Business Schools in Massachusetts

Students in Massachusetts have nearly 80 schools to choose from. Degree programs range from associate’s and bachelor’s to MBAs and even PhDs in business with concentrations in key areas like accounting, marketing and international business.

Marketing Degree Programs in Massachusetts

State of Massachusetts’s Marketing Industry

It’s nothing but blue skies for Bay State marketers. Though Massachusetts’s economy couldn’t match other states in the business expansion that began in 2001, it wasn’t as hard hit by the recession either. In 2012, Forbes named it one of “The Ten States That Will Boom Over the Next 5 Years.

The marketing industry is reaping the rewards. Yes, it may bear the nickname of Taxachusetts (the state’s business costs are 22% above the national average, according to Forbes), but the state is blessed with universities that are second to none. Marketing graduates support the state’s immensely strong health, finance and technology sectors.

Even better, Massachusetts start-ups come in second only to California in attracting the most venture capital funding. There were nearly 200 Massachusetts names on Inc.’s Top 5000 list of America’s fastest growing private companies in 2012. Some of these – Acquia (10,461%), uTest (8,284%) and Gemvara (4,613%) – recorded mind-boggling three-year growth.

Job Prospects for Massachusetts Marketing Graduates

Long-term occupational statistics for Massachusetts marketing graduates look outstanding. From 2010-2020, the state Department of Labor and Workforce Development is predicting jobs for market research analysts will grow by 50.6%, PR specialists by 36.4% and marketing managers by 24.9%. These numbers blow national averages out of the water.

Along with Boston and Cambridge, Massachusetts’s Route 128 corridor is a prime employment area, according to the Boston Globe. Biotechs and software firms continually jostle for real estate dominance. In 2011, the Framingham area had the highest-paid marketing managers (by mean wage) in the country, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Recent graduates might take a look at opportunities in Massachusetts’s 11 Fortune 500 companies (e.g., Liberty Mutual, Staples and Raytheon) or the state’s renowned ad agencies. Sapient, Mullen and Arnold are three of the biggest. Sapient recorded a global sales volume of $1.06 billion in 2011.

Massachusetts Schools for Marketing

Harvard and MIT are globally recognized as two of the best business schools in the world. If you can’t afford or can’t get into them, there are 30 other accredited marketing schools in Massachusetts that may be able to help. Here are two for comparison:

1. Boston College (BC) (http://www.bc.edu/schools/csom.html)

Ranked #37 in “Best Business Schools” (#24 in undergraduate programs) by U.S. News & World Report in 2013, BC’s Carroll School of Management offers a Bachelor of Science in management including marketing, and a full-time or evening MBA with a specialization in marketing and information analytics. Doctorates are available in finance and organization studies.

Undergraduates have the option to participate in study-abroad programs and summer internships; graduate students can become part of the Boston College Business Initiative (BCIB) or Boston College International Business Initiative (BCIBI). Both initiatives provide developmental and consulting services to a wide array of firms.

2. Boston University (BU) (http://www.bu.edu/questrom/)

BU’s School of Management tied with BC in the U.S. News & World Report 2013 list and its undergraduate program hit #18 in Bloomberg BusinessWeek rankings. It has developed a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with a concentration in marketing, a variety of MBAs and a doctorate in management with a specialization in marketing.

In addition to internship programs in exotic locations, BU has one of the largest study-abroad programs in the country. The graduate school is increasingly focused on the research and teaching of three 21st century sectors: digital technology, energy and the environment, and health and life sciences.

Professional Marketing Organizations in Massachusetts

You won’t lack company in the Commonwealth. In addition to providing regular social events, many of these Massachusetts marketing organizations post recent job listings and continuing education courses.

Ad Club of Western Massachusetts (https://www.adclubwm.org/): Western Massachusetts chapter of the American Advertising Federation

• AMA Boston (http://amaboston.org/): Boston chapter of the American Marketing Association
• BIMA (http://www.bima.org/): Boston Interactive Media Association
• NEDMA (https://www.nedma.com/): New England Direct Marketing Association
• SMEI Boston (http://www.smei.org/): Sales and Marketing Executives International: Boston
• SMPS Boston (https://smpsboston.org/): Society for Marketing Professional Services: Boston

Business Degree Programs in Massachusetts

Many Massachusetts-based business professionals, ranging from the state’s wealthiest executives to small company owners, are graduates of bachelor’s degree programs in business and specialized MBA programs in areas such as finance, international business, HR management, accounting and marketing, just to name a few.

Massachusetts’s economy is driven by local businesses and large multi-national enterprises alike. According to the Federal Small Business Administration (SBA), 135,365 Massachusetts-based small businesses employ 1.4 million of the state’s private sector employees. These companies, which are found throughout diverse industries, require the talent and expertise of a variety of business professionals including HR specialists, accountants and controllers, operations managers, and executive leaders.

According to the SBA, the following industries make up the majority of Massachusetts’ small business employers (small business firm employers are defined as having between 1-499 employees):

• Professional, scientific, & technical services – 19,756 employer firms
• Construction – 16,554 employer firms
• Other services (except public administration) – 15,796 employer firms
• Retail trade – 15,752 employer firms
• Accommodation & food services – 13,178 employer firms
• Health care & social assistance – 12,627 employer firms

Major Business Players in Massachusetts

While business school graduates often establish careers in these small businesses, a large percentage of professionals work for Massachusetts-based corporations with a global presence. The state is home to twelve Fortune 500 companies that collectively employ hundreds of thousands of state residents, supporting jobs in marketing, accounting, HR management, business administration and more.

