most programs require the GMAT or GRE exam, but unlike MBA programs, significant work experience is oftenĀ not necessary, although technical degrees generallyĀ have undergraduate-level course or degree prerequisites for enrollment. Employment rates and starting salaries for specialty-master’s graduates of the top-ranked schools tend to be reasonablyĀ high, and also strong in many mid-tier schools. The UCLAĀ Anderson School of Management added a masterās in financial engineering in 2008. Among Class of 2014 graduates,Ā 93% had found jobs within three months of graduation, up from 75% in 2010. Average starting base salary for the 2014Ā class was $85,000Ā (a drop from previous years – it had been $95,000 to $100,000 fromĀ 2010 to 2013, much closer to the Anderson MBA Class of 2014’s $110,000). InĀ the University of Texas McCombs School’s business analytics MS programĀ – which last year hadĀ 650 applications for a 60-seat cohort –Ā starting salaries for graduates who had comeĀ straight intoĀ the programĀ from college was $75,000 for 2013 and 2014, withĀ a median salary of $89,000 among all students inĀ the two classes. The school’s 2014 MBAs, in contrast, received starting pay of $107,000. All but one of the graduates of the two business analytics classes were employed by 60 days after finishing the program. Related Stories: SPECIALIZED MASTERāS PROGRAMS AT THE TOP 50 B-SCHOOLS B-SCHOOL MASTERāS: SPOTLIGHT ON CARNEGIE MELLON TEPPER B-SCHOOL MASTERāS: SPOTLIGHT ON MICHIGAN ROSS B-SCHOOL MASTERāS: SPOTLIGHT ON NYU STERN Continue ReadingPage 1 of 7 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Questions about this article? Email us or leave a comment below. Please enable JavaScript to view the comments powered by Disqus.