In spring 2020 Tarleton’s Master of Science in Management was ranked number 36 among the best Master of Management programs in the nation by FTE Times. Tarleton’s MSM program was also ranked in the top 15% of management schools in the nation by Best Management Schools.

FTE Times is a Media and News company founded in 2013, they focus on reporting business related news. On Jan. 21, 2020, FTE Times published their list for the “2020 Best Masters of Management Programs”.

The Master of Science in Management program began as a Master’s of Science in Management and Leadership. Originally the program was a 30-hour graduate program that focused exclusively on courses in management and leadership. The MSM program has since evolved into an interdisciplinary degree program that is built on a core of 18 hours of course work and then a 12 to 18 hour concentration.

Currently there are six concentrations for students to choose from. The six concentrations are as follows, Business Analytics, Executive Communications, Management & Leadership, Recreation & Sports, Self-designed, and Social Media Strategy. Three of these concentrations are interdisciplinary and are hosted by other departments’ on campus. The Executive Communications concentration is hosted by the English Department. Recreation & Sport is hosted by the Kinesiology Department. Lastly the Communications Department hosts the Social Media Strategy concentration. There are currently plans to add a Human Resources concentration in fall of 2021.

Tarleton’s MSM focuses on management activities such as leadership, project management, organizational behavior, and research skills. These skills can be applied across different fields in business management to aid students in their future careers by giving them the ability to become strong and organized leaders. Because of this Tarleton’s MSM program differs from other MSM programs. Another difference between Tarleton’s MSM program and other MBA programs is that no leveling courses are required.

“Typically, [a] MBA will include a broad business core including such classes as finance, marketing, business law and accounting. These are all important topics each representing a highly technical branch of business. In the end, each of these courses only offer an introduction to a discipline and do not prepare the student to function within those sub disciplines,” said Dr. Triss Ashton, Assistant Professor of the Master of Science in Management.

Following this achievement, Tarleton’s MSM program plans on continuing to build and tune the curriculum, expand the offered concentrations and work towards the promotion of the program. Tarleton’s MSM program is also working to expand it’s future online options.

“[This achievement] helps us because it gives the program a little more recognition. I think when prospective students see that it helps them to recognize value in a Tarleton proposition. As students see more value in the program’s offerings, enrollment should increase. As enrollment increases, we can continue to expand the concentrations offered . . . Each of these successes make the Tarleton graduate programs more appealing to prospective students and therefore helps us to grow. As we grow, we can begin adding more options,” Dr. Ashton said.