4 + 1 Graduate programs

Does anyone have any details on the 4 + 1 graduate programs in Dolan School of Business? Master of Business Administration (MBA), Masters in Business Analytics (MSBA), Masters in Accounting (MSA), Masters in Finance (MSF) and Masters in Management (MSM). My son was notified today via email that he qualifies for this (but doesn’t have to decide right now). There’s not much on the website - I’m curious to know if anyone has completed any of these programs. Also, would a merit scholarship carry over to the 5th year? Thank you.

My son got the same email. Interested in learning more about it too!

I don’t think the MBA right after college is a great idea - the top MBA programs don’t typically accept students who haven’t had a few years of work experience. Getting an MBA right after college might not make a student very competitive for jobs.

Some of those other masters are now one year programs at other universities.

So my point is that I don’t think that what is being offered is that big of a deal unless the school is offering funding for that 5th year.

The Masters in accounting is helpful if your son really wants to become a CPA. He’ll need the extra hours in order to sit for the exams.

As Cheddar points out- the high quality MBA programs are NOT targeted to kids finishing up a BA, they are for people with a few years of actual work experience. I would think that the Master’s in Finance is similar- without any real work experience doing financial analysis, it’s just numbers and spreadsheets. Can’t comment on the others- I don’t know the programs enough to have an opinion.

But nothing wrong with graduating and getting a job. School will always be there…

@“IMPATIENT MOM” my son is seriously considering the 5th year to get his Masters in Accounting and take the CPA exam. His merit scholarship will not extend to that 5th year and will most likely need to take student loans to cover the cost. As far as the research he has done the increase in salary he should get for having his CPA makes the extra cost well worth it. Also many Fairfield students are recruited by the big accounting firms in Stamford and many have gotten internships and job offers once they get their masters. He is still considering working right after college and maybe finding a company that will help pay for his masters but that may take much longer since he would be working full time. He still has 2 years to decide.

ajcd716 I think he should totally do it…money offered or not…Most people do NOT go back to get a Master’s…another year of school with a MA at the end of your name is a huge advantage on a resume…I don’t really agree with the other sentiments here…My older son’s GF is doing the 4+1 at her school as she wants to get a CPA too… If my son gets accepted to Fairfield (ED2) and they offer it to him, I would recommend he totally go for it!!

An extra year for a Masters- which the parents pay for- or a Master’s degree paid for by your employer down the road? An extra year for a Master’s before a kid has any corporate experience so he doesn’t know if he wants to price derivatives (so get a Master’s in Applied Math) or do detailed financial analysis for a corporation, become a CPA, so get a Master’s in Accounting? Or work in M&A at a global investment bank (so get an MBA)? Or wants to do real estate development (either an MBA or a Master’s in Real Estate Finance)?

Basil- your 17 year old kid really understands the difference between these career paths (plus another two dozen) enough to know what kind of Master’s degree is the right degree?

Most do not understand the difference.

All companies do not pay for Master’s degrees anymore…If your child knows what they want to do when they graduate at 22-23 yrs old then hell yeah I would go for it…it’s one year and done…I worked and got my Master’s simultaneously and it took me 3 years to get it done…It was a lot working full time and going to school at the same time. If you can afford to do it and know what you want then I would most definitely recommend it…If you are not sure of your path, then of course I wouldn’t recommend it…Not all degrees are so specific that they won’t cover quite a few areas…