A sampling of these companies includes:

• Liberty Mutual Insurance Group in Boston – 50,000 employees, $39.8 billion in annual revenue
• Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance in Springfield – 11,418 employees, $33.5 billion in annual revenue
• TJX in Framingham – 198,000 employees, $29.1 billion in annual revenue
• EMC in Hopkington – 70,000 employees, $24.4 billion in annual revenue
• Raytheon in Cambridge – 61,000 employees $22.8 billion in annual revenue
• Staples in Brighton – 61,738 employees, $22.5 billion in annual revenue

A large percentage of business professionals in Massachusetts earn six-figure incomes, including sales managers and marketing managers, who earned a mean annual income of $144,490 and $137,920, respectively, in FY 2014 according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (www.bls.gov). Additionally, the state is home to several inspiring entrepreneurs who worked their way to the top of the corporate ladder including:

• Robert Kraft, CEO of the Kraft Group, who graduated with an MBA from Harvard Business School. Kraft began his career working at the Rand-Whitney Group, a packaging company in Worcester. He bought out the company in 1968, which was one of several savvy business moves that gave Kraft the financial ability to acquire the New England Patriots in 1994 and found shopping center Patriot Place in 2007. Kraft currently has an estimated net worth of $4.3 billion.
• Abigail Johnson, CEO of Fidelity Investments, who graduated with an MBA from Harvard Business School. Johnson began working at Fidelity Investments in 1988 as a portfolio manager and analyst, before working her way up to various executive roles in the company and eventually assuming the CEO role in October 2014. Johnson’s net worth is currently estimated to be $13.4 billion.

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University of Massachusetts

You can go the traditional route and earn your Master of Business Administration (MBA) at the UMass Isenberg School of Management on the main campus in Amherst or at satellite locations in Boston, Holyoke or Shrewsbury. However, UMass is also a leader in distance learning, making their top-ranking MBA degree available completely online or through a hybrid of on-campus and online learning. No matter which format you choose, you’ll engage in a rigorous course of study, rooted in collaboration and experiential learning. The on-campus and hybrid options provide the added benefit of an immersive learning practicum, in which candidates work with a group of colleagues in a commercial or non-profit organization to solve a real world problem. Students in each of these programs have access to the Chase Career Center for help in preparing for interviews and finding jobs, while graduates join a network of well-placed alumni.

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

MIT’s Sloan School of Management emphasizes innovation – not only as a mindset for you as a student, but also in the way that it teaches. This school’s MBA program earns top marks for its blend of case studies, collaborative projects, classes taught by noted leaders in business, Action Learning Labs and plenty of interaction with the global business community. Learning by doing, analytical reasoning and quantitative analysis are core parts of the program. During the first semester of this on-campus program, students learn the fundamentals of business as part of a small group of six to eight. Following that, they engage in weeklong Sloan Innovation Periods in the middle of each semester; these weeks provide opportunities to learn about an area of interest first hand and apply concepts in the real world. The Independent Activities Period is a four-week term that can take you around the world as you work on site with host companies, explore personal interests and immerse yourself in cultural activities. The school has specialization tracks in finance, entrepreneurship and innovation and enterprise management. You can also pursue dual degree programs in conjunction with the engineering school at MIT as well as with the Harvard Kennedy School of Government.

Harvard University

The Harvard Business School pioneered the case study and field methods of learning – methods designed to bridge the gap between knowing and doing, and to produce leaders equipped with both knowledge and experience. Through the influential “Harvard Business Review,” the school is a global thought leader. One of the top programs in the country, the Harvard MBA is a rigorous experience with lifelong impact. Case studies place you in a decision-making role to address the issues that face corporations, non-profits and governmental organizations. Field Immersion Experiences for Leadership Development (FIELD) put you in real-life situations, developing a new product or service for partner organizations from around the world or designing a real microbusiness. The program is designed to give you experience with high stakes and challenging demands, for an education that the school touts as “practical, invaluable, and most importantly, real.

Boston University

The Graduate School of Management at Boston University offers a portfolio of MBA programs including the traditional Two-Year MBA and a part-time Professional Evening MBA that allows you to work during the day while you pursue your degree through classes at night. The full- and part-time MBA options follow the same curriculum, taught by the same faculty; students in both programs can concentrate in entrepreneurship, finance, international management, leadership and organizational transformation, marketing, operations and technology management or strategy and business analysis. The school also offers a One-Year International MBA that involves study in Beijing and Shanghai as well as Boston, and an Executive MBA for seasoned leaders that focuses on applied management skills such as working with high-performance teams across diverse situations and learning in an international environment. You can also pursue one of 10 dual degree programs that allow you to earn your MBA in conjunction with another master’s degree or a doctorate.

Northeastern University

Northeastern’s innovative MBAs offer you considerable choices for earning your degree, no matter where you are on your career path or in the world. The traditional on-campus, Full-Time MBA includes a six-month paid corporate residency in an MBA-level job with a partner corporation. The Evening MBA allows you the flexibility to pursue your studies at your own pace, taking as few as two years or as many as seven years to complete the program, while the weekend class schedule of the Executive MBA delivers a 16-month part-time experience for seasoned corporate leaders. The unique High Tech MBA focuses on the business of innovation, training students to recognize growth opportunities and initiate changes in products, systems and processes. In addition, the school offers dual degree programs that combine an MBA with a Juris Doctor or a Master of Science in accounting, finance or nursing. Northeastern is also an innovator in distance learning, offering a fully online MBA program that allows students to specialize in management, finance, health care management, high technology management, innovation and entrepreneurship, international management, marketing, operations and supply chain management or sustainability.

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