New York University

This program is a true waste of time. Due to the classes being only 6 weeks it's difficult to really learn anything valuable. The teachers are knowledgable, but most of the course work is just busy work, nothing analytical or intellectual. Watch out for the staff at the main office...good luck getting a call back. Every single time I called the main office with an urgent question, I am taken to an answering service, where I have left several messages, but NEVER get a call back. You would think with the kind of tuition you pay you would get better service/support. If you are thinking of enrolling in this program, I would think twice before wasting your hard earned money.

I completed this program in 27 months while also working full-time. I had a 720 GMAT and 10 years of solid managerial experience when I applied and was also considering Stern and Columbia MBA programs part-time. In the final analysis, this program met my needs in that my resume now shows an MS from a top-tier school in a relevant field. I was able to finish in about 70% the time of typical part-time MBA programs. Since I was already established in my field, establishing contacts for my professional network wasn't that important to me. As for the educational experience itself, it was decent but has lots of room for improvement. Some professors are great -- well qualified, knowledgeable and excited to teach. Others miss the mark on one or more of those criteria. Current textbooks were used and the online facility was fine, so no complaints there. The flexibility in class scheduling is a big advantage of this program compared to a traditional MBA or even executive MBA. I was able to take double loads on short notice and could select easier classes for semesters where I knew my day job workload would be especially heavy. I do wish more classes were offered on Saturdays -- the majority of campus classes are on weeknights. The masters thesis is a sore subject with a lot of students, because it's very time-consuming and the department gives candidates virtually no support in the effort. It took me about 10 months to complete my thesis, but in the end I'm very glad that it's part of the requirement because it added a depth to my experience that differentiates it from the hundreds of other similar degrees being offered by other institutions. I pray that NYU doesn't relax or eliminate the thesis requirement. Yes, it's completely crazy that this degree cost me $50k -- I can't imagine how profitable SCPS must be for NYU -- but the presence of this degree does help me qualify for jobs that I would not otherwise get. For an established professional looking for a resume-booster and a new set of skills, this program is a good option.

If you want to tools to be a good or great manager, this is the best program available. It is taught from a technological perspective, but it is not necessary to be from this background to succeed. The program was not only insightful, but also very comprehensive. This business degree is taught from a management perspective. The structure is there to cover all pertinent topics necessary to be a good manager. Some of the courses include Project Management, Financial Management, Leadership, Marketing Management, Strategic Change, Knowledge Management, and IT.

I am about to complete this program, and so far I've been very satisfied with the quality of it. It is a challenging program; courses are six-weeks long, which means that the student needs to devote several hours a day in readings and assignments to fully take advantage of them. As a part-time student with a full-time job, this fast-track like system has proven to be really good to really concentrate on the current courses I take and fully understand the materials. Regarding the faculty, most of them are practitioners, which is in fact the orientation of the program. That been said, there are several professors with PhDs, which I believe ends up balancing the practitioner and theoretical points of view. One of the things I've liked the most is the quality of the student body; I have to say that I'm pleasantly surprised by the diversity (in age, nationality and experience) and knowledge that the students bring to the classroom. As for the previous comment, I cannot talk about job placement after completing the program as I'm not at that stage already. Overall, although somehow pricey (it's NYU), I would recommend this program for working professionals who want to further their IT related careers from a practitioner's point of view, either by continuing in the IT world or transitioning to more business-oriented positions.

Overall, it is a total waste of money and time. You do not acquire any professional skills - like using statistical tools/software for research. They teach you a WBS is a bar chart, they don't get into a project management plan in the project management course. Yet these two courses take one semester to complete. Totally irrelevant.