Master of Business Administration
Encyclopedia
The Master of Business Administration (MBA or M.B.A.) is a :master's degree in business administration, which attracts people from a wide range of academic disciplines. The MBA designation originated in the United States, emerging from the late 19th century as the country industrialized and companies sought out scientific approaches to management
. The core courses in the MBA program are designed to introduce students to the various areas of business such as accounting, finance, marketing, human resources, operations management, etc. Students in MBA programs have the option of taking general business courses throughout the program or can select an area of concentration and focus approximately one-fourth of their studies in this subject.
Accreditation bodies exist specifically for MBA programs to ensure consistency and quality of graduate business education. Business schools in many countries offer MBA programs tailored to full-time, part-time, executive
, and distance learning students, with specialized concentrations.
of business in the United States was the Tuck School of Business
, part of Dartmouth College
Founded in 1900, it was the first institution conferring advanced degrees (masters) in the commercial sciences, specifically, a Master of Science
in Commerce degree, the forebear of the modern MBA degree.
In 1908, the Graduate School of Business Administration (GSBA) at Harvard University
was established; it offered the world's first MBA program, with a faculty of 15 plus 33 regular students and 47 special students.
The University of Chicago Booth School of Business first offered working professionals the Executive MBA (EMBA) program in 1943, first available in permanent campus in three continents (Chicago, London and Singapore) and this type of program is offered by most business schools today.
In 1946, Thunderbird School of Global Management
was the first school to offer an MBA program focused on global management.
In 1950, the first MBA degrees awarded outside the United States were by the Richard Ivey School of Business at The University of Western Ontario in Canada, followed in 1951 with the degree awarded by the University of Pretoria
in South Africa. In 1957, INSEAD
became the first European business school to offer an MBA program. In 1986, the Roy E. Crummer Graduate School of Business at Rollins College
(Florida) was the first MBA program to require every student to have a laptop computer in the classroom. Initially, professors wheeled a cart of laptops into the classroom.
The MBA degree has been adopted by universities worldwide, and has been adopted and adapted by both developed and developing countries.
s or MBA programs may be accredited by external bodies which provide students and employers with an independent view of their quality, and indicate that the school's educational curriculum meets specific quality standards. The three major accrediting bodies in the United States are Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business
(AACSB), which accredits research universities, the Accreditation Council for Business Schools and Programs (ACBSP), which accredits universities and colleges, and the International Assembly for Collegiate Business Education
(IACBE), all of which also accredit schools outside the US. The AACSB, the ACBSP, and the IACBE are themselves recognized in the United States by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation
(CHEA). MBA programs with specializations for students pursuing careers in healthcare management also eligible for accreditation by the Commission on the Accreditation of Healthcare Management Education
(CAHME).
In the United States, a college or university must be accredited as a whole before it is eligible to have its MBA program accredited. Bodies that accredit institutions as a whole include the Council for Higher Education Accreditation
(CHEA): Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools
(MSA), New England Association of Schools and Colleges
(NEASCSC), Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools
(HLC), Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities
(NWCCU), Southern Association of Colleges and Schools
(SACS), and Western Association of Schools and Colleges
(WASC).
Accreditation agencies outside the United States include the Association of MBAs
(AMBA), a UK based organization that accredits MBA, DBA and MBM programs worldwide, government accreditation bodies such as the All India Council for Technical Education
(AICTE) that accredits MBA and PGDM programs across India, the Council on Higher Education (CHE) in South Africa, the European Quality Improvement System
(EQUIS) for mostly European and Asian schools, and the Foundation for International Business Administration Accreditation (FIBAA) in Europe.
Accelerated MBA programs are a variation of the two year programs. They involve a higher course load with more intense class and examination schedules. They usually have less "down time" during the program and between semesters. For example, there is no three to four month summer break, and between semesters there might be seven to ten days off rather than three to five weeks vacation.
Part-time MBA programs normally hold classes on weekday evenings, after normal working hours, or on weekends. Part-time programs normally last three years or more. The students in these programs typically consist of working professionals, who take a light course load for a longer period of time until the graduation requirements are met.
Executive MBA (EMBA) programs developed to meet the educational needs of managers and executives, allowing students to earn an MBA or another business-related graduate degree in two years or less while working full time. Participants come from every type and size of organization – profit, nonprofit, government – representing a variety of industries. EMBA students typically have a higher level of work experience, often 10 years or more, compared to other MBA students. In response to the increasing number of EMBA programs offered, The Executive MBA Council was formed in 1981 to advance executive education.
Distance learning MBA programs hold classes off-campus. These programs can be offered in a number of different formats: correspondence courses by postal mail or email, non-interactive broadcast video, pre-recorded video, live teleconference
or videoconference, offline or online computer courses. Many schools offer these programs.
Dual MBA programs combine MBA degree with others (such as an MS, MA, or a J.D.
, etc.) to let students cut costs (dual programs usually cost less than pursuing 2 degrees separately), save time on education and to tailor the business education courses to their needs. Some business schools offer programs in which students can earn both a bachelor's degree
in business administration and an MBA in four or five years.
(GMAT), significant work experience, academic transcripts, essays, references or letters of recommendation and personal interviews. The Graduate Record Examination
(GRE) is also accepted by some schools in lieu of the GMAT
. Some schools are also interested in extracurricular activities, community service activities and how the student can improve the diversity of and contribute to the student body as a whole. All of these qualifications can be important for admission; however, some schools do not weigh GMAT scores as heavily as other criteria, and many distance learning schools do not require the GMAT for admission. In order to achieve a diverse class, business schools also consider the target male-female ratio and local-international student ratios.
Depending on the program, type and length of work experience can be a critical admissions component for many MBA programs. Many top-tier programs require five or more years of work experience for admission.
, entrepreneurship
, finance
, international business
, management science, marketing
, operations management
, organizational behavior, project management
, real estate
, and strategy
, among others.
Many individuals choosing a specialized field of study, such as real estate or accounting, are well-suited for their respective industries through pursuing a Master of Real Estate Development or Master of Science in Accounting degree, for example. Other specialized programs include Master of Science in Finance, Master of Science in Information Systems
, Master of Science in Supply Chain Management.
became the first European university offering the MBA degree, followed in 1959 by ESADE
, ICADE
in 1960 (who had started offering in 1956 a "Technical Seminary for Business Administration") http://www.icade.es/presentacion/pres_hist.aspx?nivel=3&id=90, IESE
(first two-year program in Europe) in 1964, UCD Smurfit Business School
in 1964, Manchester Business School
and London Business School
in 1965, The University of Dublin (Trinity College
), the Rotterdam School of Management
in 1966, the Cranfield School of Management
in 1967 and in 1969 by the HEC School of Management
(in French, the École des Hautes Études Commerciales) and the Institut d'Etudes Politiques de Paris
. In 1972, Swiss business school IMEDE (now IMD
) began offering a full-time MBA program, followed in 1974 by AGH University of Science and Technology in Cracow, Poland. In 1991, IEDC-Bled School of Management
became the first school in the ex-socialist block of the Central and Eastern to offer an MBA degree. Because of technology advances, distance or online MBA programs have recently emerged in Europe. Several business schools in the United Kingdom now offer distance MBA programs. In 2007, ESCEM became the first French Business school to offer their own distance or online MBA. See List of business schools in Europe
.
have to be accredited by the Austrian Accreditation Council (Österreichischer Akkreditierungsrat). State-run universities have no accreditation requirements, however, some of them voluntarily undergo accreditation procedures by independent bodies. There are also MBA programs of non-academic business schools, who are entitled by the Austrian government to offer these programs until 2010 (Lehrgang universitären Charakters). Some non-academic institutions cooperate with state-run universities to ensure legality of their degrees.
