MBA program returns to WSU next fall

After a two-year hiatus, Washington State University is accepting applications for its retooled, one-year master of business administration program for the fall 2013 semester.

David Knuff, named director of the program three months ago, said it had been shelved to focus faculty resources on undergraduate education and update the 5-year-old program.

During the hiatus, several faculty members spoke with companies like KPMG, Microsoft and Amazon to assess what skill sets their management employees are lacking.

“What we heard repeatedly is people don’t have the skills to look at data, look at information, and make decisions based on that data,” Knuff said.

That led to the tagline they eventually came up with for the program: “Data-driven decisions with a global perspective.” David Sprott, associate dean within the College of Business and Graduate Programs, said that kind of curriculum is rare in the university market.

“I’ve done some market analysis to see how unique it is, and there are some really high-end schools that do it,” Sprott said.

Sprott said it’s important for business leaders to not just be able to look at data, but to know what to do with it. Not only is social media an important tool for data gathering, but club cards, online purchases and websites a person visits can provide key knowledge for businesses, as well.

Knuff said he is aiming to have 30 students next fall. Then, WSU will assess its capacity needs for the next year. The program will run from August to August, with a three-week summer internship abroad for the students. Knuff said they are working on gathering businesses that would be willing to partner with them to set up those internships, such as a Nestle factory in Switzerland and other large, international companies.

Knuff said that after working as a visiting professor at Cisar Ritz Colleges in Switzerland, he feels an international perspective is important.

“It’s much easier to travel and work in different countries than it ever has been, so I think it’s important to understand the perspective of other countries, other cultures, how they do business, how they operate,” he said.

The program has generated some excitement from students so far, but Sprott said it’s business leaders who have shown the most interest.

“I was talking to a couple of CEOs in Seattle on Monday about this general idea, and they got really excited about it,” Sprott said. “And I’ve had that from multiple industries and different backgrounds.”

Prospective applicants are expected to have a foundational set of business courses before applying, but Knuff said someone with extensive business experience would be considered. Applicants are required to take the Graduate Management Admission Test, preferably before they apply, and score guidelines can be found on the program website.