I am currently a full-time instructor at a two year state college. My academic background and current field of instruction is criminal justice. My long term career goal is to move through the administrative ranks of the school. I have a BA in management and a MS in criminal justice. I have the opportunity to attend an AACSB accredited MBA program from a top 50 school. The school is local and offers a part-time program on campus for working adults. Tuition for the 28 month program is about $30k. My dilemma involves whether I should seek the utility of the MBA or push on to a terminal degree. I have been reviewing several Ed.D. programs focused on higher ed management. The cost and time commitment are significantly higher with the doctoral programs (obviously). My school does not offer any financial incentive for a second master's degree and the pay increase for doctoral work is negligible. Therefore, the purpose of the degree is for career advancement and personal improvement. Administrators at my college hold varying degrees (masters, Ed.D.'s and Ph.D.'s) so there is no clear "track". So, the big question is whether a top 50 MBA provides more "bang" than an Ed.D. from an average BM school. I have no intention of leaving my employer for private industry or another institution, but I am slightly concerned about the flexibility of the Ed.D. TL007
As a standalone determinant, it’s doubtful that a MBA will provide more bang than the EdD /PhD within postsecondary organizations. Would the MBA, and from a top 50-tier B-School, be considered as a qualifier prerequisite for higher-ed administration? That determination would rest with the educational institution. As a current faculty member, you’re more familiar with your organization’s administrator hiring /promotion practices. Nonetheless, in general, I believe the doctorial degree would be considered the better individual degree qualifier within the education industry; conceivably a MBA from HBS, Wharton, Sloan, Kellogg, Booth, Stanford, Darden, Tuck, Fuqua, etc. could weight higher. Nonetheless, there are postsecondary administrators (doctorial level) who post here; perhaps they’ll offer insight to your inquiry. I personally transitioned after quite a few years in private industry to K-12 public education. Even though I had a MBA (though not from a top-tier B-School) prior to the transition, my personal experience was that educator decision-makers within this particular large school district valued the masters and/or doctorate in education much more so than a graduate degree in business for its administrators both at the campus and central office levels.
