What would be a good master's degree.....?

Question

I have a BS in Psch. I'm currently an event coordinator for a not-for-profit. What would be a good Master's to get in order to be eligible and ready for a management/executive position? I'ev been looking into public admin..?

Answer 1

There are many options here. The key part is that your experience will play at least as large a role as your education. Some excellent options include:

Master's in Nonprofit Management. You can find a list of programs in this area at:
http://tltc.shu.edu/npo/list.php?sort=state&type=gr

MBA - this is good if you want more general positions. However it may lack specifics related to work in nonprofits. A good type of program if you want to move into the corporate (rather than nonprofit of philanthropic world).

MA in Liberal Studies. This is a good type of program for a general Master's degree with a range of uses. It will not specifically prepare you for a single career path but will give you a broadbase of knowledge and a Master's for those positions that simply require a gradaute degree. Two examples of this type of program include:

http://www.metrostate.edu/cas/libarts/master_liberal_studies.html

http://hamline.edu/gls/index.html

Two good places for researching what types of education is helpful in nonprofits are:
http://www.idealist.org
http://www.guidestar.org/

Answer 2

If you want a management/executive position, you need an MBA.

BTW, remember you'll be going against people who have Masters in Math, Finance or Engineering, along with an MBA, all from top universities, plus a lot of work and leadership experience. They just don't hand out executive positions with executive salaries. Put a little realism in your aspirations.

Answer 3

Public administration might be OK. An MBA in management or marketing would also be good choices.