By WP Creative Group

May 3, 2024

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Over the last two years, senior administrators from the Costello College of Business at George Mason University have been communicating with the business community in order to better understand employer needs—and in turn, better prepare their students for the future.

“Extensive interactions with business leaders revealed that one of their top priorities is finding talent that can create value on the job from day one,” said Ajay Vinzé, dean of the Costello College of Business. “Most of the employers we’ve met with are seeking new hires who are not only intimately familiar with their industry, but also know how to apply their specific and targeted domain knowledge to their core business.”

George Mason University is committed to using these employer insights to better innovate their programs. Most recently, the university unveiled a newly redesigned Master’s of Science in Management program, which offers students new opportunities to customize their degree.

As the cost of higher education continues to rise, today’s students are looking to closely align their education with their long-term goals. Vinzé says this business-driven, outward-looking approach is what makes a degree from George Mason University such a great investment in a student’s future.

“Overall, the value of a Costello master’s degree is rising—we’ve seen an increase of 20 percent in the mean salary of our graduates over a five year period beginning in 2016,” he said. “This suggests the value of a degree from the Costello College of Business is significant for our students, even as they deal with the rising cost of higher education.”

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In September 2023, the business school at George Mason University announced a highly customizable Master’s of Science in Management program launching fall 2024.

The modular design of this master’s program is a prime example of the university’s belief that, when it comes to finding career success, there is no one-size-fits-all approach. Whereas traditional degree programs require students to follow a pre-approved series of courses, a modular program allows students to assemble their educational experience in a way that makes sense to them.

“We’ve created a visionary 33-credit Master’s of Science in Management that is agile, innovative and competitive,” said Victoria Grady, associate professor of management in the Costello College of Business at George Mason University. “The foundation for the curriculum is 18 credit hours of core graduate business fundamentals and the remaining 15 credit hours consist of a graduate certificate in a specific area chosen by each individual student and driven by their unique career interests.”

At its core, the Master’s of Science in Management includes business fundamentals coursework in accounting, finance, information technology management, marketing, organizational behavior and operations management.

In addition to this foundational coursework, students can choose between eight unique and stackable certificate options, such as information security management, sports management, environmental and sustainability management and business analytics.

“By encouraging students to customize their experience through these certificates, our Master’s of Science in Management program allows them to earn a degree that provides them with a foundation in business education, while affording them the ability to cross connect business education with relevant domain knowledge in a variety of disciplines ranging from engineering to healthcare and everything in between,” added Grady. “This makes the degree and the associated knowledge and training immediately relevant and meaningful to society, while being grounded in rigorous research.”

After completing both the core coursework and the certificate hours, students have the possibility of accruing up to three credit hours of global coursework or an internship. Through these experiential learning opportunities, students develop practical application knowledge and skills such as critical thinking, data analysis and an entrepreneurial spirit.

During the covid pandemic, when internships weren’t as plentiful, George Mason created “researchships,” a type of collaboration that partnered students with companies looking to answer big questions about future business operations.

For example, in the summer of 2021, George Mason established a collaboration with an organization in Charlotte, North Carolina, that was struggling with questions around work modality—remote versus hybrid versus in-office work. The organization wanted to know what other companies in their industry were choosing and which options were right for their employees.

A student from the Master’s of Science in Management program spent the summer doing a comprehensive literature review to better understand the new post-pandemic norms for organizations of all types and then delivered an extensive report that included data-based suggestions for the organization to consider. The organization chose the option that resonated most closely with their own company culture. Two-and-a-half years later, that choice has proven to be a wise one and the organization is thriving. 

“It’s helpful to think of these collaborations as mini consulting projects that afford our students the opportunity to work with leadership within these organizations to answer questions about company culture, operations or even expansion,” said Grady. “It’s that kind of innovation that’s happening throughout the Costello College of Business. We are thinking outside the box, creating experiential learning opportunities through these collaborations with companies to come up with an answer.”

Thanks to the university’s career services department, George Mason alumni often remain engaged with the university after they’ve started their careers, even creating internship opportunities for students with their current employers.

“One of the things that’s an important part of experiential learning is hearing about the career paths of students with similar backgrounds and interests and how their careers have progressed for them,” said Grady. “We have lists of alumni who are willing, able and available to come to classes to talk about the industry they work in, the job they have and the path they took to get there. It’s constant interaction and constant connection that Mason has really harnessed in a way that I think is amazing and, quite frankly, incredibly valuable for our current, future and former students.”

The Master’s of Science in Management is open to both recent college graduates with no professional experience and seasoned professionals looking to upskill their resume. George Mason prides itself on providing a “HyFlex” delivery model, meaning students can choose to participate face-to-face in a classroom or live, synchronously online.

The program’s modular design paired with the flexible delivery model make the new master’s program ideal for busy working professionals.

“Over the longer term, modular education provides a foundation for lifelong learning by allowing learners of all types—traditional and non-traditional—to acquire knowledge in manageable doses that can be sequenced over a longer period of time,” said Vinzé. “And in a way that supports the completion of a formal degree program while remaining active and engaged on their day-to-day job focus.”

In addition to fostering lifelong learners, this approach allows employers the possibility to provide tax-free education assistance benefits to their employees. Vinzé says it’s this type of collaboration with the business community that makes a degree from George Mason University so valuable even in an ever-changing job market.

“In a post-covid world, the expectations of students, faculty and employers have all changed,” said Vinzé. “We need to be sensitive to how these changing expectations are impacting how higher education is consumed, delivered and received by industry. Our reimagined Master’s of Science in Management program addresses the concerns of our time—it makes our students highly marketable.”

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