Persons interested in careers in the business arena soon will have two new master-level degree programs available to them at UNLV.

The first, a dual master's degree program in business administration and in hotel administration, will be available beginning this fall. The other, an Executive MBA program, will begin in the fall of 2002.

Students participating in the dual-degree program will earn both an MBA and a master of science in hotel administration after completing 54 credit-hours of courses.

This program is geared for persons who seek career and business leadership opportunities in hotel administration. The core MBA program is designed to advance the knowledge and practice of business administration. The hotel portion of the program is intended to provide industry-specific information.

"This dual-degree program seems to us to be a natural for Southern Nevada," said Richard Flaherty, dean of the College of Business. "UNLV has both strong hotel administration and business programs - and the community offers an incredible number of business-oriented jobs within the hotel industry. This program will provide an excellent education for those persons seeking to pursue careers in the business side of the hotel industry."

The Executive MBA program is intended for mid-career and senior-level executives who will go through the program in a lock-step format, all taking the same courses at the same time. Classes will meet every other weekend over an 18-month period.

"This format not only makes the program attractive to business executives who cannot attend classes during the week because of their job commitments, but also allows us to foster a collaborative, team-oriented learning environment," said Nasser Daneshvary, associate dean of the College of Business and director of MBA programs.

The program will offer an integrated blend of theory and practice and provide a general management emphasis suited to the needs of mid-career and senior-level executives in leadership positions.

While it is expected that the program initially will primarily draw business executives who are employed in Southern Nevada, Daneshvary said he believes that after two or three years the program will draw students from other locations as well.

Daneshvary noted that offering courses at times convenient for the students is nothing new for UNLV's Business College. The existing MBA program already offers all its classes during the evening to accommodate students' work schedules.

All programs offered by the College of Business, including the MBA programs, have been fully accredited by the AACSB International - the Association of Advance Collegiate Schools of Business. The AACSB International has bestowed accreditation on only about 25 percent of all national and international schools that offer business degrees.

For more information, contact the College of Business at (702) 895-3362.