Masters in Management Studies

Say you are a fresh graduate, with a tech background, and now thinking about a career in the management domain, that too in USA. What options do you have? MBA from a reputed school is the general idea which pops up! However, US MBA programs would require you to have work experience north of 4 years. What other options do you have?  

One option is- Master in Management Studies (MiM). This program is perfect to someone who is recently graduated, don’t have work experience to join conventional MBA programs and is planning to start their career with entry level management or leadership roles. This program provides you with the platform necessary to change your career trajectory.  

MiM programs are very famous among the students in Europe who are willing to take up good jobs very early, in a financially optimised manner. There the programs are generally for one year, can extend up to 1.5 years as well. The program is slowly gaining traction in US as well. The proportion of applications to this program is increasing year on year, with an observable popularity among the female candidates. This program is also marketed keeping international students in mind. Why shouldn’t it be? The program essentially comes with features which are drawbacks for conventional MBA program 

No or very less work experience: This program is open to freshers or someone with up to 2 years of experience. Conventional MBA programs limit applications from freshers as they have a stringent requirement of having work experience in the range of 4 to 6 years. MiM solves this problem for early starters while setting up the work experience bar lower compared to the MBA programs.  

Curriculum: The program covers a wide spectrum of topics like finance, human resources, marketing, accounting, operations, strategy and many more. You can consider this as a program precursor to MBA program. While MBA programs deep dive into such topics, MiM gives you a basic understanding of vast range of topics. The curriculum is flexible with many electives to choose from. The faculties generally overlap between MBA and MiM, so you have opportunity to learn from the best as well as to network. The programs also have lucrative components like exchanges and internships, providing you with ample networking opportunities. The GMAT scores requirement for the program is relatively less compared to MBA programs. For instance, GMAT score requirement for the MS in Management Science class at Texas-Dallas Jindal is 610. That same school’s MBA class average in 2022 was 689. 

Cost: Tuition can cost from $11,520 at Illinois Gies’ online iMSM to $138,640 for Stanford Graduate School of Business’ MSx program. The average cost of the top 32 programs is about $56,000. This is very much affordable compared to MBA programs. While calculating ROI, please include living expenses, any other opportunity cost involved. Given this program is predominantly for freshers, one can exclude the pre-program salary from the total cost while calculating ROI which can result in better return on the investment.  

Post job scenario: Universities in US are creating awareness among the employers for the program. Given its untapped potential, universities would want the program to be successful and hence would put in extra efforts in marketing, collaborations with corporations, placements. Kellog’s MiM program 97% of the class received job offers within 3 months of graduation. You can get into roles like management consultants, business analysts, marketing managers, financial analysts. It is for someone who is looking for entry level jobs in management and leadership roles. If you are planning to start your career or want to pivot, this could be faster way to get into these domains, given the work experience requirement is less for this program. You can always do an executive MBA if your personal circumstances allow after gaining some experience in the industry. According to Payscale, average salary of a MiM graduate ranges from $60,000 to $90,000.  

Expert says that this program has huge potential in US markets and there is a need of awareness among the employers in US about the benefits of the program. Universities are promoting this program and collaborating with corporations in this direction.