Pre-experience postgraduate business programmes in the United States

The US has approximately 1,000 universities offering postgraduate business programmes, making it the largest and most diversified of markets worldwide. One peculiarity of the US education market, however, is that in many business fields the most famous schools offer no master’s degrees other than an MBA. Other famous schools offer only a few business degrees, most commonly in accounting and MIS/IT. Thus, in economics, of the schools offering the top-ten PhD programmes, only the University of Michigan offers a master’s degree in economics. This situation is changing, but slowly.

As a result, the leading programmes in some fields are offered by universities other than Harvard, Stanford, Princeton, and so on.

Programme lengths
Most US master’s programmes are two years long. In business, however, there is no uniformity. Some business master’s programmes are two years, but some, especially those designed for those with significant undergraduate coursework in the field, can be completed in one year. DePaul University’s MS in Finance is typical of the latter. Six prerequisite courses (in financial calculus, statistics, financial accounting, microeconomics, macroeconomics, and computer skills) are required. Those who have already received credit for such courses can complete the degree in three to four quarters of full-time study (nine to twelve months), whereas those who have not completed the prerequisite courses will require approximately two more quarters of work.

Costs
As is commonly known, US education tends to be expensive. In fact, many of the top-ranking (and even not-so-top-ranking) schools tend to be amongst the most expensive in the world. For instance, Stanford’s MS in Financial Mathematics programme costs about US$60,000 for a year (including living expenses). Yet this can be misleading in two respects. First, many state (ie public) schools are not very expensive. For instance, Louisiana State University’s MS in Finance costs about US$26,000 (also including living expenses). Second, many schools, especially the most famous, provide substantial financial aid, thereby making their programmes highly affordable.

By the same token, life in the US tends to be very inexpensive. With the exception of the largest cities – which are still not as expensive as many cities in Europe and Asia – lodging, food, and entertainment are notably cheap. Expect to spend from US$1,000 to US$2,000 per month, depending upon your location and lifestyle.

Scholarships
Many universities offer scholarships, some on the basis of financial need, most on the basis of academic and professional promise. Consult the websites of specific university programmes for information.

Americans and permanent residents also have ready access to subsidised loans. For a comprehensive look at both scholarships and loans available, consult FinAid.

Working   
International students are generally permitted to work on campus (ie for the university they attend), but not off campus. Thus, working for the university’s computer centre or as a teaching assistant for a course is permitted, but working as a waiter in a local restaurant is forbidden.

Studying in the US
Life in the US is highly informal, so it may be no surprise that relations between students and between students and professors are informal, too. Participation in class/study sessions – and especially in seminars – is welcome, sometimes required. This participation is generally not meant to be a regurgitation of what the professor, text, or other readings covered. Instead, students are meant to provide their own views of the subject (informed, of course, by their readings and discussions with others). The lack of automatic deference to a professor’s views is surprising to those educated outside the US or British Commonwealth.

Insofar as most universities now have a substantial international student representation, non-Americans are likely to feel welcome. On the other hand, few programmes have a preponderance of international students, so most topics are approached from an American perspective.

US universities provide more student clubs and other student organisations than any other country’s universities, leading to a rich student life outside of class/study.

Rankings
Numerous publications rank postgraduate business programmes, but their focus is on MBAs. Two of these rankings are still potentially helpful, however, for those looking at non-MBA business master’s programmes. Both US News & World Report and Business Week rank MBA programmes in about a dozen specialities. Many of the schools whose MBA specialities are so ranked offer separate master’s degrees in these same fields, to which these rankings are at least a rough guide.

For more about this subject, consult the ‘Rankings’ discussion.

Reputation
American universities routinely top the world league tables, however they are compiled. The same is true of the international MBA league tables. Therefore, an American degree is likely to be well regarded elsewhere in the world.

That said, the extremely large number of American schools and programmes mean both that not all are known abroad, and sophisticated employers recognise that not all American programmes are of high quality. Thus, careful choice of both school and programme is indicated.