MPS Thoughts?

Discussion in 'General Distance Learning Discussions' started by JoshD, Feb 7, 2021.

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  1. JoshD

    JoshD Well-Known Member

    I saw an ad on social media today regarding the Masters of Professional Studies in Wealth Management from Columbia University’s School of Professional Studies.

    This got me to thinking, as I had never really thought much about the MPS. Correct me if I am wrong but are MPS programs taught by industry experts instead of tenured faculty like the MS degree? If so, I assume they are targeting that specific niche in the market versus producing graduates that can go into various industries. I mean, in this case I’m not sure what else you could do with a MPS in Wealth Management other than Wealth Management.
     
  2. Vonnegut

    Vonnegut Well-Known Member

    An MPS is the graduate equivalent of an AAS or BAS. Nothing wrong with that, just serves a different niches.

    For quite a number of reasons, someone going to Columbia for a graduate degree in Wealth Management would likely prefer education from a recognized industry expert versus a traditional faculty member. That being said, there’s no universal requirement that they’re taught by industry professionals versus tenured faculty.
     
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  3. Vonnegut

    Vonnegut Well-Known Member

    FWIW wealth management is a hot commodity, and has been for a few years. Amount of money being moved through family offices these days, is just unreal. Even major banks are trying to offer boutique divisions to get in on it.
     
  4. JoshD

    JoshD Well-Known Member

    Oh for sure. I work for a Wealth Management firm while studying for the Series 7 and Series 66. Not sure I would pursue a degree in the niche though. I could see it being beneficial for some though!
     
  5. smartdegree

    smartdegree Active Member

    1) The fact that they're actively advertising this on social media guarantees this is a cash cow for Columbia. Also, this might mean they are desperate for more students so it might be relatively easy to get in.
    2) Would probably be useful if you have clients who only trust Ivy League grads, although how you advertise that to clients is a question mark. Do you put "John Doe, MPS (Columbia U)" on your business card? That seems a bit pretentious (or maybe not, I never worked in Wealth Management).
    3) As much as I think Columbia is one of the elite universities in the business world, you have to wonder if SPS is taken seriously.
    4) MPS is not uncommon. I think Cornell gives out similarly-named degrees. At least it's not as fake-sounding as Harvard Extension's Master of Liberal Arts in Extension Studies: Concentration in XXX. Guaranteed if Harvard changes it to MPS, enrollment will skyrocket.
     
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  6. SteveFoerster

    SteveFoerster Resident Gadfly Staff Member

    I doubt it. The only word that matters to most people in that is "Harvard".
     
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  7. TEKMAN

    TEKMAN Semper Fi!

    I have an MPS from Georgetown University. Yes, it was taught by the industry expert; only two courses were taught by Adjunct with a Doctorate degree. The rest were taught by Adjuncts from the industry with at least 20 years of experience. There was two reasons I went to Georgetown for an MPS in Technology Management as a second degree.
    1) Its brand name
    2) It was a full-ride under the Post 9/11 GI Bill plus $2,200.00 stipend per month.

    I did not learn much from the program based on my industry experiences at the time. However, I also end up with a georgetown.edu email for life.
     
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  8. JoshD

    JoshD Well-Known Member

    I had forgot you did a MPS! I honestly had never thought much about them until I saw the ad and decided I’d see what others thoughts were regarding them.
     
  9. TEKMAN

    TEKMAN Semper Fi!

    I went to the program orientation, and the program Associate Dean told me that the reason, "Master of Professional Studies" instead of Master of Arts or Master of Science because it is issued by the School of Continuing Studies. I asked her how it is comparable to MS or MA, she said a Master's degree is a Master's degree...there are no differences.

    But in the end, I could not read my degree diploma as it is in Latin. :D
     
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  10. Maniac Craniac

    Maniac Craniac Moderator Staff Member

    For what it's worth (not much...) I like how Master of Professional Studies and MPS sound. Also, I have this quirk where I like degrees on the same level to have different initialisms- an MA and an MS are more pleasing for me to see than two MAs. Especially in the signature.

    Maniac Craniac, MA, MA

    I mean, eeeeew :emoji_tired_face:
     
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  11. TEKMAN

    TEKMAN Semper Fi!

    If that is the case, my signature will be.

    Tekman Tekman, MS, MPS, MBA, Ph.D.
     
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  12. chrisjm18

    chrisjm18 Well-Known Member

    I don't see the reason for listing it twice. Let's say I wanted to get an AACSB accredited MBA, there would be no reason to put MBA, MBA.
     
  13. Maniac Craniac

    Maniac Craniac Moderator Staff Member

    I'm not sure what the proper ediquette is for MBAs, but I've definitely seen it with other initialisms.
     
  14. smartdegree

    smartdegree Active Member


    How about these options:
    Maniac Craniac, MA (Econ), MA(Bio)
    Maniac Craniac, MA (Harvard), MA (Yale)
     
  15. LearningAddict

    LearningAddict Well-Known Member

    MBA(2)

    OR

    [​IMG]

    ?

    :)
     
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  16. chrisjm18

    chrisjm18 Well-Known Member

    But I guess when you have a Ph.D., no other postnominal letters matter (at least that's how I see it). I won't add anything else behind my name, except Ph.D.
     
  17. Acolyte

    Acolyte Active Member

    I wouldn't list multiple degrees of the same type - it's just weird. But if there were different degrees, such as an MA, MS, MPS, MBA, MEd, etc. - I'd list them all in the appropriate situation.
     
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  18. Vonnegut

    Vonnegut Well-Known Member

    Not sure how much credence it will be for clients, but the relationships you can pick up from a school like Columbia will be invaluable. Wealth management is all about relationships and referrals.
     
  19. Neuhaus

    Neuhaus Well-Known Member

    There is nothing intrinsic to a degree, any degree, that specifies whether the faculty has tenure or not. Nor does being an "industry expert" mean you don't have tenure.

    A good number of Cornell's masters programs are MPS programs, their MPS in Industrial and Labor Relations is considered one of the gold standard HR graduate degrees (despite not technically being a degree in HR) and that is the school's ONLY graduate degree. Their MPS in Management is also the mechanism by which their graduates have qualified for the CPA exam as it can be built with enough accounting credits to meet the NYS credit requirement.

    But...that's it. I am sure some schools might have a guideline on this but I wouldn't go reading too far into it. It's like how some schools have a certain discipline as an M.A. versus an M.S.

    It is absolutely NOT the graduate equivalent of an A.A.S. The applied associates degree is differentiated from a an A.S. or A.A. by the fact that it is vocationally focused and intended to prepare one for a career while the latter is built, primarily, for credit transfer to a bachelors. ANd even that distinction has lost a lot of meaning over the years.

    The MPS, not unlike a recent debate we had over someone with a DIA who referred to it as a "PhD," tends in my experience to just be referred to as a "Masters." As in, "I have a Masters in X from Y." I have never seen anyone professionally using the post-nominal MPS.

    While we're on the subject, there are very few exceptions whereby a person can list a masters as a post-nominal and not look like a complete tool. Wealth Management is not one of these exceptions.
     
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  20. Neuhaus

    Neuhaus Well-Known Member

    Indeed, you'll have your pick of people working in the same industry who went in with the same idea.

    The relationships you can pick up from a school like Columbia can be invaluable particularly for undergraduates who now get to mingle with people of different backgrounds from all over the world. Going into a DL program in a specialized study field where your classmates are very likely to be competitors rather than collaborators? I'm sure it's a good program and has value to those who would take advantage of it, but let's not oversell what relationships will develop in the occasional Zoom call.
     
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