The Kelley School of Business will offer a new master of management program starting in the 2024-25 academic year to provide graduate students with fundamental business knowledge in leadership, entrepreneurship and other management courses. According to the Kelley School of Business blog, the new degree is designed to bring together students from a variety of disciplines to develop their business acumen.
“That was a really big motivating factor for us — to be able to give a pathway to students in any school to be able to get management and business competencies,” Richard Ash, the chair of the new program, said.
The new degree includes a special component for students who did not major or minor at Kelley during undergraduate study. They will complete a summer crash course in topics typically covered in an undergraduate business major or minor. Students who studied at Kelley while undergraduates will then join in to complete a two-week management-specific program to prepare them for courses taken during the regular academic year.
Even if they enter with no typical business experience, students will begin the fall semester prepared for advanced business coursework.
“That summer experience is designed to give them that foundation so when they begin in the fall, they’re ready to go,” Josh Perry, executive associate dean for Academic Programs, explained.
For students who begin their academic career at IU hoping to be admitted to the Kelley School in the future, but may be unable to secure a spot, this program could serve as an alternative to an undergraduate business degree, Perry said.
“Now they’re pivoting back to business for these personal and professional development skills and content,” Perry said. “Those are the ideal students and we’re excited to welcome them in fall of 2024.”
Ash said the idea for the degree came when Haley Armstrong, a Kelley alumna, visited him in his office when she was a senior and asked for advice on potential master’s degree programs she could pursue following graduation. She told Ash that she had taken Kelley courses on management, but wanted something more to continue her studies. At the time, IU did not offer a graduate degree in management, and Ash said he left the meeting with Armstrong convinced the college should develop one.
Ash said the program was developed with career readiness in mind. Though the program is too short to allow for a traditional internship, students will complete two practicums in which they apply what they’ve learned in classes to work with real clients. They also gain access to Kelley’s career services, such as events to meet recruiters from companies and mock interviews with career coaches.
According to the Kelley School of Business blog, the master of science in management can be completed in just 12 months (36 credits), or 10 months (30 credits) for those with a Kelley major or minor. In addition to the summer courses, students will take courses on topics such as organizational behavior, management consulting and entrepreneurship, leadership, and practice.
Ash said he is excited to welcome students with both liberal arts and business backgrounds to the program.
“We want students that are highly motivated, that have a high degree of personal power skills, self-motivation, self-regulation, self-awareness and empathy,” he said.
The degree offers three specialized pathways: strategy, leadership and human resources and entrepreneurship.
Students also have the flexibility to forego a pathway and choose electives. The one year in person program joins the portfolio of +Kelley programs designed specifically for students who wish to combine their arts or science-based undergraduate experience with business skills. +Kelley programs are ideal for students looking for a business degree that is both more specialized and shorter than the standard MBA, which takes two years to complete.
“This is really exciting because business applies to so many other programs,” Vasiliki Sendelweck, a freshman at Kelley, said. “It's great that they’re trying to give students in other majors this background in business, which will help them with presentation, soft skills and career readiness.”
