The University of Illinois Masters in Management program is another great specialized masters offered by the Gies College of Business. I’ve featured the masters in finance program on numerous occasions, but in speaking with the admissions team I realized that I had left out a number of great programs that all of you would have interest in. Over the next couple of weeks I will work to add these programs and content surrounding them.
Program Overview
The Masters in Management is a 9-month, STEM designated graduate programs. The university also offers an online version of this. The degree is open to non-business undergraduate majors and allows for specialization in areas like data analytics, marketing, global business, and finance.
The curriculum includes business fundamentals, including class in the following areas:
- Marketing
- Process Management
- Global Business
- Communicating with Data
- Project Management
- Finance
- Quantitative Reasoning
Students can customize their course of study, including the above mentioned specializations. You can also focus on data analytics and finance, allowing you to have a broad based management degree with a focus on finance, instead of say going for the MSF which is going to be almost entirely focused on finance. Very interesting nuance and a big differentiator when you really analyze it. There is also a real world, client based project incorporated into the program.
Career Outcomes
The program has a two year average placement rate of 94% (amazing) and over $58,000 in starting salary for the same period. These are great stats for a MSM program and compare pretty well with other programs. You should also consider that many jobs will include a bonus component so all in compensation could be significantly higher.
Below is a short list of some of the firms hiring MSM graduates in 2019-2020:
- AbbVie
- Caterpillar
- Epic Systems
- Fortegra
- Glassdoor
- Hormel Foods
- Jones Lang Lasalle (JLL)
- Korea Tourism Organization
- Milwaukee Tool
- Sandia National Labs
- University of Chicago
Admissions
Applications for the Fall 2020 class have opened as of August 1st. The application process is fairly straightforward.
- Transcripts
- GRE/GMAT – Not required, but OK to submit
- Resume
- Statement of Purpose
- References
- Video Questions – Options, but beneficial
You can also submit a scholarship essay that will be utilized in awarding aid. I’d suggest all of you thinking about applying do this since it is a relatively short essay. Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis with the following deadlines:
- Early Bird Deadline – November 15, 2021
- Round 1 Deadline – January 15, 2022
- Round 2 Deadline – March 31, 2022 – Final Round for those who requiring a visa
- Round 3 Deadline – April 30, 2022
Tuition for the program $32,478 for Residents of Illinois and $42,878 for non-residents. This is reasonable when compared to other MSM programs specifically and other specialized masters in general.
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The online version is slightly different and I will do a separate write up on that program at another time. If you want to learn entirely remotely, I encourage you to check it out. Until next time.
Here is a link to the University of Illinois Masters in Management Program