In Montgomery County and the surrounding areas, The DeSales University and its MBA program has been at the forefront of graduate education for years, thanks in part to the Director of the Program, Dr. Karen Kent.

Dr. Karen Kent joined DeSales MBA in July of 2019 as Director of the MBA Program. She came to MBA with vast experience, most importantly in the healthcare area. Karen worked for a number of academic health systems, including Johns Hopkins Medicine, prior to shifting into academics.

“The MBA mission is to deliver a transformative educational experience to develop knowledgeable, ethical leaders. To that end, we encourage students to create a personalized study plan that meets their needs. Our small class sizes and program advisers, who have worked at DeSales an average of 20 years, add to the appeal. We take our role in serving students very seriously; this is our differentiating factor, and our passion,” she says.

Karen tells us that the DeSales MBA program serves people from a range of experiences and educational backgrounds. “Our part-time program appeals to working professionals, who are seeking to add the MBA to enhance their business knowledge,” she explains.

“Recent graduates who want to continue directly into a graduate program are encouraged to look at our full-time, accelerated program. Businesspeople who want to develop specialized skills can also take advantage of our multiple certificate programs.”

The MBA program at DeSales started in 1991, growing tremendously, adding new concentrations, certificates and formats.   

The DeSales MBA program has partnered with many local companies by offering classes on-site, including Dorman Products, Lehigh Valley Health Network, and Pfizer. The MBA program was an early innovator of online learning back in the 90’s.

DeSales developed an international focus through the relationship with The Universidad Peruana de Ciencias Aplicadas (UPC) in Lima, Peru, and has offered many other international study tours in Europe and in Asia.

DeSales has launched new one-credit courses that are perfect for those who want to try out an MBA class or want to continue to develop post-graduate skills.

The next one-credit workshop is Oct. 9 and Oct 15, and focuses on Leadership, Team Dynamics, and Emotional Intelligence.

Also, MBA offers free boot-camp classes for our students, alumni, and interested students; these classes include Excel skills, presentation, advanced PowerPoint, and more. 

In addition, the DeSales MBA program offers free professional development “Power Breakfast” events throughout the year.

The DeSales MBA program works because DeSales works with the students, at whatever stage they are at in the professional and academic journey.

“We offer a very flexible format for busy professionals. Courses are offered online, with live Zoom sessions, or using an asynchronous, self-paced format. Classes are also offered on campus, but with flex capability, allowing for remote connectivity,” she said. “From session to session, students can pick their preferred format; they are not locked into one mode of learning. Students finish the program in one year, or over several years, so they can achieve the right pace and balance for their personal needs.”

What makes DeSales very unique is the breadth of concentrations; there are 14 areas from the traditional MBA specialties (accounting, finance, management, marketing, human resources) as well as specialized areas (healthcare management, lean/six sigma, supply chain management, data analytics, project management, cybersecurity, information systems, and financial planning). 

The Self Design concentration is exactly what it sounds like – the student designs the concentration and can take any 4 concentration courses that meet the need they are looking for.

Karen Kent and her DeSales MBA team realize advanced education is always a benefit – an MBA gives a student the overall business knowledge needed today. 

“But even more than that, our students gain personal fulfillment as they grow as an individual,” Karen notes. “Our students develop the self-discipline to balance their work, family, and school responsibilities. Through their experience, our MBA graduates possess an innate and insatiable curiosity, enhanced communication skills and a broader worldview. As a result, they have many more career and life opportunities available to them.”

Find out more about the DeSales MBA program!