Master's Without Bachelors?

My husband has an associate degree in Biomedical Engineering Technology, he wants to change career paths and become an operations manager, facilities manager or something similar. According to him, he'd really like to go for a Masters but hates to 'waste' his time and would rather get his Masters directly, if this is at all possible. Is there a Masters degree in Management or MBA or something in that line that he can appy for that does not require a Bachelors Degree as an entry requirement? The institution can be foreign or US based but any US based degree has to come from a regional accredited institution or his employers would not reimburse him. He is currently working with a major defense contractor in Orlando and was promised a really good position in management after he completes his MBA or Masters in Management degree.

Thanks,

 

ICS in the U.K., a division of Thomson Learning (the folks behind Penn Foster College) offers an MBA degree by distance learning. The web site doesn't mention anything about needing an undergraduate degree:

http://www.icslearn.co.uk/distance-learning-degree/business/master-business-admin/

Athabasca University in Canada will allow a student to enter their MBA program if they first complete the Graduate Diploma in Management.
http://www.mba.athabascau.ca/Titan/aucimwebsite.nsf/6af32eeac7da423a87256b1000789182/25f9ecf0f93bfa88872570a700758ec6!OpenDocument
Athabasca has regional accreditation in the U.S.

Aspen University has an MBA program which does not require an undergraduate degree, but of course it is DETC-accredited, not RA.

 

As Steve said, Heriot-Watt would be a great option. Exams are usually done at UCF for folks in Orlando and vicinity.

 

Royal Roads University in British Columbia, Canada, offers a Master of Business Administration (MBA) with various specializations.

An undergraduate degree is not mandatory for entry into the graduate programmes although your experience may vary depending upon your professional background. I know someone who successfully completed the Master of Arts degree through Royal Roads University without an undergraduate degree, and is now enrolled in doctorate programme at North Central University (NCU).

 

Gaining an education is never a waste of time. However, if he thinks he's prepared to undertake graduate study without undergraduate preparation, he should take the GRE and GMAT and see how he stacks up.

If he then honestly considers his results, he may find that while he doesn't want to waste time in undergrad, he may need to spend that time.

If he finds that he is competitive on those two exams without the undergrad then he can consider the options out there for either a direct entry or a combined program.

Just my opinion for what it's worth.

 

Thank you for your response. When my husband say 'waste' time, he is using that term figuratively speaking. What he means is that if he has an option, he would prefer to matriculate directly into a Master's program and accept the position he has been offered by his employer as opposed to taking the long, albeit, necessary route to the B.Sc degree.

Thats basically it.

Thanks again...

 

A few things:

1. If for any reason he has to change employers, his resume will stand out in a negative way due having a graduate degree and no bachelors. American employers expect to see the BS, BA, etc. Out of the handful of programs mentioned, only one (Aspen) is U.S. based and it is not RA.

2. There are a lot of bachelors degree completion programs that are designed to be done in minimal time. The programs I see in the OKC area are all advertising approximately 18 months from associates to bachelors.

3. Most programs in business field require some prep work. There is a good chance that a biomed tech associates degree did not contain the appropriate prep work. Beyond that, writing styles and study habits in lower level courses do not typically prepare one for the rigors of graduate work.

 

I see your point. I think his plans are to complete his bachelors degree for the same reasons you mentioned (changing employers), however, I believe he intends to do that after he secures his MBA and the promised position. I am not worried at all about his study habits - this guy is very book smart. Street smart - well I don't know about that, LOL - because I keep telling him he needs to complete his B.Sc degree and he hasn't listed to me in the past. Now it has come back to bite him hin the glutes. He has the ability to complete his MBA with top scores and now that his employer has promised his the position he has been after for most of the time he has been employed there (20 years) he has the motivation and the drive.

Take care,

 

Another option for him would be to complete a Bachelors in General Business from Charter Oak, Excelsior or Thomas Edison. Using a combination of CLEPs, DSSTs, ECEs and TECEPs and some dedication, he could complete his BA quickly. After that, there will be more options for completing the MBA.

 

If the MBA is critcal to him receiving a promotion at work, then the Heriot-Watt MBA would the way to go. You say he has great study habits, so perhaps studying the texts and taking the exams would not be that big of a deal to him. Concurrently, he could be taking the necessary CLEP and DANTES exams to earn a BS in General Business through TESC, Excelsior or Charter Oak. Who knows...the exams at Heriot-Watt may be applied toward his BS at one of the Big Three, but you would have to check with them. By doing this, he could potentially earn his BS and MBA at the same time.

 

Remember that TESC does not require any courses above the 200 level and their BA program is fairly open ended. If he has the knowledge, a few days of testing should result in an easy degree.

 

When I was considering getting involved with the Heriot-Watt University/Edinburgh Business School MBA (as the US marketing agent), the fact of no Bachelor's required was a concern.

However, in eight yars I did this (1991-98), it went from zero students in the US to more than 4,000 (bigger than Phoenix, at the time). About 1/4 of the students had no Bachelor's. During this time, we went through well over 1,000 "approval processes" with employers or potential employers of these students, and more than 98% were successful (for hiring, promoting, or higher salaries). That was very encouraging.

The one major irritant was that, out of the 20-or-so credential evaluation services that students used, 19 correctly evaluated it as equivalent to any RA MBA -- but one, ECE in Milwaukee, said that it wasn't even the equivalent of a Bachelor's degree, because of the no-Bachelor's-needed rule. The University attempted to reason with Mr. Frey of ECE, suggesting that a review of the exams would show the level of the work, but he refused to look at the exams.

Perhaps this has changed since we sold our marketing business in 1998; I do hope so.

Incidentally, and relevantly, the students without a Bachelor's performed just as well on the exams as those with a Bachelor's.

 

For what it's worth, APUS states the following:

"Students who have earned a bachelor's degree or have previously earned graduate credit at an institution accredited by a recognized accrediting body are eligible for admission into master level study at APU."

Given that they accept Aspen transfer credit (up to 15 credits), one could take 1 MBA course at Aspen and then apply as a transfer student to APUS.

Not 100% sure if it would work - but it's worth considering.

Greg