I am worried that a Master's degree without first having a Bachelor's will look strange to prospective employers. Has anyone experienced this, and how do I answer? thank you, John Spies
http://www.degreeinfo.com/ubb/Forum1/HTML/000224.html This should take you to BA in 4 weeks, the easiest solution would be to do a BA then you won't HAVE to explain it. Dan
During the seven years I was involved in marketing this program, it became the largest MBA of any kind in America. About 40% of the 5,000 (appx.) students did not have a Bachelor's. Many of these were paid for by their employers (who included more than 70 of the Fortune 100, and 6 or 7 of the Fortune 10). With the lone exception of a student at Ingersoll-Rand in Texas, not a single one was ever told (as far as we knew) that their employer would not accept, recognize, or pay for it due to the no-Bachelor's situation. If anyone had problems with the degree, we suggested students or alumni say something like, "This is the oldest technical university in Britain, often equated with MIT; it's been around for 180 years; it has a royal charter; students are at FBI; it's the largest MBA of any kind in the US, in Canada, in Australia; in South Africa and in the world. Now, what's your problem?"
The "Watt" in Heriot-Watt is, of course, the famous James Watt, the steam engine pioneer (who died in 1819, two years before the establishment of Heriot-Watt -- then known as Edinburgh School of Arts and Mechanics Institute). But how many people know who Heriot was? (I didn't, till I looked it up.)
You may encounter people who want to know where your B.A. was from. On the other hand there are others who will probably only care that you have an MBA. Dr. Bear may know the answer to this question. What is the track record of HW MBA's who want to go on to doctoral level study? If you know that, is there any difference between those with no BA and those with one. Incidentally, I like Dr. B.'s anwser to those skeptics with regard to HW (in terms of the history on the institution, etc). North
Hi John, Your concern is perhaps valid in the USA where a lot of traditional education attitudes are hard to displace. In many places - including Britain from where the H-W MBA degree emanates - a professional qualificatton such as you are working towards, plus a p-g qualification is not unusual at all. In fact, many professional people in the UK took no first degree, but chose articles in the profession, vocational exams and then a graduate course if they felt like it. Which is why UK universities are much more flexible in graduate entry than the US appears to be - and that incudes mature student entry. Regards, Neil Hynd
Yes, I wonder how many graduates of HWMBA have gone on to receive their doctorate, or at the very least, been accepted into such a program. Honestly, when I finish my certification test in Feb. I will probably still enroll, however I would feel better showing some proof of legitimacy (and the doctorate info would help) to my place of employment.
Regarding the number of students going on for a doctorate: One of the things I did before deciding to get involved with this program was to write to other schools -- 50 major US and Canadian universities -- asking (among other things) specifically if the Heriot-Watt MBA would qualify for entry to their doctoral program. This was when I learned that a fair number of schools -- about 1/3 is my recollection -- do not accept any MBA as meeting their Master's requirement for entry into a doctoral program. Not Heriot-Watt, not Harvard. Their argument is that the MBA is a professional or terminal degree, from which one does not go on, and if one wanted to go on, one would do an MA or MS in economics, marketing, organizational behavior, etc. The other 2/3rds said the HW MBA would be fine with them. As the University of Chicago put it, "The Queen of England awarded them her Royal Charter. What is good enough for the Queen is good enough for us." As for Mr. Heriot, he was the apparently quite charming banker to King James VI of Scotland (later James I of England), a most generous bloke, and not a shy one. He was known as "Jingling Geordie." And Jamie the Saxt is, as proud Scots point out, the first name that you see when you pick up the most popular English translation of the Bible.
I realize I did not address the specific question. I have no idea how many HW MBA students go on for a doctorate, and how this number compares with the percentages for other schools and programs. I can't recall any school that tracks these data, or at least makes them available.
That's right, and the George Heriot component gives Heriot-Watt an even longer history than the 180 years cited above. George Heriot provided the endowment that led to the establishment of George Heriot Hospital in 1624. And this hospital was amalgamated with what was then the Watt Institution (founded as described above in 1821) to form Heriot-Watt in 1885. So even though the University formally considers their founding to date from 1821 (180 years ago), their history really goes back two centuries earlier than that. In comparison, MIT (to which John referred above) dates back to the Massachusetts Conservatory of Art and Science, established in 1859. A relative "newbie" in the pursuit of knowledge and the improvement of the human condition...
Hi Messrs Bear & Salmon The reality, as you both know, is of course quite different. Heriot-Watt University is one of the 'Red Brick' Technical Universities established by Royal Charter in the 1960's. You won't find any ivy covered building in its state of the art campus just outside Edinburgh. It's history may date back to the 19th century - but then so does that of the Strathclyde, formerly the Royal College of Science and Technology, which I think has better claim to being Scotlands leading technical university. As for being the UK's MIT, I think that's overstating the case a bit - UMIST and Imperial are closer to that role. A better measure of HW academic standing (and that of all Scots universities) its that it expects APs as entrance qualifications for its undergraduate degree and gives no advance standing for them. It also offers 4 year, undergraduate Masters. Comparing UK Bachelors and Masters with US equivalents is not a comparison of like with like. According to the US Fulbright commision a UK student is academically at least a year ahead of thier US counterpart. http://www.fulbright.co.uk/eas/school/school.html As a consequence, UK academic courses demands are correspondingly higher. Its also important to bear in mind that unlike US universities, those in Scotland are subject to continous monitoring and academic inspection by the UK government, which also forces academic standards up. Albanaich
Hi John Perhaps a better way to understand HW academic standing is to look at UCAS, the UK University Clearing and Admission Service. http://www.ucas.ac.uk Entrance to all UK universities is through academic competion. The higher ranking the university, the more demanding the qualification. UK 'Highers' and 'A' levels are approximately the same as US AP. All UK universities demand AP as a MINIMUM qualification, whereas most US universities accept 5 UK GCSE's (achieved at 16) as equivalent to SAT's of 1500 or so. Albanaich
Interesting link. And an interesting assertion. But I'm not clear on how the referenced site supports that assertion. BTW, what institution are you affiliated with? - Dennis
Anyone with the screen name "Albanaich" should be paid attention to, in matters related to Scottish h istory. "Albanaich!" is a war cry used by David I in 1138, at the Battle of Standard. As one history puts it, "David, who in his time at the court of Henry I of England (1100-35) had 'rubbed off all the tarnish of Scottish barbarity', led an army which 'bellowed the war-cry of their fathers', heard against the Viking Ivar in 903 and at Corbridge in 918, 'Albanaich, Albanaich!'"
Alba is the Scots Gaelic word for Scotland. Albanaich (or Albanach)is the word for a Scotsman, or a Scot. (It is also the Irish Gaelic word for a Presbyterian).
