(PSBJ/Dan Schlatter)

Dan Turner can be seen wearing several different hats around the University of Washington’s Foster School of Business, but on this day he’s happy to sit down and talk about the school’s specialty-focused MBA in technology management. He’s the faculty director for that degree.

What is the Technology Management MBA (TMMBA) and how does it differ from a regular MBA? This is what you might call a “specialty MBA” because it’s specific to a set of industries — that’s probably the fundamental difference. All of our students have a passion for technology. It covers the fundamental MBA topics, but with an emphasis for technology-mediated environments. Our curriculum works to realize the gap (as you move) between one job and another, especially where you may have been before strictly in technology, but now you want to move into technology management.

What’s your own academic background? I have a B.S. in Business Administration from the Cook School of Business at Saint Louis University, an MBA from Olin Business School at Washington University, and a Ph.D. in Marketing from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.

How many people are a part of the TMMBA alum network? As of June 2011, TMMBA will feature a powerful alumni community of 652 professionals. Alumni also become part of the Foster School of Business alumni network of nearly 48,000 graduates.

Any worries that the program is going to lose funding amongst all these UW budget cuts? No. It’s self-sustaining program, meaning it covers its own cost, so it’s very unlikely it would shrink or go away... The programs that are not self-sustaining and have to worry about cuts are our undergraduate programs, our regular MBA and the doctoral programs.

How often does a program like this see tuition increases? Well, that’s based on instruction costs, faculty salary, real estate, and so on. But we try more to price on value — we think we create a lot of value for our alumni, both in that it’s a program created for the working professional, and also in what you have when you leave.

Did you see an interest in the TMMBA go up during the recession, while unemployment was higher? There wasn’t really a population of people who were unemployed and looking to refresh this skill set. This program is designed to be completed while working, so there’s still the question of who pays for it because it’s not cheap.

So how much does the program cost? The program fee for the students who began in January 2011 was $65,977.

That’s a lot of money, even if a company is paying for it ... Some companies do pay for it, other times the individual will. The program fee includes a $1,500 nonrefundable and nontransferable acceptance fee, instruction for the 18-month program, textbooks, course materials, meals on class days, career services, on-campus parking, hosted social functions and events, student activity fees and registration service.

How many people enter the program every year? We have 45 in a section, and two sections start each year. The program is two (academic) years, so there are about 180 students going at any time.

So if it’s “self-sustaining,” is it as difficult to get accepted into the TMMBA program as the rest of UW? If you’re the right candidate, it’s very easy. We’re less likely to turn people down than the regular MBA. However, if we think you’re not the right person for the job — if we see what you want is not what you’ll get out of our program — then we’ll most likely counsel you out of the process and find another place here at UW that’s a better fit for your academic needs.

It’s made for working professionals, so what kind of time does the program take? You go six quarters straight, with usually a one-month break in the summer. Because you’re already working, there’s no need to break for an internship. And then it’s about four and a half hours per week in class, with one Saturday every other week.

That doesn’t seem like a huge chunk of time. Is there homework involved? Oh, lots! I’m really passionate about curriculum. We expect that you’ll be spending about twice as much time on homework as you spend in class.

What might that curriculum involve? We use a team-based model, and a lot of that means learning from one another in groups. Think about it — you’re learning beside some really smart people. There’s a lot of group study sessions. We also have a help center that’s streamed, so you can either be in the room or be online and ask a question to me if I was teaching it.

Why is the TMMBA not on campus like the rest of Foster? We found that the majority of people who go after this specialty MBA are already on the Eastside, so that’s why it’s out of the Eastside Executive Center (in Kirkland). It just made sense to put down a footprint on that side of the water. We do spend a little time here on campus though, but mostly (we’re) in Kirkland.