Southwestern College Collegian

Issue date: 3/12/08 Section: Campus Life

Available online through professional studies and on-ground, the Master of Business Administration is the school's largest master's program. The cap is 20 students in the on-ground versions, but exceptions are made. This year there are 22 students in the program. As with the Master of Science degree in Leadership and the Master of Science in Specialized Ministries degrees, the M.B.A. can be taken in one year or two years. Classes start July 7. Each session of classes lasts eight weeks. The online version is six-week classes taken whenever the student wants to start. Eloy Mendoza, digital communication counselor, is in his second year in the M.B.A. program. He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Communication and said the transition into the business classes has been smooth. "You have to work a little harder if you don't have the background. But everyone is willing to help," said Mendoza. While taking one class, his last until he graduates, he said the workload requires reading two or three chapters a night, or around 40 to 60 pages. Mendoza works for Southwestern full-time, which is a reason he chose to do the MBA in two years. "If you have two or three classes you're going to be completely busy. I'm lucky I'm on the two-year program," Mendoza said. Stephanie Humphries, graduate admissions counselor, said the M.B.A. is best suited for business majors who want to work for for-profit companies. She added that students interested in working for non-profit companies to consider the Master of Science in Leadership. Humphries said, "An M.B.A. is geared toward people who like numbers. They want to be CEO's or owners of companies. They're number crunchers. It's great for someone who wants to go work their way up to a big corporation." Humphries added that about 75 percent of the M.B.A. students have their undergraduate degree in business. Mendoza added that the degree is only going to enhance his job opportunities. Mendoza said, "I think an M.B.A. right now is almost expected. To get a good paying job or a good status in a job in the business world, you have to have an M.B.A." This is part three of a three-part series focusing on the on-ground master's degree programs at Southwestern. Monica Springer is a senior majoring in journalism. You may e-mail her at monica.springer@sckans.edu.

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