For some students who completed undergraduate degrees unrelated to business, a little bit of accounting, marketing, or finance know-how could go a long way in building a career.

Butler University’s new Master’s in Management (MiM) program is designed for students interested in the edge that a business education could bring to today’s competitive job market. The full-time, on-campus degree lasts one year, and it is intended for recent or soon-to-be graduates with little to no business knowledge.

A potential MiM student might have realized that, while still passionate about their undergraduate area of study, they’d like to approach the field from a new perspective. For others, the program might lead to a completely new career. Either way, the curriculum aims to help students understand how the language of business applies to a variety of professions.

“The inspiration really comes from the fact that here in the Midwest, there is a need to better support our non-business graduates who are unemployed or underemployed—to give them a well-rounded skill set,” says Marietta Stalcup, Director of Graduate Programs for Butler’s Andre B. Lacy School of Business. “We hear from employers today that ideal candidates can bring right-brained, creative skills to the business side of things.”

Stalcup uses her own career path as an example for how someone could benefit from the MiM program. After graduating with a degree in biochemistry, she realized she didn’t want to work in a lab. So Stalcup pursued biochemistry from a different angle, accepting a pharmaceutical sales position with Eli Lilly and Company. She worked for several years before obtaining formal business education through a Master of Business Administration (MBA), but she knows her early-career self would have been a great fit for the MiM.

Unlike an MBA, which typically targets students with at least five years of professional experience, the MiM appeals to fresh graduates who want to boost their skills before launching their careers. The MBA is meant to help seasoned professionals either switch fields or advance into senior-level executive positions in their current careers, while the MiM kickstarts a career early on by teaching students business skills to boost their value in the workplace.

“It’s not an ‘MBA Lite,’” Stalcup says. “It fulfills a different need.”

In addition to a curriculum of foundational business classes in areas such as finance, accounting, marketing, leadership, and economics, the MiM provides every student with a career mentor to help with setting and meeting goals. Students also complete a 300-credit-hour internship.

The program’s first cohort will begin in June 2020. Applications are open now, with deadlines on the first of each month until June 1. Admission decisions will be released within two weeks of each application deadline.

 

Media Contact:
Katie Grieze
News Content Manager
kgrieze@butler.edu
260-307-3403

 

Student Access and Success

At the heart of Butler Beyond is a desire to increase student access and success, putting a Butler education within reach of all who desire to pursue it. With a focus on enhancing the overall student experience that is foundational to a Butler education, gifts to this pillar will grow student scholarships, elevate student support services, expand experiential learning opportunities, and more. Learn more, make a gift, and read other stories like this one at beyond.butler.edu.