Masters of Science in Management and Leadership

[Mikevalek]

Still talking with a wgu advisor. She brought up today the possibility of pursuing and Masters of Science education in Leadership and management instead of an MBA. I am not too familiar with this degree, any success or horror stories with this degree? Is it as widely recognized, respected, and worthwhile as an MBA?

My background I have been in banking now for over 8 years. Love every moment of it, and I am currently an assistant manager looking to move up to be Branch Manager.

Now, I am already doing stellar on the work front, but getting that extra degree (since all my competition has bachelors) will put me over the edge.

I a. Motivated by incentives, production, and a successful team. I have a strong desire to show a degree that displays my capabilities.

[DBRENNAN118]

Still talking with a wgu advisor. She brought up today the possibility of pursuing and Masters of Science education in Leadership and management instead of an MBA. I am not too familiar with this degree, any success or horror stories with this degree? Is it as widely recognized, respected, and worthwhile as an MBA?

My background I have been in banking now for over 8 years. Love every moment of it, and I am currently an assistant manager looking to move up to be Branch Manager.

Now, I am already doing stellar on the work front, but getting that extra degree (since all my competition has bachelors) will put me over the edge.

I a. Motivated by incentives, production, and a successful team. I have a strong desire to show a degree that displays my capabilities.

No experience with WGU, but if you're in banking, there is NO option other than MBA. You will regret it later if you opt for MS.

[rebel100]

No way I'd take the MS over the MBA. MBA has the utility I think you're looking for. Take the known and accepted business masters.

[bjcheung77]

Hi Mike,

That's interesting you brought up MS Education in Leadership and Management as that should be for teachers or administrative personnel at an educational institution, such as a principal. I don't think this is as beneficial as an MBA especially if you are in Banking or in the Bank/Financial sector, when you are wanting to move up that chain.

What was your undergrad major and do you have interest in teaching or training others? The only reason I can think of to take that over the MBA is if your undergrad was in Education or if you want to go into corporate training at your workplace.
But that route won't bring you up to branch manager, it'll be something like corporate training advisor.

BJ

[DBRENNAN118]

Also (absolutely no offense to my WGU friends) you should look at AACSB accredited MBA. In banking, they will definitely look down on a lower accreditation.

[dmjacobsen]

Maybe I have blinders on, but I don't see the utility of an MS in Management/Leadership, especially when compared to an MBA. I have heard others call this type of degree an "MBA Lite". I suppose if you just need a Master's degree to check the box for a promotion, it would be fine.

[edit] As I read my own post, I realize that I'm in an MS Leadership program now, and laughing a little at myself. However, my program is very specific to the challenges in the healthcare industry (and even more specific to nursing issues). A lot of the material actually crosses over into MBA territory, as far as the financials. I don't think WGU's MS Management/Leadership really gets into those hard financial aspects, and focuses more on the soft people skills. I just don't see an academic program being able to teach those soft skills. That's something that comes with experience.

[Yanji]

Also (absolutely no offense to my WGU friends) you should look at AACSB accredited MBA. In banking, they will definitely look down on a lower accreditation.

This is a bit of an oversimplification. There are some MBA programs from quality schools that are either not AACSB accredited or were not until recently. Examples include UCSD and Hopkins, although I'm not sure of Hopkins' current accreditation status. Even HBS didn't bother until relatively recently. Quality programs are quality programs, AACSB or not. AACSB only really helps small schools like Frostburg State or Jacksonville State, the likes of which are not going to get you much respect in banking anyway.

I'll throw my support behind the MBA over a MS Leadership as well. The MBA is a superior degree in just about every way.

[jadae@wgu.edu]

That particular MS is essentially a glorified version of human Resources. It is not good. Their MBA is far superior.

[sanantone]

Hi Mike,

That's interesting you brought up MS Education in Leadership and Management as that should be for teachers or administrative personnel at an educational institution, such as a principal. I don't think this is as beneficial as an MBA especially if you are in Banking or in the Bank/Financial sector, when you are wanting to move up that chain.

What was your undergrad major and do you have interest in teaching or training others? The only reason I can think of to take that over the MBA is if your undergrad was in Education or if you want to go into corporate training at your workplace.
But that route won't bring you up to branch manager, it'll be something like corporate training advisor.

BJ

It's not an MS in Education Management and Leadership. It's an MS in Management and Leadership taught out of the business school. I, honestly, don't see the purpose of these degrees. You're essentially being taught organizational behavior over and over again from different angles.

[mednat]

Most MS in Management and Leadership degrees differ from MBAs, because they omit finance, economics, and accounting from the coursework. IMHO, these are the MOST important classes in an MBA program. I would not recommend this as an MBA replacement. It has it's role (if you need credit hours to teach), but i don't believe it's what you want.