The Masters in Management (MiM) postgraduate degree has been gaining ground as employers’ preference. In recent times, it has been able to challenge some of the postgraduate courses that had dominated business courses such as Masters in Business Administration(MBA).
Masters in Management in numbers
According to the Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC) which administers the GMAT business school application exam, Masters in Management programmes around the world rose by almost 3 percent. MBA programs, however, did not see any gain, as they remained flat.
Europe, the MiM birthplace, has experienced the largest gains in applications for courses related to MIM programs. There was a 66 percent increase in the number of applicants for these courses in Europe. This is in contrast with the US where it saw a drop in more than 70 percent of courses related to MiM.
Deborah Somers, GMAC’s regional director for Europe argued that the reason behind this rise in popularity for the MiM courses is because of the employers’ preference for students with MiM postgraduate. The same cannot be said of other regions, therefore, there was a varying gain around the world.
GMAC also showed that European employers preferred the MiM postgraduate to a tune of 67 percent. This is in contrast with the US which had only 33 percent of employers saying they would prefer to hire a person with MiM course compared to other specialist courses.
This, however, has not stopped universities in the US to introduce Masters in Management programmes. Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business in Washington DC among others have introduced the programmes in their schools.
Market for MiM programs complicated
The programmes are bridging the gap between students in undergraduate courses and those returning to higher education MBA levels after years of work experience. This is seen as a positive trend that will further push the program and make it more competitive in the US.
The market for MiM programmes is also complicated. For instance, last year, three Masters in Management programmes closed last year, this is in sharp contrast to other countries where they are opening more of these programs. This is also being used as an indicator of how challenging the US market is proving to be in advancing these programs.
The return on investment is a major worry in most of these universities. They have to ensure that they maintain their prestige while serving students to higher quality education. This has resulted in a lot of US-based universities staying away from this course, preferring to stick to an MBA instead.
