Lehigh’s masters in management program recently announced a “4+1 partnership” with Connecticut College, creating an opportunity for its students to earn a master’s degree studying in Bethlehem.
Lehigh’s MS in management program, also known as the M2 program, allows non-business majors to earn a master’s degree in under 10 months.
Students from Connecticut College whose undergraduate studies consisted of liberal arts and STEM will be welcomed to join the graduate program.
M2 program Director, Alyssa Clapp, credits Steven Savino, Assistant Dean for Graduate Programs, for the partnership.
“(Savino) was instrumental in facilitating the renewed partnership,” she said.
The program takes around 40 students each year. Savino said he expects there will be six students from Connecticut College joining the program in the years going forward.
Currently, there are no Connecticut College students enrolled in the program for the 2021-2022 academic year.
Savino said students from Connecticut College are a great fit for the M2 program.
“The goal of the program is to give the students business acumen but in an intense way, and to help them widen their career choices,” he said.
When searching for institutions to work with, Savino said Lehigh looked to partner with a range of liberal arts colleges that currently don’t have graduate programs in business. He said Connecticut College fit the criteria, and brought other positive factors to the table that were intriguing to him and Clapp.
“They (Connecticut College) require their students to take on interdisciplinary study, (and) an internship relative to their interests and take a language. Aside from those three things, they have a lot of freedom in terms of student’s ability to shape their own curriculum,” Savino said.
He said these attributes allow students to learn to collaborate, innovate and solve problems, all of which are essential tools in the business world, creating a perfect match for the program.
The partnership between Lehigh and Connecticut College also includes a number of tuition award programs and merit-based scholarships for Connecticut College students, depending on their GPA and the area of study students are coming from.
Savino said he is confident Connecticut College students will be successful upon joining the M2 program.
Hunter Askenase, ‘20, ‘21G, was a student in the MS in management program.
After studying history and focusing on real estate during summer internships throughout his undergraduate years, Askenase said he went into the program with a “quasi-open mind.”
Askensase said in the past he struggled with math, and the M2 professors spent extra time working through concepts with him. Throughout his time in the program he developed an interest in finance, accounting and economics.
Askenase said one of the best parts about the program is that there is constant interaction and collaboration between students from entirely different undergraduate programs.
“Lehigh’s Master’s in Management program was entirely and unequivocally life changing for me,” Askenase said. “Retrospectively, entering the program was one of the better decisions that I’ve been lucky enough to make, and I know others would say the same. Mine, and other experiences also accurately highlight how beneficial and impactful the program has the power to be.”
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