Good Day, I have been lurking this site for a few weeks and have found the information and opinions to be quite helpful. I am currently "shopping" for a grad program and was looking for some additional suggestions. My Background: Active duty military enlisted; retiring in 5 1/2 years. My career training is in electronics repair, but I am currently serving as the supervisor of an electronics and IT support facility. Education: AA from a community college in CA, and nine units short of a BA (BA general studies - minor in management) from Columbia College of MO. At my current pace I will complete this degree in early October. Goals: After retirement, I am interested in a leadership/management position in defense/security analysis or manufacturing fields. We will be living in the San Antonio, Texas area. I have been considering pursuing a MS in Administration, MA/MS in Leadership or an MBA - in that order. The program must be available completely online, and I like eight week sessions. My inclination is to favor B&M schools with at least some measure of name recognition. I am not wrapped around the axle about AACSB accrediting nor am I petrified of the GMAT. I do, however REQUIRE that the tution stay at or under the $250 per unit military T/A maximum. I think that I have narrowed the search down to: The MSA program at Central Michigan University http://www.cel.cmich.edu/ecampus/programs/degrees.html?dc=MSA&I5.x=14&I5.y=9 or The MSM at Texas A&M-Commerce http://www7.tamu-commerce.edu/graduateprograms/Programs/MSMGT.asp What other programs I am missing that might be a good fit? Thanks! AJ
Some programs that quickly come to mind are as follows: Duquesne University in Pennsylvania has a few options that are close to your price range ($292 per credit). It is a solid private school with a generous tuition reduction for military. http://www.leadership.duq.edu/home/main.cfm Missouri State University has a M.S. in Administrative Studies ($258 per credit) http://www.missouristate.edu/msas/ GetEducated.com has a nice list of best buys for online MBA programs. http://www.geteducated.com/index.asp Also check out DANTES (http://www.dantes.doded.mil/dantes_web/danteshome.asp?Flag=True) and the gradschools.com site (http://distance.gradschools.com/).
Another option . . . I am the CCC at my base and I know a lot of people at the base go to Grantham University for their graduate degrees. This will keep you at $250/credit hour. Grantham gives you a class free if you run out of TA for the FY. Also you can now get 16 credit hours per FY if you complete the TA waiver located on the Navy College Program website. Grantham is NA-approved (not RA). I don't know if this matters to you or not, but the price is right and you can complete up to 6 classes per FY with them. They are very military friendly. They have MBA and MS programs completely online. Hope this helps! www.grantham.edu
Oops! I don't know what I was thinking . . . Northcentral University (www.ncu.edu) has graduate programs that are regionally accredited as well. They comply with the $250/credit hour too. You receive a military scholarship for the remainder. Their master's degree either leads into a PhD program (if you wish) or you can go directly into the PhD from a bachelor's degree. This is completely online as well. If you are still in the military, I would suggest getting the master's degree first. This looks great on evals/fit reps (depending whether you are enlisted or officer). Either way, you can't go wrong with whichever program you choose. Best of Luck!!
One More . . . American Military University Same $250/credit hour. Completely online. Received complete regional accreditation a couple of weeks ago! Undergrad/grad degree programs. http://www.amu.apus.edu/index.htm
AJ, congratulations on your decision to work toward a Master's - this is a great decision. I've worked in the defense industry for the better part of ten years, and have served on hiring committees. I have reviewed hundreds of resumes. Here's my take: This defense field mirrors the services in their rank structure; by that I mean that retired flag rank officers hold VP-level positions, retired field grades are below them, all the way down to retired sergeant's major and CPOs who manage small teams. In general, in the defense arena you will have less authority, supervise fewer people, and have smaller budgets than you did when you wore a uniform. That's the way that the federal contracts are structured. To overcome it you will need to be hired to a level as high as possible. What I think can help: -Get and keep a TS/SBI clearance. -A willingness to relocate an/or take positions in hardship duty locations (Iraq, Afghanistan) helps greatly. -The job descriptions for leadership positions in government contracting are written to almost mandate certain certifications that generally aren't available to enlisteds and NCOs. Competing against the all those retired officers (who have held command at least twice, after all) you will *require* an MBA and some sort of DAU-affiliated certification, such as from Webster U. http://www.webster.edu/online/programs.php http://www.webster.edu/online/programshow.php?prog=gcc -You currently work in IT. Maximize certification in both the technical hard-skills and in technical management certifications. CISSP is hot right now. I just turned down a CISSP-level job that would have made me the security deputy to an Army division communications officer (division = 16,000 soldiers). Thanks for your service, and best of luck.
Just speaking off the top of my head, Fort Hays State University www.fhsu.edu offers an MBA Leadership via distance learning and they are generally a real deal pricewise and St. Joseph's College www.sjcme.edu offers a very well-regarded MBA Leadership.
May I say - I think it's nice to see someone with theri head screwed on straight. Consider a degree that addresses records security (HIPAA, SOX) - the army's largest health care facility is in San Antonio (I think).
Re: Re: Help a sailor pick a grad program! Thanks for the compliment. I had not considered the medical industry, good tip. I suppose it is easy to forget that it takes more than doctors and nurses to make the system work. Both the Army and the Air Force have large medical facilities in S.A., and there is certainly no shortage of civilian medical providers in the region.
Alternative: MSIT - Industrial Technology You're unlikely to use what an MBA teaches until twenty years on the job... Instead, check out MSIT degrees (MS-Industrial Technology). They combine Management/Supervisory Courses you'll use right away, with "Technology" courses you'll also put to use right away. You get to choose the Technology Concentration - eg Quality Assurance, Logistics Management, Electronics, Manufacturing, Computer Systems, etc. One of the best on-line programs is Missouri State's on-line MSIT - www.cmsu.edu/x73977.xml. Another big provider of on-line degree MSIT - they call theirs "MSTS" MS-Technology Systems - is East Carolina University - www.tecs.ecu.edu/tsys/grad/manf.doc. Several MSIT schools are in Texas. See the IT Programs map at www.nait.org.
