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Programs
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, they often begin in late August or early September of year one and continue until May or June 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. A typical full-time, accelerated, part-time, or modular MBA requires 60 credits (600 class hours) of graduate work. # ISO certification in India
Accelerated MBA programs are a variation of the two-year programs. They involve a higher course load with more intense class and examination schedules and are usually condensed into one year. They usually have less downtime 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. Accelerated programs typically have a lower cost than full-time two-year programs.
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.# ISO certification in India
Evening (second shift) MBA programs are full-time programs that normally hold classes on weekday evenings, after normal working hours, or on weekends for a duration of two years. The students in these programs typically consist of working professionals, who can not leave their work to pursue a full-time regular shift MBA. Most second shift programs are offered at universities in India.
Modular MBA programs are similar to part-time programs, although typically employing a lock-step curriculum with classes packaged together in blocks lasting from one to three weeks.
Executive (part-time) 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.# ISO certification in India
Full-time executive MBA programs are a new category of full-time one year MBA programs aimed at professionals with approximately five years or more. They are primarily offered in countries like India where the two-year MBA program is targeted at fresh graduates with no experience or minimal experience. These full-time executive MBA programs are similar to one year MBA programs offered by schools like Insead and IMD.
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.
Blended learning programs combine distance learning with face-to-face instruction. These programs typically target working professionals who are unable to attend traditional part-time programs.# ISO certification in India
MBA dual degree programs combine an MBA with others (such as an MS, MA, MEng, or a JD, etc.) to let students cut costs (dual programs usually cost less than pursuing two degrees separately), save time on education and to tailor the business education courses to their needs. This is generally achieved by allowing core courses of one program to count as electives in the other. Some business schools offer programs in which students can earn both a bachelor’s degree in business administration and an MBA in five years.
Mini-MBA is a term used by many non-profit and for-profit institutions to describe a training regimen focused on the fundamentals of business. In the past, Mini-MBA programs have typically been offered as non-credit bearing courses that require less than 100 hours of total learning. However, due to the criticisms of these certificates, many schools have now shifted their programs to offer courses for full credit so that they may be applied towards a complete traditional MBA degree. This is to allow students to verify business-related coursework for employment purposes and still allow the option to complete a full-time MBA degree program at a later period if they elect to do so.# ISO certification in India
Admissions criteria
Many programs base their admission decisions on a combination of undergraduate grade point average, academic transcripts, entrance exam scores (for example, the GMAT or the GRE test score), a résumé containing significant work experience, essays, letters of recommendation, group discussions, and personal interviews. Some schools are also interested in extracurricular activities, community service activities, or volunteer work and how the student can improve the school’s diversity and contribute to the student body as a whole.
The Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT) is the most prominently used entrance exam for admissions into MBA programs. The Graduate Record Examination (GRE) is also accepted by almost all MBA programs in order to fulfill any entrance exam requirement they may have. Some schools do not weigh entrance exam scores as heavily as other criteria, and some programs do not require entrance exam scores for admission. In order to achieve a diverse class, business schools also consider the target male-female ratio and local-international student ratios. In rare cases, some MBA degrees do not require students to have an undergraduate degree and will accept significant management experience in lieu of an undergraduate degree. In the UK, for example, an HND (Higher National Diploma) or even HNC (Higher National Certificate) is acceptable in some programs.
Depending on the program, type and duration 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.# ISO certification in India
MBA admissions consulting services exist to counsel MBA applicants to improve their chances of getting admission to their desired Business Schools. These services range from evaluating a candidate’s profile, GMAT preparation, suggesting the schools to which they can apply, writing and editing essays, conducting mock interviews as preparation for MBA admission interviews, as well as post-MBA career counseling.
Content
In general, MBA programs are structured around core courses — an essentially standard curriculum — and elective courses that (may) allow for a subject specialty or concentration. Thus, in the program’s first year (or part), students acquire both a working knowledge of management functions and the analytical skills required for these, while in the second year (part), students pursue elective courses, which may count towards a specialization. (Topics in business ethics may be included at the generalist or specialist level.) After the first year, many full-time students seek internships. The degree culminates with coursework in business strategy, the program capstone. A dissertation or major project is usually a degree requirement after the completion of coursework. Many MBA programs end with a comprehensive exit examination; see below.# ISO certification in India
For Executive MBA programs, the core curriculum is generally similar, but may seek to leverage the strengths associated with the more seasoned and professional profile of the student body, emphasizing leadership, and drawing more from the specific experience of the individual students.
