These questions were sent to me by a student interested in attending Sauder. My answers appear below. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me, or any of the other bloggers or MBA ambassadors.
Q1. How are the classes in the marketing and entrepreneurship programs?
The courses in marketing are of very high quality, however, I have chosen not to take a number of these because of my background and experience in this field. In fact, I decided go against the grain in taking courses beyond my comfort zone including those in strategy and finance. This being said, I’m in a couple of marketing courses that are specialty subjects such as consumer behavior and marketing communications (advertising strategies). I’ve enjoyed them thus far. Marketing communications is a hands-on course (as opposed to case based theory) that teaches students to understand target markets, critique advertisements, construct marketing communications strategies and write creative briefs used by management.
As for entrepreneurship: it all depends on what you’re looking for and whom you ask. Personally, I find the program to be very focused on technology and entrepreneurship, which is great if that’s what you’re looking for. However, if you’re just looking to start a business and get hands on experience doing so, general MBA classes in finance, strategy and marketing might be better for you in the long run.
Let me explain: The entrepreneurship classes are taught on an academic basis (case studies with supplemental industry lectures) with exposure to venture capitalists, angel investors and serial entrepreneurs. These people provide real advice and years of experience to back it all up. The program is just beginning to take off in terms of recognition, but this is a good thing… getting in on the ground level means the courses are not “set in stone” and tend to be somewhat flexible in terms of requirements and expectations. Currently, I’m in BAEN 580D – Entrepreneurial Finance and Private Equity. It’s a great course that allows students to perform due diligence on real business plans submitted to Chrysalix, a Vancouver based Clean-Tech Venture Capital Firm. We’re learning how to value a firm, structure venture capital and ultimately decide whether or not to invest in a company. All of this is done in cooperation with the partners at Chrysalix. As an entrepreneur, I look forward to building more businesses in the near future. Understanding what VC’s look for is imperative to applying for private equity and venture capital. You just can’t put a price on an education like this!!!
Q2. Do you feel the six-week period to too little to gain a deep understanding in certain subjects?
It all depends on how “deep” you want to go on a specific subject. If you’re specializing in finance and taking all finance courses (which some of my classmates are doing), then no, six weeks is enough for some courses, as they build on previous terms and those to follow. However, if you’re simply interested in taking an investment course for the sake of learning investments, then yes, six weeks is not enough time to learn much about a subject. Of course, you’ll gain a “high-level” understanding of the topic, but depth of knowledge in any subject cannot be gained in six weeks, regardless of how smart someone is. Many people spend a lifetime learning a subject only to find out that the more they learn, the less they know!
If you’re looking to gain in-depth knowledge of a certain subject, my recommendation is that you seek a graduate degree in that specific discipline. For example: there are great degrees in Urban Land Economics, Masters in Operations Research and much more. I look at the MBA as a “Jack of All Trades,” a “Swiss Army Degree” of sorts. You’re well versed in finance, comfortable in strategy and marketing with a hint of human resources and some accounting on the side. Oh, and least we forget supply chain management, information technology and whatever else I forgot to throw in too.
I hope this helps. If you’d like to chat on Skype sometime, I’d be more than happy to do so. I’ve done this with other prospective Sauder candidates and enjoyed the conversations.
Best,
Joel
