Merrimack College’s Girard School of Business will launch a Master of Business Administration program this fall, continuing the College’s expansion of graduate education.
The online program will enroll its first group of students in the fall 2025 term and will feature a customizable curriculum and expanded career services so students will learn essential skills to thrive in their careers and gain the necessary assistance to advance to their next role.
“Career service needs are at an all-time high for graduate students at all professional levels,” said Annarita Meeker, assistant dean of graduate programs in the Girard School of Business. “As simple as it sounds, the differentiator of our MBA program will be the high-touch services the students will receive and the pathways that will work for their career trajectory.”
The Girard School of Business has seen tremendous growth and success with its specialized master’s degrees in accounting, business analytics, finance, leadership and management, and the MBA will round out the core of its graduate business education portfolio. One of the key initiatives of Merrimack’s strategic plan, the Agenda for the Future, is to expand the College’s value proposition for graduate students.
At 40 credits, MBA students can earn their degree in under two years. The program also includes the ability for current Merrimack College graduate students enrolled in specialty master’s degrees and alumni to add on the MBA by taking an additional 20 credits. The program also offers specialization tracks in areas such as accounting, business analytics, finance, human resource management, leadership, marketing, product management and data analytics with more interdisciplinary specializations to come in the future.
Among the program’s admissions requirements is one year of full-time work, which allows students to pursue their MBA early in their careers.
“This is an accessible and affordable program and will allow us to support students early in their careers so they can have a higher return on investment on their degree,” said Meeker.
She added they will also focus on helping students build their network within the program and with external partners, executive coaching, peer-to-peer as students and mentoring opportunities to support career acceleration.
“We want to connect students with those in the Merrimack community so they can have that high level of engagement and opportunity,” she said.