countries such as Switzerland, Monaco, Belgium, and Canada, the MBA degree programs at the public accredited schools are similar to those offered in the Anglo-Saxon
countries. Most French Business Schools are accredited by the Conférence des Grandes Écoles
, which is an association of higher educational establishments outside the mainstream framework of the public education system.
in Betriebswirtschaft (Diplom-Kaufmann; Master's degree equivalent) but since 1999, bachelor's and master's degrees have gradually replaced the traditional degrees (see Bologna process
). Today most German business schools offer the MBA. Most German states
require that MBA degrees have to be accredited by one of the six agencies officially recognized by the German Akkreditierungsrat (accreditation council), the German counterpart to the US-American CHEA
. The busiest of these six agencies (in respect to MBA degrees) is the Foundation for International Business Administration Accreditation (FIBAA). All universities themselves have to be institutionally accredited by the state (staatlich anerkannt).
and by ASFOR.
and University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
. Others like the programs offered by the Institute of Economics of the Polish Academy of Sciences
(INE PAN) rely on their own faculty and enrich their courses by inviting visiting lecturers. The CEMBA, WIEMBA and INE PAN programs as several other programs in Poland, are offered also in English.
where there are now about twenty schools of business offering a variety of MBA programs. Three of these are subsidiaries of European schools of business, while the remaining institutions are independent. Ukrainian MBA programs are concentrated mainly on particulars of business and management in Ukraine.
For example, 2/3 of all case studies are based on real conditions of Ukrainian companies.
(AMBA) was established in 1967 and is an active advocate for MBA degrees. The Association's accreditation service is internationally recognised for all MBA, DBA and Masters in Business and Management (MBM) programs. AMBA also offer the only professional membership association for MBA students and graduates. UK MBA programs typically consist of a set number of taught courses plus a dissertation or project.
Ratings for Australian MBAs are carried out by the Graduate Management Association of Australia
, which publishes an annual Australian MBA Star Ratings
. See List of business schools in Australia.
Student choose to specialize in one of this areas; Accounting, finance, entrepreneur, Insurance and Human Resources. The course takes 4 semester of about 4 months each.
Japanese business schools offer full time MBA programs, part time MBA programs, and E-Business Management.
MBA in public universities are generally more prestigious than their private counterparts with only 25 percent of all university-bound students being admitted to public universities. The public universities such as Nagoya University
, University of Tsukuba
, Kyushu University
, Kyoto University
offer management studies and business administration and are the oldest and most prestigious universities in Japan.
(IIM) are the oldest institutions for management education in India. Admission to any of the IIM schools requires passing Common Admission Test (CAT)
, however other business schools require passing either CAT, XAT
, GMAT
, JMET
, MAT or others. Apart from these entrance tests there are few business schools which conduct aptitude tests individually for admission to that particular business school. The IIM and other autonomous business schools offer a post-graduate diploma in management (PGDM) or Post Graduate Programme in Management (PGPM) which is recognized in India as equivalent to an MBA degree. Government accreditation bodies such as AICTE
established that autonomous business schools can offer only the PGDM or PGPM, whereas a full post-graduate degree can be awarded only by a university, in two-year full-time program. The curriculum of the PGDM or PGPM and MBA degrees are equivalent, although the MBA degree is examination oriented and concentrates on theoretical aspects of management whereas the PGDM or PGPM is industry-oriented. PGDM and PGPM usually utilize the case method
of instruction, and mainly focus on building soft skills. However, a PGDM or PGPM holder cannot pursue PhD since they are not full post-graduates, but can pursue Fellowship programs instead from many B-Schools. Non-government accredited, one-year fast-track programs have proliferated in India, especially for candidates with work experience. Such programs are commonly known as Post Graduate Programme for Executives (PGPX or ExPGP) in Business Management. See List of business schools in India.
Now in Pakistan, 16 Universities that are recognized by the Higher Education Commission of Pakistan are the only ones that offer MBAs.
Rankings have been done for Asia Pacific schools by the magazine Asia Inc.
which is a regional business magazine with distribution worldwide. The importance of MBA education in China has risen, too. See List of business schools in Asia.
, which ran from 1967 until 1997, did not disclose criteria or ranking methods, and these reports were criticized for reporting statistically impossible data, such as no ties among schools, narrow gaps in scores with no variation in gap widths, and ranks of nonexistent departments. In 1977 The Carter Report published rankings of MBA programs based on the number of academic articles published by faculty. Also in 1977, the Ladd & Lipset Survey relied on opinion surveys of business school faculty as the basis for rankings, and MBA Magazine ranked schools based on votes cast by business school deans.
Most recently, well-known publications such as US News & World Report, Business Week, Financial Times
, The Economist
, and the Wall Street Journal publish rankings of selected MBA programs. Often a schools’ rank will vary significantly across publications, as the methodology used to create the ranks is different among each publication. The U.S. News & World Report ranking incorporates responses from deans, program directors, and senior faculty about the academic quality of their programs as well as the opinions of hiring professionals. The ranking is calculated through a weighted formula of quality assessment (40%), placement success (35%), and student selectivity (25%). The BusinessWeek rankings are similarly based on student surveys, a survey of corporate recruiters, and an intellectual capital rating. The Financial Times incorporates criteria including survey responses from alumni who graduated three years prior to the ranking and information from business schools. Salary and employment statistics are weighted heavily. Rankings by the Economist Intelligence Unit
and published in The Economist
result from surveys administered to business schools (80%) and to students and recent graduates (20%). Ranking criteria includes GMAT scores, employment and salary statistics, class options, and student body demographics. Although the Wall Street Journal stopped ranking full time MBA programs in 2007, its ranking are based on skill and behavioral development that should lend toward career success, such as social skills, teamwork orientation, ethics, and analytic and problem-solving abilities.
Other rankings base methodologies on attributes other than standardized test scores, salary of graduates, and recruiter opinions. The Beyond Grey Pinstripes ranking, published by the Aspen Institute
is based on the integration of social and environmental stewardship into university curriculum and faculty research. Rankings are calculated on the amount of sustainability
coursework made available to students (20%), amount of student exposure to relevant material (25%), amount of coursework focused on stewardship by for-profit corporations (30%), and relevant faculty research (25%). The 2011 survey and ranking include data from 150 universities. The QS Global 200 Business Schools Report compiles regional rankings of business schools around the world. Ranks are calculated using a two year moving average of points assigned by employers who hire MBA graduates. Since 2005, the UT-Dallas Top 100 Business School Research Rankings ranks business schools on the research faculty publish, not unlike The Carter Report of the past.
The ranking of MBA programs has been discussed in articles and on academic Web sites.
Critics of ranking methodologies maintain that any published rankings should be viewed with caution for the following reasons:
One study found that objectively ranking MBA programs by a combination of graduates' starting salaries and average student GMAT score can reasonably duplicate the top 20 list of the national publications. The study concluded that a truly objective ranking would be individualized to the needs of each prospective student. National publications have recognized the value of rankings against different criteria, and now offer lists ranked different ways: by salary, GMAT score of students, selectivity, and so forth. Other publications have produced “rankings of the rankings”, which coalesce and summarize the findings of multiple independent rankings. While useful, these rankings have yet to meet the critique that rankings are not tailored to individual needs, that they use an incomplete population of schools, may fail to distinguish between the different MBA program types offered by each school, or rely on subjective interviews.
Deans at top business schools have acknowledged media and public perception of the MBA has shown some shifts as a result of the financial crisis. Articles about public perception related to the crisis range from schools' acknowledgment of issues related to the training students receive to criticisms of the MBA's role in society.
