UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — The Penn State Smeal College of Business announced today (Aug. 22) its intention to implement changes to its full-time resident master’s degree in business administration that will enhance the college’s growing portfolio of professional graduate programs and strengthen its strategic focus on lifelong learning.
According to Charles Whiteman, John and Karen Arnold Dean, the college intends to transition its two-year resident MBA to a one-year MBA with a STEM designation aimed at early-career professionals starting in the fall of 2023. The new degree, which would also replace the one-year master’s degree in management and organizational leadership, represents the latest move in a decade-long transformation of professional graduate programs in response to changing student needs and preferences. Other recent changes include the addition of an executive doctorate degree in business administration, a new master’s degree in accounting analytics, and redesign of the executive MBA in Philadelphia.
“We have long believed that it is time to think differently about graduate business education in America, and we have been committed to leading the way,” said Whiteman. “Today’s business leaders expect to acquire new skills on an as-needed basis and within a curriculum that can be customized to the specific needs of their role, company, industry or life stage.”
Whiteman points to Smeal’s flexible, integrated portfolio of graduate programs as evidence of the college’s leadership in lifelong learning. Smeal now offers three forms of the MBA (the online MBA in collaboration with Penn State World Campus and Penn State’s Behrend, Harrisburg and Great Valley campuses; the executive MBA in Philadelphia; and the proposed one-year MBA for early-career professionals), the new doctorate in business administration, 14 online and resident specialty master’s degrees, and 14 online certificates. The proposed STEM designation of the one-year MBA would enhance Smeal’s ability to attract the best and brightest domestic and international students, especially those pursuing management positions in information technology, architecture, engineering and related fields.
“We recognize that one size does not fit all when it comes to the evolving needs of our students,” Whiteman said. “In the past decade, Smeal has built one of the largest and most robust professional graduate business portfolios in the country, affording working professionals learning options across all career stages and life circumstances. As enrollments in Smeal’s online and one-year specialty business master’s degrees continue to increase, this transition will provide Penn State students with new opportunities for customized degree programs that help them meet their educational and career goals.”
The future of the MBA
According to the Graduate Management Admission Council, more than half (54%) of the top 50 U.S. full-time MBA programs ranked by U.S. News and World Report reported a decline in domestic application volume in 2021 compared to the previous year. For programs ranked 51 and below, 7 in 10 (69%) reported a decline in domestic application volume compared to the previous year.
“For years, the number of students interested in committing to a full-time, two-year resident program has steadily decreased while other, more flexible learning options have proliferated across the country,” Whiteman said. He noted that the University of Iowa, University of Illinois, and Wake Forest University have in the past five years shuttered their two-year resident MBA programs.
“At Smeal, we carefully evaluated our program over several years and arrived at a solution that leverages the strength of our integrated professional graduate portfolio. We considered many factors and, ultimately, made a financially responsible, forward-thinking decision,” Whiteman continued.
Initially, Smeal plans to offer two sections of the early-career, one-year MBA program, each consisting of 55 to 60 students. Fall 2022 marks the final intake for the two-year resident MBA program, and the new early-career, one-year MBA program will be offered for the first time in fall 2023.