Hi there,

I've been researching my options on pursuing a MBA to further advance my career. I'm a project manager for a biotech company in the northeast and have been in the pharma field since graduating college (8+ years).

I'd also like to note that I will receive approximately $5250 a year in tuition assistance from my employer so cost is a factor as well.

I would appreciate any feedback on these 2 questions that will help me in my decision:

1) I'm debating between obtaining a general management degree vs a concentration in healthcare management. I do plan on remaining in my field so I'm not concerned about limiting myself to a specialization area, however unsure if there's any added benefit.

2) Is there any feedback on MBA Healthcare program for the U. of Scranton and UMass MBA program? Both their costs are an attractive program option compared to Northeastern, which I was also considering (though I decided that an extra 30k was not worth it!).

Many thanks for any thoughts. If there are any other universities worth considering, I'm all ears as well.

Hi MBA4Pharma,

Since you say you will stay in your chosen field, a MBA with a concentration in healthcare management could be a good option. General management program is part of the concentration syllabus generally. There should be an added benefit by sepcializing in healthcare as that seems to be the area of possibilties by staying in the field. Geteducated degree search should help narrow down the choice.

Hi MBA4Pharma,

I'd go with NDLovu here in terms of the general MBA vs. a health specific MBA. Almost any MBA will have a core of general management/business courses that cover the foundation of all business enterprises -- accounting / finance / mgmt / econ / stats / -- then the major or concentration will add 3-6 courses specific to business and management inside your career vertical -- in this case healthcare. Since you want to stay inside healthcare and are already established I'd think that a MBA in Health would boost you up for a stronger managerial position inside the health vertical.

I'm not seeing any advantage in going for the general MBA given your career plans.


Of course, Get Educated profiles 360+ online MBA degree programs so the question of which is a great one.

I am betting you are working on the East Coast from your possible choices. The University of Massachusetts Online MBA is reasonably priced and AACSB accredited and a solid public university system with name rec. That's a safe choice for all those reasons.

The University of Scranton Online MBA is very comparable on cost and AACSB but this is a private Catholic school with perhaps a bit more clout on the private side. Neither school has student reviews so we can't really differentiate based on data between these 2 schools.

Do you have a sense if either is "better" thought of inside your work environment? In other words, would your co workers see either school as "better" based on peer opinion? I'd ask my boss/ peers for their impressions and see if you get any indication that either school would win you more clout points in terms of employer acceptance -- that can be a great factor to look at in any career niche area.

All the best
Vicky


MBA4Pharma wrote:
Hi there,

I've been researching my options on pursuing a MBA to further advance my career. I'm a project manager for a biotech company in the northeast and have been in the pharma field since graduating college (8+ years).

I'd also like to note that I will receive approximately $5250 a year in tuition assistance from my employer so cost is a factor as well.

I would appreciate any feedback on these 2 questions that will help me in my decision:

1) I'm debating between obtaining a general management degree vs a concentration in healthcare management. I do plan on remaining in my field so I'm not concerned about limiting myself to a specialization area, however unsure if there's any added benefit.

2) Is there any feedback on MBA Healthcare program for the U. of Scranton and UMass MBA program? Both their costs are an attractive program option compared to Northeastern, which I was also considering (though I decided that an extra 30k was not worth it!).

Many thanks for any thoughts. If there are any other universities worth considering, I'm all ears as well.

Thank you, both.

I've decided to pursue UScranton with the Healthcare Management as UMass did not offer that specialization.

All of my application documents are submitted so I should hopefully hear back within the next few weeks if I am all set to start March 3!

Hi MBAPharma,

Thanks for coming back and letting us know. The Scrantomn program has no student reviews yet so we'd love it if you'd review that program on our site and let others know why yoiu choose it and how you like it. Many students face the same process of trying to decide between schools -- especially MBAs -- and your inout - reviews would help many!

All the Best
Vicky

MBA4Pharma wrote:
Thank you, both.

I've decided to pursue UScranton with the Healthcare Management as UMass did not offer that specialization.

All of my application documents are submitted so I should hopefully hear back within the next few weeks if I am all set to start March 3!