Does my plan for an MA in Education Make Sense?

[dbrown5987]

Career switcher here with an MBA .  I want to be in higher education administration and policy due to my liking of academic environments/mission and interest in moving from the corporate world into a situation with more stability (e.g. have had enough of mergers, cutbacks, sales, reorganizations, etc.).  My goals would be VP of administration or assistant dean of another function.

 

Situation is that I would start the degree on a part time basis.  Have already looked at Northwestern as they seem to have a number of people attending from various backgrounds.  Other potential schools would be Columbia, Michigan, and NYU (long story short, I work in a business services firm with offices and clients in all major cities and transferring is relatively easy).

 

Any other schools I should look at?  (Understand Vanderbilt is well thought of but not crazy about Nashville.)  Other things to consider?  Thank you!

[tdix09]

I say UPenn - it's a one year program (9 1-credit courses, plus one internship-type experience) which you could spread out over 1.5-2 years if necessary. Location makes it easy (I'm assuming you're on the east coast), and from the info session I went to last year, it seemed like they pull a lot of older students, career changers and have work experience (as in, not just out of college).

 

If you aren't hung up on names, Stony Brook has an online program as well as in-person and would be relatively cheaper than some of the options you mentioned, since you already have an MBA.

[ZeChocMoose]

I am not convinced you need a MA in higher ed/student affairs.  Usually, those degrees are for people who want to work with students which it doesn't sound like you want to do as you listed "VP of administration and assistant dean of another function."  As you are currently not eligible for those jobs and won't be eligible for straight out from a higher ed master's program either - what job do you actually want to do at a university/college?  If I knew that I could offer you better advice on how to achieve it.    

 

I am not sure if you are aware but usually assistant dean positions are academic appointments that tend to be offered to tenured faculty members unless it is in small subset of areas like admissions, enrollment, institutional research, etc.  You won't be able to reach them usually with master's degrees.

[dbrown5987]

Like to thank everyone for responding as I am getting my arms around the different programs and why people apply to them.  To clarify, my specific areas of interest are the business sections of universities-administration, finance, planning, etc.  Additionally, with the MBA and continued involvement with my program, would be highly open to the general school strategy (e.g. admissions targeting, program marketing, strategic issues, etc.)

 

What I am hearing through my networking is that yes, some people do get in with an MBA, but having an understanding of how schools operate, think, get things done, would help level the playing field in terms of not having specific, university experience and provide tools that would help with performing well once I am in an academic environment.  I am competing against people who already have university experience and that can be challenging.

 

In terms of length, with an MBA program usually 72 credits, a Masters in Education of 30 or less is doable from a logistics and financial perspective.  @tdix09, you mention Penn and assuming you mean MS Ed in Higher Education.   Says 10 credits plus internship.  I will look at this and also Stony Brook to see their offering.

 

Again, really appreciate everyone's input.   Interested in moving my career in a different direction and looking for the mechanics of doing that.

[phil413]

Like to thank everyone for responding as I am getting my arms around the different programs and why people apply to them.  To clarify, my specific areas of interest are the business sections of universities-administration, finance, planning, etc.  Additionally, with the MBA and continued involvement with my program, would be highly open to the general school strategy (e.g. admissions targeting, program marketing, strategic issues, etc.)

 

What I am hearing through my networking is that yes, some people do get in with an MBA, but having an understanding of how schools operate, think, get things done, would help level the playing field in terms of not having specific, university experience and provide tools that would help with performing well once I am in an academic environment.  I am competing against people who already have university experience and that can be challenging.

 

In terms of length, with an MBA program usually 72 credits, a Masters in Education of 30 or less is doable from a logistics and financial perspective.  @tdix09, you mention Penn and assuming you mean MS Ed in Higher Education.   Says 10 credits plus internship.  I will look at this and also Stony Brook to see their offering.

 

Again, really appreciate everyone's input.   Interested in moving my career in a different direction and looking for the mechanics of doing that.

 

Hi dbrown, career switcher here as well from a consulting background into education. Certainly do-able in my perspective, but I have not yet started so we shall see! 

 

PennGSE also has executive , part-time ed programs I believe, geared towards working professionals. Definitely look into that. Else, Stanford GSE's POLS program has a large intersect, it seems, with organizational policy and is a popular double-degree with Stanford's business school, if I'm correct.

[ZeChocMoose]

What is stopping you for applying for those type of jobs now?

 

Most people that I knew that had those type of jobs didn't have an MEd as an MEd is not going to prepare you for finance, marketing, or strategy.

 

I do think the sticking point is going to be that you don't have any higher ed experience but a MEd is not going to solve that unless you do it full-time and try to get internships/assistantships that the program offers.

 

The simplest solution seems to be to apply to the jobs that you want at a university and see how you do.  If you are unsuccessful then I would think about other options.

[dbrown5987]

@ZeChocMoose, I have been networking with people in higher education administration and applied for a couple of opportunities over the last eighteen months.  The feedback I get is, "we like your background, what you have solved in your career, etc. but you don't know how we operate and work".  This is your point about not having the experience. 

 

What I am hoping is that getting some higher education administration coursework under my belt is:  1) going to at least mitigate some of the lack of experience, 2)  provide knowledge that will enable me to perform better in an academic environment, and 3)  offer a network that I can tap for opportunities.  These are things I do not have now and need.  Based on this, I have looked solely at programs in higher education administration that complement an MBA (in fact these schools generally offer a joint program).  And again, Northwestern, Michigan, NYU, and possibly Penn (thanks @phil413) offer this.  Agree with your point on full time.  Would probably start part-time due to personal considerations and then finish full time.  Also wondering if taking 2-3 course might provide enough of a background on my resume to get more consideration.

[emilyrobot]

I wonder if this is a question better asked at the Chronicle of Higher Ed forums; here, you'll hear mostly from students and prospective students, but over there you could hear from current administrators and faculty. (You might also get some information about whether your impression of academia as a place free from mergers, cutbacks and reorganization is a correct one, as well as some information about whether you'll be able to restrict your job search to certain geographic areas and still find success). 

 

If it's experience you're missing, it's not a certainly that coursework in Higher Ed will fill in the gaps. An internship might help, but then you'll have to look carefully at the opportunity cost of attending full time. Maybe there are lower level jobs in a university that you could apply for? Even if such a job involved a cut in salary from your current position, it might be less than the opportunity cost + tuition.