Master in Management (MiM). Part-time. Smurfit Business School

lizanne83

Hey, I have some questions for any students on this course before I make a decision!

What are your thoughts on the course? Pros / Cons?
Are you gaining much from it - do you think it will benefit your future career prospects much?
Is it difficult - mainly in regards to studying remotely and fitting this in with full time work job?
Is there much meet-up & collaboration with fellow classmates - particularly when it's mainly all remote? Is there much support from other students & lecturers?
Are the subjects too broad and not specific enough to gain much in any one area? (appears like that but I could be wrong?!)

Any feedback at all would be much appreciated. I have applied and been accepted. No payment has yet been made or official acceptance so I want to make sure that I'm making the right decision before investing 2 years into this part-time course. Basically - is it worth it?!

Cheers,
Lizanne

dx22

Hi Lizanne,

i am doing the part time course and about this time last year i was posting on boards trying to find out about it too! I will briefly give my thoughts on it

I can only speak for myself but...

The course material is not too difficult but it uses up all my free time as there is a good few assignments 10-12 3000-5000 essays during year. Id say i spend at least 10 hours a week doing stuff, which is quite a lot when you have to work 50-60 hr a week
I find it very rewarding and useful as i run my own business, if you were straight out of college i dont see the point of doing it kinda like an mba
There is a lot more interaction that i initially expected as there are a few group assignments included. The college staff are very good and supportive with any queries/issues you may have. As for employment prospects i have no idea as we have one more year left but a lot of people on the course are using it as an opportunity to change career direction. Classmates are from all different backrounds average age about 28-30 and all generally sound!

If you want a flexible business masters that has facetime with lecturers and classmates then i would definitely recommend this course. If you dont care for the facetime as much, then maybe consider doing an distance MBA from a uk uni, as an MBA is an MBA

but the flexibility and delivery of this course suited me and i dont regret doing it!
Hope this helps

lizanne83

Hi dx22,

Thanks a lot for the info… this is exactly what I was looking for. I think the interaction and face-to-face is very important too. I’m working a full-time 5 day week also so will have to just ensure that college work time is prioritised and stay on top of it. I’m sure it will be difficult time-wise but it will have to be done!

I submitted my application in January for the Master in Management (2-year)… and then posted this message on boards sometime after because I still wasn’t fully sure what the course entailed and whether assignments were group based and how that would work (remotely). But since that last post I was already offered a place and have accepted now. I have since went to the open evening, attended the MiM presentation and had a chat with the programme associate director etc. I’m happy with the content and look forward to getting stuck in. I really hope it does help open doors and opportunity for when graduated in 2-years. My primary degree was a BSc. In Multimedia which has nothing related to Business whatsoever!

The only bummer is that due to the “current economic climate”, my company unfortunately cannot support me pursuing this master in any way both time wise or financially. I didn’t realise we would be in classes 9-5 all day Friday’s as well as well as Saturday… I guess I’ll just book these Friday’s as ‘vacation’ from work because apparently we’ll know the block release weekend dates in advance and it’s only every 3 weeks anyway.

Is there any socialising and buzz between class mates or is it more of a “meet every few weeks - do the work - then go your own way” kind of scenario because of the limited class meet-ups? I was never in Smurfit or UCD before and on open-evening day I left work, got onto the M50 and was looking out for any indications of Black Rock or Stillorgan turn-off….. I must have drove into every town that side of the city before eventually finding Smurfit hidden away on the back roads in Blackrock…. Lovely campus / buildings though!

Anything else you have on it would be great, or just IM me! Cheers :-)

AdvancingOn

Speaking from a personal point of view re. socialising in adult education (but doing things mainly from distance learning) - i have found that things are alot different between being a 21 year old fulltime student and being a mid thirties parttime student.

Generally everyone in adult education is time starved .... on special dispensations from partners and spouses who are at home holding the baby while you are "enjoying" yourself attending university. Hence everyone just rushes off as soon as class is over -socialising with people that they don't know is the last thing on their mind.

Of course there will be some people who want to chat and email constantly - but is a case of "empty vessels make the most noise" and nearly always these are the people who have no course work done and are looking for someone to drag them through the course on some volunteer's coat tails.

