Blending Business Foundations with Career-focused Concentrations.
The Master of Science in Management (MSM) is a flexible, career-focused graduate degree designed for students who want to build strong business and leadership skills without prior business experience. The MSM provides a modern foundation in management principles while allowing students to specialize in high-demand areas. Whether you are an undergraduate pursuing an accelerated 4+1 pathway or a young professional seeking to advance your career, the MSM delivers the practical knowledge and credentials needed to succeed in today’s evolving workplace.
The MSM curriculum emphasizes real-world application and essential management competencies, including leadership and organizational behavior, marketing strategy, data-driven decision-making, project management, and professional development. Students complement this core business foundation with electives and a focused concentration, gaining both breadth and depth in areas that align with their career goals.
Concentrations
It's anticipated that there will be up to 30 million project management vacancies to fill in the U.S. over the next 10 years. Companies rely on skilled project managers to ensure that initiatives are completed on time, within budget, and in alignment with broader business objectives. In this concentration, students will learn critical competencies such as leadership, budgeting, risk assessment, communication, and agile methodologies. Through this concentration, students can earn additional qualifications, such as the gold standard Project Management Professional (PMP) Certification, ensuring that they are equipped to lead initiatives in any industry.
This concentration equips students with the knowledge and skills to attract, develop, and retain top talent—an strategic function in today’s competitive business environment. Companies rely on HR professionals to align people practices with organizational goals, foster inclusive and high-performing workplace cultures, and manage challenges such as hybrid work and global talent mobility. Students will develop expertise in organizational behavior, talent acquisition, employee relations, performance management, compensation strategy, and employment law. Students may also earn the highly regarded Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) Certified Professional credential.
Through this concentration students will learn the skills needed to combine business strategy with creative leadership—preparing professionals to manage, fund, and sustain organizations in the arts, culture, and nonprofit sectors. In Massachusetts alone there are more than 15,000 arts organizations, and nationally the arts are a trillion dollar industry. This concentration equips students with core management skills—budgeting, marketing, fundraising, strategic planning, and organizational leadership—applied specifically to arts and cultural contexts such as museums, theaters, performing arts companies, and community arts programs.
Accessible and Flexible
Designed with accessibility and flexibility in mind, the MSM can be completed in as little as 12 months full-time or 24 months part-time, with courses offered online and in person. This format allows students to balance their studies with work or other commitments while benefiting from Isenberg’s nationally recognized graduate business education. Students also gain access to dedicated career coaching and professional development resources to support a confident transition into management and leadership roles.
4+1 Master's Degrees
Undergraduate students at UMass Amherst and other colleges in the Five College Consortium can pursue a 4+1 option, completing their undergraduate degree and their master's degree in 5 years. Isenberg's Master of Finance, Master of Science in Accounting, and Master of Science in Business Analytics all offer this option.
For UMass Amherst students, the 4+1 option can also be accelerated, allowing students to complete both their undergraduate and master's degrees in fewer than 5 years.
Interested students should apply to a master's degree program in their junior year or early in their senior year.
MS Management Faculty
Apply Now
Follow our step-by-step process to complete your online application.
- Review the program specific admissions requirements.
- Click Apply Now to go to the University's Graduate School site where you can find a link to the secure online application.
- First-time users will need to create an account to start a new application. Note: You can submit your application before you have all your materials ready, simply save and resume your application as you gather required materials.
- After submitting, track your application at the Graduate School Status of Application page.