The landscape of higher education has changed in recent years.
Demand has shifted away from traditional MBA programs to one-year and part-time programs for individuals who want to complete their degree in a shorter amount of time.
The Paul Merage School of Business at University of California, Irvine expects enrollment for its specialized one-year programs to grow.
“If you look at business schools 20 years ago, the dominant degree might have been the full-time MBA degree,” Dean Ian Williamson told the Business Journal.
“What we’ve seen over the last 10 years, however, is the rise of more specialist degrees that are not MBAs but are masters that focus in on particular areas.”
The school offers specialty master’s degrees in business analytics, it’s most popular program, finance and innovation and entrepreneurship.
Paul Merage is the only business school within the University of California system to offer an innovation and entrepreneurship degree. Williamson said enrollment has doubled in less than four years for the program, which is made for people interested in starting their own companies and commercializing intellectual property.
Chapman University’s Argyros College of Business and Economics counts two specialty master’s in accounting and real estate but plans to launch a third in business analytics next fall.
While enrollment for full-time and part-time MBA programs stayed flat at 202 students, Chapman’s specialty programs “are up slightly,” Dean Henrik Cronqvist told the Business Journal.
This is an encouraging sign particularly for firms facing a lack of talent, according to Cronqvist.
California State University Fullerton surveyed its students and found that they like hybrid programs, resulting in the school shifting its primarily in-person program to a more hybrid one.
Its College of Business and Economics has more than 800 total students this year. Dean Sridhar Sundaram said he wants to grow the school to 1,000 students within the next three years, making use of the fact that 70,000 alumni live within a 50 mile radius of the school.
“I know that we can touch our alumni and provide them with the graduate education they need to either advance or reset their career path,” Sundaram told the Business Journal.
Shorter, Flexible Programs Emerge
Total MBA enrollment increased 1.5% to 3,201 across 18 schools, according to this week’s Business Journal list, but the schools’ real focus is on these shorter, flexible programs catering to the evolving needs of students.
Anaheim-based Stanton University said it saw a decline in demand for its two-year program due to several factors, including the changing job market.
“Employers today often prioritize specific, practical skills over general management knowledge, prompting students to pursue specialized programs that align more closely with their career aspirations,” Chief Academic Officer Louna Al Hallak told the Business Journal.
Stanton’s overall MBA enrollment increased 25% to 200 students this year with 10 full-time faculty.
At Pepperdine Graziadio Business School in Irvine, total MBA enrollment fell 27% to 46 students, but interest in the two-year MBA program “continued to be stable” due to its broad familiarity, according to Assistant Dean Arman Davtyan.
Like many other business schools, Pepperdine has also introduced specialized one-year degree programs to attract a broader segment of students.
Many of the students at Pepperdine have gravitated toward hybrid and online formats that allow them to work while completing school, he said.
“Especially for working professionals who have been rewarded by a strong labor market and career progression opportunities, the prospect of leaving the workforce to pursue an MBA on a full-time basis hasn’t been as appealing,” Davtyan said.
Accelerated Online Programs
Fullerton-based Hope International University’s College of Business & Management is witnessing the same trends as Stanton University and Pepperdine.
“More students want to … increase their earning power in a shorter amount of time and move along more quickly toward their personal and professional goals with less to juggle,” Dean Lydia Knopf told the Business Journal.
Students can double up on two courses within an eight-week module to finish their degree in as little as 12 to 18 months, Knopf said.
The school in June added a new master’s program in organizational leadership, formerly a Master of Science in Management, to emphasize education and training in leadership skills and technology.
Some universities are sticking to the traditional two-year program.
Concordia University Irvine’s MBA program started as an entrepreneurial program before it was reprogrammed to a traditional in-person program.
The School of Business and Economics currently doesn’t offer any specialized one-year programs.
“While an ambitious student could complete their degree in 16 months, it is difficult to offer a one-year program and maintain the rigor one would expect in an MBA,” Interim Dean Karl Hoenecke and Interim MBA Director Yi Schuler told the Business Journal.
