Many current and former students, plus some working professionals, ask me about grad school. Should I? If so, in what? Where?
Many seek a master’s degree as a competitive advantage. A graduate degree helps differentiate you in the marketplace, adding a level of skill and experience through higher education. Nowadays, in a competitive communication/PR/IMC job market, added credentials are helpful. But so are undergraduate internships and work experience. Even if your work experience was as a restaurant server, you proved to potential employers that you can work and earn a paycheck. The internships give you practical, hands-on experience to complement your academic work.
My advice about whether or not to pursue a graduate degree is, first, tell me why do you wish to have a graduate degree? What do you want it to do for you? What are your long-term goals? Do you wish to have a competitive advantage in the job market? Or, do you wish to have a start on a doctorate perhaps to become a scholar later? Or, do you simply wish to continue learning?
The answer to that question leads logically to the next question: in what do you wish to obtain a graduate degree? Here’s where the cognitive dissonance appears in those with undergraduate mass communication/PR/IMC degrees — what should I study?
To answer this question, consider your goals again. Do you wish to gain marketable skills? Then choose a graduate program from a university that offers the best of what skills you wish to build. For example, if you wish to enhance your knowledge of mass communication or public relations or integrated marketing communication, then conduct research and choose from the many good programs offered. Consider programs that stress an applied approach. If you are considering a doctorate later, then choose a program with a more scholarly program.
There are other choices than only a master’s degree in communication. For example, the Master’s of Business Administration (MBA). I chose to earn an MBA. I graduated in 1970 with a B.A. degree in Communication. I was working in a corporate communication department when I joined IABC in 1973. IABC has been my personal “graduate school” all through my career. I wanted an advanced degree, but I knew that I wanted an MBA for these reasons: I knew that whatever I did in my career, I was dedicated to being an organizational communicator. I knew that I could learn the latest thinking, cutting-edge techniques, and best practices through IABC, but whatever I learned, it would be applied to business. Therefore, I chose to learn more about business management and administration. Conclusion: I wanted an MBA.
The MBA is one clear choice for those who wish to build their business credentials. But in the past few years, another attractive option has emerged, the Master’s degree in Integrated Marketing Communication (IMC). The Medill School at Northwestern University says it pioneered the IMC graduate program. According to its Website, the program “combines the traditional areas of marketing communications with business skills in marketing, finance, statistics and organizational behavior to form a unique program on the cutting edge of marketing communications and customer relationship management. “
I have seen advertisements in business magazines that blatantly pitch the Medill IMC degree against the traditional MBA. I am not qualified to judge who wins this argument. Time will tell. The marketplace will be the judge. I know that as a consultant and head of my own firm, Les Potter Incorporated, business leaders/clients appreciated the fact that I had an MBA. The degree opened doors. I had credentials as a strategic communication planner and manager, such as decades of organizational communication management experience, my IABC accreditation, a best-selling manual on strategic communication planning, hosts of published articles, and hundreds of speaking engagements. But I am convinced that the MBA after my name sold many accounts.
Consider the timing of graduate study. Some may wish to complete undergraduate studies, then begin graduate school immediately. That’s fine. Get the most credentials you can before you enter the job market.
Here’s a tip: go to work for three to five years. Chances are you may land a job with an organization that has a tuition reimbursement program. Such programs reimburse part of the costs of additional education that enhances your job performance. You will have to have been on the job for a set time period, and you may have to agree to stay with the organization for a set period of time for the organization to pay part of your schooling costs. But it is still a great deal.
There is an added advantage to working for a few years before you return to the classroom. You will have valuable experience that will help you in your studies. You will have real world examples from which to draw in completing various assignments. Your work experience will prove quite valuable in your graduate studies. Plus, the school environment will be stimulating after a hard day’s work. You will probably be studying with other working professionals, thereby expanding your network and circle of friends.
Do not forget the value of professional associations in all this. I remain passionate about the positive role that professional association involvement plays in your career. All things considered, IABC and PRSA remain cheap grad school.
Great advice, Les! I second your recommendations to work three to five years first and identify one’s objectives. There are significant differences between applied programs and ones that have an emphasis on scholarship.
I went to graduate school because my undergraduate training did not formally provide an education in public relations. For your readers who do not have a formal PR education, I recommend choosing a master’s program in public relations. For those who already have a formal PR education (such as your students), an MBA is an excellent choice — particularly for students who do not plan to get a doctoral degree.
Sound advice, Tiffany. Thank you.
Speaking of education, you recently asked about having PR students study advertising too. Is it a good idea? I think that becoming a generalist is always better than becoming a specialist, especially early in one’s career. The more you know and the more you can do, the more attractive you are to a potential employer. Having a large tool kit is better than a small one.
It is always great to hear from you, TD.
Les
That advice could not have come at a better time, because I am currently researching graduate programs. And although I’ve found wonderful PR/Public Affairs and Communication programs I am asking myself – What’s the point?
I think the best advice you gave was for undergraduates to pursue employement upon graduation. Then individuals are better able to make decisions about what they want from their careers and if they desire more from a formal education.
Whenever I’m feeling overwhelmed or undecided about my education options I just remember that school will always be available, but time wont, so working towards gaining valuable work experience is always a good choice.
