By Kristen Walsh
You’re looking for more responsibility at work and you know that a master’s in business administration (MBA) would help you get ahead in your career; but the time commitment is holding you back. The scenario isn’t surprising for people trying to juggle life — work, family, travel.
If you have professional experience (even if it’s not in business) and limited time to complete a graduate degree, then Bentley University’s MBA, in a part-time format, makes sense. The part-time MBA is a hybrid program that can be completed at your convenience — online and on campus.
“As part of the dynamic International division at NxStage Medical, my schedule is not always predictable and I often work long hours, which would make it difficult to adhere to a classroom-only atmosphere,” says Senior Financial Analyst Anne Halsey MBA ’17. “This limitation made it clear during my grad program search that, if I wanted to earn an MBA while working, I needed a program that gave me the freedom to meet the demands of my current career while still providing a robust educational experience.”
Designing your part-time MBA
Flexibility and adaptability are among the top reasons many people enroll in the MBA, according to MBA Director William Starner. You choose your schedule.
“Classes are offered in a variety of different time slots, including in the evening when people are coming home from work,” says Starner. “Almost all are offered online, which means that if you’re traveling for work or have small kids at home, you can simply access Wi-Fi and participate in class. It gives you the ability to work and earn your MBA.”
It goes beyond flexible time and location, however. In addition to choosing how and where to complete your part-time MBA, you can choose how to tailor the degree, depending on the kinds of skills you need for your career going forward. You’re never forced into a particular track. Depending on your individual needs, you can keep your degree general or focus in one of eight concentrations that relate back to Bentley’s master's programs: Accountancy, Business Analytics, Economics of Financial Markets, Finance, Information Systems and Technology, Law and Taxation, Leadership and Marketing. And if that’s not enough, you can choose four courses that better meet your needs.
It’s the reason why participants in Bentley’s part-time MBA program are so diverse; while you need at least three years of professional experience, it doesn’t necessarily have to be in a business discipline. If you don’t have educational or professional business experience, foundation courses in marketing, finance, accounting and information systems will bring you up to speed so you don’t get in over your head. Core courses cover law, ethics and social responsibility; responsible leadership; global strategy; information technology; process management; and value chain management. (Applicants with post-graduate work experience may be eligible to waive some courses.)
Leveraging technology
When you enroll in the MBA at Bentley, you will have full support from the Academic Technology Center. The technology infrastructure on campus will make it possible for you to participate remotely.
“We provide the software and training for students so that they can participate on a laptop or iPad virtually anywhere in the world,” says Starner.
One team of students, for example, worked together during class on a group project from different locations: Tokyo, Vienna, Kansas City and San Francisco.
Halsey was able to attend a negotiating class while on a business trip in London. “Although the time difference made things interesting, I was able to meet the requirements of my job, without sacrificing my education.”
Read more about Halsey’s MBA experience.
You’ll use Zoom software, a technology platform used by many companies. Once you gain these skills, you’ll likely notice ways to implement it into your own career.
“If this is the world we live in and work in,” Starner says about the technology, “shouldn’t it be the world we teach in?”
You’ll also access leading industry software in centers such as the Trading Room, where you will work with real-time data from the financial services industry, and in the Center for Marketing Technology, where you will consult with real companies to implement innovative and actionable marketing programs.
Bringing diversity to the table
The online component of the MBA brings together a diverse industry and student demographic, fostering a high level of class interaction and learning. Students work in the kinds of diverse — and often remote — groups found in today’s global marketplace. In addition to different cultures, students also bring different professional experiences to the table.
“When you get a lot of diversity within a group, you get a fantastic mix of ideas and all of a sudden the solutions are much more complex and much more interesting in terms of solving business problems,” says Bentley Professor of Management Joseph Byrnes.
Students break into small teams for discussions on case studies, including those from Harvard Business School. A course on responsible leadership, for example, included cases on ethical lapses of a leader’s decision, and the emotional intelligence of a CEO adapting to employees’ backgrounds and experiences.
“Our differences come together to form this unique perspective,” says Jeff Francis MBA ’16, director of program management at Club Car (part of Ingersoll Rand). “At times, you actually learn a lot more from your classmates than you do from professors.”
Amber Scarchilli MBA ’14, head of underwriting and portfolio management at Silicon Valley Bank, agrees: “The diversity within the school is one of the main draws. Getting that outside perspective from people who have experiences that are different from mine is one of the reasons I enrolled.”
Career Outcomes
Three in four employers expected to hire MBA graduates in 2016, according to the Graduate Management Admission Council’s 2015 Year-End Poll of Employers. And 56 percent of employers planned to increase base salaries for new MBA hires in 2016 at or above the rate of inflation. But it’s not just companies who recognize the value of an MBA.
“A lot of people are moving into positions with more responsibility,” Starner says of the MBA student demographic. “All of a sudden they find themselves in meetings where people are talking the language of business and they need to figure out what it means.”
One MBA student, for example, was a nurse who was running a large nursing organization. Although she had a master’s degree in her field, she needed to understand how to manage financials and other issues associated with running a complex organization. Another participant, with two doctoral degrees in research science, worked at a biotech company and found herself in a room full of people talking about marketing strategies, target markets, and gross margins, says Starner. “She recognized that she didn’t need another Ph.D., she needed to understand what was going on in the business world.”
Data from a GMAC 2016 Corporate Recruiters Survey supports these kinds of expectations. Among the top reasons that employers included MBA graduates in their 2016 hiring mix include building their leadership pipeline and succession planning, supporting company growth, and business acumen.
As your own career evolves, you’ll have access to a global network of Bentley alumni and the university’s Graduate Career Services office, including career events and job fairs, employer information sessions, and a Virtual Career Center. It’s all administered by a nationally ranked Career Services team, and all designed to help you find the job of your dreams or take your career to the next level.
Learn more about Bentley’s MBA.