Choosing the program that fits you best
Post-graduate business programs aren’t a one-size-fits all. That’s why Daniels College of Business offers two different programs, taking into consideration the individual needs and goals of the student. Both programs appeal to students from a variety of educational, employment and geographic backgrounds.
The Master of Business Administration (MBA) is a traditional two-year program—the one that comes to mind most frequently when considering post-graduate business programs. In addition, since 2016, Daniels has also offered a Master of Science in Management (MSM) with a duration of 10 months—or one academic year. Both offer a foundation of business fundamentals, incorporate global business strategies and take advantage of experiential learning.
About the MBA
The MBA is a traditional in-depth graduate business program suited for college graduates who have several years of experience in the business world. The program courses are designed to leverage this prior experience and enhance an already-established career or provide confidence to switch careers or start a new business.
Daniels’ MBA programs—of which there are four delivery options—encompass the full range of business disciplines:
- Corporate financial reporting
- Ethics
- Data skills
- Economics
- Organizational behavior
- Strategy
- Finance
- Sustainability
Beyond the core program, MBA students can choose concentrations from business electives in accounting, analytics, finance, marketing, and real estate and the built environment.
Learning by Doing
The MBA programs’ goal of learning by doing is facilitated through challenge-driven education focused on experiential learning. These experientials allow students to:
- Achieve better understanding of themselves and how they communicate and relate to others
- Unleash the inner entrepreneurial spirit through team ideation and design thinking
- Collaborate with others to help develop growth strategies for non-government/nonprofit organizations
- Team up with businesses to solve real-world problems that result in practical solutions locally and around the world
Daniels MBA students’ global experiential is a hallmark of the program. It starts with classroom learning, then is further enhanced through a partnership with a company seeking global answers. Students travel abroad to conduct primary in-country research and, ultimately, prepare a final presentation that conveys a realist approach to the problem.
About the MSM
The Master of Science in Management program is geared toward recent college graduates with varying undergraduate degrees who prefer an alternative to the traditional two-year MBA program. The ideal MSM student wants to accelerate their future career with an eye to their existing passions and interests. To this end, the MSM guides the development of their business knowledge and leadership skills through a combination of classroom and experiential learning in an intensive 10-month program.
The goal of the 10-month MSM program is to shape a more holistic future leader and team member. The newest structure of the program expands its leadership training into sectors of self, teams and organizations, while also incorporating business fundamentals and experiential learning.
As with the MBA, MSM students can use up to three electives to form a specialization—for example, supply chain management, which has proven to be critical in 2020.
Three-Quarter Structure
The 10-month program spans an academic year, with three specifically organized and scheduled quarters. Class schedules are fixed, so students opting for this program have advance access to their schedule for the year, which can be helpful should they want to arrange part-time work or internships around their classes.
Throughout each quarter the program aims to immerse students in lessons they can immediately apply. The first quarter focuses on outdoor experiential learning, where students use the outdoors—Denver and its adjacent Rocky Mountains—to engage in self-discovery.
During the second quarter, students learn to lead teams and apply these skills to learning about global business and the problems companies face as they expand globally. Students’ travel abroad helps to leverage this experience as they learn more about conducting global business from world-renowned faculty and international business leaders.
The third quarter empowers students to lead organizations. Together they tackle a company-sponsored real-world problem. Through this corporate challenge, students absorb the complexity of large corporations and how to address the unique issues they face.
Identifying and Using Real-World Business Tools
Graduates must be prepared to fit in seamlessly with the business world they are about to enter. To that end, Daniels College of Business works with businesses to identify the tools essential to those businesses’ success and incorporates them into the MSM program. Whether it’s software like Salesforce, a cloud-based customer relationship management platform, or Python for data analytics, students not only are exposed to the tools—they learn how to use them to solve real-time, complex business problems.
Incorporating International Experience
The University of Denver has a robust study abroad program. Even in times where travel opportunities are uncertain, Daniels is able to leverage its relationships with universities across the globe. Instructors in Sweden, Latin America or Shanghai can still help students learn about doing business in their countries.
Career Prospects for Graduates
MBA degrees have a long history; graduates of MBA programs, having honed their broad general business skills through experiential challenges, typically have both full-time work and internship experience. Graduates return to the market with a fresh perspective and enhanced skill set that helps them zero in on the job best suited to further their already-established career.
The past decade has seen a significant increase in employers hiring business program graduates who have developed more specialized skills in management and leadership. With their varied undergraduate degrees, MSM graduates are ideally equipped for these opportunities. Their combination of skills is valuable not just in the business world, but also beyond—in scientific, government and nonprofit roles, or even the arts.
Robust job opportunities exist for graduates of both programs. To learn more about the best path for your career aspirations, visit daniels.du.edu.
I’ve completed my MSM degree a few years ago. Wish I would have looked harder for one of those 1 year programs mentioned. Now, finishing my MAOL degree, which I am finding strengthens what was learned from the MSM