Applications Open for New Emory Master’s in Management Degree

• Emory University's Goizueta Business School is launching a new master's in management program starting fall 2024.
• Master's in management programs are often geared toward non-business majors, or those with less work experience than students who pursue a master of business administration (MBA).
• The University of Chicago's Booth Business School likewise plans to launch a master's in management program next year.
• Officials at the University of Tennessee Chattanooga also recently announced plans to launch a fully online master's in management program.

With management jobs growing fast across the country, business schools are increasingly turning to an emerging degree to meet demand: the master's in management.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects that management occupations will grow 8% between 2021 and 2031, a faster pace than the average for all jobs. While there are a host of graduate business degrees available for students to advance their careers, master's in management programs often focus on strategic and leadership skills for students who don't have extensive experience.

Two top business schools — UChicago's Booth and Emory's Goizueta — have launched their own master's in management degree programs in recent months.

Applications opened earlier this month for Emory University Goizueta Business School's new master's in management program. That degree, which has been emerging as an alternative to a master's in business administration (MBA), is geared toward students with a non-business undergraduate major who want to build their business acumen, according to a release.

Goizueta's 10-month program features an overview of business fundamentals like finance and marketing, as well as elective classes for students to hone their skills in specific areas. The program ends with "a hands-on immersive elective that allows students to work on a project of their choosing and apply their new knowledge in a real-world setting," similar to a traditional MBA capstone.

The University of Chicago Booth School of Business will likewise launch its own 10-month master's in management program starting in fall 2024. That program is also focused on recent college graduates without much work experience.

Applications for that program are set to open on September 1, 2023.

"We are excited to debut Chicago Booth's one-year Master in Management, the school's first new degree program in 88 years," said Madhav Rajan, dean of Chicago Booth and the George Pratt Shultz Professor of Accounting, in a July release. "We look forward to introducing foundational business skills to a new generation of Booth students, enhancing their impact in that first job and beyond."

Goizueta Associate Dean of Undergraduate Education Andrea Hershatter said the degree can serve as a bridge between a career in business and an undergraduate degree in a non-business area.

"The Master in Management program offers an innovative and flexible curriculum that equips recent graduates with the tools they need to leverage their passions and launch their careers," Hershatter said. "It bridges the gap between an undergraduate degree in liberal arts, science, or engineering and the skills needed to thrive in a business environment."

While both degrees cover business fundamentals and often feature electives and specializations to allow students to concentrate on specific fields, MBA and master's in management programs differ in several key ways.

MBA programs sometimes require work experience and cater to working professionals, whereas master's in management programs are geared toward students who don't have experience as business leaders but want to take on managerial roles.

Master's in management programs have been increasingly on the rise at business schools across the country in recent years: School officials at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga (UTC) announced a new fully online master of science in management program at the Gary W. Rollins College of Business earlier this month.

UTC officials noted in a release that there were 70,000 unique job postings for managerial postings in Tennessee in 2022 — and the managerial field in the state is expected to grow at 11.4% between 2022 and 2027.

"From the research we were able to do, there is a lot of demand from students and employers for a more specialized business degree in management," UTC Provost and Senior Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs Jerold L. Hale said in the release. "This degree is unique because it places a strong focus on helping people develop interpersonal and leadership skills."

The UTC program "was designed at the request of prospective students and employers who saw a need for leadership skills to drive positive change and make a lasting impact in the business world," Robert Dooley, dean of the Gary W. Rollins College of Business, said in the release.

Master's in management graduates brought in a higher starting salary than those with a bachelor's degree alone in 2023 — earning median salaries of $85,000 and $75,000, respectively — according to the 2023 Corporate Recruiters Survey from the Graduate Management Admission Council.

While those starting salaries aren't as high as those of MBA graduates, many master's in management graduates have less work experience and are entering their first managerial jobs after graduating.

Most programs are offered in intensive, short-term formats and cater to younger professionals. The University of Michigan Ross School of Business, for example, offers a 10-month program for non-business college graduates with 0-2 years of work experience after graduation, similar to the new programs at Goizueta and Booth.