Graduated from UIUC MSM, moving on to MBA

[VictorK]

Good question, and I can give my perspective, but with the caveat that I started in the MSM a year ago and plan to have the MBA done less than a year from now, so my timeline is more compressed. That said, in the only specialization capstone I've done (actually am completing by tomorrow), it seems OK to have a gap, but this could vary.

The four capstones are:
1 - The "introduction to iMBA" capstone that explains how the program operates.
2 - The "completion" capstone for the overall program.
3-4 - These are specialized capstones for subject material. In my case, Global Challenges in Business (the one I am doing now), and Strategic Leadership and Management.

Of course, there is no prior material you need to remember for the introduction capstone, and the final capstone can't be close in time to every class, so the other two are the ones where this question is most relevant.

I imagine if someone did a quant-heavy capstone, they may prefer to do that closer in time to the classes, so they have a better chance to remember how to perform some of the calculations.

For Global Challenges, it has not been a problem to either remember old material, or do fresh research.

Capstones are pass/fail and no credit hours/not calculated as part of your GPA. You need an 80% to pass.

Thanks again for the feedback! Would you suggest applying to the iMSM first then and then stacking into iMBA or just applying straight to the iMBA? I'm stuck and having hard time selecting between the two routes. If iMSM wasn't stackable, then I'd apply to the iMBA without any other thoughts. But since iMSM gets you a certain degree half-way, why not take it?
Keep in mind, I already have three UofI degrees - two Bachelors and one Masters (AgEcon).