????2006年，伊萬?瑞辛從威斯康辛大學麥迪遜分校（University of Wisconsin at Madison）畢業，拿到了政治科學專業的學士學位，并在年銷售額53億美元的消費品和藥品柔性包裝生產商Bemis找了一份營銷助理的工作。她喜歡這份工作，但“政治科學與銷售柔性包裝毫無關系，”她說。“我想學些東西，這樣當機會來臨，能夠走上管理崗位時才不致于錯失良機。”

????因此，瑞辛報名參加了威斯康辛大學綠灣分校的管理研究生在職班，并將于今年6月畢業。課程上到一半時，Bemis將公司最大的一個客戶安排給了她。瑞辛認為這絕非巧合：“我懷疑如果我不上研究生的話，我可能都升不到全國銷售代表的職位。”

????這種（實實在在、或者說認知上的）競爭力優勢可以解釋為何當前全美管理研究生課程如此之火爆。美國研究生入學管理委員會（The Graduate Management Admissions Council）的數據顯示，盡管2011年申請傳統MBA課程的人數“顯著降至”美國商學院總申請人數的67%，但超過2/3的管理研究生課程都出現了入學人數大幅增長。

????原因很容易理解。MBA平均學費6萬美元，甚至可能高至10萬美元，而管理研究生的學費相對要低得多，僅3萬美元左右，如果參加的是本州的州立大學課程，費用甚至更低。

????管理研究生學位的獲得也相對更快。全日制學生通常9個月就可以完成課程，遠短于MBA的兩年。在職學習（大多數管理研究生都是如此）也只要兩年或更短的時間就可以獲得學位，學習的同時可以繼續全職工作，或者尋找全職工作。

????兩者最大的區別可能在于入學要求。MBA課程面向有經驗、志在進入高管層的商界人士，他們希望獲得深入專業知識的高管，而管理研究生課程是為了給像瑞辛這樣的文科本科畢業生們創造機會，讓他們對商業世界的運轉機理有一個普遍大致的了解。

????管理研究生課程通常包括統計學、金融學、會計學以及“類似項目管理、團隊領導和企業傳播這類大量的實用技能，”亞利桑那州大學凱瑞商學院（W.P. Carey School of Business）的常務院長艾米?希爾曼介紹說。凱瑞商學院正在計劃今年推出一項新的管理研究生課程，滿足日益增長的需要。

????“我們收到過很多沒有工作經驗的本科生提出的MBA入學申請，”希爾曼解釋稱。“我們也聽到企業招聘人員說，他們希望文科畢業生和工程學畢業生們也能掌握一些基本的商業知識。”

????不過，瑞辛的建議是即便入學時不要求有商業經驗，“人們也應該先工作幾年，而不是直接本科畢業就去上研究生。如果具備了一定的經驗，就可以理論聯系實際，從中學到更多的東西。”

????正是由于這個原因，管理研究生課程幾乎總是包含一個咨詢項目，比如，在亞利桑那州，學生們在課程的最后15周會“在真正的公司中以團隊方式解決實際問題，”希爾曼表示。“這很重要，因為有時在課堂里聽起來容易，但現實世界中情況可能會復雜得多。”說得太對了。

????譯者：老榆木

????After graduating from the University of Wisconsin at Madison in 2006 with a B.S. in political science, Evan Rezin found a job as a marketing associate at Bemis, a $5.3 billion-a-year maker of flexible packaging for consumer goods and pharmaceuticals. She enjoyed the work, but "political science has nothing to do with selling flexible packaging," she notes. "I want to be ready to move up into management when the opportunity comes along."

????So Rezin enrolled part-time in the master's in management program at the University of Wisconsin in Green Bay. She'll graduate in June. Halfway through her studies, she got assigned to one of Bemis's biggest customers. Rezin believes that's no coincidence: "I suspect I wouldn't have been promoted to a national sales rep position if I hadn't been working on a master's."

????That kind of competitive edge (real or perceived) explains the current jump in enrollment in master's in management programs nationwide. The Graduate Management Admissions Council reports that while applications to traditional MBA programs were "down significantly" at 67% of B-schools in 2011, more than two-thirds of master's in management programs are seeing a surge in enrollment.

????It's easy to see why. While MBA tuition averages $60,000 and can run as high as $100,000, a master's in management will set you back, on average, about $30,000 -- or far less if you enroll at a state university in your home state.

????MiM degrees are quicker, too. Full-time students can usually complete the degree in nine months, versus two years for an MBA. Studying part-time, as most MiM candidates do, allows students to earn the degree in two years or less while working full-time, or conducting a full-time job search.

????Perhaps the biggest difference, though, is in the admissions requirements. While MBA curricula are intended for seasoned businesspeople with an eye on the C-suite who want in-depth, specialized knowledge, MiM courses are designed to give liberal arts grads like Rezin a broad, general understanding of how the business world works.

????MiM courses typically cover statistics, finance, accounting, and "lots of practical skills like project management, team leadership, and business communications," says Amy Hillman, executive dean of the W.P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State, which is launching a new MiM program this year to meet rising demand.

????"We're seeing a lot of MBA applications from students with undergraduate degrees but no work experience," Hillman explains. "We're also hearing from corporate recruiters that they want liberal arts and engineering grads who have some basic business knowledge as well."

????A word of advice from Rezin, however: Even though no business experience is required for enrollment, "people really should work for at least a couple of years first, rather than going straight from undergraduate to graduate school. You'll get a lot more out of it if you have some experience, so you can connect the theories to reality."

????For that very reason, MiM programs almost always include a consulting project. At Arizona State, for instance, in the last 15 weeks of their course work, students "will be working in teams in real companies solving real problems," says Hillman. "It's important, because sometimes in the classroom business sounds easy. But out in the real world, it can be a little messier." Too true.