W. P. Carey School ready for ASU-Starbucks partnership students

As classes start up for the new school year at Arizona State University this fall, the W. P. Carey School of Business is ready for hundreds more online students, thanks to demand from the university’s recently announced partnership with Starbucks Coffee Company.

Starbucks will be offering 40 ASU Online degree programs from which its partners (employees) can choose. A large number say they want to pursue a business degree, and that has the highly ranked W. P. Carey School gearing up with several new online offerings, including one in retail management.

“We’re excited about the opportunity to work with Starbucks to help their partners complete their college degrees,” says Amy Hillman, dean of the W. P. Carey School of Business. “Because so many of the Starbucks partners want business degrees, we’re introducing online versions of our popular bachelor’s programs with concentrations in global logistics, global leadership and sustainability. We’re also launching an online degree with a focus in retail management since these students are already working and showing an interest in retail.”

The new online retail-management degree will include such topics as ensuring brand integrity, improving the customer experience, building and sustaining vendor relationships, and managing a retail enterprise. The W. P. Carey School is also adding a few new graduate-level degree options this fall. The school will host new face-to-face master’s programs in finance and global logistics, as well as a new online version of the popular master’s in business analytics or “big data.”

“These new options will allow us to meet the demand for quality education to many more students,” says Hillman. “We think it’s remarkable that Starbucks is breaking new ground with this College Achievement Plan made available to its partners with no commitment to remain at Starbucks after completing the degrees.”

ASU Online is ranked top 10 in the nation for online bachelor’s programs, according to U.S. News & World Report. The W. P. Carey School ranks No. 2 nationwide for online graduate-level business programs, including its online MBA.

The W. P. Carey School of Business is also currently ranked top 30 in the nation for both undergraduate and graduate business programs. For more information about the school, visit www.wpcarey.asu.edu. For more information about the Starbucks partnership, go to https://asunews.asu.edu/20140615-starbucks-asu-partnership/.