May 4, 2018

Krannert degrees offer STEM classification, longer OPT for graduates

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Purdue University’s Krannert School of Management will soon offer four STEM-classified degree options, giving graduates three years of Optional Practical Training (OPT).

Two STEM-classified programs are currently offered: business analytics and information management, and global supply chain management. Curricular changes in the current master’s offerings in finance and marketing received final approval and will be offered for cohorts starting in fall 2018. The finance program will include required courses in financial modeling, business analytics, financial engineering and financial econometrics; the marketing program will include courses in marketing analytics and digital marketing strategy.

“We believe these changes in marketing and finance will serve a couple of purposes,” said Greg Beaver, director of Krannert’s professional master’s programs. “First, they will give high-ability international students the opportunity to work in the U.S. for three years under OPT. On a broader scale, they will bring those programs in lockstep with Purdue’s strengths in STEM and will help strengthen the brand of both the school and the university.”

The new offering in finance, which will be called the Master of Science in finance, will offer students a competitive edge for careers in corporate finance, investment management, security analysis and brokerage, commercial and retail banking, and financial management of commercial and nonprofit organizations.

“We are thrilled to be one of a very select number of STEM-certified M.S. finance programs,” said Alexander Boquist, the academic director of the MSF program and finance faculty member.  “This will help us recruit top international students, who currently comprise more than half of the M.S. in finance program here at Krannert. Additionally, it serves as external validation of the rigor of the program itself.”

The Master of Science in marketing prepares graduates for leadership roles in brand management, marketing consulting, marketing research and analytics, and business development.

“In today’s big data environment, companies have access to vast amounts of transactional and qualitative data,” said Manu Kalwani, OneAmerica Professor of Management and academic director of the Master of Science in marketing program. “Our curriculum has been redesigned to ensure that students have the ability to utilize data in order to craft effective marketing programs and quantify the strategic value of marketing initiatives.”

In addition to the four management programs that offer international students STEM OPT, the designation is also available to international F-1 students who earn their M.S. economics degree via a hybrid option.

Students in the marketing and finance programs, as well as those in business analytics and information management, and global supply chain management, take classes at the Krannert School alongside Master of Business Administration students. Krannert’s MBA program was recently ranked in the top 60 globally and among the top 10 U.S. public schools by Financial Times. 

Writer: Tim Newton, tnewton@purdue.edu

Media contact: Joseph Paul, 765-494-9541, paul102@purdue.edu 

Sources: Greg Beaver, gbeaver@purdue.edu

Alexander Boquist, aboquist@purdue.edu

Manu Kalwani, kalwani@purdue.edu

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