Programs are designed such that students gain exposure to theory and practice alike. Courses include lectures, case studies, and team projects; the mix though, will differ by school and by format. Theory is covered in the classroom setting by academic faculty, and is reinforced through the case method, placing the student in the role of the decision maker. Similar to real world business situations, cases include both constraints and incomplete information. Practical learning (field immersion) often comprises consulting projects with real clients, and is generally undertaken in teams (or “syndicates”). The practical elements (as well as the case studies) often involve external practitioners—sometimes business executives—supporting the teaching from academic faculty. (See Business school#Use of case studies and #Other approaches; and Business education#Postgraduate education generally.)
As above, courses begin with underlying topics and then progress to more advanced functional topics where these are applied; see aside.
The analytic skills required for management are usually covered initially. The accounting course(s) may treat financial and management accounting separately or in one hybrid course. Financial accounting deals mainly in the interpretation (and preparation) of financial statements while management accounting deals mainly in the analysis of internal results. The economics course covers managerial economics, a technical course that mainly focuses on product pricing as influenced by microeconomic theory, and aggregate-or macroeconomics, which deals with topics like the banking system, the money supply, and inflation. Operations Research and statistics are sometimes combined as “Managerial Decision-Making” or “Quantitative Decision-Making”; organizational behavior and human resource management may similarly be combined. In many programs, applicants with appropriate background may be exempt from various analytical courses.# ISO certification in India
As regards the functional courses, some programs treat the curricula here in two parts: the first course provides an overview, while the second revisits the subject in-depth (perhaps as specializations); alternatively, the first addresses short-term, tactical problems, while the second addresses long-term, strategic problems (e.g., “Financial Management I” might cover working capital management, while part II covers capital investment decisions). An Information systems / technology course is increasingly included as a core functional course rather than an elective. Ethics training is often delivered with coursework in corporate social responsibility and corporate governance. Note that courses here, although technical in the content are, ultimately, oriented toward corporate management. (For example, the principal finance course may cover the technicalities of financial instrument valuation and capital raising, but is in fact focused on managerial finance and financial management.) Technically-oriented courses, if offered, will be via a specialization.
Programs may also include (coursework-based) training in the skills needed at senior levels of management: soft skills, such as (general) leadership and negotiation; hard skills, such as spreadsheets and project management; thinking skills such as innovation and creativity. Training in areas such as multiculturalism and corporate social responsibility is similarly included. Company visits (including overseas travel), and guest lectures or seminars with CEOs and management personalities may also be included. These, with the core subjects, provide the graduate with breadth, while the specialty courses provide depth.
For the business strategy component, the degree capstone, the focus is on finding competitive advantage and the long-term positioning and management of the entity as a whole. Here, the key functional areas are thus synthesized to an overall view; the strategy course depicts how the various sub-disciplines integrate to tell one continuous story, with each discipline complementing the others. Corresponding training in business leadership may also be scheduled and participation in a business simulation or game is also a common degree requirement. “Strategy” may be offered as a sequence of courses, beginning in the first part (formulation) and culminating in the second (execution), or as a single intensive course, offered during the second part. Some programs offer a specialization in “strategy”, others in management consulting which substantially addresses the same issues.# ISO certification in India
The MBA dissertation (or thesis in some universities) will, in general, comprise the following in some combination: a discussion of the literature, providing a critical review and structuring of what is known on a given topic, to address a specific problem; a case study that goes beyond simple description, containing the analysis of hitherto unpublished material; a test of the application or limitations of some known principle or technique in a particular situation, and/or suggested modifications. As an alternative to the dissertation, some programs instead allow for a major project. Here (part-time) students will address a problem current in their organization; particularly in programs with an action learning orientation, these may be practically oriented. Most MBA programs require additional course work in research methodology, preceding the dissertation or project. Some programs allow that the research component as a whole may be substituted with additional elective coursework.# ISO certification in India