W. P. Carey’s Modern Approach To The Master’s In Management

 

As organizations navigate rapid change, employers are looking for professionals who can combine business knowledge with dynamic interpersonal skills. At the same time, many recent graduates and early-career professionals are looking to build business expertise earlier in their careers — before they have the level of work experience traditionally associated with an MBA.

That growing gap is helping fuel interest in the master’s in management degree, which provides a professional foundation for those early in their careers or making a pivot into business.

Employer and prospective student sentiment reflects this shift. According to GMAC’s annual Corporate Recruiters Survey, the majority of employers agree that graduate business education is more important than ever. Problem-solving, communication, and strategic thinking remain the top skills that employers are looking for in candidates, across industries and around the world.

Seamlessly balancing the demands of learners and organizations, Arizona State University’s W. P. Carey School of Business has strategically designed its Online Master of Science in Management (Online MiM) to create the future leaders of business.

“Just as innovative businesses rapidly adapt to meet new market imperatives, business schools need to meet changing student and employer needs,” says Ohad Kadan, Charles J. Robel Dean and W. P. Carey Distinguished Chair in Business.

THE DEGREE FOR EMERGING BUSINESS LEADERS

“For early career professionals, building a strong foundation in business through hands-on, applied learning is invaluable,” says Marcie LePine, clinical professor and program director for the Online MiM. “In our program, students engage directly with real-world challenges, developing leadership and analytical capabilities they can immediately translate into meaningful impact in their organizations.”

The W. P. Carey School of Business understands that choosing between work and school is difficult, which is why flexibility is at the heart of the Online MiM. As a 100% online degree, students can learn from anywhere at any time, and they don’t have to stop working while they continue their education. That flexibility is backed by a reputation for excellence in online education: W. P. Carey is ranked #4 for online graduate business programs by U.S. News & World Report.

What makes the Online MiM at W. P. Carey stand apart from similar programs is the thoughtful, forward-thinking design of its curriculum. Core business skills like accounting, human resources, and strategy are interwoven with the skills that will define the industry in the years to come, such as business analytics and data-informed decision-making.

The W. P. Carey School is proud to provide a flexible and accessible path forward for rising professionals from a variety of backgrounds. The online master’s in management program is an ideal fit for:

● High-performing undergraduate students seeking an early pathway toward MBA-level study.

● Graduates from non-business disciplines who want to complement their expertise with foundational business knowledge.

● Motivated professionals looking to build the academic preparation and confidence needed for future MBA success.

CONNECTING TO THE MBA

Another unique feature of the Online MiM at W. P. Carey is its pathway into the school’s MBA program. Students early in their careers can start with the master’s in management to develop core business and leadership capabilities, then continue into the MBA as they gain professional experience. The program also offers a valuable pathway for high-performing professionals who want to strengthen their academic preparation and build confidence before pursuing an MBA.

Online master’s in management credits stack into the MBA, for qualified students, creating a seamless progression and maximizing the value of their graduate education. And because the courses in the Online MiM — and all other W. P. Carey online programs — are taught by the same faculty as in-person programs, students know they’re receiving a consistent educational experience. For many, like Online MBA alumna Grace O’Sullivan, this is a key differentiator.

“Some universities have a separate faculty teaching online, or it’s a whole different entity,” says O’Sullivan. “But at ASU, the degrees that are online are taught by the same faculty as campus immersion courses, so the quality of the online degree was definitely a reason why I chose it.”

This continuity means that if a student does choose to return to W. P. Carey for their MBA after previously completing the MiM, the transition is much easier and feels more like a continuous learning journey. The return on investment is not just a one-time achievement, but pays off throughout their career.

FACULTY WITH REAL-WORLD EXPERIENCE

Online MiM students learn from esteemed faculty throughout the W. P. Carey School of Business, including the school’s highly regarded Department of Management and Entrepreneurship. The department is consistently ranked among the top management departments in the country for its research impact.

In the latest five-year average from Texas A&M University and the University of Georgia, it was ranked #3 for management department research productivity. Going beyond research and into the classroom, W. P. Carey is ranked #8 worldwide by Poets&Quants for its MBA concentration in entrepreneurship, highlighting the school as a leader in developing innovative business talent.

Management faculty have both research expertise and professional experience in areas like entrepreneurship, leadership, corporate governance, human resource management, and organizational behavior. That dual lens helps students take concepts learned in the classroom and apply them to real-world scenarios.

Beyond management, Online MiM students gain exposure to the broader business ecosystem through coursework in areas such as accounting, information systems, finance, marketing, and supply chain management. Learning how to create value for shareholders is just one example of how this interdisciplinary program delivers skills needed to thrive in complex, fast-changing industries.

EXCELLENCE IN ONLINE EDUCATION

W. P. Carey was one of the first AACSB-accredited business schools to offer fully online degrees and has been a leader in online education for over two decades. The school’s philosophy is to make the online experience as inclusive and immersive as possible, where online students feel as much a part of the W. P. Carey and ASU community as students on campus.

A key aspect of W. P. Carey online programs is the emphasis on classroom engagement. It can be easy for online classes to lean into simple quizzes and basic discussion boards that don’t truly engage students. But through in-depth discussions, collaborative assignments, and projects, online W. P. Carey students interact at a level similar to in-person classes.

Christian Plesca, an alumnus of the Online Master of Science in Supply Chain Management (Online MS-SCM), could see how this greatly enriched his experience. “My classmates connected seamlessly, either for project work, sports, or to enjoy happy hour,” he says. “We made great connections.”

By fostering an engaging environment Where Business is Personal,® programs like the Online MiM help students build high-value networks across W. P. Carey’s thriving community of students, faculty, staff, and graduates. More than 130,000 W. P. Carey alumni are living and leading in over 100 countries around the world.

The Online MiM is just one of the newest innovative online graduate programs at ASU’s W. P. Carey School of Business, along with the Online Master of Science in Artificial Intelligence in Business (Online MS-AIB) and the Online Master of Science in Marketing (Online MS-MKT).

All of these programs represent a strategic push to meet the demands of a changing job market. New skills are being sought by employers alongside the traditional business foundations, and it’s up to business schools to equip their graduates with these skills and prepare them to be the leaders of the future.

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The W. P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University is the largest business school in the United States, with more than 23,000 undergraduate and graduate students — and 130,000+ alumni around the world. There are more than 60 ways to earn a W. P. Carey degree, including our first-of-its-kind master’s in AI in business. Entrepreneurship and innovation are key to our curriculum and your experience. 

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