Executive
Doctoral
Scientific management
Scientific management, also called Taylorism, was a theory of management that analyzed and synthesized workflows. Its main objective was improving economic efficiency, especially labor productivity. It was one of the earliest attempts to apply science to the engineering of processes and to management...
. The core courses in the MBA program are designed to introduce students to the various areas of business such as accounting, finance, marketing, human resources, operations management, etc. Students in MBA programs have the option of taking general business courses throughout the program or can select an area of concentration and focus approximately one-fourth of their studies in this subject.
Accreditation bodies exist specifically for MBA programs to ensure consistency and quality of graduate business education. Business schools in many countries offer MBA programs tailored to full-time, part-time, executive
Corporate title
Publicly and privately held for-profit corporations confer corporate titles or business titles on company officials as a means of identifying their function in the organization...
, and distance learning students, with specialized concentrations.
History
The first graduate schoolGraduate school
A graduate school is a school that awards advanced academic degrees with the general requirement that students must have earned a previous undergraduate degree...
of business in the United States was the Tuck School of Business
Tuck School of Business
The Amos Tuck School of Business Administration is the graduate business school of Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire, in the United States...
, part of Dartmouth College
Dartmouth College
Dartmouth College is a private, Ivy League university in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. The institution comprises a liberal arts college, Dartmouth Medical School, Thayer School of Engineering, and the Tuck School of Business, as well as 19 graduate programs in the arts and sciences...
Founded in 1900, it was the first institution conferring advanced degrees (masters) in the commercial sciences, specifically, a Master of Science
Master of Science
A Master of Science is a postgraduate academic master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is typically studied for in the sciences including the social sciences.-Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay:...
in Commerce degree, the forebear of the modern MBA degree.
In 1908, the Graduate School of Business Administration (GSBA) at Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
was established; it offered the world's first MBA program, with a faculty of 15 plus 33 regular students and 47 special students.
The University of Chicago Booth School of Business first offered working professionals the Executive MBA (EMBA) program in 1943, first available in permanent campus in three continents (Chicago, London and Singapore) and this type of program is offered by most business schools today.
In 1946, Thunderbird School of Global Management
Thunderbird School of Global Management
Thunderbird School of Global Management is a private business school whose main campus is located in Glendale, Arizona. Founded in 1946 by retired U.S...
was the first school to offer an MBA program focused on global management.
In 1950, the first MBA degrees awarded outside the United States were by the Richard Ivey School of Business at The University of Western Ontario in Canada, followed in 1951 with the degree awarded by the University of Pretoria
University of Pretoria
The University of Pretoria is a multi campus public research university located in Pretoria, the administrative and de facto capital of South Africa...
in South Africa. In 1957, INSEAD
INSEAD
INSEAD is an international graduate business school and research institution. It has campuses in Europe , Asia , and the Middle East , as well as a research center in Israel...
became the first European business school to offer an MBA program. In 1986, the Roy E. Crummer Graduate School of Business at Rollins College
Rollins College
Rollins College is a private, coeducational liberal arts college located in Winter Park, Florida , along the shores of Lake Virginia....
(Florida) was the first MBA program to require every student to have a laptop computer in the classroom. Initially, professors wheeled a cart of laptops into the classroom.
The MBA degree has been adopted by universities worldwide, and has been adopted and adapted by both developed and developing countries.
Accreditation
Business schoolBusiness school
A business school is a university-level institution that confers degrees in Business Administration. It teaches topics such as accounting, administration, economics, entrepreneurship, finance, information systems, marketing, organizational behavior, public relations, strategy, human resource...
s or MBA programs may be accredited by external bodies which provide students and employers with an independent view of their quality, and indicate that the school's educational curriculum meets specific quality standards. The three major accrediting bodies in the United States are Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business
Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business
The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business was founded in 1916 to accredit schools of business worldwide. The first accreditations took place in 1919. The stated mission is to advance quality management education worldwide through accreditation and thought leadership. It is regarded...
(AACSB), which accredits research universities, the Accreditation Council for Business Schools and Programs (ACBSP), which accredits universities and colleges, and the International Assembly for Collegiate Business Education
International Assembly for Collegiate Business Education
The International Assembly for Collegiate Business Education is an educational accreditation agency for college and university business programs...
(IACBE), all of which also accredit schools outside the US. The AACSB, the ACBSP, and the IACBE are themselves recognized in the United States by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation
Council for Higher Education Accreditation
The Council for Higher Education Accreditation is a United States organization of degree-granting colleges and universities. It identifies its purpose as providing national advocacy for self-regulation of academic quality through accreditation in order to certify the quality of higher education...
(CHEA). MBA programs with specializations for students pursuing careers in healthcare management also eligible for accreditation by the Commission on the Accreditation of Healthcare Management Education
Commission on the Accreditation of Healthcare Management Education
The Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Management Education is the accrediting body for graduate degree programs related to healthcare management in the United States and Canada....
(CAHME).
In the United States, a college or university must be accredited as a whole before it is eligible to have its MBA program accredited. Bodies that accredit institutions as a whole include the Council for Higher Education Accreditation
Council for Higher Education Accreditation
The Council for Higher Education Accreditation is a United States organization of degree-granting colleges and universities. It identifies its purpose as providing national advocacy for self-regulation of academic quality through accreditation in order to certify the quality of higher education...
(CHEA): Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools
Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools
The Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools is a voluntary, peer-based, non-profit association dedicated to educational excellence and improvement through peer evaluation and accreditation...
(MSA), New England Association of Schools and Colleges
New England Association of Schools and Colleges
The New England Association of Schools and Colleges, Inc. is the U.S. regional accreditation association providing educational accreditation for all levels of education, from pre-kindergarten to the doctoral level, in the six-state New England region. It also provides accreditation for some...
(NEASCSC), Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools
North Central Association of Colleges and Schools
The North Central Association of Colleges and Schools , also known as the North Central Association, is a membership organization, consisting of colleges, universities, and schools in 19 U.S. states, that is engaged in educational accreditation...
(HLC), Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities
Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities
The Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities is an independent, non-profit membership organization recognized by the United States Department of Education since 1952 and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation as the regional authority on educational quality and institutional...
(NWCCU), Southern Association of Colleges and Schools
Southern Association of Colleges and Schools
The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools is one of the six regional accreditation organizations recognized by the United States Department of Education and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation...
(SACS), and Western Association of Schools and Colleges
Western Association of Schools and Colleges
The Western Association of Schools and Colleges is one of six official academic bodies responsible for the accreditation of public and private universities, colleges, secondary and elementary schools in the United States and foreign institutions of American origin. The Western Association of...
(WASC).
Accreditation agencies outside the United States include the Association of MBAs
Association of MBAs
The Association of MBAs is a London-based international organization that accredits postgraduate business programs at business schools worldwide. The Association is one of the three main global accreditation bodies in business education and styles itself "the world's impartial authority on...
(AMBA), a UK based organization that accredits MBA, DBA and MBM programs worldwide, government accreditation bodies such as the All India Council for Technical Education
All India Council for Technical Education
The All India Council for Technical Education is the statutory body and a national-level council for technical education, under Department of Higher Education, Ministry of Human Resource Development...
(AICTE) that accredits MBA and PGDM programs across India, the Council on Higher Education (CHE) in South Africa, the European Quality Improvement System
European Quality Improvement System
The European Quality Improvement System is a school accreditation system. It specializes in higher education institutions of management and business administration, run by the European Foundation for Management Development...
(EQUIS) for mostly European and Asian schools, and the Foundation for International Business Administration Accreditation (FIBAA) in Europe.
