Pursuit of Letters

REVIEW SUMMARY
Industry. Education
Key. Gulf Coast business schools are seeing steady M.B.A. enrollments, but offer more tailored degree options.

Robert Forsythe sees it happen every year: hundreds of students expressing an interest in earning a master's degree in business administration from the University of South Florida, some of whom won't qualify to attend the first class.

Rather than simply accepting tuition checks, the dean of USF's College of Business says his M.B.A. program accepts prospective students based on the amount of prior work experience they have or the type of bachelor's degree earned previously. While many apply expecting the degree to lead them to a brighter career path, he says, those who ultimately graduate look at it as a better anchor in a down economy.