M.A. or M.S. in Management vs MBA

Good evening everyone! I've noticed that some who are in business professions opt for the M.A. or M.S. in Management rather than the M.B.A.

For example, Marymount University in Arlington Virginia has an MBA which is 45 semester hours, unless you specialize, in which case you're looking at 54 hours. Marymount also offers the MS in Management at 36 hours + 3 hours for a statistics pre-requisite course. Their MBA courses look pretty rigorous (economics, etc.). Marymount's MS in Management program courses look easier than their MBA courses, and are more customer and leadership oriented. Just my opinion.

Regent University offers an MBA at 54 hours (includes pre-requisites), and an MA in Management at 33 hours.

I spoke with a Regent representative back in the summer, and he was an MBA student who said the MA in Management is basically a "watered down" MBA. He still said their MA in Management is a good program.

Marymount University does not have a distance learning option for their school of business. They are; however, a prestigeous Univeristy close to where I work. A Marymount University graduate degree would generate a high level of respect anywhere. They are well known and have very high standards.

I have thought about the possibility of getting the MS in Management from Marymount, rather than an online MBA. My purpose would be for possible promotion, as well as teaching college part-time.

Any thoughts on advantages/disadvantages of the MA/MS in Management vs online MBA? It seems most people are hung up on having the initials "MBA" after their degree. I think some of the MS in Management courses are equally attractive.

As always, your comments and wisdom are welcome!

 

The distinctions between an M.S. in Management and an MBA have largely disappeared over the years for most programs. In times past, the MBA would have been a more "hard science" degree, likely including a couple of quantitative analysis courses and perhaps one in operations research, too. These, added to the typical finance and accounting courses, made the MBA a harder degree to complete, and one employers expected.

These days, MBA programs often have just one quantitative course (usually inferential statistics), and sometimes even combine the accounting and finance courses. MBA programs used to require either a bachelor's in business or the completion of several prerequisite courses, but now they often admit candidates with all types of academic preparation. These changes have narrowed the gap between the MBA and other business-related degrees. That doesn't mean they've disappeared, of course.

I believe that, for mid-career adults, the difference in impact on one's career won't be very much. All other things being equal, I'd still opt for the MBA. But if there are significant differences in cost, curricular content, scheduling, prestige of the school, etc., I'd consider the M.S. as an alternative.

 

MBA vs MS Management

Hello Rich,

The difference in cost between MS Management (resident) and online MBA is $10,000.00 in tuition only for the MS Management. (MS is $10K more).

Your mid-career assumption is correct. I am not looking to get my foot in the door at a major firm like many new MBAs from name schools try to do. My undergraduate degree is non-business, yet my career involves business management. I believe any graduate degree related to business is better than no graduate degree when your undergraduate degree is not related to business. I even considered the M.A. in Organizational Leadership offered by Regent University (online); however, I don't want to venture too far from accounting, P&L, management, etc. courses.

I am presently leaning toward the online MBA option. It is bricks and mortar, regional accreditation, and I can save $10,000.00 in tuition alone as compared with Marymount, which has a name. I still want to hear what the forum community has to say; especially in terms of potential mileage from MS vs MBA for a mid-level career person who has no plans to leave, but simply wants to add some business skills, increase chances for promotion, and polish his resume.

Thanks!

 

MS Management or MBA

I was in a similar situation ten years ago, and I opted for an MBA while going to night school at UNC-Charlotte. Based on what I've seen, an MBA might give you more career options down the road. My program was fairly broad, but still allowed me to specialize in a particular area. It was 51 semester hours, including 3 prerequisite courses.

Is the MBA you're considering AACSB? That is also something to consider.

 

MS Management vs MBA

Hey Squirrel!

Are you a tar heel? No, Liberty University is not AACSB accredited. They have regional accreditation (Southern Association of Colleges and Schools). Most AACSB schools have the GMAT requirement, which I absolutely refuse to take at this stage in my life and career. I have submitted my application to Liberty and am waiting for a response any day now. Let's keep our fingers crossed! This is my first and only application to graduate school.

I have a pretty demanding job which requires a lot of my time and energy + I train in martial arts 2-3 days per week. MBAs come in all flavors and varieties of difficulty. In my opinion based on research, some are harder than others. I can handle a "hard" MBA and a job that is not overly demanding. I can handle an MBA that is reasonably challenging, but not Harvard in terms of difficulty. I am not willing to take on a Harvard MBA, and a highly demanding job at this point in my career, for three reasons.

