The Notre Dame Masters in Management program is one of the top specialized masters program in the country and I’ve been trying to get an update student review of the program for a while now. Happily, a very generous alumnus of the program was kind enough to write a review for me just recently. Hope this helps anyone considering the program. Enjoy!
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Why a specialized masters in general? Why the ND program specifically
I first heard about a specialized masters program from a friend of mine. She graduated college a year before me, and we both majored in biological sciences but weren’t really interested in pursuing medical or doctorate degrees. She was currently enrolled in the Masters of Management program at Duke when I was trying to figure out what I wanted to do post-undergrad. My friend recommended a specialized masters as a way to pivot my career path from science to business. Business was always something that I had been interested in since the quantitative skills that I acquired from my undergrad major could be easily transferable into a business field.
I definitely chose ND for the people. Faculty, alumni, and current students are just wonderful at Mendoza. When I came for a campus visit after receiving admission, I just felt like the staff and faculty really wanted students to be there and were so supportive. The curriculum seemed similar from one business school to another so I had to consider other factors when deciding on a program. An important factor that I considered was where I ultimately wanted to live after graduation. I really wanted to live in Chicago and had to consider which schools had a strong alumni base in that city.
Who would you recommend the program to?
The program is great for people who didn’t study business in undergrad and those with limited work experience. Everyone in my class was a recent graduate of college with very little full-time work experience. The program gave me and my classmates an opportunity to build a solid business foundation.
Pros and cons (if any) of the program
The faculty is really great. Since our class sizes were smaller than MBA or undergrad business classes, we were able to get to know our professors well and they got to know us too. For my year, the program had an optional international trip to China planned during fall break. Those who didn’t go on the trip had opportunities to do an externship (set-up by MSM program staff) or just take the time off school during break. We did a lot of project work in our courses, which gave us good experiences/situations to discuss during job interviews.
Since the program is only a year long, the curriculum lacks any customization for individual students. Everyone takes the same classes even if you aren’t interested in a particular course. Although the program is in the Mendoza College of Business, there’s a definite separation between the specialized masters students and MBA students. When I was in the program, we didn’t have MSM specific clubs but were allowed to join MBA clubs. Joining the MBA clubs was okay except all the leadership positions were reserved for the MBA students.
Anything else. People usually talk about campus experience, alumni, on campus recruiting, etc. really whatever you want.
Definitely try to take advantage of all resources that ND has to offer. My professors were really wonderful and several took the time outside of class to meet with me so we could discuss career paths. I even had professors write letters of recommendation for me during my job search. Notre Dame has a strong name especially in the business world. Companies are always coming to campus so try to attend as many events as possible. It’s great practice for networking, which is something that you’ll have to continue doing long after graduation.
Here is a link to the Notre Dame Masters in Management Program
