![]() ![]() Roanoke’s introduction of an MBA builds on its strong undergraduate programs in business and finance. “I think having a master’s degree puts you further in the right direction and ahead of the rest of the pack.” ![]() “The business world is only getting more and more competitive,” said Colin Burns ’23, who this past spring earned his bachelor’s degree in business administration with a concentration in finance. But their MBA work will help them hone a versatile skillset with relevance to many fields and roles. The group’s future career goals were diverse: marketing, asset management, sports promotion. The program’s tuition was also competitive with other MBA programs nationwide, which helped make it a viable opportunity. The opportunity to continue working with Roanoke’s faculty was another draw. Students cited the challenging work as part of the program’s appeal. LEARN MORE: Roanoke College’s Master of Business Administration Program Eleven faculty members, in total, will play a part in the program. Courses on deck include finance, leadership, strategic marketing, supply chain management and more. The class will cover considerable ground in the curriculum ahead. That focus on teamwork is something I’m excited about because I know the benefits that they’ll take away from it.” They’ll look back at this and realize how important it was to them. But this is taking it to a new level professionally. “That sense of community is something they’re already grounded in from their undergraduate here at Roanoke. They're bouncing ideas off each other and discussing. “The opportunities for sharing ideas and learning from one another. “To me, that is one of the most fundamental parts of this program and something I’m really excited about for them,” Parkins said. The bonds this class forms during its months of rigorous study will be unlike any other. That extends to the classroom setting itself, she added. That in-person engagement and relationship building is a hallmark of the program’s design, said Betsy Parkins, director of Roanoke College’s Center for Leadership and Entrepreneurial Innovation and an instructor in the program. In addition to the students (pictured above), the event was attended by faculty, administrators and President Frank Shushok Jr. Roanoke College ushered in its inaugural MBA class with a welcome dinner on campus earlier this month. Networking events and alumni meetups pepper the calendar as well. In addition to that partnership, the campus career center for Purpose, Life And Career Exploration ( PLACE ) is pairing each student with a business mentor who will work with them over the next year. That will culminate in an intensive capstone project that will be shaped with the help of local business leaders to challenge students to find solutions for a real-world issue. The class will work in rotating cohorts to tackle in-depth projects as their courses unfold. The MBA curriculum emphasizes hands-on learning and team dynamics - principles that will serve the students well in their future careers and that build on strengths already at the core of the Roanoke experience. But we’re already starting to see them level up those skills. ![]() We knew they had a certain skill level right off the bat. “They came into this with a great foundation from Roanoke College. “I’m just so excited for the students,” said Associate Dean Sharon Gibbs, who served on the MBA steering committee and is teaching one of the program’s first courses. The year ahead will be filled with not just classroom work but real-world projects, teambuilding and one-on-one mentorships. The program’s inaugural class of 11 students kicked off their studies this month. The 4+1 structure is an accelerated track that allows driven Roanoke graduates to complete their bachelor's in four years and their MBA in one additional year rather than the standard two. RELATED: Roanoke College prepares to offer first graduate courses in more than a century The launch of Roanoke’s 4+1 MBA is a major milestone that marks the College’s return to offering a graduate degree program for the first time since the 1920s. It was a good opportunity to get my master’s, which I already wanted, at an institution that I already love.” “I was emailing professors a few weeks before it was even definite that it was happening,” recalled Booth, a Roanoke native who earned her bachelor’s degree in economics this spring. When Roanoke College announced a year ago that it was pursuing plans for an MBA program, Elizabeth Booth ’23 knew immediately that she was all in. ![]()
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