I've heard over and over again that you need at least 18 hours of grad work in one subject area in order to teach. I've also heard that the grad work needs to be AACSB. Here are my questions: 1) Is there anyone on the board teaching without an AACSB Masters degree? 2) If you're planning to teach business, what exactly does that consist of? Business is a pretty broad field. It can consist of general business courses, accounting, management, marketing, etc. In order to teach, do all 18 hours need to be in one of the aforementioned areas, or are they all lumped together under the business heading? Pug
I'll take a stab at answering question number two even though I'm not currently teaching. As I understand, you will need 18 credit hours in each business area you plan on teaching. Even though I have an MBA, for example, I am planning on completing another 18 hours in accounting so that I can teach accounting. There may be some gray area in teaching general business classes, I'm not sure.
That is correct. I have 18 hours in management so I have taught management classes. Remember, it is how the school looks that the credits also. Does "Financial Management" count as management or finance? I do believe it is up to the school. I do not have an AACSB Masters degree but I do not teach at an AACSB school.
That would be my guess too. I understand there is a national shortage of instructors in those areas. If you could teach both, you would probably move to the top of the applicant stack wherever you apply.
SE Texas Prof I just wanted to weigh in on the situation regarding the utility of the MBA for teaching. My MBA is not from an AACSB school and I have teach for several schools. I have not made it a point to purse teaching opportunities from AACSB schools for reasons that are my own. The 18 hour rule is certainly true if you teach for a school that has regional accreditation. I talked with the dean of our graduate program prior to completing my degree because I wanted to entering the teaching profession. I was told that my MBA alone was enough providing that I had 18 hours of specialization in a particular area. I opted to purse a second graduate degree and completed the Master of Project Management a few months later. This has allowed me to seek opportunities in two different disciplines. Much of what has been discussed centers on the acceptance by individual deans and program directors. Certain schools will be comfortable taking an MBA and allowing you the chance to cover general business courses (org behavior, ethics, intro to business).
I just want to throw out one more option. If your local community college has business programs (certificate or degree) you may want to see if they have some outside of the arts and science track. For example, we offer several (at least 4) business degrees that are in the division of applied technology. The reason this is significant, is because once you step into applied tech (leaving arts and science) the teaching credential changes to "experience." This is how/why you have instructors teaching welding without master's degrees I mention this as an alternative option, especially for those who would enjoy adjunct work. (If the degree is AS or AA, it would require a masters and will have courses like statistics, accounting, etc. If it is AOS, AAS, it will have courses specific to the track and essentially lack general education courses)
I believe the AACSB-only requirement would only be an issue with AACSB-accredited schools, although it would certainly be an asset at other schools. Also keep in mind the 18-hour rule is just a base minimum. All other things being mostly equal, if you have an MBA with 18 hours in accounting and the other applicant has an MS in accounting and is a CPA, guess who's most likely going to get the job?
HEY! I've been trying to say that (in another post, in another thread) but then you just went ahead and said it better than me. That 18 credit thing is like saying that you have to have a high school diploma in order to apply. EVERYBODY who is applying has AT LEAST 18 credits. If that's all you've got then you can look for your resume in the circular file (I'm not trying to be nasty). Out here in the Northeast, minimum qualifications means that when you get into the taxi, you're getting behind the wheel, not into the back seat. Aim higher.
I've been on vacation for the last 2 weeks, so my mind is at peace and has achieved perfect clarity. You know I'm not like that usually.
