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 Eduvantis founder Tim Westerbeck Sorting out which U.S. B-school masterās programs are the best choices for a particular student can be difficult. No reliable rankings exist. U.S. News & World Report‘s rankings of specialty master’s programs are shallow and subjective, based only on survey responsesĀ from business school deans and directors of accredited master’s programs. The Financial Times rankings of finance and management master’s programs focus mainly on European schools. AndĀ lest you stumble upon the host of specialized-master’s rankings at āTFE Timesā and think they mustĀ be heaven sent, note the websiteās other content,Ā such asĀ āSaving Your Pet With CPR,ā āWhat If You Made Alien Contact?ā and ā222 Powerful Actions (sic) Verbs to Use in Resume.ā (That type of distracting content, however, did not deter the Michigan State Broad College of Business from hyping, on its website, its No. 7 ranking from TFE for its business analytics program. Indeed, the Syracuse University Whitman School hadĀ its master of finance program director in October publicly saluteĀ his program’s No. 33 TFE ranking, and the University of Rochester Simon School lists its four spots in the TFE ranking among its placements alongside itsĀ rankings inĀ U.S. News, Bloomberg BusinessWeek, and the Financial Times.) MASTER’S INTEREST NOT CONSISTENT ACROSS FIELDS While Westerbeck of EduvantisĀ says his firm’s research shows a general upward trend in interest in specialized master’s programs, Eduvantis analyzed Google search data and found that some subject areas were drawing more interest than others. Business analytics saw a 50% increase this year over last, while searches related to programs in accounting and real estate were up 23%. Search volumes for supply chain management were down 33%, and entrepreneurship was down 28%, with flat interest in finance and marketing, Westerbeck says, adding that the search data is “highly predictive” of prospective-student demand. Also contributing to the popularity of manyĀ programs is millennial graduate students’ tendency to seek relatively short programs with a narrow focus and rigorous discipline, combined with the students’ preference to pursue general-management education through other means, such as open courses at top schools, or later via an MBA, Westerbeck says. Itās impossible to say how many specialized masterās programs are floated and fail quickly, or hang on for a few years before succumbing, because schools generally donāt report failed programs. (Hult International Business Schoolās eulogy for a fallen social entrepreneurship masterās program stands out as somewhat of an oddity. The promotional material for the program, which started in 2011 but is being shut down in August 2016, has been translated into the past tense: āThis Master degree program was designed for recent graduates who wanted to launch a career in social entrepreneurship,ā Hultās website says. ā(It) helped students understand and develop core business skills while learning how to successfully engage in issue advocacy, problem-solving through innovation, and project development and management. Hult is a thought leader in social entrepreneurship and our curriculum was at the cutting-edge of this exciting space.ā) EVERY JOB MARKET IS DIFFERENT As schools can err in assuming a nationalĀ upswing in interest in a particular field would mean a program in their market in that field would likelyĀ succeed, students can errĀ in thinking that nationwide demand for graduates in a particular field applies to employers everywhere, Westerbeck cautions. Prospective students must research the job market or markets where they intend to work, and determine whether job opportunities in their preferred fields and disciplines exist there, and whether the school is placing students in such positions there, Westerbeck says. The other key consideration for those considering specialized master’s programs – and wanting to get a job as a result – is school brand, and the brand’s value in the job market, Westerbeck says. “Whatās the power of the brand youāre buying,Ā versusĀ an institutional brand that isnāt as well recognized?” Westerbeck says. “The point is finding the best possible combination of brand, of focus, of program, that aligns with your particular interest, in the market in which you seek to be employed with this degree.” Previous Page Continue ReadingPage 6 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.