The Sprott School of Business will be offering a new two-in-one degree for graduate students in the fall of 2016.
Students will be able to obtain a master’s degree in economics with a concentration in financial economics, as well as a Master of Business Administration (MBA), with a concentration in finance and economics.
“The attraction to a student would be differentiating themselves,” said Keir Armstrong, the chair of the Department of Economics at Carleton. “This dual degree really differentiates a student because they have the economic theory at a higher level than what they get at the undergrad [level], and they have the practical sort of aspects of the MBA.”
According to Armstrong, combining the two degrees is a decision that made sense.
This sentiment is echoed by Lorraine Dyke, the associate dean of MBA programs at Sprott.
“I think for sure they’ll be more attractive [to employers],” Dyke said. “I mean, with two degrees and with both those skills sets, so the management skills and the theoretical foundations in economics, I think [it] will be quite valuable.”
Through the dual-degree pathway, students will receive both degrees in 20 months. Normally, it would take 16 months to receive an MBA and eight months to receive a master’s degree in economics.
While the two degrees have been combined, students will still have to apply to both separately and will have to meet the admission requirements for each degree.
In addition to providing students with in-class instruction on economic trends, students are also expected to complete a four-month internship requirement as a part of the MBA portion of the degree.
“There’s always been a lot of interest in the economics department in business courses, so a lot of economics students at the undergrad level. For example, take a minor in business,” Dyke said. “So it just seemed a natural fit for us because we do have those ties already with economics, to offer that as a combined degree.”
Carleton is not the first university to offer a dual degree. York University was the first to offer a combined law and MBA degree, while the University of Toronto was the first to combine an MBA with an undergrad in engineering. Other universities, such as McGill University or the University of Calgary, allow students to combine an MBA with a medical degree, according to The Globe and Mail.
“We’re always looking for new degree possibilities and those don’t always involve creating an all new degree,” Armstrong said. “Other ways to create a degree are just to go, ‘look, there are these two cognate areas one could study and why not make it easier for a student to do both at the same time.’ That’s really what this is.”
While this the first dual degree being offered at Carleton, Sprott is looking at combining other degrees with an MBA, Dyke said, adding, “It’s the first, but not the last.”
