By Nicholas A. Hildebrand
Marketing and Communications, Grove City College
GROVE CITY, Pa. — Grove City College is introducing a Master of Business Administration degree program this year that is designed to give working professionals and new college graduates an educational advantage that can help them achieve their career goals.
The MBA is a complement to the online master of science degree in business analytics, which also helps students develop in-demand business skills.
The new online MBA program provides the value and flexibility that are the hallmarks of GCC’s graduate and online programs. It also offers the same commitment to academic excellence and exceptional student outcomes that has characterized the college’s undergraduate programs for more than a century.
Grove City College, founded in 1876, is routinely ranked by U.S. News, The Princeton Review, Forbes and others as one of America’s top liberal arts and sciences colleges based on academic quality, affordability and alumni success.
The new MBA program builds on the college’s strong business program, which is led by faculty with national and regional business ties and leadership experience with top corporations such as Google, Dick’s Sporting Goods, General Electric, Ingersoll-Rand and others.
“The MBA curriculum was created with input from our corporate network,” says Kenneth Carson, chairman of the business program and professor of management. “As a result, students can develop valuable skills that employers need immediately. They’ll strengthen key business skills such as accounting, marketing and economics, and will also deepen leadership, analytical and problem-solving skills. The curriculum prepares students for the next steps in their career.”
Moving from strength to strength is the same approach the college took in 2019 when it created the Office of Graduate and Online Studies to expand existing online programs and establish new graduate degree programs. Building out from an online base that included dual enrolled high school students, the college began offering more online classes to more students by opening registration to students across the country and adult professionals looking to increase their knowledge, improve their skills and advance their careers.
When it came to graduate programs, the college moved forward with the business degrees because of the exceptional job growth opportunities, high earning potential and strong return on investment for program graduates.
Coursework for the business analytics program began last year. Interest in that degree and the MBA have attracted applicants from across the nation who work in a wide variety of industries, according to Christy Crute, associate dean of graduate and online programs and professor of business analytics.
“Our students are talented, high-performing individuals who are continuing to develop their analytical skills and business acumen while also supporting and encouraging one another academically and professionally,” she says.
In addition to online coursework, both master’s degree programs feature on-campus residency events, including workshops led by some of the nation’s top leaders in their fields and opportunities to network with industry leaders and their peers.
“The impressive professional networks our students are developing will serve them for the foreseeable future,” says Paul Kemeny, dean of the Calderwood School of Arts and Letters.
The 39-credit MBA program is currently offered part-time with concentrations in business analytics, entrepreneurship and general business. The 30-credit MSBA program is offered full- or part-time. The next start date for both programs is summer 2022. Review of applications begins Feb. 1.
Graduate programs are reasonably priced. Many students take advantage of their employer’s tuition assistance programs to cover the cost.