Northern Michigan University has recently put its Master of Business Administration [MBA] graduate program into action with the first classes scheduled for fall 2010. The program is pending formal approval by the President’s Council for State Universities later this month.
MBA Director David Rayome said that NMU is currently taking applications for 25 openings for the initial classes but hopes the program will be able to take on more students in the future. Rayome expects competition for the available slots.
“We want to get it started with a nice foundation [of students] and build from there,” he said.
Requirements for admissions into the MBA program include writing an essay, a score of 500 or higher on the GMAT (Graduate Management Admission Test) and going through an interview given by the graduate screening committee.
The idea for a MBA program came from current NMU faculty members forming a committee who put together a proposal which was approved by NMU’s Academic Senate, the Cisler College of Business, and the Graduate Programs Committee.
Rayome and his colleagues decided on 10 course offerings for the fall 2010 semester. Each class is four credits and a minimum of 40 credits are required for completion of the program. In addition to these classes, admitted students will gain hands-on experience and networking opportunities through meeting with business practitioners.
Rayome said he was optimistic about the MBA’s effect on the overall academic prestige of NMU.
“It will help improve the reputation of the university,” he said. “It will give students more of a reason to stay at NMU after earning their bachelors degree,” he said.
Rayome hopes that the MBA program will appeal to more graduate students from different areas of the United States and potentially, more exchange students from various countries.
“[It] will attract different students,” he said. “The MBA is the number one degree that international students are [currently] looking for.”
Interim Dean of Business Sam Graci sees the MBA program as an essential tool for students to gain access to higher paying jobs.
“An MBA is the premiere degree in business and the necessary degree to gain entry into many mid and upper level management positions.”
Graci said he thinks the program will help attract more potential undergraduate students to the area as well.
“[The MBA] will help grow the College of Business and give us a presence in the region for providing a strong business programs including the opportunity for graduate education,” he said.
Senior marketing major, Peter Zwers, doesn’t plan on entering a MBA program when he graduates this spring, but thinks that the program can flourish at NMU.
“We have a lot of good business professors here at NMU,” he said. “I think there are a lot of people that are going into business and a master’s degree is going to be an essential tool for getting ahead.”
Although Zwers acknowledges the benefits of receiving an MBA, he is currently waiting for an employer to finance his graduate education. He said students don’t necessarily have to get a MBA right after a bachelor’s degree to learn more about business.
“[Some business students] learn more on the job than they do while in school,” he said. “I don’t think the education from work is necessarily better than the MBA, it’s just different.”
If a student is interested in applying for the MBA program at NMU, they are encouraged to seek more information through the College of Graduate Studies or contact David Rayome at [email protected].
