A Masters of Business Administration (MBA) is a post graduate degree in business, and is view today as the unique worldwide international business program, and is considered to be a major step towards a successful business management career.Most degrees are obtained with the purpose of advancing your career prospects and job opportunities. The same is the case with an MBA degree; the only difference being that an MBA degree is considered as the most valuable post graduate degree in the world and has exciting career opportunities. People take the MBA program in order to further their careers in their current jobs or to get a better job on the basis of their MBA degree.
Even within your existing company and in your current job, you can notice the difference in your career prospects pre-MBA and post-MBA. With an MBA degree under their belt, employees have a whole new world opened up to them and are elevated to managerial positions on the strength of the additional abilities and knowledge gained through the MBA program.
The value of the MBA, however, is not limited strictly to the “business” world. An MBA can also be useful for those pursuing a strictly managerial career in the public sector, private industry, government, and other areas. MBA programs can provide graduates with the preparation and practical skills needed to excel in management and leadership positions.
The MBA is currently the most popular professional degree program in the world. Today there are over 2,500 MBA programs offered worldwide. First introduced at American universities in the early 1900s, MBA programs have evolved in order to keep up with the demands of the times.
An MBA program in the United States typically is of two years duration. But across Europe, where the MBA course was first introduced in the 1960s, the program is usually of 1 year duration and can sometimes be completed in as less as 10 months.
Most MBA programs are taught in English, and are therefore attractive to international students wishing to study abroad. Many institutions in non-English speaking countries offer MBA programs in English, as well as in the country’s native language.
Since its inception, the MBA program has evolved tremendously and is following 3 trends: shorter programs (less expensive, more intense), structure diversification (part-time, EMBA, online, evening-MBA, weekend-MBA, modular programs, international programs, distance learning programs) and internationalization (double degrees, partnership, cross continent).
Links
- The Open Directory Project (DMOZ) is the largest, most comprehensive human-edited directory of the Web. It is constructed and maintained by a vast, global community of volunteer editors, and has a full section on MBA.
- Wikipedia.com has also a full page on what is an MBA
Accreditations
- Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB). The AACSB covers business schools worldwide, and is consider as the most recognized accreditation in the world.
- The United States also has six regional accreditation agencies as members of the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA): Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools (MSA), New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASCSC), North Central Association of Colleges and Schools (NCA), Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities (NWCCU), Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS), and Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC)
- Association of Collegiate Business Schools and Programs (ACBSP) accredits smaller, private American schools, and the International Assembly for Collegiate Business Education (IACBE)
- Outside the United States include the Association of MBAs (AMBA), a UK based organization that accredits MBA, DBA and MBM programs worldwide
- Council on Higher Education (CHE) in South Africa
- The European Foundation for Management Development (EFMD) is responsible for the European Quality Improvement System (EQUIS) for mostly European and Asian schools
- The Foundation for International Business Administration Accreditation (FIBAA) in Europe