I am interested in the online MBA programs offered at UMass Amherst and University of Liverpool, England. There are several things I like about Liverpool. First, the program requires only 9 six-week classes, not including a final dissertation. Second, there is no GMAT required for admission. Third, it has an international scope. Fourth, it is a somewhat uncommon asset in the U.S. job market. What I am less enthralled with in regard to Liverpool is the fact that it is not AACSB-accredited. I don't plan on teaching business, but it would be nice to have that option. I also don't relish the idea of doing a discertation. I like UMass because it has only 12 classes in its program and it is AACSB-accredited. There is no discertation, thank goodness. It is also a known school in the U.S. What I don't like about UMass, in comparison to Liverpool, is that it requires the GMAT. I also think that, overall, Liverpool has a better reputation. That may not benefit me, though, if I am looking for jobs in America. One thing to consider, I live in Europe, and plan to remain here for a long time. I do think I will return to the States at some point, but far in the future. Thus, my anticipated experience after gaining the degree should negate any doubts an employer would have with regard to a school outside the U.S. Also, the I would probably find the GMAT easier and less-stressful than the discertation and don't anticipate struggling to get a GMAT score that qualifies me for UMass. Can anyone give any valuable insight into how they would evaluate these two options, given my situation? I guess my main concern is, how might a recruiter view the two schools, all other things being equal? Thanks.
Short Answer: If you plan on staying in Europe for the bulk of your professional career then I would think the UK MBA would be more valuable. My personal opinion for what it's worth. Have you decided to take a pass on Henley/Warwick/Imperial College?
The University of Liverpool requires a dissertation but you are not required to take proctored exams as it is a 100% online program. You are not required to take a GMAT either. As for recruiters, there is still a large bias agianst DL MBAs. If you are local to UMass then you would probably be in a better position than UoL that is thousands of kilometers away. DL MBAs are still seen as inferior to on-campus MBAs regardless of AACSB accreditation.
Novemberdude, I have Henley, Manchester and Insead as other options I'm considering. But for comparison sake, I don't believe UMass stacks up to these, so I didn't bother to include them. I felt that UMass and Liverpool were very comparable in price, program structure and reputation. I am not familiar with Warwick and I haven't researched the Imperial program. That is Imperial College of London, right?
Re: Re: U Liverpool or UMass Amherst MBA? RFValve, UMass is 100% online, too. No proctored exams. I live in Europe, so UMass is the school that is thousands of kilometers away. But then, I don't live in England, either, so that is also thousands of kilometers away, even though it is in the neighborhood. One of the reasons I am looking for a program at a large University is that I'm hoping a recruiter won't ask if the MBA was a DL program. If the question comes up, no big deal, I answer it proudly. I do realize the DL tag hurts in many situations, but like I said, a big name school may eliminate the question.
Warwick http://www.wbs.warwick.ac.uk/students/mba/ is the best b-school of all of the above, but the DL (well, DT as Professor Kennedy accurately describes it) MBA is a lockstep programme starting twice a year. Personally, I think their DL set of electives is a bit boring, but that's just the bias of somebody who's already got a Warwick degree and is into VC and equities and has helped run a university spin-off for five years! The Imperial programme is the UoL external programme, which is run by IC. Again, like Warwick a twice a year lock step. The major downside, given that the Tanaka School is really pushing itself up the ratings is that the degree says "external" not "Imperial". If you're considering the likes of Insead Manchester, and Henley, Liverpool really shouldn't be registering on your radar. You should be looking at Aston and Durham before them. If acceptibility in the US in the long term is the problem, try the Purdue/TIAS/CEU programme, as at least you'll have a US name university on there http://www2.krannert.purdue.edu/info/degree/imm/ If you have the money to really push the boat out and have weekends to spare, then look at the LBS/Columbia global MBA or Trium (they do have the minor disadvantage, I admit, that they are the two most expensive MBAs in the world). If you have weekends to spare but less spare cash and you can get yourself to the UK, the Said EMBA programme up might be more up your street. It may not be AACSB, but an Oxford degree tends to do away with little problems like that ;-) Also, if you're considering INSEAD, why not HEC or IESE or IE as well? Angela
Agilham already answered this better than I could, so all I will add is that Warwick has some residency requirements, but you would be getting yourself an MBA from a recognized top business school. Personally, I am a big fan of Warwick. On the other hand, I don't believe it has much name recognition in the US. An advantage to University of London (Imperial College) is that London has a lot of name recognition. A downside is the whole external degree issue.
Outside Oxford, Cambridge, London, TCD , Edinburgh and maybe St Andrews (the Prince Harry effect has to be good for something), Heidelberg and the Sorbonne US name recognition of European universities is a big fat zero. I have in the past had to explain that the University of Glasgow is not in England, and no it isn't a modern university. Ditto, the university of Wales is not in England and no, that doesn't mean I know the person presenting in the next session, as he's from a different campus on the other side of the principality. Working at Oxford for the past 8 years has at least been a little easier in that respect. If US name recognition is perceived to be a problem down the line, the alternative may be one of the US programmes that runs an executive MBA based in Europe (Purdue, Chicago, Kellogg), although none of them are what I'd call cheap, or to look through the Business Week, USNews and WSJ rankings to see which international schools have name recognition. Angela
An observation or two. Today I spent an hour discussing with a colleague from Imperial College (one of the finest on campus, i.e., CT, MBA degrees) the problems of online learning and how I believe Heriot-Watt/EBS has solved it, plus the many and expensive pitfalls, which we have avoided. I have also this week been engaged in discussions with several other UK universities on: a) online exams where she was astonished that at EBS we assess by final exams only, no graded assignments, etc., and clearly thought we were 'mad' (I shall not name the university in case you think I am making it up!); b) why most online learning programmes are biased CT and DT teaching programmes and worthless for learning (DL), only made up by their so sooooft assessment 'exams' (that an exam is not proctored says it all); c) and the eternal question of so-called off campus and out of sight 'projects', which nobody can be sure were written by the student whose name appears on the front cover. And here we are discussing institutions that employ versions of these (at least discussable 'errors' and 'failures') as if their name recognition thousands of miles away by people who may not even be familiar with the important pedagogical issues involved was of greater importance than the inherent qualities of their attestation of your fitness for whatever you claim to have graduated in. 'Against stupidity even the God's battle in vain' (Schiller). In humble deference I submit my plea for some sanity...
Hi Angela, Can you clarify a bit on what do you mean by 'lockstep'? Also, as for the degree, it is both "External" and "Imperial".... This is an external degree. No one can deny that, nor can you pretend when your potential employers also know that you have a job overseas during the study period. This is a degree from London U. But it is printed that Imperial is the lead college. Regards, Steven
