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Two-for-one special
New MS*MBA program receives boost from trustee and alum John Smith

By Brian Fitzgerald

BU Trustee John F. Smith, Jr. knows the financial and intellectual commitment it takes to earn an advanced degree -- the chairman of General Motors got his MBA by attending night classes at SMG while working at GM's Framingham facility. In this spirit, Smith (GSM'65, Hon.'93) recently made two donations to his alma mater: he has established the $600,000 Eleanor Sullivan Smith Scholarship Fund (see sidebar), and he has donated $125,000 to SMG's new dual-degree MSoMBA program.

	BU Trustee John F. Smith, Jr. (GSM'65, Hon.'93). Photo by Julie Merritt

In the MS*MBA program, which begins this fall, students will be able to earn two degrees in the same amount of time normally required for an MBA alone -- a master of science in information systems and a master of business administration in a concentration they choose.

The new MS*MBA replaces SMG's MSIS/MBA dual degree, which is highly regarded -- Computerworld magazine ranks it 15th among more than 350 technology-oriented programs. The new program, however, is designed for MBA aspirants who want depth in information systems, according to program director Maxine Milstein, but who don't necessarily see themselves as chief information officers or chief technology officers.

"The current dual-degree program doesn't offer enough electives for students to take a functional concentration, but the MS*MBA does," says Milstein. "Also, the MS*MBA offers an optional summer internship -- in addition to the required IT team-based practicum during the second academic year."

Milstein says that through core courses, MS*MBA students will gain both a genuine understanding of business as a system (the MBA portion) and the ability to leverage information technology into a strategic asset (the MSIS portion). "But the opportunity for students to customize their curriculum exists through elective choices," she says. "For example, they can also do functional concentrations in marketing, finance, international management, public and nonprofit management, or entrepreneurship."

It won't take any longer to complete the MS*MBA -- 21 months of full-time study -- than it would a regular MBA. However, because of the intensity of the new program -- and the 84 credits required (64 are required for an MBA) -- a fifth semester of tuition is required of MS*MBA students. "The difference between the general MBA and the MS*MBA schedule is that the MS*MBAers attend classes -- and can do an optional summer internship -- during the summer between their first and second years," says Milstein.

Smith's donation will fund, for two incoming students, an extra semester each year for the next five years. SMG's intention is to eliminate cost as a variable in the school selection decision for aspiring MBA students, so they will be able to focus entirely on the value of the MS*MBA as opposed to a stand-alone MBA. Thanks to the support of a number of companies and individuals, so far 52 of the anticipated 100 MS*MBA students enrolling this fall will be relieved of the fifth-semester tuition.

Students can fulfill the MBA portion of the program part-time, but because of course sequencing and field-experience requirements, the MSIS portion is full-time only and takes one calendar year.

Internship projects will include assisting Bain & Company, one of the nation's leading private equity investment firms, with the design of Intranet components that will be used by its consulting staff. Another, at Deloitte Consulting, will involve researching and testing technology environments to support customer relations management applications -- particularly those from Siebel Systems and Janna Systems -- as they relate to the mutual fund industry.

How important is technology for MBA candidates in today's "e-everything" economy? Quite simply, according to SMG Dean Louis Lataif, it is changing the ways companies do business. Firms across the nation want "people who combine management smarts with technical savvy," says Lataif. Marketing MBAs, for example, rely heavily on technology for market research, customer retention and segmentation, and technical product management responsibilities.

MBA Admissions Director Peter Kelly says SMG has found that more and more people stress the importance not just of business skills, but of a greater knowledge of the technical environment. "They're coming from companies that have integrated technology into every aspect of the company, and they need to understand technology at both the technical and strategic levels if they want to advance their position," he says. "They hear CEOs discussing servers, Web applications, infrastructure, CRM, ERP, and data storage. They need to catch up in order to move up. With the MSoMBA, they can get there faster."

Read the sidebar "The Eleanor Sullivan Smith Scholarship Fund"

9 March 2001
Boston University
Office of University Relations