Masters in Business Administration courses come in a variety of options based on whether they are full-time or part-time, on-campus or off-campus, and also on the duration of the course. It is important to know the distinction between these courses and also the pros and cons of each. This article compares the various types of MBA courses.
Here are the different types of MBA programs:
2-year Full Time MBA
This is a 21 to 24 month long course which requires full time attendance and in some cases (like IIMs), mandatory on-campus housing. This is by far the most popular and also the most valuable MBA degree. This course is recommended if you have between 0 to 5 years of work experience, OR if want to change your career path from a technical profile to a business career. You can’t work while studying if you want to want to do this degree.
Accelerated MBA
This is usually a 12 to 15 month long course. The accelerated program also requires full time attendance and is similar to the full time program, but with a higher course load and a less exhaustive syllabus. This is popular and valuable for MBA candidates who have between 4 to 10 years of work experience, and who want to get an MBA degree to primarily accelerate their career in the same profile and job function. Changing profiles through this course is possible but tough. You can’t work while studying if you want to want to do this degree.
Part Time MBA
The part time MBA program is 3 years long with classes held only on weekends or weekday evenings. The upside to this MBA is that you can do this along with your full time job. However, the downside to this course is that it is considered less valuable than the 2 year full time and the accelerated MBA programs. This also takes longer to complete. This is only recommended if you have financial obligations to fulfil and are unable to join a full time MBA course.
Executive MBA (EMBA)
Executive MBA programs are designed for highly experienced working professionals who cannot afford to take a break in their career. This is usually 12 to 18 months long and is usually conducted in a way that most classes are held offline or one weekends, with some components of the course (around 20%) being conducted similar to a full time course. These full time classes are conducted in tranches of 1-2 weeks, around 3-4 times in the duration of the course. The entry criteria for these kind of programs does get stringent though as business schools look for EMBA participants with a high level of managerial experience (3 to 5 years managerial experience) and a total of 10 years work experience on an average. These programs are ideal for professionals with more than 8 to 10 years of experience. This also gives them a change to network with similar highly placed professionals. In most cases, these programs are company sponsored and are useful for speeding up promotions in existing roles.
Distance Learning MBA
The distance learning MBA programs allow you to take classes from own home. Course materials are usually sent over mail and candidates are expected to study on their own and give exams also remotely. Nowadays, this program is slowly being replaced by online MBA programs.
Online MBA
Online MBA programs allow you to take a majority of your classes online. These are similar to distance learning programs, except that you will spend a good amount of time studying your courses through (prerecorded) video, interactive web pages and teleconferencing. Many online MBA programs also require participants to organize meetings with their ‘online’ classmates
Both distance learning MBAs and online MBAs are a good option for working professionals and also saves time on commuting to college, however these require a high level of self motivation to stay on track. As a downside, these also miss out on student to student interaction and project-work. These also miss out on a key component of an MBA – building powerful professional networks.
Dual Degree MBA
These are usually conferred along with another degree or diploma in a related discipline. For example, some computer science programs combine IT management courses for a Dual degree, similarly some engineering programs combine engineering and operations management courses etc.
We hope that this article has given you a fair understanding of the various types of MBA courses. We also have a article explaining a comparison between a full time MBA and an executive MBA. You can continue reading more MBA articles on http://mbaclub.in