One the main aspects that drew me to the Wisconsin School of Business MBA program and the A.C. Nielsen Center for Marketing Analytics and Insights was the unique program model. I knew that I needed core business coursework to build the skills I needed for my career, but I also was deeply interested in the research that went into marketing strategies and campaigns. The WSB MBA program offered me the opportunity to fulfil both. The key differences that I think make the model stand out are the structure of the coursework and the career/networking opportunities available.
Like many MBA programs, the first year is mainly dedicated to core coursework that builds business fundamentals from Finance to Strategy. But a key difference is that each specialization also enrolls in a course or multiple courses required by their program. In the A.C. Nielsen Center, that included a Marketing Research and Marketing Analytics course as well as a Current Topics course. This allows students like me to learn these subjects with my fellow MBAs across different specializations, while also honing a specific set of skills and knowledge.
In the second year, the programs become more specialized. For the A.C. Nielsen Center, we are taking classes that explore different methodologies in marketing analytics and insights, from experiments and data analysis to qualitative methods. And we still enroll in the Current Topics course, which is helpful in keeping us all abreast of current trends and themes in the industry. Something I’ve also enjoyed about my second year is the opportunity to take electives, which can be fulfilled by a number of classes across a range of subject areas. For my electives this semester I am enrolled in a Bargaining and Negotiations class along with a Brand Strategy class, while some students are taking pricing or prescriptive modeling courses. The use of electives still allows us to explore subject areas outside of our specialization, or hone-in on a certain skill set with analytics and insights.
Beyond the coursework, one of the benefits of the specialization model is the career opportunities it presents to students. Through on-campus recruiting with the A.C. Nielsen Center, I was able to make direct connections with employers hiring interns in the exact roles I was interested in. While in other programs you may have to more actively seek out roles and be open to different types of work, this specialization model allows for a more direct connection to companies. Not to mention, the Current Topics course also frequently involves alumni and other speakers, and this has been a great source of industry connection. I’ve also found the external advisory board to be an invaluable resource with representatives from a wide breadth of companies within the analytics and insights industry. Outside of the A.C. Nielsen Center, WSB also has offered a host of networking opportunities that are available to students regardless of specialization. This includes case competitions, speaker series and career fairs/informational sessions.
Overall, the specialization model is truly what has made this program special for me and so many of my fellow classmates.
Categories: