Do You Need Work Experience For A Master’s Degree?

Do you need work experience for a master’s degree at business school? Here’s everything you need to know

Are you considering business school? Whether you want to develop your business acumen with a Master in Management (MiM), or dive deep in a particular industry with a Specialized Masters, you'll need to consider what work experience you're expected to have.

There are plenty of business schools that require little or no work experience for a master’s degree. But enrolling in a business master’s with some work experience could help you make the most of your experience.

Here’s everything you need to know about work experience for a master’s at business school, and whether you need it.

What is required work experience for a master's?

Work experience is often not a requirement to study a business master’s. Hanken Business School, for example, encourages bachelor’s graduates to apply for its masters degrees straight away, and there are no work experience requirements to apply.

Similarly, Luiss Business School accepts students into its masters programs from a range of different backgrounds, with varying levels of experience.

“Some of them have work or internship experience that they gained during or shortly after their bachelor’s degree, and some of them have no work experience at all,” says Professor Marco Mazzù, professor of International Marketing and recruitment leader at Luiss Business School.

For Luiss’s admission board, the most important factor is a candidate’s previous academic record, he adds.

However, gaining some work experience before a master’s can help you excel in your studies. Cynthia Law, graduate admissions manager at Concordia University’s John Molson School of Business in Canada, believes that work experience in a relevant field can be valuable in your application and may enhance your profile.

Your previous work experience can help you tailor your application essay by sharing relevant professional examples and showing how the master’s degree will contribute to your career, Cynthia explains.

Still, there’s no official work experience...