Mastering Your Major!

The Kelley Direct MBA is a 54-credit program. To pursue a major, you would need to complete 12 credits from that specialization.

Here are the seven major specialization options:

• Business Analytics
• Entrepreneurship & Innovation
• Finance
• Global Supply Chain Management
• Information Technology Management
• Marketing
• Strategic Management

How did I decide on pursuing a specialization?

My approach was to take courses that were most beneficial, strategic, and interesting for me, and initially, that just happened to align with a business analytics (BA) specialization!

The integrated core coursework allows students to explore each of the specializations, and I shared last time how that helped me decide on an analytics focus when I was registering for the electives for the first time. In picking electives, mine have aligned with the BA specialization because of how much value I’ve gotten from that skill set.

This is an area I actively want to grow in, so the targeted approach works best for my background and experience to be more directly on a long-term analytics career path.

I’ve also completed electives in public policy, career navigation, effective business presentations, and more that aren’t part of the BA specialization. This program allows me to specialize while still having a diverse, well-rounded curriculum.

Some more tips on deciding:

• Understand what would give you the most value. You don’t have to decide immediately on a specialization, and as you gain a better sense of your long-term goals, that will help inform your decision. A generalized MBA may allow you to pick any electives you want to be the most competitive professional, and a specialized MBA may provide more structure to align to a specific career focus.
• There is no wrong answer. A generalized versus specialized MBA each offer different benefits, and at the end of the day, it comes down to how much value you want and work to get from the program.

I’ll continue to share other ways I’m maximizing my MBA experience. What are your best tips?

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