At The Busch School of Business in Washington, DC we take great pride in preparing students for a fulfilling career in business with a variety of MBA alternatives that complement your prior education and current lifestyle.
- For recent Liberal Arts and STEM graduates seeking to start a career, we offer the Master of Science in Business Analysis which can be completed in only 9 months.
- For early/mid-career men and women ready to take the next step in their career, we offer the Master of Science in Management. This course is available online, on campus or as an online/on-campus hybrid.
- If you're interested in specific areas of business, we offer certificate programs in Project Management and Federal Contract Management to boost your skills.
This chart compares the above programs to the traditional MBA
Many have also asked us about the difference between the Master of Science in Business Analysis degree, the Master of Science in Management degree and the MBA. This is an important question and it is very important for prospective students to understand the value and purpose of each degree.
The main difference between these degrees is previous business education and experience.
Let’s look at each program in more detail.
The MSBA degree at Catholic University is a solid, practical education taught by experienced business people that prepare the liberal arts and STEM graduates to earn that first job en route to a fulfilling career. From day one you work with our MSBA career services staff and faculty network to find the right vocation for you. MSBA students get meaningful internships and great jobs by taking advantage of their education and professional network.
The MSBA degree is designed for students with a non-business degree to master the essentials of business--the language, processes and structure of any size or type of enterprise.
The MSM degree is designed for a variety of working professionals with five different areas of specialization to increase your skill level and prepare for more responsibility in your career. It is designed to work with your busy personal and professional lifestyle. Classes are conducted at your pace and can be completed online, on campus or as a hybrid program of both. Specialization are offered in Leadership and Management, Sales Management, Human Resource Management, Project Management, and Federal Contract Management. We also offer Certificates in these five specialties in as little as 12 credit hours of study for those that want to concentrate on the specialty skills without the added general management study of 18 hours. Your certificate hours can be combined with other certificates and general management hours toward a MSM degree at any time in the future.
Compare the differences between an MSM and an MBA
By contrast, the MBA degree is is typically designed for someone with extensive business management experience preparing to enter a senior management role in their enterprise.
Also, not all MBA programs are alike. There are programs that call themselves MBA but do not require prior business education or work experience or even the standard GRE or GMAT entrance exams. You will not find these programs at the well known MBA schools like Harvard, Virginia, Stanford or MIT. Employers recognize and value the difference between these top tier programs and those requiring no prior experience. In other words, employers read the label to see where the MBA was made.
Catholic University’s MSBA and MSM degrees are not designed to compete with top tier MBA programs but outperform other lower tier MBA offerings in terms of practical instruction by experienced faculty, a dedicated career services department and an extensive network of job opportunities.