The Graduate School of Management housed within the College of Business Administration recently began developing a Master of Arts degree in Corporate Communications set to begin in fall 2016.
The new program is not the first designed for students who may not have completed a business-related degree during their undergraduate studies. Students who majored in certain STEM-related fields at Marquette for their undergraduate degrees have the opportunity to apply for the Graduate School of Management’s STEM-MBA program.
Students who qualify based upon their field of study are typically expected to formally apply during their junior year, however, it is recommended students note their interest in their initial application to Marquette as an undergraduate student.
Lorraine Otero, a sophomore in the College of Health Sciences, hopes to pursue the accelerated track because of her interests in both business and science.
The current majors GSM considers to be best suited to complete the undergraduate and MBA requirements in five years are: athletic training, biological sciences, biochemistry and molecular biology, biomedical sciences, chemistry, computer science, exercise physiology, math, physics and physiological sciences.
“We have seen more interest in the MBA program from the sciences, so we started to explore the STEM-MBA options,” said Jeanne Simmons, associate dean in the College of Business Administration, in an email. “We had a lot of interest from the department chairs and discussion with industry folks. Then it was just a matter of sitting down with the departments and determine where we could find some efficiencies so students could get out in five years.”
The ability to complete both programs in one extra year peaked the interest of both new applicants to Marquette and current students.
“With this program, you could still go on to be a doctor because if you decide to open up your own office, you kind of need (business) administration as a background,” Otero said. “But then I could go into the more business side of science because my goal is to eventually work at a pharmaceutical company or for the administrative aspect of a hospital.”
The STEM-MBA program requires students to complete an undergraduate minor in business administration within the College of Business Administration to prepare for MBA coursework.
Otero highlighted how the College of Business Administration offers courses related to healthcare economics, applying to both areas of knowledge.
“I found out about the program through one of my friends who is studying business as a major because they thought it was something I would be interested in, so they sent me a link,” said Ricky Krajewski, a junior in the College of Health Sciences. “At the time, the STEM-MBA program wasn’t really well known, so I hadn’t heard much about it before that.”
Krajewski received information about the program later in his Marquette career. He worked with advisors so he could take business courses and prerequisites for applying to the MBA program at junior colleges, as opposed having a business minor at Marquette, which is usually required to apply to the GSM for the STEM-MBA program.
“I would definitely say that my long-term goal is to get more involved with the business side of things whether it is hospital administration or corporate work. Krajewski said. “An MBA opens a lot of doors.”
GSM also offers specific Master of Science programs in accounting as well applied economics and human resources.