Basic types of MBA programs
Two-year (Full Time) MBA programs normally take place over two academic years (i.e. approximately 18 months of term time). For example in the Northern Hemisphere beginning in late August/September of year one and continuing until May of year two, with a three to four month summer break in between years one and two. Students enter with a reasonable amount of prior real-world work experience and take classes during weekdays like other university students.Accelerated MBA programs are a variation of the two year programs. They involve a higher course load with more intense class and examination schedules. They usually have less "down time" during the program and between semesters. For example, there is no three to four month summer break, and between semesters there might be seven to ten days off rather than three to five weeks vacation.
Part-time MBA programs normally hold classes on weekday evenings, after normal working hours, or on weekends. Part-time programs normally last three years or more. The students in these programs typically consist of working professionals, who take a light course load for a longer period of time until the graduation requirements are met.
Executive MBA (EMBA) programs developed to meet the educational needs of managers and executives, allowing students to earn an MBA or another business-related graduate degree in two years or less while working full time. Participants come from every type and size of organization – profit, nonprofit, government – representing a variety of industries. EMBA students typically have a higher level of work experience, often 10 years or more, compared to other MBA students. In response to the increasing number of EMBA programs offered, The Executive MBA Council was formed in 1981 to advance executive education.
Distance learning MBA programs hold classes off-campus. These programs can be offered in a number of different formats: correspondence courses by postal mail or email, non-interactive broadcast video, pre-recorded video, live teleconference
Teleconference
A teleconference or teleseminar is the live exchange and mass articulation of information among several persons and machines remote from one another but linked by a telecommunications system...
or videoconference, offline or online computer courses. Many schools offer these programs.
Dual MBA programs combine MBA degree with others (such as an MS, MA, or a J.D.
Juris Doctor
Juris Doctor is a professional doctorate and first professional graduate degree in law.The degree was first awarded by Harvard University in the United States in the late 19th century and was created as a modern version of the old European doctor of law degree Juris Doctor (see etymology and...
, etc.) to let students cut costs (dual programs usually cost less than pursuing 2 degrees separately), save time on education and to tailor the business education courses to their needs. Some business schools offer programs in which students can earn both a bachelor's degree
Bachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree is usually an academic degree awarded for an undergraduate course or major that generally lasts for three or four years, but can range anywhere from two to six years depending on the region of the world...
in business administration and an MBA in four or five years.
Admissions criteria
Most programs base admission on the Graduate Management Admission TestGraduate Management Admission Test
The Graduate Management Admission Test is a computer-adaptive standardized test in mathematics and the English language for measuring aptitude to succeed academically in graduate business studies. Business schools use the test as a criterion for admission into graduate business administration...
(GMAT), significant work experience, academic transcripts, essays, references or letters of recommendation and personal interviews. The Graduate Record Examination
Graduate Record Examination
The Graduate Record Examinations is a standardized test that is an admissions requirement for many graduate schools in the United States, in other English-speaking countries and for English-taught graduate and business programs world-wide...
(GRE) is also accepted by some schools in lieu of the GMAT
Graduate Management Admission Test
The Graduate Management Admission Test is a computer-adaptive standardized test in mathematics and the English language for measuring aptitude to succeed academically in graduate business studies. Business schools use the test as a criterion for admission into graduate business administration...
. Some schools are also interested in extracurricular activities, community service activities and how the student can improve the diversity of and contribute to the student body as a whole. All of these qualifications can be important for admission; however, some schools do not weigh GMAT scores as heavily as other criteria, and many distance learning schools do not require the GMAT for admission. In order to achieve a diverse class, business schools also consider the target male-female ratio and local-international student ratios.
Depending on the program, type and length of work experience can be a critical admissions component for many MBA programs. Many top-tier programs require five or more years of work experience for admission.
Program content
Most top MBA programs cover similar subjects within their core required courses. For information about the typical content of an MBA program's core curriculum, see the overview at the Wikiversity MBA topic page. MBA programs expose students to a variety of subjects, which students may choose to specialize in a particular area. Students traditionally study a wide breadth of courses in the program's first year, then pursue a specialized curriculum in the second year. Full-time students typically seek an internship during the interim. Typical specializations include: accounting, economicsEconomics
Economics is the social science that analyzes the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. The term economics comes from the Ancient Greek from + , hence "rules of the house"...
, entrepreneurship
Entrepreneurship
Entrepreneurship is the act of being an entrepreneur, which can be defined as "one who undertakes innovations, finance and business acumen in an effort to transform innovations into economic goods". This may result in new organizations or may be part of revitalizing mature organizations in response...
, finance
Finance
"Finance" is often defined simply as the management of money or “funds” management Modern finance, however, is a family of business activity that includes the origination, marketing, and management of cash and money surrogates through a variety of capital accounts, instruments, and markets created...
, international business
International Business
International business is a term used to collectively describe all commercial transactions that take place between two or more regions, countries and nations beyond their political boundary...
, management science, marketing
Marketing
Marketing is the process used to determine what products or services may be of interest to customers, and the strategy to use in sales, communications and business development. It generates the strategy that underlies sales techniques, business communication, and business developments...
, operations management
Operations management
Operations management is an area of management concerned with overseeing, designing, and redesigning business operations in the production of goods and/or services. It involves the responsibility of ensuring that business operations are efficient in terms of using as little resources as needed, and...
, organizational behavior, project management
Project management
Project management is the discipline of planning, organizing, securing, and managing resources to achieve specific goals. A project is a temporary endeavor with a defined beginning and end , undertaken to meet unique goals and objectives, typically to bring about beneficial change or added value...
, real estate
Real estate
In general use, esp. North American, 'real estate' is taken to mean "Property consisting of land and the buildings on it, along with its natural resources such as crops, minerals, or water; immovable property of this nature; an interest vested in this; an item of real property; buildings or...
, and strategy
Strategic management
Strategic management is a field that deals with the major intended and emergent initiatives taken by general managers on behalf of owners, involving utilization of resources, to enhance the performance of firms in their external environments...
, among others.
Many individuals choosing a specialized field of study, such as real estate or accounting, are well-suited for their respective industries through pursuing a Master of Real Estate Development or Master of Science in Accounting degree, for example. Other specialized programs include Master of Science in Finance, Master of Science in Information Systems
Master of Science in Information Systems
The Master of Science in Information Systems , Master of Science in Management Information Systems is a specialized master's degree program usually offered in a University's College of Business. The MSIS degree is designed for those managing information technology, especially the information...
, Master of Science in Supply Chain Management.
History of the MBA in Europe
In 1957, INSEADINSEAD
INSEAD is an international graduate business school and research institution. It has campuses in Europe , Asia , and the Middle East , as well as a research center in Israel...
became the first European university offering the MBA degree, followed in 1959 by ESADE
ESADE Business School
ESADE Business School is a business school founded in 1958 in Barcelona, Spain, which has been ranked several times the world's No. 1 international management school by the Wall Street Journal. It is part of ESADE and the Ramon Llull University...
, ICADE
ICADE
ICADE is the brand name by which two schools of the Comillas Pontifical University, located in Madrid , are known. It stands for Instituto Católico de Administración y Dirección de Empresas , the name of an Institute that merged with the Comillas Pontifical University in 1978, giving birth to two...
in 1960 (who had started offering in 1956 a "Technical Seminary for Business Administration") http://www.icade.es/presentacion/pres_hist.aspx?nivel=3&id=90, IESE
IESE
IESE Business School is the graduate business school of the University of Navarra. IESE has campuses in Barcelona, Madrid, and New York City and teaching facilities in Munich and Sao Paulo...
