University of Mary Dual MBA/MA in Philosophy, 36 cr Total

[MFG]

Just wish to update everyone on my progress at University of Mary MA/MBA program.

The program is rough, every course more like a 6 CRH workload intensive (but fortunately at 3CRH so affordable). Business is understood broadly as involving any structured enterprise from a charity on. Business courses are looked at in terms of philosophic foundations, and philosophy courses in terms of enterprise/business application. It meets the need that many people in US business and management consulting view business as implemented philosophy. As a consultant I pioneered a lot of this back in the 1970's (I've been retired for decades, and was bemused to see many of my or other's in-the-field inventions not only in common use, but attributed to some come-lately academic as the originator), so this was ideal and they said repeatedly that they were very glad to have me. 

The unifying approach in philosophy is Catholic-informed (read Jesus + Aristotle) ethics, though one is reading everybody from Seneca to Locke and Kant, and in business Philosophy of Management people like Deming and Drucker. Ethico-politically there is the expectation somewhere in each class you look at things through a 'Benedictine Values' lens, from the unassailable reason that Benedictine communities are the or at least among oldest public-access continuous philosophical/business ventures out there, so just maybe they know something. The class texts seem to be focused on deep surveys of each field so you know the current discussion. It operates day-to-day like a Great Books program including many business/management 'great books.' Very often you're given a business topic to research on both managerial /administrative and philosophy angles.

It has a lot of structured assignments so a person can go through the motions but is encouraged to go as in-depth as they want. People in the program (also called MA/MBA with predictable jokes) seem 1/2 for a terminal degree, but several are preparing for advancing on to a doctorate of some kind as well. The classes have extremely bright young students to mid-career professionals to retired people sharing the wisdom, and there was at least one doctorate expanding horizons to then go on for a second doctorate--so it's a good mix. I would say they distribute also about  1/4th each among those going into/background in for-profits, non-profits, government service, family enterprises. The E-Discussions can predictably get pretty wild with a lot of valuable side-information and war stories. 

One is expected as soon as possible to attend an intensive course in management and 'CST' or Catholic Social Teaching at their truly beautiful campus with superior food attendees of which become your cohort or team. In mine I have a bright young accountant with a family business very careful in philosophical analysis, a priest from Africa, a retired sea captain, many health-field people interested in ethics--you get the idea. You get to meet most of the professors personally as well at the intensive, and visit local firms and non-profits using CST.

The professors are exacting (one had me re-do a 100-page thesis to 40 pages) but very understanding and work with, not against you, in getting a good grade and exploring what you wish to explore. The head of the Philosophy Department, Dr. Bungum, is a riot--very deep technical philosopher (epistemology), kind (he organized people wheel-chairing me about so I could attend), and personally quite hilarious. 

The only problem is they don't have a low-cost follow-up PhD in Philosophy or D.A. Great Books program, and are losing potential students and hence alumni donations and bequests to (thesis-model heavy) Harrison-Middleton Great Books/Education doctorate, University of South Africa distance program,  the Dominican Domuni University in Europe, Kairos University in USA, Francisco Marroquin in Central America, University of Staffordshire in UK, Sophia University in Bulgaria. --not to mention from Catholic point of view students from Africa/Asian rim who won't get US scholarships and want fees comparable to African colleges. Standard? No, but it's slowly becoming a thing. These are all programs totaling under $20,000 USD or so--not that amount or more per year. If they had that sort of thing available I would sign up in a heart-beat.

The least philosophical courses were Corporate Finance and Managerial Accounting with most of the work very hands-on problem solving and practicing techniques, recently renamed--and there was an ethics problem every week. Besides CST, they want you examining through lenses of virtue ethics, pragmatism, utilitarianism, deontics. One other thing is the professors gave helpful and sensitive to the student's situation feedback, very concrete and usable.

One of my desirables in this project was crystallize my think on these topics and do essays on them. I'm ending the course with enough material to edit down for 2-3 manuals or books, so this has been a wild success for me. So far, straight A's--plus I began my last course yesterday, Marketing. So far, so good!

BELOW: Curriculum with new names. I think that reflects that students are responding to the intersections of leadership theory/virtue ethics in almost every class, so they put 'leadership' somewhere in the new titles. Personally, I would have put 'Philosophy and applications of' before each title, maybe added 'Analysis' or 'Logic' to PHI 501. Costs: Presently $595 CRH plus any fees, books.

See: https://catalog.umary.edu/preview_progra...&poid=2475

• BUS 505 - Human Resources for Org Success [b]3[/b] [b]Semester Credit(s)[/b]
  
  
• BUS 510 - True Leadership & Management Theory [b]3[/b] [b]Semester Credit(s)[/b]
  
  
• BUS 555 - Financial Strategies for Leaders [b]3[/b] [b]Semester Credit(s)[/b]
  
  
• BUS 571 - Executive Economic Analysis [b]3[/b] [b]Semester Credit(s)[/b]
  
  
• BUS 605 - Accounting Strategies for Leaders [b]3[/b] [b]Semester Credit(s)[/b]
  
  
• BUS 610 - Strategic Marketing [b]3[/b] [b]Semester Credit(s)[/b]
  
  
• BUS 680 - Business and Catholic Social Teaching [b]3[/b] [b]Semester Credit(s)[/b]
  
  
• PHI 501 - Reading, Writing, & Argumentation [b]3[/b] [b]Semester Credit(s)[/b]
  
  
• PHI 550 - Philosophy of Happiness [b]3[/b] [b]Semester Credit(s)[/b]
  
  
• PHI 572 - Ethics [b]3[/b] [b]Semester Credit(s)[/b]
  
  
• PHI 620 - History of Ethical Thought [b]3[/b] [b]Semester Credit(s)[/b]
  
  
• PHI 640 - History of Political Thought [b]3[/b] [b]Semester Credit(s)[/b]
  
  
• HUM 799 - Graduate Studies Assessment [b]0[/b] [b]Semester Credit(s)[/b]
  

I hope this is all helpful!

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