Houston Chronicle Sunday

ADVANCE YOUR CAREER WITH A MASTER’S DEGREE AT UHD

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While a bachelor’s degree alone may have sufficed in the past, more and more working profession­als in Houston are realizing the tremendous value – and greatly enhanced earning potential – that a master’s degree can bring.

The University of Houston-Downtown (UHD) – convenient­ly located in the heart of the nation’s fourth-largest city – provides busy profession­als with the high-demand degrees, skills and leadership developmen­t that today’s industries require.

But with Houston’s many options for graduate studies, what gives UHD – and you as a student – an edge?

High-gDemand Skills Industry Requires

At UHD, we realize that degrees and individual courses must align with industry needs for students to claim highly competitiv­e positions following graduation. For this reason, UHD has reinvented the MBA through a “flipped,” discussion-based class-room model, team teaching by faculty and industry-leading executives, and a price tag that is up to 70 percent less than other programs.

And it’s attracting a lot of attention. In the last year alone, UHD’s MBA has risen from No. 13 on the Houston Business Journal’s list of largest Houston-area MBA programs to No. 4 – with no signs of slowing down.

By bringing real-world applicatio­n to course material, applying case studies to today’s most pressing business issues and providing students with hands-on interactio­n with some of Houston’s top business executives, UHD MBA students can immediatel­y transfer classroom knowledge to the boardroom. And upon graduation, students are prepared to transition seamlessly into advanced positions of leadership in their current companies or build their own businesses as entreprene­urs.

Tailored Certificat­es to Meet Individual Student Needs

For students who are not ready to commit to a full MBA program, but would like graduatele­vel training to improve their skills, UHD offers its newly launched Graduate Certificat­es in the College of Business.

Those with an undergradu­ate degree can gain specialize­d training through eight corporate-designed, AACSB-accredited Certificat­es, including Accounting, Business Developmen­t/ Sales Management, Finance, Human Resource Management, Internatio­nal Business, Investment Management, Leadership, and Supply Chain Management. These separate, free-standing Graduate Certificat­es – which align with UHD’s MBA concentrat­ions – enable students to take their careers to the next level with critical skills needed for business success. After earning a Certificat­e, students can choose to enter the UHD MBA program – no GMAT required – with nearly half of all coursework already completed.

Trainingg in Cutting-Edge Technology and Emerging Fields

This fall, UHD is proud to launch its new Master of Science in Data Analytics. With the emergence of Big Data and the need to manage vast quantities of informatio­n to find innovative solutions in fields from life science to oil and gas, today’s graduates need interdisci­plinary skills in statistics, computer science and risk analysis to become tomorrow’s leaders. A master’s degree in data analytics is an excellent complement to a foundation in technology, science, engineerin­g and other business arenas.

Another high-demand field requiring the analysis of real-time data is security management. UHD’s Master of Security Management for Executives equips students with the knowledge and skills to lead the continuous­ly changing internatio­nal security environmen­t. Developed in collaborat­ion with current security management executives – and team taught by these industry leaders and instructor­s from the College of Public Service and College of Business – the two-year program is offered on alternate Saturdays to allow security profession­als to earn the degree without interferin­g with their job responsibi­lities.

Affordable Cost and Flexible Schedules for Working Profession­als

UHD offers students these and other high-value master’s degrees in areas including technical communicat­ion, nonprofit management, criminal justice, rhetoric and compositio­n, and teaching. Each of these programs offers an outstandin­g return on investment, with the lowest tuition rate of any public university in Houston. The University is routinely named as one of the best values in higher education in Texas, with tuition and fees ranking 20 percent below the statewide average for 2013-2014.

Through the MBA program at UHD, I’ve gained skills that allow me to better understand my clients’ businesses and the complexiti­es of the financial transactio­ns involved in their deals. This additional knowledge has helped me to be better at what I do, as well as allowing me to expand into new areas.

 ??  ?? AARON ROFFWARG, UHD MBA student and partner, Bracewell & Giuliani LLP
AARON ROFFWARG, UHD MBA student and partner, Bracewell & Giuliani LLP

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