(first two-year program in Europe) in 1964, UCD Smurfit Business School
Michael Smurfit Graduate School of Business
The UCD Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School is the business school of University College Dublin, located in Blackrock in Dublin, Republic of Ireland....
in 1964, Manchester Business School
Manchester Business School
Manchester Business School is the largest department of the University of Manchester in Manchester, England. According to Bloomberg Business Week's ranking of the world's best business schools the MBS MBA is ranked third in the world...
and London Business School
London Business School
London Business School is an international business school and a constituent college of the federal University of London, located in central London, beside Regent's Park...
in 1965, The University of Dublin (Trinity College
Trinity College, Dublin
Trinity College, Dublin , formally known as the College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, was founded in 1592 by letters patent from Queen Elizabeth I as the "mother of a university", Extracts from Letters Patent of Elizabeth I, 1592: "...we...found and...
), the Rotterdam School of Management
Rotterdam School of Management
Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University is the international business school of the Erasmus University Rotterdam located in Rotterdam, Netherlands...
in 1966, the Cranfield School of Management
Cranfield School of Management
Cranfield School of Management is part of Cranfield University and a leading business school in the world. Cranfield University has provided management training since the late 1940s...
in 1967 and in 1969 by the HEC School of Management
HEC School of Management
HEC Paris or École des Hautes Études Commerciales de Paris is one of the foremost business schools in France and in Europe. It was created in 1881 by the Paris Chamber of Commerce and Industry on the model of French Grandes Ecoles and has progressively become one of the most selective graduate...
(in French, the École des Hautes Études Commerciales) and the Institut d'Etudes Politiques de Paris
Institut d'Etudes Politiques de Paris
The Institut d'études politiques de Paris , simply referred to as Sciences Po , is a public research and higher education institution in Paris, France, specialised in the social sciences. It has the status of grand établissement, which allows its admissions process to be highly selective...
. In 1972, Swiss business school IMEDE (now IMD
International Institute for Management Development
IMD - International Institute for Management Development is a non profit business school located in Lausanne, Switzerland.- History & Mission :...
) began offering a full-time MBA program, followed in 1974 by AGH University of Science and Technology in Cracow, Poland. In 1991, IEDC-Bled School of Management
IEDC-Bled School of Management
IEDC-Bled School of Management, located in Bled, Slovenia, is a Business School. It was founded in 1986 upon an initiative of Slovenian business community as the International Executive Development Center....
became the first school in the ex-socialist block of the Central and Eastern to offer an MBA degree. Because of technology advances, distance or online MBA programs have recently emerged in Europe. Several business schools in the United Kingdom now offer distance MBA programs. In 2007, ESCEM became the first French Business school to offer their own distance or online MBA. See List of business schools in Europe
Bologna Accord
In Europe, the recent Bologna Accord established uniformity in three levels of higher education: Bachelor (three years), Masters (one or two years in addition to three or four years for a Bachelor), and Doctorate (an additional three or four years after a Masters). Students can acquire professional experience after their initial bachelor degree at any European institution and later complete their masters in any other European institution via the European Credit Transfer and Accumulation SystemEuropean Credit Transfer and Accumulation System
This page describes ECTS-credits. For information about the ECTS grading system go to ECTS grading scale.European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System is a standard for comparing the study attainment and performance of students of higher education across the European Union and other...
.
Accreditation
Accreditation standards are not uniform in Europe. Some countries have legal requirements for accreditation (e.g. most German states), in some there is a legal requirement only for universities of a certain type (e.g. Austria), and others have no accreditation law at all. Even where there is no legal requirement, many business schools are accredited by independent bodies voluntarily to ensure quality standards.Austria
In Austria, MBA programs of private universitiesPrivate university
Private universities are universities not operated by governments, although many receive public subsidies, especially in the form of tax breaks and public student loans and grants. Depending on their location, private universities may be subject to government regulation. Private universities are...
have to be accredited by the Austrian Accreditation Council (Österreichischer Akkreditierungsrat). State-run universities have no accreditation requirements, however, some of them voluntarily undergo accreditation procedures by independent bodies. There are also MBA programs of non-academic business schools, who are entitled by the Austrian government to offer these programs until 2010 (Lehrgang universitären Charakters). Some non-academic institutions cooperate with state-run universities to ensure legality of their degrees.
Czech Republic
January 1998 saw the first meeting of the Association of the Czech MBA Schools (CAMBAS). The Association is housed within the Centre for Doctoral and Managerial Studies of UEP, Prague. All of the founding members of the Association have their MBA programs accredited by partner institutions in the United Kingdom or United States of America.Finland
In Finland, as in most countries, MBA does not have the status of official degree. MBA programs are run by various universities including the top universities in the country.France and French speaking countries
In France and in the FrancophoneFrancophone
The adjective francophone means French-speaking, typically as primary language, whether referring to individuals, groups, or places. Often, the word is used as a noun to describe a natively French-speaking person....
countries such as Switzerland, Monaco, Belgium, and Canada, the MBA degree programs at the public accredited schools are similar to those offered in the Anglo-Saxon
Anglosphere
Anglosphere is a neologism which refers to those nations with English as the most common language. The term can be used more specifically to refer to those nations which share certain characteristics within their cultures based on a linguistic heritage, through being former British colonies...
countries. Most French Business Schools are accredited by the Conférence des Grandes Écoles
Grandes écoles
The grandes écoles of France are higher education establishments outside the main framework of the French university system. The grandes écoles select students for admission based chiefly on national ranking in competitive written and oral exams...
, which is an association of higher educational establishments outside the mainstream framework of the public education system.
Germany
Germany was one of the last western countries to adopt the MBA degree. In 1998, the Hochschulrahmengesetz (Higher Education Framework Act), a German federal law regulating higher education including the types of degrees offered, was modified to permit German universities to offer master's degrees. The traditional German degree in business administration was the DiplomDiplom
A Diplom is an academic degree in the German-speaking countries Germany, Austria, and Switzerland and a similarly named degree in some other European countries including Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Estonia, Finland , Greece, Hungary, Russia, Serbia, Macedonia, Slovenia, and Ukraine...
in Betriebswirtschaft (Diplom-Kaufmann; Master's degree equivalent) but since 1999, bachelor's and master's degrees have gradually replaced the traditional degrees (see Bologna process
Bologna process
The purpose of the Bologna Process is the creation of the European Higher Education Area by making academic degree standards and quality assurance standards more comparable and compatible throughout Europe, in particular under the Lisbon Recognition Convention...
). Today most German business schools offer the MBA. Most German states
States of Germany
Germany is made up of sixteen which are partly sovereign constituent states of the Federal Republic of Germany. Land literally translates as "country", and constitutionally speaking, they are constituent countries...
require that MBA degrees have to be accredited by one of the six agencies officially recognized by the German Akkreditierungsrat (accreditation council), the German counterpart to the US-American CHEA
Council for Higher Education Accreditation
The Council for Higher Education Accreditation is a United States organization of degree-granting colleges and universities. It identifies its purpose as providing national advocacy for self-regulation of academic quality through accreditation in order to certify the quality of higher education...
. The busiest of these six agencies (in respect to MBA degrees) is the Foundation for International Business Administration Accreditation (FIBAA). All universities themselves have to be institutionally accredited by the state (staatlich anerkannt).
Italy
Italian MBAs programs at public accredited schools are similar to those offered elsewhere in Europe. Italian Business Schools are accredited by EQUISEuropean Quality Improvement System
The European Quality Improvement System is a school accreditation system. It specializes in higher education institutions of management and business administration, run by the European Foundation for Management Development...
and by ASFOR.
Poland
There are several MBA programs offered in Poland. Some of these are run as partnerships with American or Canadian Universities. For example, the CEMBA program is run by the Warsaw School of Economics and the University of Quebec at Montreal, Warsaw-Illinois Executive MBA (WIEMBA) run as partnership of University of WarsawUniversity of Warsaw
The University of Warsaw is the largest university in Poland and one of the most prestigious, ranked as best Polish university in 2010 and 2011...
and University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
The University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign is a large public research-intensive university in the state of Illinois, United States. It is the flagship campus of the University of Illinois system...