Les, do you have a general sense of how IMC degrees are being received in the business world? I am also considering degree programs and, on the surface, the IMC programs are appealing to me.
Sarah:
This is an excellent and timely question. I do not have any quantifiable information to share with you, but let’s throw this question out to MWL readers.
What about it? Do any of you have a sense of how well an IMC grad degree is being received in the marketplace? I am sure some of my professor colleagues might have some insight into this issue. Also, my practitioner colleagues, too. What do you know?
Les
Great post, Les. I’ve been getting similar questions from our students (it’s that time of year). Because our program is a postgraduate certificate for university grads, I usually suggest that our grads take the route you propose: work for three to five years in the business to help determine which master’s degree best suits your career (and, of course, the potential of having your organization chip in on the costs!).
In Canada, we have several university graduate programs aimed at practitioners with work experience (most notably: Master of Communications Management at McMaster in Ontario, and an MBA in PR at Royal Roads in British Columbia).
Sarah’s question about an IMC degree is intriguing. I haven’t seen any evidence of this as a PR entry point here. But, I haven’t really been monitoring that route, either. I suppose an IMC credential will take on more clout as the lines between marketing and PR continue to blur, but it would be shame if specialized PR knowledge was generally subsumed in this way. I’ll be interested in what others have to say about that one.
Hello Gary. Thank you for contributing to this discussion. Sarah has me going on this question, too. I am not aware of any research that would help us determine how well received or not an IMC grad degree might be. I am tempted to contact Medill for any information they might have to justify the program.
Another idea — IABC, PRSA, if you are listening, what do you know about IMC grad degrees? Help us out here.
You raise an important issue for further discussion Gary about the integration of marketing, advertising, PR. My 36-student PR Principles class is currently researching discussion in the blogosphere about IMC v. PR. I am anxiuous to read their findings.
Hi Les,
Great post and an important one. I’d like to throw out an additional important reason for pursuing an MBA (and I’m considering doing that myself this year).
Communicators have moaned for decades about the lack of a “seat at the table” in business, relegated essentially to taking orders after strategic decisions about direction, message and positioning were made by senior – and often non-comm oriented – executives in the business. It became cliche to say that we as communicators had to better speak “the language of the CEO and CFO” to earn their respect, and hopefully that golden seat.
As Shelley Bird, then Chief COmm Officer at NCR, so aptly pointed out in her “The Six Cs of Winning a Seat in the C-Suite” presentation at the IABC Annual Conference in Vancouver two years ago, it isn’t enough to show that you know communications, that you know the issues of the industry and the business and you know the language.. If you want the CEO and CFO to include you at the business’ strategic table, you have to prove you have a business acumen, that you know that industry, the company’s business strategy , and the role communications plays in it.
An MBA will help you develop that acumen and, as an added bonus further down the road, position you well for career advancement when you’re opportunities count more on business management than on communications skills.
Another couple notes, working a few years before pursuing also will help clarify for you exactly what you want and need in a program and degree by giving you real world insight into what’s most valued in the career path you’ve chosen, and will give you time in the industry to ensure it really it what you want to do for a living. It will also give you time to mature more (sorry 20-somethings; you’ll understand when you’re 30-something) and grow the added discipline you’ll need to work and study concurrently.
michael clendenin
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Hi Les. Thank you for your enriching article. I am in the process of searching for a graduate school that has a good Masters in PR program. I was considering an MBA as well, but after reading Dr. Derville’s article, I feel that an MA in PR or Communications may be a better choice. However, I have a question for you:
Do you know any good graduate schools that offer full fellowship tuition reimbursements? I plan on attending grad. school in Fall 2009 and I recentcly graduated in May 2007 with a BA in Bus. Admin degree – concentration Marketing. I currently do advertising for a local newspaper company, but they do not offer tuition assistance.
Also:
Do you think online studies in the area of PR or Communications will be profitable for future employment and will equip me with the necessary education and skills needed for current as well as future success? And do you know of any online graduate programs that offer full fellowships as well?
Thanks Les,
Trevor Joseph
Trevor:
Honestly, I do not have a ready list of grad schools that offer full fellowships. However, I know that top schools like the University of Maryland (from which Tiffany Derville is receiving her PH.D. at this very moment today) and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill do. They take only a few carefully chosen candidates and offer fellowship monies, but it is not a livable wage.
The same goes for online programs. I am sorry, but do not have any recommendations. That is a relatively new method of course delivery, so I would be careful. Search carefully and check out any programs very thoroughly. In the end, it all depends on the school and its reputation, accreditation, and the Master’s program and its reputation, and the cost you can afford.
Trevor, my honest opinion is that the school from which you earn your graduate degree, as long as it is an accredited institution, is not as important as how you can apply what you learn. In other words, it is what you can do that ultimately matters the most. A Master’s from a top school may open certain doors, but you can also open your own doors with what you can do and how you can sell yourself with a degree from a lesser known school. It gets down to do your research and make a choice. It will all work out in the end.
One last thing, you might try asking these same questions of the many PR educator blogs out there. Start with my blog roll, for there are many educators listed who will be knowledgeable and helpful, I am sure.
I wish I could give you more specific guidance, but that is what I know and what I believe. I wish you the very best on this exciting journey.
Les