Get different masters than undergrad major?

[Lbtg47]

lets say i went into undergrad for oh… say… electrical engineering

would i be able to get a masters in math? would it be harder to get accepted into a elite school to get a masters in math than if i majored in math undergrad? how harder?

what about a complete 180? say engineering and then get my MBA… would it be near imposibble to get into an ivy with no business major in undergrad?
what about polysci to MBA? harder than someone who majored in business? how much harder?

sorry if this is common knowledge to some of you

[shennie]

<p>It is possible to get a graduate degree in unrelated fields. To a large extent it depends on you willingness and ability to meet class requirements that you may be missing from your undergrad experience. You also have to be a strong student and be able to demonstrate to the graduate department why you changed fields, and why you want to get a grad degree in that field. The people I have known who have done this all have had work experience between undergrad and grad that led them in a new or different direction. I think it is also more difficult to attend grad school in the technical fields if you don't have the prerequisite classes from undergrad. However, I know a man who got into a highly ranked PhD chemistry program with a degree in psychology. However, his admission was conditional on his completing a certain number of undergrad classes and getting a specific GPA in those classes.</p>

[Lbtg47]

<p>ah thank you for the reply. i was considering a doulde major in business(or polysci) and engineering for undergrad. i then want to eventually get a PhD in math or physics. Also a MBA from a respected school.</p>

<p>would doing an all out double major in engineering and business/polysci give me a significant advantage when it comes time to look at colleges for my MBA or can i easily get away with just a minor in business/polysci? Math/Physics is my priority now but as i get older i think id prefer to switch into the business field.</p>

<p>I may just do an all out double major for the sake of satisfying my need to learn, but i dont want to overwork myself in my prime either. I was also considering that a double major may help me to get some sort of leadership job in engnineering. A manager type position perhaps? decisions. hm.</p>

<p>any advice?</p>

[shennie]

<p>First off, you ae going to have a hard time doing an engineering degree and anything else. You would be doing a double degree, much harder and time consuming than a double major - a B.E in some engineering field and a BA in something else. Engineering is a demanding major that doesn't give you much room for other courses outside of the engineering program. </p>

<p>You don't need to have a business undergrad degree to get into a respectable MBA program. What you will need is experience in business and have a focus for why you want an MBA. Graduate business schools are much more interested in students who have been out in the "real world" for a few years. If you can squeeze in a few business type classes as an undergrad, then go for it, but don't sweat it if you can't</p>

<p>My third piece of advice is that when you get to college you take a variety of classes your freshman year, if you can, to help you figure out what you might want to really focus on, because right now you are all over the map. (Don't worry, that's normal.)</p>

[sakky]

<p>Let me add that getting an engineering degree as an undergrad and then shooting for an MBA is not only not a 180, it is in fact one of the most common, if not the most common paths to getting into B-school. Take the MBA program at MIT-Sloan. Far and away the #1 undergraduate major of students at Sloan was not business, but engineering. Now you might say, yeah, that's just MIT-Sloan, and you'd think that a school like MIT would naturally be highly technical. Well, look at the statistics for some of the other elite B-schools. Look at the data and you will see that engineering is either the most prolific or the second-most prolific undergraduate major represented.</p>

<p><a href="http://www.gsb.stanford.edu/news/bmag/sbsm0211/spreadsheet_class.shtml%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.gsb.stanford.edu/news/bmag/sbsm0211/spreadsheet_class.shtml&lt;/a> </p>

<p><a href="http://www.wharton.upenn.edu/downloads/publications/mbacareer02.pdf%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.wharton.upenn.edu/downloads/publications/mbacareer02.pdf&lt;/a> </p>

<p><a href="http://www.kellogg.nwu.edu/admissions/apply/entering.htm%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.kellogg.nwu.edu/admissions/apply/entering.htm&lt;/a> </p>

<p><a href="http://www.bus.umich.edu/Admissions/Mba/Profile.htm%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.bus.umich.edu/Admissions/Mba/Profile.htm&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

[shyboy13]

<p>Sakky is correct. Engineering is always a very represented major also at most B-schools. In fact, the top 3 majors at almost every major B-school is (in no particular order) Business, Economics, and Engineering. That last statement is almost invariably true.</p>