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Adding value with a specialized graduate business degree
Though the popularity of the MBA qualification has grown steadily over the last ten years, the explosion in masters’ degrees catering for specific subject or career areas is staggering. This is why we continue to see demand for more specific business, economics and commerce related degrees – especially in an international context.
A number of reasons exist for this. The demand for business education at the graduate level has continued to grow and with it the demands of the international labour market. Though the popular MBA program still attracts more than 250,000 applicants a year for universities and business schools all over the world, the strict conditions imposed on students before they successfully begin their course of study can provide a limit for those who are otherwise academically qualified. For example, evidence exists that more and more students move from their bachelor’s degree to a masters degree without significant working experience – one of the key requirements for the best international MBA programs – and so they are prevented from pursuing this kind of degree.
Secondly, the demand from employers is such that more specific skills are now required in the increasingly diverse employment market that exists internationally. The previously more generalized approach to management education is still popular, but many institutions are recognising the need to offer programs in areas such as risk analysis, IT management, organizational behaviour and various aspects of financial analysis to answer the specific demands of employers.
The value of business and commerce
The actual value of a graduate degree in the business or management area is certainly something that ensures that programs of this kind are particularly popular internationally. A 2005 study by Australian consulting group Access Economics found that graduate business qualifications generate the greatest estimated net economic benefit of any university degree. A graduate business qualification is estimated to add an extra US$500,000 to the economy, when compared to the benefit generated by a high-school graduate. These benefits apply to the whole economy – from the individuals (whom earn more income) to the government (that collects more tax) and to firms (whom earn greater profits from skilled employees).
Table 1: Economic benefits of undergraduate and graduate qualifications
| All figures in AUD$ | Business Undergrad | Tertiary undergrad | Business postgrad | Tertiary postgrad |
| University cost | $30,239 | $47,382 | $60,351 | $76,714 |
| Student costs | $8,082 | $8,082 | $13,084 | $13,084 |
| Deadweight losses | $5,395 | $11,842 | $3,350 | $3,350 |
| Total cost | $43,716 | $67,305 | $76,786 | $93,149 |
| Income Premium | $542,509 | $250,818 | $736,512 | $347,234 |
| Net economic benefit over a high school graduate | $498,794 | $183,513 | $659,726 | $254,085 |
Like instituitions the world over, the University of Melbourne’s Faculty of Economics and Commerce offers Masters programs in management, marketing, applied commerce, business and IT, international business, accounting and finance. The benefits graduates generate from the graduate programs are not just economic - graduates seek career transition, professional development and intellectual stimulation. They tend also to seek degree programs that are flexible and that allow them to be better qualified for a wide range of jobs. For example, Stephen Bowditch worked in the consulting and pharmaceutical industry for eight years and then chose to study a Master of Applied Commerce, specializing in marketing, to broaden and deepen his business knowledge. Stephen says “having a formal business or marketing qualification at master’s level is increasingly becoming a prerequisite to obtaining positions in the top echelon of companies. As career opportunities are becoming increasingly global, it is important to attend a university with world-wide recognition for teaching quality and research.” Stephen completed the Master recently and has been appointed as Business Development Manager at Eye Research Australia.
Fuelled by demand
Of these specialized business programs, development can often be in response to a demand from industry or the corporate sector. An example of this is forensic accounting. When forensic accounting is mentioned, most people think of the auditing work that brings business fraudsters to court. With a recent KPMG survey finding 45% of Australian and New Zealand firms experiencing fraud, it is not an unreasonable assumption to make. However, there’s more to business forensics than that - divorce cases might seem an unlikely source of work, but forensic accountants are often called on to provide valuations of family company assets to stand as evidence in Family Court cases. Similarly, they are often called on when remedies are sought against deceptive and misleading conduct under the Trade Practices Act, such as when a business has been sold on the basis of inflated statements of turnover.
