University students who want to work in industry may find that a master's in business administration is a necessity.

"It used to be that people got MBAs to distinguish themselves," said J. Randall Woolridge, University professor of finance. "Today, those without MBAs are the ones who are different."

To increase job opportunities and salaries, people with undergraduate degrees may find they need an MBA, Woolridge said.

"So many people have MBAs that in many cases in order to compete, an MBA is needed," he said.

Many businesses are finding that people with undergraduate degrees are not trained enough, said Katherine Woodfield, an MBA candidate.

The demand for MBAs nationally has increased radically in the last 20 years, according to a report in U.S. News and World Report magazine. A March 19, 1990 article showed that about 70,000 students nationally graduated with MBAs last year, compared to roughly 21,400 students in 1970.

The University's program is one of about 250 programs accredited by the American Assembly of Collegiate Schools of Business, according to Business Week magazine's Guide to the Best Business Schools. About 450 other schools offer MBA programs, the Business Week book said.

Roger Dagen, the administrative director of the University's MBA program, said 310 students are enrolled in the program -- half in the first year of the two-year program, the other half in the second. In each of the last few years 155 students have earned MBAs from Penn State, Dagen said, adding that the program has not taken more students because its access to classroom space is limited.

Woolridge suggested students who receive their undergraduates degree should wait before entering an MBA program.

"Many schools won't let you go directly into their programs," he said. "They'd prefer work experience because you have much more to offer."

Woolridge said that most employers pay MBA recipients not only for their education, but also for work experience. Work experience includes full-time jobs, not internships, he added.

When people go back to school after holding a job they can identify more easily with the situations presented in class, Woodfield said.

"I worked for a year before pursuing my MBA," Woodfield said. "I learned what a real job entails and when situations arise in class I know I've dealt with them in real life."

Graduate schools not only look at previous work experience but also at a student's undergraduate grade-point average and Graduate Management Admissions Test scores, Woolridge said.

After graduate school, starting salaries for those holding MBA's may be almost twice that of those only holding undergraduate degrees, Woodfield said. But there are some costs for getting an MBA, she added.

"In the beginning, you will be in debt more, but the rewards do come," Woodfield said. "With a more in-depth understanding of business, of industry and of responsibility, you are more prepared to handle more and will move ahead faster."