The graduate program will begin its first cohort this fall and finish in June.
To learn more information about the MSMR program, attend the information session at 6 p.m. this Monday, Oct. 27, in Morken 103.
By Reland Tuomi, Editor-in-Chief
Finding a job after college is on most students’ minds, especially near the end of spring semester. With the new graduate program from the School of Business, it can be easier to get a higher paying job more quickly.
The Master of Science in Marketing Research (MSMR) is hosted by the School of Business and will be a full-time 10-month program starting in fall 2015.
The graduate program will begin its first cohort this fall and finish in June.
To receive an MSMR at Pacific Lutheran University, a student will take 10 classes adding up to 38 credits. The program will guide students as they develop and complete a marketing research project.
The classes focus on market research, data collections and synthesizing the data to present a project in June. Four classes will be taken in fall, one in J-term, four in spring and one in June, so its might feel like a fifth year of undergrad.
“I think I might enroll [in the program],” said junior Kyle Parsons, a Business major emphasizing in Marketing and Finance. “You get it in less than a year, so it’s really intense, meaning you get a lot out of it. Plus, you can get it really quickly.”
Applications are due by March 1—earlier for international students—and are available online now here.
The program is accepting 20 students and PLU alumni receive a 10 percent discount. An applicant must have a bachelor’s degree from an accredited university and a minimum 3.0 GPA. The application also requires a $40 application fee, GMAT or GRE scores, an updated resume, an official transcript, an essay on personal goals between 300 and 400 words, and two letters of recommendation. All of this information can be found online.
This may sound like a lot of work, but compared to other graduate programs around the Puget Sound, PLU’s MSMR is much more swift and concentrated.
For the University of Washington’s MBA in the Foster School of Business, the application requires a $160 fee, three recommendations, seven years of experience, an interview and will take two years to complete the degree.
Seattle Pacific University requires a $50 application fee, GMAT of 500 or higher and GPA of 3.2 or higher, five years of post-baccalaureate work, two letters of recommendation and take three years to complete the degree.
“I’m interested in the 10 percent discount, but I also have been here four years already and I’m still not used to living in Parkland,” said senior Dania Tolentino, a Communication major with an emphasis in PR and Advertising. “I’d be more inclined in doing it right after I graduate because I’ll be 23 and already have my masters. But I might want to go out and get more experience and more money before getting my masters.”
For those still unconvinced about the graduate program, professor Mari Peterson, director of the MSMR program, says a master’s degree will lead to a higher paying job.
“The average mean wage is highest in the state of Washington than the whole United States,” Peterson said. “There is a need out there and that need is based on the number of positions and wages earned.” And employers are more likely to higher someone with a masters rather than BA.
In addition to business majors and minors, interest may come from communication, computer science, economics, math and psychology students, said Petersons.
To learn more information about the MSMR program, attend the information session at 6 p.m. this Monday, Oct. 27, in Morken 103.
