George Mason University’s master’s in management program is designed for recent graduates with liberal arts, sciences, and engineering degrees. People with minimal work experience and a desire for quick career advancement will find an abundance of opportunities in the program.
Regardless of educational background or degree, recent college graduates quickly find that every career is in some way business. An enhanced business understanding can be the difference between landing a job and being passed over for an interview. Further down the road, that knowledge can be the difference between struggling and excelling in a new job. George Mason University’s master’s in management (MSM) program is designed for these recent graduates–typically between the ages of 22 and 24–from liberal arts, sciences, and engineering degrees.
Someone with minimal work experience and a desire for quick career advancement will find an abundance of opportunities by enrolling in the program. For many students, it will help them learn what truly interests them and how to approach their careers. “You are going to be able to use the skills, use the information, take the theories that you learned, and practically apply them in the workplace,” says MSM Program Director Victoria Grady. “That’s what our primary focus is.”
The 36-credit graduate course, which includes over 150 hours of internship experience, is intended for students to complete within an 11-month timeframe. Three of those credits are for the global residency course, which comprises a week abroad touring and studying with members of Mason’s faculty. The MSM program has partnered with the Burgundy School of Business in Dijon, France, since 2021. “We actually have virtual interaction with their faculty via lectures and then we travel to Dijon to have those lectures in person and interact with senior leadership of companies from all over the world as well as family-run businesses,” says Grady.
Lawrence Hailes is a double alumnus of Mason, earning his MSM degree in 2021. Completing the program enabled him to shift from being a professional actor to having a career in human resources. “The program gave me the tools to navigate the workplace and the critical thinking skills to make decisions based on available resources and information,” he says. “What I enjoyed most about the program was matriculating through it as a cohort. Because of this, I made very strong connections with my peers, which has helped strengthen my professional and personal network.” That network really paid off with referrals as he recently went through a job search and hiring process. Hailes is now people operations specialist at The Center for Security and Emerging Technology within Georgetown University. Grady agrees that the cohort is one of the strengths of the program. “Being in a cohort together and experiencing the same challenges with people in generally the same stage of life as you has been amazing,” she says. “They get you, they get where you are.”
Another alum of the program is Yasaman Nikghadam who is now senior logistics manager at Kerecis, an Iceland-based company pioneering the use of fish skin and fatty-acids in the cellular therapy and regenerative medicine market. “I joined MSM in 2017 shortly after I moved to the United States to kick off my career in this country,” she says. “I enjoyed the diversity of this program and being in a cohort with many different backgrounds. I had a chance to meet my current employer in a class presentation from our COO at Kerecis, which in my opinion was the start of my professional career. I enjoy every second of my job. I am so thankful for all the opportunities the MSM brought to my professional life.” Nikghadam was able to apply her MSM credits toward the MBA, enabling her to complete her second Mason master’s program much more quickly with graduation in May 2023.
Getting a foot in the door is the hardest part for many young professionals since professional networks take time to build. But rather than taking a “gap year” or waiting to hear back on job applications, they can seriously differentiate themselves from the competition by completing the MSM program at the School of Business. More than just earning a graduate degree, MSM graduates are building skills and confidence instead of struggling to learn them in the office environment. “Even if you don't have business in your job title, you're working with some kind of business. You're doing some kind of management,” says Grady. “It's not often that we have one person working in a silo to develop a product or develop a technology or to innovate.” The MSM program is here to make sure that students have the experiences necessary to discover what they want to pursue, attract the attention of employers where they want to work, and to have the confidence and competency to succeed on the job.