Ask Stacy Blackman

Dear justrohiet,

I encourage you to contact LSE directly to inquire if you are eligible for the the MSc program. Depending on how much overlap is between your current master's degree and the MSc program, it may or may not be an issue. The admissions staff is also the best to ask for insights on how the rest of your profile will be viewed and what you might want to work on in the event you are eligible to apply.

Good luck,
Lisa

I'm sorry to hear you could not get more information from LSE. The staff probably wants to see your transcript before answering the question on whether your current MBA precludes you from applying there.

Most US business schools will not accept your application if you already hold an MBA from another school, so you need to look for Master of Science (MS) programs in the US. Those are few in number, to be honest, in the business disciplines and usually fall under the larger disciplines like finance, information systems, human resources and marketing. You might find a few in international business, but many US academics do not view international business as a separate discipline--it is merely part of the nature of doing business today in the formal, traditional disciplines. So, you might look into MS programs in one of the traditional disciplines where you want to increase your knowledge, like finance or marketing, and then research the curriculum for the number of courses with a global focus. I also encourage you to research the few Master of International Management (MIM) programs that are out there--but you will need to inquire whether or not your current MBA will remove you from consideration of those programs. The best known MIM (or similar) programs in the US would be Thunderbird (in Arizona) and University of South Carolina, as well as some on the west coast (California, Oregon, Washington). You might also try to search on mba.com even though you are not looking for an MBA program as many schools will list their other graduate programs in addition to the MBA on that site.

Hope that helps,
Lisa

Rohit,

Career opportunities are often what you make them to be in the US, so it will greatly depend on you and your individual effort. It is best to research the program and its career services office to get an idea of how strong a tie there is to the consulting industry and what types of jobs graduates take when leaving the program. You might also try to participate in a chat with school representatives and/or current students to be able to ask detailed questions for information not readily available on the internet. Generally speaking, the consulting industry hires folks from diverse backgrounds and degree programs, so I am sure there are MIM graduates in the consulting space.

Regards,
Lisa

Dear AGupta,

The admissions office at LSE should be able to field your questions, but you might also check the school's website first as some might be readily available there. You should be able to find a class profile to compare your profile to, which will give you a sense of how competitive you are on the surface. The application does give you a chance to distinguish yourself from the competition, so don't discount the importance of the essays, recommendations and interview.

Good luck,
Lisa

Dear tanni,

Placement results depend mostly on the individual and secondly on other factors like the school and the job market. You should be able to get an idea of the types of industries and functional areas where MSc graduates accept positions from the schools' placement reports. I also encourage you to do some research, perhaps talk with the career services offices at these programs, to determine what career services are available to you, how the career services office helps you with your search.

Having another graduate degree, like a MSc, will not exclude you from applying for an MBA as long as the MSc is not viewed as an equivalent degree. You will need to verify that the MSc programs you are considering are truly MSc programs and not MBA-equivalent programs if you want to have the option of getting an MBA later. I will caution you though that it is important for you to look at this decision with a long-term perspective. You need to have solid reasoning for both degrees. MBA admissions officers will want to know why you need an MBA in addition to the MSc degree for your career goals. Why are both degrees necessary for your goals? How do these degrees fit in with your overall career plan?

Good luck,
Lisa