If you have a family member or friend considering pursuit of the Aerospace MBA degree, you should be aware of what is entailed. All program participants continue full-time employment while simultaneously completing a graduate degree. It’s a grueling combination, and many participants will find it to be one of the most demanding times of their lives.

We also regularly hear from our Aerospace MBA graduates that a committed support group at home is essential in dealing with the stress. At graduation ceremonies where spouses, children, and friends often visit campus for the first time, we get to meet our students’ support groups and learn of the strong commitment and many sacrifices they have had to make right along side our students.

It clearly is a demanding time for everyone involved, but it’s worth it. The MBA degree is becoming an absolute requirement for advancement to senior positions in many companies. As such, the year in this program is a critical step to much broader and meaningful leadership roles for our participants.

But not everything students learn in our programs is focused on their careers and the work place. As part of a student's’ personal development, they complete the most thorough series of assessment tools and exercises available. Then, management psychologists specializing in this type of work review the results with them. The results form the basis of a yearlong personal development plan. These plans address a broad range of opportunities for development and improvement that impact all aspects of an individual’s life – not just life at work.

Finally, we spend time addressing issues of work-life balance and personal health. We ask each student to introspectively consider what they want to do with their degree and why they want to do it. In short, we help participants grow in ways that make all the sacrifices entailed in getting this degree worth it for both the student and his/her family and friends. And, we’ll work with you to support the candidate and your family in every way we can.

If you ever have questions, or you just want to talk about the program, drop us a line (AerospaceMBA@utk.edu) or give us a call toll free at 1-866-AEROMBA (237-6622).