Hello all,

Just joined and i have query i'd need someone to weigh in on. Have got a Been in the insurance industry for 10 years now and am looking to start my graduate education to enhance my business skills as well bolster my chances of advancing further into mid-senior management levels.
I initially applied to Geis , the iMSM and i got accepted. Had chosen it because it seemed to cover all major disciplines of business management albeit abit light on the finance and analytics but it is well within my budget. The iMBA is a bit of reach costwise hence not on the table for me.
However i stumbled upon Heriot-Watt MBA online , with a specialism in Business Analytics and seemed to be within budget. However the school is obviously not accredited like Urbana Champaign
My question is, can the iMSM from a well respected and accredited business scholl trump an unranked MBA? Or will a recruiter be more inclined to favor an MBA from heriot vs an iMSM from UIUC. I'd like to hear some thoughts on this.
Lastly i was attracted to the Heriot watt program due to the promise of an analytics specialization which is One of the areas i'd like to gain general working knowledge as pertains application of data analytics in management and data driven decision making. My reservations are around the actual content once i enrol. Am afraid the material for the analytics course may not be upto par yet this is one of my deciding factors.
Thank you all.
Anyone with experience on either of these two programs can share their thoughts. I will appreciate deeply.

Given your budget and interests, I believe the iMSM from UIUC is likely more beneficial for advancing into mid-senior management due to its strong reputation and comprehensive business management curriculum, despite being lighter on finance and analytics.


While the Heriot-Watt MBA aligns well with your goals, its lack of AACSB accreditation may impact its value with recruiters compared to UIUC.