. Others like the programs offered by the Institute of Economics of the Polish Academy of Sciences
Institute of Economics of the Polish Academy of Sciences
Institute of Economics of the Polish Academy of Sciences is a Polish research center on economic and business studies. It was founded on December 10, 1980. Its offices are located in the Staszic Palace and the Palace of Culture and Science in Warsaw, the capital of Poland. Organizationally, it is...
(INE PAN) rely on their own faculty and enrich their courses by inviting visiting lecturers. The CEMBA, WIEMBA and INE PAN programs as several other programs in Poland, are offered also in English.
Ukraine
Recently MBA programs appeared in UkraineUkraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
where there are now about twenty schools of business offering a variety of MBA programs. Three of these are subsidiaries of European schools of business, while the remaining institutions are independent. Ukrainian MBA programs are concentrated mainly on particulars of business and management in Ukraine.
For example, 2/3 of all case studies are based on real conditions of Ukrainian companies.
United Kingdom
The UK based Association of MBAsAssociation of MBAs
The Association of MBAs is a London-based international organization that accredits postgraduate business programs at business schools worldwide. The Association is one of the three main global accreditation bodies in business education and styles itself "the world's impartial authority on...
(AMBA) was established in 1967 and is an active advocate for MBA degrees. The Association's accreditation service is internationally recognised for all MBA, DBA and Masters in Business and Management (MBM) programs. AMBA also offer the only professional membership association for MBA students and graduates. UK MBA programs typically consist of a set number of taught courses plus a dissertation or project.
Australia
In Australia, 42 Australian business schools offer the MBA degree. Universities differentiate themselves by gaining international accreditation and focusing on national and international rankings. Most MBAs are one to two years full time. There is little use of GMAT, and instead each educational institution specifies its own requirements, which normally entails several years of management-level work experience as well as proven academic skills.Ratings for Australian MBAs are carried out by the Graduate Management Association of Australia
Graduate Management Association of Australia
The Graduate Management Association of Australia is the nationally recognised umbrella Professional Association for graduates having MBA, DBA and other postgraduate business management qualifications in Australia....
, which publishes an annual Australian MBA Star Ratings
Australian MBA Star Ratings
The Graduate Management Association of Australia produces and publishes the annual GMAA Masters of Business Administration Star Rating with a detailed survey of the top business schools in Australia...
. See List of business schools in Australia.
South Africa
In 2004 South Africa’s Council on Higher Education (CHE) completed an extensive re-accreditation of MBA degrees offered in the country.Ghana
Business schools of the traditional universities run a variety of MBA programs. In addition, foreign accredited institutions offer MBA degrees by distance learning in Ghana.Kenya
MBA is studied in all Public university and major private university.Student choose to specialize in one of this areas; Accounting, finance, entrepreneur, Insurance and Human Resources. The course takes 4 semester of about 4 months each.
Japan
List of universities in JapanJapanese business schools offer full time MBA programs, part time MBA programs, and E-Business Management.
MBA in public universities are generally more prestigious than their private counterparts with only 25 percent of all university-bound students being admitted to public universities. The public universities such as Nagoya University
Nagoya University
Nagoya University is one of the most prestigious universities in Japan. It can be seen in the several rankings such as shown below.-General Rankings:...
, University of Tsukuba
University of Tsukuba
is located in the city of Tsukuba, Ibaraki Prefecture in the Kantō region of Japan. The University has 28 college clusters and schools with a total of around 15,000 students...
, Kyushu University
Kyushu University
Kyushu University is one of the most prestigious universities in Japan. It can be seen in the several rankings such as shown below.-General Rankings:The university has been ranked 8th in 2010 and 2009 in the ranking "Truly Strong Universities" by Toyo Keizai...
, Kyoto University
Kyoto University
, or is a national university located in Kyoto, Japan. It is the second oldest Japanese university, and formerly one of Japan's Imperial Universities.- History :...
offer management studies and business administration and are the oldest and most prestigious universities in Japan.
India
There are 1600 business schools in India offering two year MBA programs. The students are a mix of fresh graduates without any work experience and people with significant work experience. Among those schools, the Indian Institutes of ManagementIndian Institutes of Management
The Indian Institutes of Management , are graduate business schools in India. They were set up with the objective of providing management education and to assist the industry through research and consulting services. The IIMs award diplomas and not degrees.- Institutes :Indian Institute of...
(IIM) are the oldest institutions for management education in India. Admission to any of the IIM schools requires passing Common Admission Test (CAT)
Common Admission Test
The Common Admission Test is a Computer Based Test in Quantitative Ability, Data Interpretation, Verbal Ability and Logical Reasoning. The Indian Institutes of Management use the test as an important component in selecting students for the business administration programs. The test is conducted...
, however other business schools require passing either CAT, XAT
XLRI Admission Test
The XLRI Admission Test prominently known as XAT is an all-India test conducted by XLRI , a business school in Jamshedpur, India, as an entrance test for its management programmes as well as to many other reputed Top B-Schools in the country such as XIM [Xavier Institute of Management]...
, GMAT
Graduate Management Admission Test
The Graduate Management Admission Test is a computer-adaptive standardized test in mathematics and the English language for measuring aptitude to succeed academically in graduate business studies. Business schools use the test as a criterion for admission into graduate business administration...
, JMET
Joint Management Entrance Test
Joint Management Entrance Test was an admission exam used by some institutes in India as the first step in the admission to postgraduate programs in management. Institutes which used the exams included Indian Institute of Science and the IIT Schools of Management. The results of JMET were used to...
, MAT or others. Apart from these entrance tests there are few business schools which conduct aptitude tests individually for admission to that particular business school. The IIM and other autonomous business schools offer a post-graduate diploma in management (PGDM) or Post Graduate Programme in Management (PGPM) which is recognized in India as equivalent to an MBA degree. Government accreditation bodies such as AICTE
All India Council for Technical Education
The All India Council for Technical Education is the statutory body and a national-level council for technical education, under Department of Higher Education, Ministry of Human Resource Development...
established that autonomous business schools can offer only the PGDM or PGPM, whereas a full post-graduate degree can be awarded only by a university, in two-year full-time program. The curriculum of the PGDM or PGPM and MBA degrees are equivalent, although the MBA degree is examination oriented and concentrates on theoretical aspects of management whereas the PGDM or PGPM is industry-oriented. PGDM and PGPM usually utilize the case method
Case method
The case method is a teaching approach that consists in presenting the students with a case, putting them in the role of a decision maker facing a problem...
of instruction, and mainly focus on building soft skills. However, a PGDM or PGPM holder cannot pursue PhD since they are not full post-graduates, but can pursue Fellowship programs instead from many B-Schools. Non-government accredited, one-year fast-track programs have proliferated in India, especially for candidates with work experience. Such programs are commonly known as Post Graduate Programme for Executives (PGPX or ExPGP) in Business Management. See List of business schools in India.
Israel
All public universities are offering a two years MBA program. Some private colleges are offering a one year MBA program for working people who prefer to study at the evening and on Saturday (which is a rest day in Israel).Pakistan
The IBA was the first institute in Pakistan, set up in 1955 in collaboration with the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and is the first business school in South Asia set up on the US MBA model.Now in Pakistan, 16 Universities that are recognized by the Higher Education Commission of Pakistan are the only ones that offer MBAs.
