When is a business school a computer science school?

27 April 2022

Andrew Crisp examines some of the key findings in this year’s Tomorrow’s Masters degree.

Technology is transforming business Master’s degrees – the way they are studied, the content studied and probably in many cases the jobs that graduates go on to after their studies. The Tomorrow’s Masters study 2022, published by CarringtonCrisp with EFMD, has found that more and more students want to study a blended or fully online degree; 38% preferred such an approach this year, more than double last year’s numbers.

Undoubtedly, growing online provision is opening Master’s degrees to wider audiences. Older learners who may not have previously considered a Master’s because they couldn’t afford to give up a job to study on campus, couldn’t afford to travel to study or didn’t want to leave a young family, are now part of the potential audience for a Master’s degree.

Historically, Master’s in Management, Accounting and Finance have been popular and while these degrees remain of interest to prospective learners, the top choices in this year’s Tomorrow’s Masters study are dominated by technology-related degrees. Four of the top seven choices are technology related, including a generic IT-related degree, Artificial Intelligence, E-commerce and Big data/business analytics.

Part of the popularity of these subjects is the drive among employers to reskill and attract new staff with skills to support digital transformation in their businesses. However, technology isn’t everything. Business Ethics, Creativity, Entrepreneurship, Environmental Management and Healthcare Management are all popular subjects among prospective learners.

Whether students are taking technology-related degrees or other subjects, they are keen to have degree content that focuses on wider issues across business and society. For many students that means additional content in their degree covering ethical leadership, responsible management, diversity and equality, and global challenges.

The Tomorrow’s Masters report can be purchased here.