Graduate Degree - University Choosing

[Shezan]

I'm finishing up my last year at Ryerson... I'm taking Information Technology Management... and I'm looking into taking a management in Information Systems... or a blend of IT and Law for my graduate. I've been looking at Waterloo, and they can offer a Masters in Entrepreneurship in Technology. I don't find anything good however in any of the other Universities like Mac, Western, Queen's...

I'm probably looking to go outside of Ontario since there is limited selection. Does anyone have any ideas of good graduate programs at a good university (social life is pretty important to me at a university) - I've also heard of some places in Europe that will pay tuition for their students (the lower my masters is the better) - or if you know of any other places other than Europe as well that offer the same.

Can someone provide any insight they may have - through a PM or a forum reply. Any help is appreciated... thanks!

Shezan

[JohnB]

Id get some job experience first.

[webdoctors]

Cornell University....

[Shezan]

With regard to work experience, i already have plenty as my program is co-op based. Currently I've been employed for just over a year at a bank as a senior database specialist (out of co-op but count it towards my co-op credits). So as it stands, I do have my foot in the door when it comes to employer head hunting.

As for Cornell university, i'm not sure what to do with that... I checked their site and it's not a University that subsidises tuition, or covers any of the masters programs I'm interested in (IT management, IT/law mixtures, IT in a global market).

My question is purely based on to get input on Universities that:
- Subsidise most of your masters tuition or pay for it all (Like in Ireland, Germany, etc) - that have a good IT focus
- Know of any good universities that are geared towards what I'm looking for, or the programs I'm interested in for my masters

I chose Ryerson because no one offered IT and Business mixture within Ontario... Waterloo just followed up NOW with their program of IT and Finance Management, so I got shafted with the whole university experience (something I'm really looking forward to come my Master's). Anyways, I hope that anyone else may have some insight on what I'm looking for. Thanks!

[JohnB]

Experience is important also for the reason that you might learn you want to take something different, or see that you wish to take a different path etc...

Like why IT management ? Do you love tech that much...maybe try a general MBA and work in a different type of area, who knows...

For example Ive learned I am interested in law so I will now persue that. Years ago out of school, I would not have considered that avenue so I might have "wasted" my time getting an MASc I didnt really want to do...

This is just friendly discussion, Im sure you know the top business schools just as well as I...pick one depending on location or name etc...unless its super high profile there is no real difference I dont think.

And also if you get a good job first its not uncommon for your employer to pay the bill...

[keanefan]

How about McGill in Montreal?

nice school, nice city

[rf134a]

If you're so worried about a Grad school being able to afford giving you a full scholarship, which it seems like you feel to are fully entitled to, then go to Harvard. They have the world's largest endowment fund at US$25.9B as of 6/30/2005. I've read some articles saying that they can give every student a full scholarship and still continue to operate. There are very few schools that can say that.
[url]http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000103&sid=afIqiSrR2HUY[/url]

Why do you feel so certain that you will receive any kind of subsidy/ grant / scholarship? Are your marks truly that astounding? I'm not trying to be mean, just trying to understand where you're coming from.

One focus that most people haven't practiced or even touched on is your social skills. It doesn't matter how many parties you go to or how popular you are, you need the right balance between knowledge, confidence and ability to communicate. I've been in interviews with people who have 25+ years of experience but lack the ability to sell themselves and lacked confidence. Of course, there's always the opposite... A crucial skill most people are lacking to knowing how thick to lay on the bull$h!t before the interviewers start to roll their eyes and think you're nuts. Get that right and you can land virtually any job you want.

[setell]

Sorry but I haven't heard of that many business or IT graduated programs offering stipends. I know that the sciences offer stipends to their graduate students but you don't see much of it in other fields. Usually in the other fields it's scholarships and those are tough to land unless you're a excellent student with a great record to brag about. Anyhow good luck in the grad school search.

[mbg]

[QUOTE=JohnB]Id get some job experience first.[/QUOTE]

I second this... unless you're already mid-career.

Getting some real world job experience (in a position related to what you want to study) will make the education more effective. It'll also help when you go looking for a higher-ranked job once you complete your Masters. People with graduate degrees and no experience are not quite as popular as they used to be (for good reason).... unless you are hoping to work in academia.