Other Asian countries
International MBA programs are acquiring brand value in Asia. For example, while a foreign MBA is still preferred in the Philippines, many students are now studying at one of many "Global MBA" English language programs being offered. English-only MBA programs are also offered in Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, and Thailand. For international students who want a different experience, many Asian programs offer scholarships and discounted tuition to encourage an international environment in the classroom.Rankings have been done for Asia Pacific schools by the magazine Asia Inc.
Asia Inc.
Asia Inc. is an international business magazine in Asia with world-wide distribution. Based in Singapore, it is primarily focused on Asian business issues. The magazine is a strategic partner of the APEC CEO summit...
which is a regional business magazine with distribution worldwide. The importance of MBA education in China has risen, too. See List of business schools in Asia.
MBA program rankings
As MBA programs proliferated over time, differences in the quality of schools, faculty, and course offerings became evident. As a means of establishing criteria to assess quality among different MBA programs, a variety of publications began compiling program information and ranking quality. Different methods of varying validity were used. The Gourman ReportGourman Report
The Gourman Report is Dr. Jack Gourman's ranking of undergraduate, professional, and graduate programs programs in American and International Universities...
, which ran from 1967 until 1997, did not disclose criteria or ranking methods, and these reports were criticized for reporting statistically impossible data, such as no ties among schools, narrow gaps in scores with no variation in gap widths, and ranks of nonexistent departments. In 1977 The Carter Report published rankings of MBA programs based on the number of academic articles published by faculty. Also in 1977, the Ladd & Lipset Survey relied on opinion surveys of business school faculty as the basis for rankings, and MBA Magazine ranked schools based on votes cast by business school deans.
Most recently, well-known publications such as US News & World Report, Business Week, Financial Times
Financial Times
The Financial Times is an international business newspaper. It is a morning daily newspaper published in London and printed in 24 cities around the world. Its primary rival is the Wall Street Journal, published in New York City....
, The Economist
The Economist
The Economist is an English-language weekly news and international affairs publication owned by The Economist Newspaper Ltd. and edited in offices in the City of Westminster, London, England. Continuous publication began under founder James Wilson in September 1843...
, and the Wall Street Journal publish rankings of selected MBA programs. Often a schools’ rank will vary significantly across publications, as the methodology used to create the ranks is different among each publication. The U.S. News & World Report ranking incorporates responses from deans, program directors, and senior faculty about the academic quality of their programs as well as the opinions of hiring professionals. The ranking is calculated through a weighted formula of quality assessment (40%), placement success (35%), and student selectivity (25%). The BusinessWeek rankings are similarly based on student surveys, a survey of corporate recruiters, and an intellectual capital rating. The Financial Times incorporates criteria including survey responses from alumni who graduated three years prior to the ranking and information from business schools. Salary and employment statistics are weighted heavily. Rankings by the Economist Intelligence Unit
Economist Intelligence Unit
The Economist Intelligence Unit is part of the Economist Group.It is a research and advisory company providing country, industry and management analysis worldwide and incorporates the former Business International Corporation, a U.S. company acquired by the parent organization in 1986...
and published in The Economist
The Economist
The Economist is an English-language weekly news and international affairs publication owned by The Economist Newspaper Ltd. and edited in offices in the City of Westminster, London, England. Continuous publication began under founder James Wilson in September 1843...
result from surveys administered to business schools (80%) and to students and recent graduates (20%). Ranking criteria includes GMAT scores, employment and salary statistics, class options, and student body demographics. Although the Wall Street Journal stopped ranking full time MBA programs in 2007, its ranking are based on skill and behavioral development that should lend toward career success, such as social skills, teamwork orientation, ethics, and analytic and problem-solving abilities.
Other rankings base methodologies on attributes other than standardized test scores, salary of graduates, and recruiter opinions. The Beyond Grey Pinstripes ranking, published by the Aspen Institute
Aspen Institute
The Aspen Institute is an international nonprofit organization founded in 1950 as the Aspen Institute of Humanistic Studies. The organization is dedicated to "fostering enlightened leadership, the appreciation of timeless ideas and values, and open-minded dialogue on contemporary issues." The...
is based on the integration of social and environmental stewardship into university curriculum and faculty research. Rankings are calculated on the amount of sustainability
Sustainability
Sustainability is the capacity to endure. For humans, sustainability is the long-term maintenance of well being, which has environmental, economic, and social dimensions, and encompasses the concept of union, an interdependent relationship and mutual responsible position with all living and non...
coursework made available to students (20%), amount of student exposure to relevant material (25%), amount of coursework focused on stewardship by for-profit corporations (30%), and relevant faculty research (25%). The 2011 survey and ranking include data from 150 universities. The QS Global 200 Business Schools Report compiles regional rankings of business schools around the world. Ranks are calculated using a two year moving average of points assigned by employers who hire MBA graduates. Since 2005, the UT-Dallas Top 100 Business School Research Rankings ranks business schools on the research faculty publish, not unlike The Carter Report of the past.
The ranking of MBA programs has been discussed in articles and on academic Web sites.
Critics of ranking methodologies maintain that any published rankings should be viewed with caution for the following reasons:
- Rankings limit the population size to a small number of MBA programs and ignore the majority of schools, many with excellent offerings.
- The ranking methods may be subject to biases and statistically flawed methodologies (especially for methods relying on subjective interviews of hiring managers).
- The same list of well-known schools appears in each ranking with some variation in ranks, so a school ranked as number 1 in one list may be number 17 in another list.
- Rankings tend to concentrate on the school itself, but some schools offer MBA programs of different qualities (e.g. a school may use highly reputable faculty to teach a daytime program, and use adjunct faculty in its evening program).
- A high rank in a national publication tends to become a self-fulfilling prophecySelf-fulfilling prophecyA self-fulfilling prophecy is a prediction that directly or indirectly causes itself to become true, by the very terms of the prophecy itself, due to positive feedback between belief and behavior. Although examples of such prophecies can be found in literature as far back as ancient Greece and...
. - Some leading business schools including Harvard, INSEADINSEADINSEAD is an international graduate business school and research institution. It has campuses in Europe , Asia , and the Middle East , as well as a research center in Israel...
and WhartonWharton School of the University of PennsylvaniaThe Wharton School is the business school of the University of Pennsylvania, an Ivy League university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Wharton was the world’s first collegiate business school and the first business school in the United States...
provide limited cooperation with certain ranking publications due to their perception that rankings are misused.
One study found that objectively ranking MBA programs by a combination of graduates' starting salaries and average student GMAT score can reasonably duplicate the top 20 list of the national publications. The study concluded that a truly objective ranking would be individualized to the needs of each prospective student. National publications have recognized the value of rankings against different criteria, and now offer lists ranked different ways: by salary, GMAT score of students, selectivity, and so forth. Other publications have produced “rankings of the rankings”, which coalesce and summarize the findings of multiple independent rankings. While useful, these rankings have yet to meet the critique that rankings are not tailored to individual needs, that they use an incomplete population of schools, may fail to distinguish between the different MBA program types offered by each school, or rely on subjective interviews.
MBA degree and current financial crisis
The Financial crisis of 2007–2010 has raised new challenges and questions regarding the MBA degree. Graduates of MBA programs have a reported tendency to go into Finance shortly after receiving the degree. As the field of Finance is tightly linked to the global economic downturn, anecdotal evidence suggests new graduates are stepping onto alternate paths.Deans at top business schools have acknowledged media and public perception of the MBA has shown some shifts as a result of the financial crisis. Articles about public perception related to the crisis range from schools' acknowledgment of issues related to the training students receive to criticisms of the MBA's role in society.
General information
- Wikiversity:Master of Business Administration, MBA Curriculum
- Business school rankings
- Australian MBA Star RatingsAustralian MBA Star RatingsThe Graduate Management Association of Australia produces and publishes the annual GMAA Masters of Business Administration Star Rating with a detailed survey of the top business schools in Australia...
