MBAs Provide Opportunity to Expand Business Knowledge
By Linda Cruse

Educational trend moves  toward specialized programs.

Entrepreneurs seeking opportunities to expand their knowledge base with an MBA can find a myriad of options in Kansas City, including MBAs with specific concentrations and specialized masters’ degrees.

MBAs that emphasize areas such as entrepreneurship, general management, marketing, health care administration, finance and international management and marketing are available at area colleges and universities. To accommodate working professionals, weekend, evening and on-line courses are often available.

In some cases, colleges offer specialized tracks with their MBA programs requiring up to one-third of the course work to be completed in the area of specialization. Other colleges offer joint programs with other departments that provide students with two degrees.

For example, the University of Kansas has created several joint-degree MBA programs. Dee Steinle, associate director of master’s programs in KU’s business school, said programs include an MBA/JD degree, for students planning to enter corporate law or assimilate business knowledge into their judicial practice; an MBA/Ph.D. in nursing; an MBA/MHSA in health services administration; and an MBA/Petroleum management.

In addition, KU has one MBA with concentrations in finance, human resources, international business, information systems, marketing, management and strategic management. KU’s MBA program is available on a part-time basis at the Edwards Campus in Overland Park as well as on the main campus in Lawrence.

Benedictine College offers the only one-year executive program in the Kansas City area, according to Carol Shomin, director, MBA program, Kansas City. “Our classes meet from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. on Fridays and 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Saturdays,” she said. “On average, we meet three weekends each month. Four themes are woven throughout the curriculum: entrepreneurship, global business, technology and values based leadership.”

The University of Missouri Kansas City (UMKC) offers a two-year executive MBA program. The weekend program meets from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., every other Saturday, for approximately two years. Friends University plans to begin offering an MBA program in the Kansas City area in the summer of 2004.

According to the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) International, 22 percent of master’s level enrollments of AACSB members are in specialized master’s degree programs.

“It’s a definite trend,” Dan LeClair, director of knowledge services for AACSB, an international organization based in St. Louis, Mo. “It’s a reflection on today’s environment. Business schools are interested in offering niche degrees to their students and most offer the opportunity to concentrate in specified areas.”

LeClair said that while MBAs offer general business information with a variety of concentrations, specialized master’s degrees are focused on a specific area from the first day of class. “There are key differences in the two types of programs, so it’s important to assess what’s right for your needs.”