Learn it Today, Use it Today
“Our goal is to prepare them for the real world. To get jobs. To establish careers.”
That’s what Maria Ferguson, Department Chair of Full Sail University’s Digital Marketing master’s degree program says about how fundamental it is that students learn industry skills while enrolled in Full Sail’s immersive, hands-on degree programs.
“It’s important that we equip [students] with everything they need,” says Maria, “and that we give them honest feedback. Because they need to be able to use that in the real world, where people aren’t so nice.”
Cassandra Willard (Course Director, Entertainment Business master's) also implements this philosophy in her classes. “As our students go through the program, they’re learning skills like negotiations, finance, marketing techniques, and legal aspects. I always tell them: ‘At the end of a talk, if you aren’t walking away with something you can apply today, I’m failing you.’”
Graduates also attest to the value of their instructors’ focus on industry skills. Emily Wray, an online master’s program grad, says she found it beneficial to continue working while she studied for her degree. “I could immediately apply the concepts and techniques I was learning in my curriculum, back at the office.”
Similarly, Thaddeus Ray (a graduate of both the Entertainment Business master’s and Business Intelligence master’s programs) recalls a specific moment when his degree program positively influenced his career. At the time, he was living in Los Angeles, interning for an independent record label, and working toward his Business Intelligence capstone project.
“My capstone project was to build a business case on developing a data-informed solution plan for a company. I went and talked to the CEO and asked if I could meet with him and talk about [the plan]. And he was intrigued. He was like, ‘Absolutely.’ It put me in a position I had never been in before. I wanted to have an edge — and Full Sail provided that for me.”
For a closer look at Full Sail’s master’s degree programs, all of which focus on skills-based learning to equip students for their careers, explore our degrees, or call an Admissions Representative at 800.226.7625.
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