Graduate Programs

 As a graduate student ambassador at the Albers School, prospective students often ask me why I chose to pursue the MBA degree rather than a MSF, given my interest in finance. For me, this decision was based on the flexibility of a MBA degree. Entering graduate school with a background in biomedical research, I envisioned pursuing a career in the pharmaceutical industry as a Commercialization Officer or Marketing Director upon graduation. However, after completing the core classes in marketing and finance, I realized that my true interests and skills were in finance. At this point, I considered changing my degree to the MSF because I wanted to have the strong background in finance that it would allow me to obtain. In addition, the advanced courses in finance held my interest more strongly than the core classes I still had left to finish for the MBA degree. In making my decision, I considered the direction I wanted to head with my career and the benefits of focusing exclusively on finance. I determined that although I would be able to take more classes of interest with a MSF, it would most likely be more important for me to be well-rounded in my business knowledge. Therefore, I decided to continue in the MBA program. Encountering prospective students who are wrestling with the same decision, my advice to them is to consider their career objectives and the types of problems they enjoy solving. My advanced finance classes are courses I look forward to because the subject matter highly interests me; however, I have gained a great appreciation for the breadth of knowledge that the MBA program has enabled me to obtain.

Written by Thuy Vien. Thuy can be reached at: vient@seattleu.edu