Two vs. Four Courses Per Qtr at Northeastern and effect for a future oncampusMBA/MHA?

I decided to enroll in a management related masters program through Northeastern's College of Professional Studies and am considering the difference between two versus four courses per quarter (in eight week increments.)

One on hand, I hope to gain experience and finish a degree as soon as possible (which will help in the job market), although on the other I want to make sure I'm not overloading myself due to the time commitment. I have never taken an online course, although work very diligently and undertook a relatively rigorous course load in college (including a few graduate level courses).

I am also strongly considering eventually pursuing an on-campus MBA or MHA (I wouldn't be able to start until the fall of 2012 at the earliest geographically speaking), and hope decent grades (or a completed masters) will help bolster my case.

Has anyone had experience with either issue? Thanks.

 

It depends on your situation. If you have a fulltime job, four graduate classes every four weeks is a lot of work and something that I personally do not recommend. Instead, start with two (or even one) and get a feel for what the workload is like.

I took three at a time in a 10 week format and between school and work, had zero free time for the 15 months that it took for me to complete my MPH.

Regarding the MBA or MHA, yes, I would expect good grades to bolster the case for admission.

 

Thanks for responding. Just to clarify, I would be taking one vs. two courses over eight weeks totaling either two or four courses per quarter.

Also, for someone not great at advanced level math/stats (I did well in intro to stats), how mathematically intense did you find the MPH?

 

Since you are new to the program and are unsure of exactly what the workload is going to be, I would suggest you start with one course over eight weeks. If you find that you can handle more, take two the next eight weeks for a total of three for the quarter.

I know from experience, you do not want to start a new program overwhelmed from the first week because you took too many courses before you got a feel for the pace of the program.