A degree in Hispanic linguistics does not spring to mind as an obvious passport to that all-important first job after college. So when Michelle McCarthy (right) graduated with just such a qualification, she decided she needed a top-up business degree as well.
“I knew I wanted to go into business,” she says, “possibly in Latin-American business relations.” In May, she enrolled on the University of Notre Dame’s inaugural Master of Science in Business degree at the Mendoza school in Indiana.
Mendoza is one of a growing number of strong-brand US business schools launching one-year degrees for students straight out of undergraduate programmes. The Kellogg school at Northwestern University in Chicago also starts a pre-experience degree this year, while Michigan Ross will launch a similar programme in 2014.