A lack of funds doesn’t have to scupper your business education
SOME of the most common questions I am asked by prospective students are about how to pay for their post-graduate degrees. With the cost of education coming under scrutiny more than ever, it is entirely reasonable that students are concerned they are getting value for money.
What you do need to keep in perspective when weighing up the cost of either an MBA or a specialist Masters (MSc) degree is where that qualification can take you. For example, independent statistics show that MBA students report around a 100 per cent increase in their salaries three years after graduation.
Prior to the financial crisis it was common for many Executive MBA and part-time MSc students to be either fully or partially sponsored by their own company. In this time of austerity many professionals are finding this kind of support from their employers harder to come by and are having to self fund their education.
All of the top business schools support their students by providing payment plans where they can pay their fees in instalments and at Cass we can also provide advice about securing loans. For those students who may not have the spare cash lying around to invest up front in course fees, there are a variety of payment options and scholarships offered by universities and business schools to help you shoulder the financial burden.
Each school has a variety of different full and partial scholarships available for MBA and MSc students which can be specific to the course being studied or the nationality of the applicant.
Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou sponsors scholarships for 10 Cass students and a further 10 at LSE each year. Corporate partners of schools also often provide scholarships and awards to students. One such partner of Cass is Santander which is a significant supporter of education generally, funding scholarships and educational initiatives in over 45 UK schools and universities under the banner of Santander Universities.
Meanwhile, international asset manager Threadneedle has recently teamed up with Cass and will shortly announce an award for students wanting to study an MSc in Investment Management. In line with Threadneedle’s “out-think, out-perform” philosophy, the award will be decided via an international essay competition for students from Europe, Middle East and Africa, and Asia Pacific.
If you do consider finance a barrier to your studies, be sure to use all of the resources available to you and don’t be afraid to ask your university or business school about how they can help you.
Susan Roth is the Head of Internationalisation at Cass Business School, City University London. Visit www.cass.city.ac.uk for more information about what scholarships and funding is available to prospective students.