March 29, 2024

Sector Portrait: Continuing Education

MBA Programs in Florida

A Florida Trend in-depth report on the state's top MBA programs.

Patti Roth | 3/1/2011

56% Among the more than 2,600 students who received master's degrees in business from State University System schools in 2002-03, more than half were employed by a company in Florida five years later (not including self-employed graduates) and were earning almost $100,000 a year, according to the Florida Department of Education's Florida Education and Training Placement Information Program.

DEAN'S PERSPECTIVE

Craig McAllaster
[Photo: Rollins College]

Craig McAllaster,
dean, Crummer Graduate School of Business,
Rollins College, Winter Park

Today, business school programs aimed at students who are already working have to accommodate students' busy schedules and personal lives. Rollins developed an online program last year, the Key Executive MBA, to provide flexibility for working senior-level executives who want graduate degrees. But McAllaster says the school doesn't want the program to be all-electronic — students meet one weekend each month for classroom work that includes lectures, presentations and debates.

McAllaster describes those sessions as "spirited. In fact there is very little, if any, lecture during the in-class time. It is case discussions, real-company discussions and how to use MBA knowledge as an analytical tool."

The value of interaction and group dynamics is too important to forgo, he says. "Part of leadership is going nose to nose over a case.''

7,733 Number of MBAs and other master's degrees in business education awarded by 39 schools affiliated with the Independent Colleges and Universities of Florida and Florida's State University System in the 2009-10 school year. Of those, 4.4% (343) went to Asians; 13.2% (1,024) to African-Americans; 18.1% (1,402) to Hispanics; and 45.4% (3,514) to whites. By gender, 51.5% (3,984) were to men and 48.5% (3,749) to women.

STUDENT SPOTLIGHT

Michael Hann,
Florida International University, Miami

Michael Hann is studying to be a physician and a businessman — at the same time. Hann enrolled in FIU's healthcare MBA program during his second year of medical school, attending medical school during the week and MBA sessions on Saturdays. "Everybody looks at you and asks if you're crazy,'' he says. "It's a lot of work. You go in with the mindset that you'll work twice as hard as people working twice as hard."
Hann, 25, says he thinks a background in management will provide him with a perspective on his field that will serve him well as a physician.
Meanwhile, he doesn't scrimp on extracurriculars, recently winning re-election as the medical student council president. "It's working out surprisingly well," he says. "I'm getting through it very nicely."

Michael Hann

Executive MBA Programs

University Enrollment (2010) Cost
Florida Atlantic University 212 $42,090
Florida Gulf Coast University N/A $39,000
Florida International University 59 $54,000
Jacksonville University 23 $49,000
Nova Southeastern University 1,885 $26,000-$31,000
Rollins College 38 $88,000 (2-year cost)
Saint Leo University 1,429 $13,752 - $23,304
Stetson University 40 $50,000
University of Central Florida 44 $44,000
University of Florida 90 $46,000
University of Miami 309 $76,000
University of South Florida 54 $42,500
University of Tampa 42 $39,600
An Executive MBA Program is an MBA program designed to meet the needs of managers, executives and other business leaders. Executive MBA programs allow mid-stage professionals to earn a graduate degree in two years or less while continuing to work full or part time. Listed alphabetically.

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