The new Master of Science in Management offers an advanced degree in half the time of a traditional Master’s in Business Administration.

California Lutheran University launched  the degree in August 2017 for non-business majors.

Director  of MBA programs Sumantra Sengupta said, “This course is set up for students without business degrees to learn the proper business skills they need in order to succeed and make a difference.”

The curriculum for the MSM program is the same as if a student were pursuing a complete MBA, the only difference is there are fewer classes required.

School of Management Dean Gerhard Apfelthaler said, “There is always a certain minimum skill set that one needs in order to be a productive member of that particular company or industry. We walk students through the foundations of business and a few other skills.”

The courses are handpicked from foundation, core and emphasis classes. The capstone course is an internship or study abroad experience.

“The last course that the students take in the program is really exciting,” Apfelthaler said. “They can go on an international business trip where we take students to different countries and regions and we meet with different companies.”

Apfelthaler said he thinks many students will choose the internship route because it functions as “an elaborate way of interviewing future employees.”

Sengupta said that through various marketing efforts, the program has gained the attention of at least seven students this fall above his projected estimate of eight students enrolled for the year.

“We are fairly confident that students will increase the market value. By having an undergrad degree, let’s say a science degree and a master’s in management, definitely gives you an edge over someone who has just a business degree or just a science degree,” Apfelthaler said.

MSM student Coriandra Wood graduated Cal Lutheran with a bachelor of arts degree in French.

“When I attended the info session, meeting I was really happy about it and I was really interested in the travel portion. Plus it was only a year,” Wood said.

Wood had not heard of the program before, but said she stumbled across it in the School of Management section of the Cal Lutheran website. She applied only two weeks before the program began.

Wood said when she completes the program, she intends to use the new business skills learned and apply them to her career working at National Auto Parts of America.

“The skills taught in MSM will eventually help students find their place in an organization and how they can create their own value in order to contribute that to organization,” Apfelthaler said.

The travel and internship opportunities, combined with a shortened completion time make the members of the MSM program confident that the program will continue to grow in the years to come.

Rose Reihl

Reporter