Two Master's Degrees at Once?

[TINASAM]

Anyone done this? They're not CBE so they'll take the full length of time, but I'm considering HAU's MBA and an in-state online master's program. 
And as to why two at once? Honestly I don't know if I have four or more years left in me to do them one after the other. I just want the grad school over and done with, lol. 
Why these degrees?
One is one that I will enjoy, however it will not open as many doors for what I want to do as the MBA.
and the MBA is going to be as pleasant for me as a two year long root canal but it will open more doors that I need opened.
So I'd like to do both. But I don't know if this is immensely stupid or even doable for me.

Thoughts?

[Maniac Craniac]

In general, I don't recommend doing things that make you miserable for years on end. That's one thing to consider. Your happiness is important.

On the other hand, the HAU deal is unlikely to continue forever, so it's a good idea to get 'em while they're hot. Instead of doing two degrees at once, would you feel up to throwing all your energy into completing one of them quickly before moving non to the next? It will still be the same amount of work, and can be done in the same amount of time. So, instead of doing two degrees simultaneously in two years, do one degree per year and still finish in two.

One last thing to note- some HAU classes have a moderate amount of work to them, and taking multiple of those courses per semester would be quite doable. However, that's not true for all of the courses. My last course and my current course have absolutely buried us with assignments and papers and I wouldn't at all have been able to survive two of them at a time. They're accelerated courses, and they don't truncate the content at all. You have to do an entire semester worth of reading, assessment and writing in all of 7 weeks.

[TINASAM]

In general, I don't recommend doing things that make you miserable for years on end. That's one thing to consider. Your happiness is important.

On the other hand, the HAU deal is unlikely to continue forever, so it's a good idea to get 'em while their hot. Instead of doing two degrees at once, would you feel up to throwing all your energy into completing one of them quickly before moving non to the next? It will still be the same amount of work, and can be done in the same amount of time. So, instead of doing two degrees simultaneously in two years, do one degree per year and still finish in two.

One last thing to note- some HAU classes have a moderate amount of work to them, and taking multiple of those courses per semester would be quite doable. However, that's not true for all of the courses. My last course and my current course have absolutely buried us with assignments and papers and I wouldn't at all have been able to survive two of them at a time. They're accelerated courses, and they don't truncate the content at all. You have to do an entire semester worth of reading, assessment and writing in all of 7 weeks.

The HAU is doable in a year? It showed two and I didn't think you could accelerate or do them any quicker, hmmm, that does make a serious difference if that is possible.

[bjcheung77]

@TINASAM, Please provide us more info in regards to the second degree in question. HAU is an awesome deal that you shouldn't give up, I would work on this first and once done, work on your second degree. Although we have a member who was able to get their TESU BSBA and the HAU MBA done in two years and a bit over 10K, it was very rewarding for them to complete them both in that time frame. If we know more on the second program, we may give more advice... I would still recommend doing each program one after the other... The main reason isn't just because of the time, it's because of the learning experience... don't rush it...

[freeloader]

Personally, I wouldn’t pursue two degrees at the same time at two different universities. Many universities have policies prohibiting you pursuing a degree at the same time at another institution, at least without advising them that you are doing it. At minimum, be sure to check that it’s ok with both schools and, if appropriate, let them know. Truth be told, that probably has as much to do with financial aid as anything else. But there again, if you are getting aid from your state school or federal aid to help with that degree, you wouldn’t want to jeopardize that with HAU, even if you are paying cash for that degree. Just things to consider/look into.

I wouldn’t want to do it though, because I know me. I would focus all of my attention on the degree/courses that I liked better and would let the other degree/courses slip.

I also feel like (and this is just intuition) a professor might be less likely to give you an extension, offer make-up work, etc, if your justification is that you had too much work IN A CLASS AT ANOTHER UNIVERSITY. I might be wrong, but I wouldn’t put myself in that position.

What discipline are you pursuing for your non-MBA degree? If it’s some business, business related, or business adjacent, have you considered a joint degree program or earning a subsequent degree, where some part of your coursework might be used toward the second degree at the same institution? (Sorry, I know that is awkward, hard to articulate what I mean clearly). It might cost you a little more, but might be faster, easier, etc, and wouldn’t require you to be attending two schools at once.

[TINASAM]

I wouldn’t want to do it though, because I know me. I would focus all of my attention on the degree/courses that I liked better and would let the other degree/courses slip.

I also feel like (and this is just intuition) a professor might be less likely to give you an extension, offer make-up work, etc, if your justification is that you had too much work IN A CLASS AT ANOTHER UNIVERSITY. I might be wrong, but I wouldn’t put myself in that position.

What discipline are you pursuing for your non-MBA degree?

Didn't think about the extensions and you're right, I'd totally be focused on the "more fun" non-business degree than the MBA. The discipline for the non-MBA is Criminology.

[freeloader]

Ok. One final question from me: what will your criminology degree cost you? If you would share the school you will be attending, that would be good, but I totally understand if you don’t want to publicize that.

[newdegree]

I’ve done a doctorate and a masters at the same time it’s possible if you have balance and time management skills. Just mention as well the doctorate was at Virginia university of Lynchburg and the masters at HAU

[ThatBankDude]

I often see folks pursuing an MBA at MIT and a MPP at Harvard. It is actually a common occurrence to pursue dual masters degrees. That said, those programs work together to ensure the success of the student whereas the manner in which you are speaking may not be beneficial for you as the programs likely do not work together.

I knew I wanted to pursue a 2nd master's and did it one after the other.

[carrythenothing]

I often see folks pursuing an MBA at MIT and a MPP at Harvard. It is actually a common occurrence to pursue dual masters degrees. That said, those programs work together to ensure the success of the student whereas the manner in which you are speaking may not be beneficial for you as the programs likely do not work together.

I knew I wanted to pursue a 2nd master's and did it one after the other.

Here's information on joint degrees (two degrees from within Harvard) and concurrent degrees (one master's degree from Harvard Kennedy School and one professional degree from a list of partner institutions that includes MIT): https://www.hks.harvard.edu/educational-...nt-degrees

If price is the main reason that you're going for the HAU MBA, I agree with others who said it'd be best to finish that first and then go for the criminology degree. Otherwise, it might be worth looking for MBA/MA in Criminology programs.