Graduate School Ambitions

<p>I am a 4th year Criminal Justice/Public Administration student at Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University. I am reaching out in hopes to receive advice on the topic of transitioning from a Non-business oriented major to pursue a masters degree in management. I have done my research and have found that a Management degree unlike an MBA is geared towards students who may not the same amount of business world experience but would like to gear their career towards it. I would like to know the validity of that statement.</p>

<p>UCF(University Of Central Florida) And USF(University Of South Florida) these are the two graduate schools I am aiming towards.
Advice,Tips, Etc would be greatly appreciated.</p>

<p>Thank You! </p>

<p>What is your goal? An MBA just out of college, rather than plunging into the real working world often isn’t the best course. What internships have you gotten? What fields/industries are you interested in?</p>

<p>An MBA that’s light on the quantitative and your resume that’s also light – won’t get you much success, I’m afraid.</p>

<p>UCF’s MS in management requires a minimum of 2 years of work experience and is geared towards working professionals.</p>

<p>It enables working professionals who aspire to leadership roles in human resource or general management to earn an accredited Master’s degree in an accelerated timeframe…PMSM-Human Resources Track welcomes applications from well-rounded individuals with minimum 2 years’ work experience who bring unique insight to the classroom learning environment and team experience.</p>

<p>USF’s is a little less clear.</p>

<p>Generally speaking, MS programs in management are a little bit more academically-focused and less professionally-focused. Many MS programs in management prepare people who want to do research/scholarship in management to do PhDs in business.</p>

<p>If you want to do an MS in management to evade the work experience requirements of the MBA programs, think about why you want to do that - and think about the reasons why an MBA program might require or recommend work experience. Much of the coursework and benefit of the MBA and most master’s programs in business builds upon knowledge you gain from working in the field. And few employers want to hire a manager who has no work experience. How can you manage people if you have never worked?</p>