Unlike MBA programs that are often male-dominated, specialized master’s degree programs in marketing and communications at business schools attract a large percentage of women.
In 2015, 60 percent of programs saw an increase in applications from women — a higher increase than for most other specialized master’s degrees, according to a September report from the Graduate Management Admission Council. As many as 73 percent of programs had an increase of women applicants in 2014.
Experts say marketing programs can be especially enticing options for women eager to hone their business skills because they will be surrounded by role models and peers who share their interests.
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“I think it’s an industry that has a lot of women working in it, which I think, feels comfortable,” says Wendy A. Boland, an associate professor of marketing and associate dean of graduate programs in the Kogod School of Business at American University. “I think it’s an industry where women can be very successful and there are many that are.”
In 2013, 43.1 percent of marketing and sales managers were women, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
MBA programs and business leaders, in contrast, tend to skew male.
Among full-time, two-year MBA programs, women were 37 percent of applicants in 2014 and 39 percent in 2013, according to GMAC.
“They’re very filled with men going into finance and accounting and so it can be very difficult to feel comfortable in that environment,” says Janicia Moore, who received a master’s in marketing from Kogod this year. Her program had about 18 students and was about two-thirds female, she says.
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“I feel like in an MBA, I might be more aware of how my gender affects me being in an MBA program,” she says. “Do I speak up? Do I not speak up? Am I speaking up too much?”
Like many specialized master’s degree programs, marketing programs are a new option at many business schools.
Kogod’s program is in its third year. The Fox School of Business and Management at Temple University just launched an online master’s in digital innovation in marketing program, with an inaugural class that’s 74 percent women, says Amy Lavin, an assistant professor in the business school and director of the program.
Business students at University of Colorado–Boulder’s Leeds School of Business can learn about marketing through the school’s master’s in business analytics program, which is in its third year and offers a marketing concentration, says Margaret Campbell, a professor of marketing and associate dean for strategic initiatives at the school.
Many programs that teach about marketing are for one year, while full-time MBA programs are typically two-year commitments. The shorter time in school to learn marketing skills may be another draw for women who may have other obligations, such as taking care of a family, says Campbell.
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“It’s tough to have babies while you are a full-time master’s student,” she says. “When you look at that notion of taking out two years versus taking out one year, I think that that one year makes it more available to a variety of people.”
In the business analytics program, students learn how to create, store and access data in order to use it effectively. If they specialize in marketing, they’ll also learn about market intelligence, business analytics and customer analytics.
In master’s degree programs that focus more directly on marketing, such as the program at Kogod or Fox, students learn about marketing research, applied market segmentation and digital marketing, among other topics.
A graduate program in marketing or communications from a school of communications, in contrast, may focus less on business administration and more on media economics, crisis communications and similar topics.
Once students graduate with a marketing background from a business school, they can work in brand management, public relations, digital marketing or other fields.
Moore, from Kogod, works as an account coordinator for a communications firm in D.C. She’s still in touch with many of her classmates and goes to happy hour with a few of them about once a week.
When she decided to get a specialized master’s degree in business school instead of an MBA, many questioned her decision, thinking the MBA would be a better investment. But, she encourages others — especially women — who may be interested in studying marketing to go for it.
“If you choose the right institution, you can still get the same networking opportunities, you can still get the same education, just more specialized and more targeted for what works for your life. And I think that’s really what women need,” she says. “We don’t need to be boxed in anymore. We really need to have things that are flexible with what we want.”
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Marketing and Communication Programs in Business School a Draw for Women originally appeared on usnews.com
