Many students working in technical settings have seen the advantage of getting both an advanced technical degree and an MBA degree. Students who enroll in the Outreach Engineering Management Program (OEM) in the University of Florida's College of Engineering are able to obtain an engineering Master's degree in 20 months while working full-time, and are then eligible to apply for a shortened MBA program. Unless they are OEM students, individuals with a non-business background are ineligible to apply to a one year (16 month) MBA program option; only the two year (27 months) MBA program is available. A recently instituted concurrent degree option reduces even further the amount of time and coursework required for OEM students to obtain an MBA. Through this innovative curriculum, working professionals complete both degrees in only 32 months of study.

The MBA curriculum provides OEM students with advanced skills in finance, marketing, and strategy, as well as business law, international business, ecommerce, and entrepreneurship. In the MBA program, students will team with business professionals from a variety of backgrounds, including those with experience in accounting, finance, marketing and operations. Students will probe deeper into the core business subjects and will build on the OEM coursework to develop new business expertise. This additional exposure and training provides an excellent foundation for those aspiring to senior management.

Concurrent degree students take four semesters (16 months) of OEM classes by attending classes one weekend per month. During the next three semesters (12 months), students take MBA courses via the Internet, and make one campus visit per semester to take exams and interact with fellow students and MBA faculty. Concurrent degree students are exempted from attending the one-week Foundations Review course that is normally required of MBA students during Orientation. In the final (eighth) semester (4 months), students complete the remaining MBA courses via the Internet, and also attend two OEM class meetings in order to fulfill the requirements for the OEM Master's project. Both degrees are conferred simultaneously at the end of the eighth semester.

Due to the advanced software and features of the Internet MBA, the required notebook computer for the Internet MBA Programs is provided for students by the program and is included in the program tuition. The required notebook computer with pre-loaded software will be provided to all students at orientation.

Example MBA Laptop Spec - 2003

All amounts are based on current estimates of fees, tuition, and expenses. These amounts are expected to increase each year.

Degree	Format	Fees	Comparison with Concurrent Degree Program
MBA Only 2 Year Internet Program (Applicants to the 1-year Internet MBA program must have an undergraduate business degree or be participating in the OEM program)	Internet 48 Credit Hours 27 Months	$41,000*	Concurrent program adds : $13,660, 10 credit hours, 5 months adds OEM degree
OEM Only	Weekend 32 Credit Hours 20 Months	$27,520	Concurrent program adds : $27,140, 26 credit hours, 12 months adds MBA degree
OEM + MBA Taken Sequentially (1 Yr. Internet MBA Program)	Weekend, then Internet 64 Credit Hours 36 Months	$63,520*	Concurrent program saves : $8,860, 6 credit hours, 4 months
OEM + MBA Taken Concurrently	Weekend, then Internet, then both 55 Credit Hours 32 Months	$54,660*

Note: *These costs are projected, based on current program fees. Actual costs may be higher. This amount includes books, materials, administrative costs, and all required software and computer hardware for the MBA program, including a laptop computer.