1. I don't have to.

2. I don't want to.

3. I wish to retain a reasonable level of sanity during the process.

Liberty University meets all of my requirements, and then some. At this point, I think I'm going to stick with the distance MBA at Liberty. For the quality, you can't beat the $330.00 per credit hour, 36 hours, and no prerequisites. I still plan to prepare myself by studying my own "prerequisites" in math, statistics and economics before I begin classes, as well as during my enrollment. My employer could care less about AACSB. I don't know how difficult the Liberty MBA is because I haven't taken it; however, Liberty seems to strike the best balance, which is what I'm looking for. I hope I'm not discriminated against for having a distance learning degree if I want to teach community or 4-year college one day. It remains to be seen. Distance learning is a new topic for me. I have been impressed with what I've read by Dr. Bear. He impresses me as a real authority, pioneer and leader in this field. Dr. Bear's writings have helped influence my willingness to take a chance on distance learning. I especially like Dr. Bear's comment that Abraham Lincoln was into distance learning. Lincoln studied law books by his fireplace in the backwoods because he couldn't afford law school. Of course we all know Lincoln took the bar exam and passed.

Your comments are helpful, Squirrel.

 

MBA DL

No...technically... not a true Tarheel, but pretty close.

You may want to do a search on this forum site for other MBA's if cost is a big concern. You may find one a little cheaper. My program was a 3-1/2 year part-time B&M at night, so I have yet to do any DL courses. (I'm thinking about a DBA/PhD in the future.) But I can tell you from an MBA perspective, you should treat it like a part time job when you budget your time. I spent about 6-8 extra hours a week outside of class for each course I took. Most of that time was dedicated to research for reports/papers and numerous group projects.

To be safe, I recommend that you have a back-up university in case Liberty proves not to be what you want. Look at the alternate school's credit transfer policy;many are 9-12 semester hours allowed. If Liberty is the way to go, all the best to you.

 

MBA DL Squirrel Response

Hey Squirrel,

Thanks a million for your follow-up message. I got accepted in the Liberty MBA DL program. I'm thrilled and I'm not looking back. It meets everything I want for my situation and career.

Your analogy about the part-time, hours per week necessary, what you did with your time, etc. is extremely valuable information. This is my first attempt at graduate school. I will follow your thoughtful advice.

I'll report in now and then to say "hello" and let the gang know how everything is going.

You're and officer and a gentleman!

Cheers!!

JR

 

I'd go with a MBA over a MS or MA;

An employment test would be look at the position you want, what are they looking for? Unless your teaching or working for a non-profit, I'd stick with a MBA.

Just my 2 cents.

 

I must disagree with Rich on this one. There is nothing blurry about the distinctions between the two degrees. Granted, there may be some crossovers here or there, but they are two very different degrees.

A Masters in Management typically focuses on leadership and general management skills (organizational design, human resources, etc).

An MBA focuses on more "functional" courses (marketing, accounting, product management, etc). In most MBA programs, there is a "core" of classes which are similar to what would be taught in a BS in Business program (marketing, accounting, macro/micro-economics, business law, etc). After the handful of core classes, you take the more advanced courses (either advanced courses based on the core, electives in a "specialization" area, or both).

Compare these two curricula from Indiana Wesleyan University:

Master of Science in Management

MGT510 Theory and Practice of Leadership 3 credits (6 Weeks)
MGT525 Managerial Ethics 3 credits (6 Weeks)
MGT513 Managerial Economics 3 credits (6 Weeks)
MGT532 Human Relations and Organizational Behavior 3 credits (6 Weeks)
MGT535 Legal Issues for Managers 3 credits
MGT550 Seminar on Quality 3 credits (6 Weeks)
MGT517 Managerial Finance 3 credits (8 Weeks)
MGT541 Advanced Marketing Management 3 credits (6 Weeks)
MGT530 Strategy Formulation 3 credits (6 Weeks)
MGT518 Communication in Organizational Settings 3 credits (6 Weeks)
MGT540 Economics Prerequisite 3 credits (6 Weeks)
MGT557 Advanced Managerial Economics 3 credits (6 Weeks)

For full course descriptions: http://caps.indwes.edu/business/msm/courses.htm

Master of Business Administration (MBA)

DM511 Introduction to Research and Technology 1 credit (3 Weeks)
ADM519 Methods of Executive Management 4 credits (8 Weeks)
ADM471P Managerial Accounting Prerequisite 0 credits (3 Weeks)
ADM514 Advanced Managerial Accounting 4 credits (8 Weeks)
ADM518 The Ethical and Legal Environment of Business 4 credits (hrs)
ADM474P Managerial Finance Prerequisite 0 credits (3 Weeks)
ADM537 Advanced Managerial Finance 4 credits (8 Weeks)
ADM566 Managing Business Information Systems 3 credits (6 Weeks)
ADM515 Statistical Analysis 4 credits (11 Weeks)
MGT541 Advanced Marketing Management 3 credits (6 Weeks)
ADM470P Economics Prerequisite 0 credits (3 Weeks)
ADM523 Advanced Managerial Economics 4 credits (11 Weeks)
ADM545 Organizational Development 3 credits (6 Weeks)
ADM549 Management of International Business 3 credits (6 Weeks)
ADM557 Applied Management Project 4 credits (8 Weeks)

For full course descriptions: http://caps.indwes.edu/business/mba/courses.htm

In short, one is aimed at producing better "managers/leaders", and the other is aimed at producing better "businessmen/women".

Just my 2 pfennigs.

Cheers.