I don’t have anyone at UA but I have emailed back and forth with one of the banned CC posters that had a DS13. His son went to UA and graduated this May( a year early because of AP/CLEP credit). He is coming back this fall to finish the STEM MBA part and it is being paid by the Presidential Scholarship. So it can be done and if it doesn’t cost any extra why not?
For what it is worth, I don’t have any experience with this program, but do have a D17 that is hoping to go the business route at UA. She has an older brother(my step son) who got his BS/MBA from a small private in Upstate NY a couple of years ago. He did the MBA in a 5 year program. When he graduated, he didn’t have any real experience in the business world and was interviewing for entry level jobs. It hurt him to not have any real life experience and he did not do any internships. He had a really hard time(felt entitled) dealing with the fact that his MBA didn’t really set him apart from the others. He is now 5 years out and is working his way up the corporate ladder. It has been a really good experience(eye opening) for him. DD on the other hand already has more real world experience and knows that she needs real work/interships to help pave the way.
@jeepgirl What you say is precisely what I was trying to convey above. My feeling is your daughter should concentrate on her business studies and get internships/Coops while she is in school. She can get an MBA later after she determines what aspect of the business world she is most interested in, i.e. Finance, Marketing, Accounting, Operations Mgmt., etc.
I can only really speak for engineers about this. I think that engineers need to come out of school and hone their engineering skills and work on projects so they get a feel for the business side of engineering. Then they should go back and learn the theory/skills that support what they have been involved in.
One of my MBA professors told me one time that Business UG grads go back for an MBA to specialize and engineers go back for an MBA to broaden their skill set. This made some sense to me and probably why I have never forgotten the comment.
@CyclonesGrad Totally agree!
@jeepgirl, thanks for sharing that anecdote. That is exactly the kind of situation that makes me wary of these (for lack of a better word) “express” programs. If you look at it from the employer’s point of view, are you going to value a 22-year-old with an MBA (earned one year after a BS with no full-time work experience in between) the same way you are someone who earned a bachelor’s in a challenging major, worked a few years, possibly earning promotions along the way, and then went back and completed a two-year, rigorous MBA?
And sure, if you have the scholarship available for that fifth year, you can put it towards the MBA, but is that the best move? For an engineer, I would think an MSEng might be more valuable.
Just thoughts. There is no right or wrong answer here, but I do think it’s a more complicated calculus than just, “Well, it won’t cost me any extra, why not do it?”
I am an upcoming junior. I was in the stem MBA but decided to drop. I had a lot of reasons to drop including those mentionned in the thread. One decent argument about lacking experience would be to secure a co-op early and intern when you can. It will give you some experience. But I still wanted at least 4-5 years of experience before getting my MBA. A lot of people say you need to match your experience and education relatively. So I will graduate with 4 semesters of co-op but I don’t feel that’s enough experience to back up my MBA.
However I know a couple people who are still in the program and love it. They are the perfect match for the program.
When I studied Mechanical Engineering in the UK 20 years ago the course had a mandatory introduction to business and organizational management as part of the curriculum. The theory being that a good engineer may be able to design a new product or process but a great engineer must also understand the financial implications, budgets, payback, cost benefit analysis. 20 years later I would be sceptical of hiring any new engineer into my department who couldn’t put together a business plan as well as a design brief.
When we looked at Bama as a potential engineering school for my son I was disappointed that business and operations management weren’t part of the core syllabus. Stem path to MBA filled the gap. It may not be the ideal time to take an MBA but I don’t accept that having that knowledge straight out of college can ever be anything but a positive benefit. If you can get it for free then all the better.
I think our oldest Ds would have benefited from the STEM MBA program. He is a chemE who would love to open his own business. I don’t think he would have pursued an MBA thinking it would help his early engineering career. I do think he wishes he had a better understanding of business models and start ups.
As I originally mention my focus is AE and COOP is doable, but schedule challenging that will create year 5 even if I elect to use all my AP course, with the limitations of classes. I have 9 months to do research of the pros and cons of all scenarios. No 2 paths or majors are the same, which makes life exciting.
Like many things what came first, chicken or the egg? I apply the same concept learning and experiencing it or experiencing and learning. I feel if I experienced the mistake and learn from it, whats to be learned but new concepts from current issues/topics available in your regular subscription reading.
one other thought…As an AE I have been told by several colleges definitely use my AP credits for chemistry and english as it’s the only class in those subjects that is needed. Why are they even on the curriculum? I like to hear a person who graduated with MBA that regretted it. The biggest challenge is what is good and what is there to fill up the pipeline
I have a CS major/STEM to MBA student who was adamant that being in the STEM to MBA program was what got him his current (and highly sought after) summer internship. He was equally convinced that completing the program and getting his MBA would be a tremendous boost to his career. Supposedly, “people” at his internship had told him how valuable the MBA would be.
