Trailblazing business education

How UF is innovating with specialized master’s degrees

As specialized master’s degrees continue to pop up around the country, Warrington has long been at the forefront of their development. Warrington was one of the first colleges in the country to offer specialized master’s degree programs, beginning in 1994.

First started by Dean Emeritus John Kraft, the specialized master’s programs give students an opportunity to focus their education on an industry of interest. Today, Warrington offers programs in accounting, business analytics, entrepreneurship, finance, information systems and operations management, international business, management, marketing and real estate.

While the popularity of these programs grew at UF, Warrington created a combination degree program that would help students save time and money. While students are still undergraduates, they can enroll in 12 graduate credits during their junior and senior year. Students can even use scholarships to help pay for the graduate level courses. 

Hundreds of students graduate from Warrington every year with their bachelor’s and master’s degree—making them more competitive in the job search and more advanced when they begin their first day of a job. And the number of graduates with combination degrees is increasing every year. 

With strong programs and better setups for undergraduate students in place, Warrington began to focus on the future. It already had a strong foundation as one of the nation’s best online MBA programs, so the online capabilities existed to move specialized master’s programs online. In 2019, that’s exactly what happened. And the college continues to prioritize these programs, moving as many online as possible to ensure student flexibility and success.

Five of the nine specialized master’s programs currently exist online, including two recent additions of business analytics and marketing. Business analytics is the newest specialized master’s program, ensuring students are prepared for the future of business in AI.

With new programs being added and new ways for students to experience them, Warrington is ensuring it will remain a leader in business education.