[fratello25]

And just so you know, university tuition is usually free in Europe (but certainly not everywhere), but only for European students. Unless you have EU citizenship, I wouldn't count on free tuition. If anything, tuition for foreign students is more expensive.

[Kurtz7834]

[QUOTE=JohnB]Id get some job experience first.[/QUOTE]

The reasons quoted for this are valid. But the flip side of the coin is you may get out of 'school mode' and have no desire to go back. This could very easily happen, as many people get sick of university, and once you start working, and have more money and free time, you won't have any desire to go back. I finished a bachelor's degree and have no desire to go back. Also, if /when you do decide to go back, you may have lost all your study habits due to your hiatus from school. Plus you may have lost your contacts at the school and relationships with professors, due to them leaving the school, changing jobs etc.

The other thing is, when you get out in the real world, you (may) learn that much of what you learned in university is unrealistic, useless and / or ridiculous. This really depends on what you are studying though. For IT, hard to say. Depends on what you want to be doing workwise. Some areas of IT, school will teach you absolutely nothing about, and for others it will be helpful.

Just something to keep in mind. Not everyone can work for a few years and go back to school easily. Plus, when you've worked for a few years, are making good money and have career momentum, you may find there's no need to go back to school. More degrees do not always translate into more $$.

So it may or may not be the right thing to do. Choose carefully and be realistic.

[commie]

why are you interested in doing a Graduate degree right now? that is the key to
deciding which university is the right one for you...

and especially a master's degree in ITM?

What will a master degree in that field add for you, that you don't get with a bachelor's? Have you look at a MBA with a management science/IT focus(IE. Queen's)?

The Ryerson ITM program is nothing unique or new....almost all universities have something similar, they might call it MIS, IT, etc....but there are plenty to choose from that combines IT with a business focus...Laurier, Waterloo, York, UofT, Queen's, UBC, etc...

A big problem with that type of program is that it doesn't cover IT in enough detail to get someone into systems design/programming role, and it doesn't cover the business side enough to get someone into non-technology business roles......

[webdoctors]

Cornell does subsidize tuition for outstanding students via scholarships, the more they want you the higher the scholarship will be.

I;m sorry to hear they dont have the program you're interested in, they have a popular information sciences program (librarians enrol in it) and they have a successful CS program but I;m guessing it doesn't quite match Ryerson's I.T. Management program, which I've heard of but don't know the exact details so can't make a comparison with Cornell's.

Being a new program, I;m not sure what universities offer management in IT as a Masters, would an MBA oriented for tech be more appropriate?

There's the Masters of Engineering program, where U can take the management or business track....

[QUOTE=Shezan]With regard to work experience, i already have plenty as my program is co-op based. Currently I've been employed for just over a year at a bank as a senior database specialist (out of co-op but count it towards my co-op credits). So as it stands, I do have my foot in the door when it comes to employer head hunting.

As for Cornell university, i'm not sure what to do with that... I checked their site and it's not a University that subsidises tuition, or covers any of the masters programs I'm interested in (IT management, IT/law mixtures, IT in a global market).

My question is purely based on to get input on Universities that:
- Subsidise most of your masters tuition or pay for it all (Like in Ireland, Germany, etc) - that have a good IT focus
- Know of any good universities that are geared towards what I'm looking for, or the programs I'm interested in for my masters

I chose Ryerson because no one offered IT and Business mixture within Ontario... Waterloo just followed up NOW with their program of IT and Finance Management, so I got shafted with the whole university experience (something I'm really looking forward to come my Master's). Anyways, I hope that anyone else may have some insight on what I'm looking for. Thanks![/QUOTE]

[mbg]

I'm going to add some real-world advice: most IT places don't respect education, and most people in IT management aren't qualified for their job. This does NOT mean that they are looking for educated, qualified people. It means that you will be a threat to them, and that they'll try to keep you suppressed as much as they can.

If you overeducate yourself, you will NOT be able to implement your ideas because nobody will understand them. You will become overqualified. You'll also become tired of repeating yourself.

But, if you want a career in IT, it is still in your best interest to pursue higher education in it. Assuming you are at the beginning of your career, you will need it before the end of your career. IT is due for a cleanup and some real stratification, and education will factor into it, I'm pretty certain.