But, just recently, a woman he works with, whom he respects greatly, suggested he pursue a graduate degree in computer science. And now STEM to MBA has fallen by the wayside. He may or may not continue with the undergrad coursework, but chances are that he will not apply for admission to the graduate part of the program. As he discovers all the things he can actually do with his CS degree, and all the opportunities he would have, getting out of CS and into management is no longer so appealing to him.
Unless I’m mistaken, the incentive for starting the STEM to MBA program was not to give STEM majors a “shortcut” into management positions, but to give them the tools needed to be successful entrepreneurs. Big difference! The idea was that a talented UA STEM grad should have the skills to start his or her own business - without having to hire someone else to handle the “business” side of things.
If your objective instead is to go into corporate management, then I agree with the posts above that it makes a heck of a lot more sense to graduate with your STEM degree, spend a few years working in your trade, and then go back for your MBA. You’ll then have both experience and education . . . and they’ll be packaged in a way that makes sense to prospective employers.
There’s nothing wrong with doing your MBA now if it’s something that interests you, and it may, as my son suggested, give you a slight edge in hiring in your STEM field . . . but you’re still going to have a long, tough road ahead of you if what you really want is a management position.
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When I studied Mechanical Engineering in the UK 20 years ago the course had a mandatory introduction to business and organizational management as part of the curriculum <<<<<
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@Britchick1 The classes you reference are introductory business classes. Most engineers have to take the basic UG Accounting, Bus Law, and Org Behavior classes before they start an MBA, at least I did. I did not have to take Macro/Micro Econ because I started as Econ major before switching to engineering.
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The theory being that a good engineer may be able to design a new product or process but a great engineer must also understand the financial implications, budgets, payback, cost benefit analysis. <<<<<<
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I totally agree with this comment. I truly believe that engineering students should be REQUIRED to take Macro/Micro economics and a base finance/cost accounting courses. This is far from an MBA but does prepare them to start an MBA program at a later date.
Personally, I tried to convince my incoming freshman DS (Chem E) and DD (Civ E) to take Micro Econ this Fall. They did not take my suggestion, I am their father so I know nothing! 
I am hoping their advisor strongly suggests Micro Econ for the spring or I will go back to the well again.
I will also suggest to them that they take a basic Cost Accounting, Finance class as an elective along with Macro/Micro Econ. These classes are not only good to be a good employee but also good for life in general, i.e. house buying (interest rate effect), investing, etc.
In conclusion, I do think that taking UG business courses is a good idea, especially Macro/Micro Econ, Cost Accounting, and Finance, but going for an MBA will not help hiring prospects. When I look to higher new engineers, an MBA makes no difference. I am looking for technical skills and some basic business skills while the rest can be taught for the entry level. Sometimes an applicant with an MBA (no experience) has higher salary/org level expectations than we would be willing to start them at. We will start them at the same salary as an engineer w/o MBA. Promotions will not be dependent on if they have an MBA already or not but what they have accomplished on the job.
One note: Actually I am usually more impressed by a potential or current employee that has taken or is taking an MBA while working. To me, that shows good time management and organizational skills.
Sorry for the extremely long comment. Just wanted to clarify my earlier comments.
Are you kidding? I wouldn’t discount the importance of clear writing for an engineer.
Plenty of folks who spent big bucks on second- or third-tier MBAs regret the time and money. So that’s one argument in favor of Bama’s STEM Path to MBA, especially for those who want to gain the entrepreneurial skills that can be learned through the program. As I said up-thread, it’s not the education I question, it’s the degree conferred. To me it sounds more like a double-major in STEM and business.
YMMV, but not all MBAs are equal in the real world. If the degree itself isn’t the goal, then go for it. If you’re looking for an MBA as some kind of imprimatur, I’d weigh whether or not it makes more sense to go the more conventional route.
@dodgersmom While a lot of the projects do have an emphasis on entrepreneurship, that’s not exactly the single goal of the program. Taken from the website, “At no time in history has science, technology, and engineering been more important to the nation’s future. Manufacturing, software engineering, computer science, alternative energy, high-tech steel production, infrastructure replacement, health care, and evolving forms of communication will create demand for engineers, technicians, and scientists from a variety of fields, but will also create a substantial demand for professionals in these fields who also possess communication, leadership, decision-making and business-analytical skills. […] The purpose of the path is to provide high-achieving students with the business knowledge needed to successfully manage high-tech businesses.”