FudgeBrownie

Hi, I am really sorry to drag up an old thread! I am thinking of doing this course part-time next year, and I work Monday to Friday 8-5pm.

I'm just wondering if you could shed light on how you found it, as I presume you have completed it.

budhabob

FudgeBrownie wrote: »

Hi, I am really sorry to drag up an old thread! I am thinking of doing this course part-time next year, and I work Monday to Friday 8-5pm.

I'm just wondering if you could shed light on how you found it, as I presume you have completed it.

I completed this course part time last year. I enjoyed it for the most part, however as with any part time course, time becomes an issue when balancing course material, work and personal life. If you any more specific questions fire ahead.

FudgeBrownie

budhabob wrote: »

I completed this course part time last year. I enjoyed it for the most part, however as with any part time course, time becomes an issue when balancing course material, work and personal life. If you any more specific questions fire ahead.

Thanks for your reply! How was it in regard to the amount of essays, exams, presentations and group work? I understand classes are not too often so I presume there is a lot of outside work and assignments.

littlefriend

I'm actually thinking about this course too. I have a young child and work full time so am keen to hear how heavy the workload is. I'd also like to know how difficult the content is.

Thanks!

budhabob

Hi,

In terms of workload there is 3 subjects per semester, with about 2 assignments per subject - a minor (e.g. case study, journal) and major (3000 word report).

In each semester you can expect at a minimum 1-2 group assignments captured within the above.

In terms of workload, it is manageable, however given you have classes only 2 days a month you are expected to do alot of reading in between classes.

littlefriend

budhabob wrote: »

Hi,

In terms of workload there is 3 subjects per semester, with about 2 assignments per subject - a minor (e.g. case study, journal) and major (3000 word report).

In each semester you can expect at a minimum 1-2 group assignments captured within the above.

In terms of workload, it is manageable, however given you have classes only 2 days a month you are expected to do alot of reading in between classes.

Thanks budhabob, that's really helpful.

If you don't mind me asking another couple of questions
- do you think good grades are achievable provided you put in the work? I don't think it'd be worth doing (for me) unless I got at least a 2.1. Do you know do many get 1.1 or would that be an unrealistic aim?

- many hours (ish) did you put in on an average week

- the introduction to mamagement accounting module description says limited prior knowledge of accounting is required. As I have never done accounting this is a bit of a concern. Do you think some home study before the course begins would be enough to satisfy this requirement?

Thanks in advance for any advice you can provide. I have spoken to the school but would be good to hear from someone who had been through it rather than an admissions dept.

budhabob

Decent grades are definitely acheiveable should you put the work in. Nothing within the course is particularly difficult in my view.

In terms of hours per week, somewhere between 10-20 hours per week. If you can start into work at weekend one and keep going its the lesser amount, I only managed that for my first semester.

I don't think many had accounting experience, so I disagree with that. I certainly had no experience. I wouldn't panic too much about prepping for it.

Any other questions fire away, or drop me a pm.

FudgeBrownie

budhabob wrote: »

Decent grades are definitely acheiveable should you put the work in. Nothing within the course is particularly difficult in my view.

In terms of hours per week, somewhere between 10-20 hours per week. If you can start into work at weekend one and keep going its the lesser amount, I only managed that for my first semester.

I don't think many had accounting experience, so I disagree with that. I certainly had no experience. I wouldn't panic too much about prepping for it.

Any other questions fire away, or drop me a pm.

Hey Budhabob, were there many presentations throughout the course?

budhabob

FudgeBrownie wrote: »

Hey Budhabob, were there many presentations throughout the course?

I presume you mean presentations you have to give? In that case no, 3 or 4 and mainly as part of a group project.

FudgeBrownie

budhabob wrote: »

I presume you mean presentations you have to give? In that case no, 3 or 4 and mainly as part of a group project.

Yep, that's what I meant. That sounds pretty practical. Thanks for answering all the questions! I really appreciate it. Have been looking for a thread or someone to ask about it. That has really helped. I think I will apply for the part-time one starting this year. Cheers!