NUIMC: What's it all about? Grads share their views.

Lisa's IMC Experience:
I'm just two short evenings away from completing the part-time IMC program. Was it worth it? YES. Was it hard work? YES. Did I learn a lot? YES. Did I make great connections? ABSOLUTELY!

My Path to IMC
I never planned on graduate school, mostly because I didn't think there were any programs that were right for me. Being an English and communications undergrad, I felt a traditional MBA program was not a good fit for what I wanted to do. Did I really need to sit through accounting and econ to learn to be a better marketer? I had approximately 10 years of marketing communications experience under my belt, but I knew I lacked a lot of skills--from basic marketing quant skills to a fresh exposure to the future of marketing.

Then I heard about IMC. The outside-in, customer-centric approach of IMC was refreshing. It looked like IMC had the perfect balance of fundamentals and forward-thinking classes to set me on the path to success.

The Courses
I'm pleased with the variety of coursework. We covered a wide range of topics--from marketing management and finance, to consumer insight and crisis communications.

I was afraid of stats, finance and database analysis. But I made it through just fine. In fact, I was shocked at how much I enjoyed marketing finance. The profs know that some of the quant concepts are new to students, and they make a point to explain how these concepts apply to real-world examples.

Most classes have group projects, and typically these projects are for actual companies. In most cases, we'd present to these "clients" to get real advice and input. I found that I learned just as much from team members as I did from working for the clients.

One great thing about IMC is that many of the professors either still work outside academia and/or they have strong ties to marketing leaders at a wide range of companies. We had a lot of excellent guest speakers--from marketing VPs at Fortune 500 companies to entrepreneurs who are shaking up the marketing landscape.

The Connections
I know I've make friends for life in the IMC program. There's a great deal of camaraderie and encouragement among part-time IMC students. Everyone is helpful. I can turn to classmates for advice and for insight into areas outside of my work experience. We get together outside of class, too--end-of-quarter parties were always a blast!