How I’ve understood this from the perspective of a student in the program is more or less that some people want to be engineers and that’s it. Others are promoted into project management positions but don’t have the business knowledge to really move up from there. That’s where the MBA comes into play. One of my friends (also senior STEM-MBA) is a CS major that interned with Mastercard this summer. She was explaining to me how she really only wants to be a hard-core programmer for about 5 years and move into management after that. She’s told me that CS is a pretty divided major when it comes to STEM-MBA because a lot of students don’t care about business or management; they’d rather just write code. Everyone’s different, and I think each student should assess where they want to be in 5-10 years and how their courses of study play into that.
Something else about tacking an MBA onto the end of undergrad: I’ve heard that it’s very difficult to make yourself come back to school after you’ve been working and gotten used to a nice salary. If you have a family and kids, it makes it even harder.
@MathMajorUA, as you must realize, the only STEM to MBA grads who are going to “manage high tech businesses,” successfully or otherwise, at any point in the near future, are those who start those businesses themselves - in other words, the entrepreneurs.
For those CS professionals who want to program first, and go into management later, the more traditional route of working for a few years before getting the MBA probably makes more sense - particularly to prospective employers. Yes, it may be inconvenient to go back to school after being out in the working world for several years, but your MBA is likely to be far more marketable, and that’s the point, after all, isn’t it?
@dodgersmom You’re right, managing high-tech businesses in the near future would necessitate self-starting said businesses. I think I took that statement more so to mean “manage within high-tech businesses” rather than managing the entire thing, so my mistake for being unclear. From what I understand, the first class has had no issues regarding finding employment post-graduation, but some chose jobs focusing on their undergrad and some went straight into the business side of a company related to their undergrad degree.
First, none of the aerospace engineers I know (including the one I am married to) work all alone on projects by themselves solving problems on their own while they sit inside their cubicles. There is a lot of collaboration and interaction with engineers from all disciplines, not to mention quality assurance, systems engineering, management, etc. If you are an aerospace engineer who can communicate face to face and in writing, then you will be a very valuable engineer, and, if you have dreams of getting into management, those communication skills will help you get there.
Second, when it comes to the STEM-MBA program, based on my student’s experience during the first two years, there was not much that he learned that would have been of much use to someone like his father (the aerospace engineer) or to any of the newbie aerospace engineers that my husband’s company is hiring all the time. If you want to get a master’s degree, better to get one in engineering, systems engineering, computer engineering, etc. Better yet, get that first job, be an excellent employee, and your future employer will pay you to get your master’s degree or beyond. If you want to be a tech entrepreneur, this is not the program. Just look at job listings at the large companies that hire aerospace engineers to see what credentials these companies are looking for. I also recommend finding the biographies of the leadership at these large companies to see what kinds of college degrees those leaders earned. The leaders of my husband’s company, for the most part, earned bachelor’s and master’s in engineering programs, and those who have risen to top slots gained their management experience while on the job after working as engineers.
The STEM-MBA program was a selling point for my student when he chose Alabama over other schools, but, as it turned out, the second year was nearly a complete repeat of the first year (as far as the types of projects) and he spent a lot of time dealing with fellow students who were totally unreliable and unmotivated and unwilling to carry their part of the team load (probably not unique to this program, but just an unfortunate reality these days on college campuses.) Only in the second year were other students finally able to exact some kind of accountability on the students who had figured out how to get the credit but do none or very little of the work. Now, the professor was great. and my son enjoyed the class projects because it was often fun, offered an opportunity to be creative, and it was the easiest class he took every semester.
However, he realized that he was not going to want to stay at Alabama to get that MBA after all. Even the prospect of being able to use his Presidential Scholarship money to pay for some of it was not compelling enough after two years in the program. Now, he was a science major, not an engineering major, but most of his friends are engineering majors of various kinds, and he finds the work co-op program to be more valuable for his engineer friends, rather than the STEM-MBA program. Both take five years to complete, but for those students who get work co-op placements, they get to go off to work and make significant money, and will likely have job offers before they graduate - which is the goal, right?
Of course, investigate and make your own decision. I got the impression that the STEM-MBA was still figuring out what it wanted to offer to students, and there may be some big plans for the upcoming years. A lot of money flows into this program, so there is money to spend to continuing building and tweaking the program. I guess I would find the program most compelling for students who already know they want to earn an MBA at Alabama.
This is really interesting subject. I feel like a monkey swaying in the air from one tree to the next. I appreciate the feedback
@nitro11 - If you think it’s a program you may be interested in, and you end up attending UA, then sign up. It’s not a lifetime commitment - you only register for classes one semester at a time. If you enjoy the program, and you have the time, then keep doing it.
Question: If you don’t keep honors gpa – slides just below 3.3 for first year, do you get kicked out of the program?