- Outline of business management
Other graduate business degrees
- Master of AccountancyMaster of AccountancyMaster of Accountancy , alternatively Master of Professional Accountancy or Master of Science in Accountancy , is a graduate professional degree designed to prepare students for public accounting and to provide them with the 150 credit hours required by most states before taking the...
(MAcc or MAcy) / Master of Professional Accountancy (MPA), a postgraduate degree in accounting - Master of CommerceMaster of CommerceMaster of Commerce is a postgraduate Masters Degree focusing on commerce-, management- and economics-related subjects. Like the undergraduate Bachelor of Commerce, the degree is offered in Commonwealth nations.-Structure:The Master of Commerce typically requires one year of full-time study...
(M.Comm.), a postgraduate business degree usually focused on a particular area - Master of EconomicsMaster of EconomicsA Master's Degree in Economics is a postgraduate academic program, offering training in economic theory, econometrics and / or applied economics. The degree may be offered as a terminal degree or as additional preparation for doctoral study, and is sometimes offered as a professional degree...
- Master of EnterpriseMaster of EnterpriseThe Master of Enterprise Degree is a masters degree originally developed and offered by the University of Manchester through the Manchester Science Enterprise Centre...
(MEnt), a postgraduate, technology & enterprise-based qualification - Master of Bioscience EnterpriseMaster of Bioscience EnterpriseA Master of Bioscience Enterprise is a specialised degree taught at The University of Auckland, New Zealand and The University of Cambridge, United Kingdom. The MBE is an interdisciplinary programme incorporating multiple faculties and includes significant industry involvement.The degree is...
(MBioEnt), a postgraduate degree focussed on the commercialisation of biotechnology - Master of FinanceMaster of FinanceA Master of Finance is a Master's degree designed to prepare graduates for careers in financial analysis, investment management and corporate finance. An alternate degree title is Master in Finance or Master of Science in Finance...
(MFin), a postgraduate degree in finance - Master of Health AdministrationMaster of Health AdministrationThe Master of Health Administration is a master's-level professional degree granted to students who complete a course of study in the knowledge and competencies needed for careers in health administration, involving the management of hospitals and other health services organizations, as well as...
(MHA), a postgraduate health administration degree - Master of International BusinessMaster of International BusinessThe Master of International Business is a postgraduate degree designed to develop the capabilities and resources of managers in the global economy...
(MIB), a postgraduate degree focused on International Business - Master of ManagementMaster of ManagementThe Master of Management is a post-graduate master’s degree awarded to students who normally complete a one to two year program of graduate level coursework in business management at an accredited academic institution. As the program is designed for students interested in entering leadership...
(MM), a postgraduate business degree - Master of Science in ManagementMaster of Science in ManagementMaster of Science in Management, abbreviated MSc or MSM, is a Master of Science academic degree that is common throughout the United States and Europe. It is similar to the MBA degree, and often requires a dissertation before a graduate is admitted to it. The MSc is a research-oriented program...
, a postgraduate business degree - Master of Marketing ResearchMaster of Marketing ResearchMaster of Marketing Research is a graduate degree program that may be from one to three years in length. About 75 percent of the fulltime programs can be studied in about one year while part-time Masters in Marketing are studied besides the job and usually need a minimum of two years to be...
(MMR) a postgraduate degree focusing on research in the field of marketing - Master of Nonprofit OrganizationsMaster of Nonprofit OrganizationsThe Master of Nonprofit Organizations , Master of Nonprofit Management , Master of Not-for-Profit Leadership , Master of Nonprofit Studies , Master of Public Affairs , Master of Philanthropic Studies and similarly named degrees offer graduate-level training in management and leadership in the...
(MNO or MNPO), the postgraduate degree for philanthropy and voluntary sectorVoluntary sectorThe voluntary sector or community sector is the sphere of social activity undertaken by organizations that are for non-profit and non-governmental. This sector is also called the third sector, in reference to the public sector and the private sector...
professionals - Master of Public AdministrationMaster of Public AdministrationThe Master of Public Administration is a professional post-graduate degree in Public Administration. The MPA program prepares individuals to serve as managers in the executive arm of local, state/provincial, and federal/national government, and increasingly in nongovernmental organization and...
(MPA), a postgraduate public administration degree - Masters of Management: Co-operatives and Credit Unions, a post-graduate degree for co-operative and credit union managers
- Master in Sustainable Business (MSB)
- Master of Real Estate (MScRE), a postgraduate degree focusing on real estate.
- Master of Management Culture and Change
Executive
- Executive Master of Science in Business AdministrationExecutive Master of Science in Business AdministrationExecutive Master of Science in Business Administration , a postgraduate degree focusing advanced-level conceptual foundation in a student’s chosen field such as operational excellence in the biotechnology/pharmaceutical, emerging markets, and marketing that's aimed to broaden management...
(Executive MScBA), a postgraduate degree focusing advanced-level conceptual foundation in a student’s chosen field such as operational excellence in the biotech/pharma industry.
Doctoral
- Doctor of Business AdministrationDoctor of Business AdministrationThe degree of Doctor of Business Administration, abbreviated, or and equivalent to , is a research doctorate in business administration. The D.B.A...
(DBA), a doctorate in business administration - Doctor of EducationDoctor of EducationThe Doctor of Education or Doctor in Education degree , in Latin, Doctor Educationis, is a research-oriented professional doctorate that prepares the student for academic, administrative, clinical, or research positions in educational, civil, and private organizations.-Differences between an Ed.D...
(EdD), assessed by Carnegie Foundation as a PhD equivalent - Doctor of ManagementDoctor of ManagementDoctor of Management is an academic degree awarded on the basis of advanced study and research in management.The D.M. degree is awarded by some American and international universities, and is similar to a PhD degree in management and business-related sciences...
(D.M.) - PhD in ManagementPhD in ManagementA PhD in management is synonymous with a PhD in business or a business doctorate and is the highest degree awarded in the study of business...
(PhD), a business doctoral degree - D.Phil in Management (D.Phil), a doctorate in business
- Engineering DoctorateEngineering DoctorateThe Engineering Doctorate scheme is a British postgraduate education programme promoted by the UK's Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council . The programme is undertaken over four years. Students conduct PhD-equivalent research and undertake taught business and technical courses whilst...
(EngD), A professional doctorate involving a management thesis and taught MBA courses in the UK
MBA accreditation agencies
- Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of BusinessAssociation to Advance Collegiate Schools of BusinessThe Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business was founded in 1916 to accredit schools of business worldwide. The first accreditations took place in 1919. The stated mission is to advance quality management education worldwide through accreditation and thought leadership. It is regarded...
(AACSB) - Accreditation Council for Business Schools and Programs (ACBSP)
- All India Council for Technical EducationAll India Council for Technical EducationThe All India Council for Technical Education is the statutory body and a national-level council for technical education, under Department of Higher Education, Ministry of Human Resource Development...
(AICTE) - Association of MBAsAssociation of MBAsThe Association of MBAs is a London-based international organization that accredits postgraduate business programs at business schools worldwide. The Association is one of the three main global accreditation bodies in business education and styles itself "the world's impartial authority on...
(AMBA) - European Quality Improvement SystemEuropean Quality Improvement SystemThe European Quality Improvement System is a school accreditation system. It specializes in higher education institutions of management and business administration, run by the European Foundation for Management Development...
(EQUIS) - International Assembly for Collegiate Business EducationInternational Assembly for Collegiate Business EducationThe International Assembly for Collegiate Business Education is an educational accreditation agency for college and university business programs...
(IACBE)