Way too shorten MBA?

Well, I am not thrilled with the idea of having to be in school for a couple years when I am 28. I would prefer to be devoting my time at that age to things besides school.

So: Is it possible to make the MBA take less time? For example, what about taking some exec MBA courses to get some credits out of the way, then going to school for a year and transferring in those credits?

Do the top B-schools allow this? Is it looked down upon when getting a job? Any thoughts would be appreciated.

8 Comments
 

INSEAD, one of the top business schools in the world offers 1 year programs. The thing is they take place in singapore and france, so you would have to leave the states to do it.

 

I had a B-School classmate do a 2 year program in about 1 year. He was sleep deprived, broke and insane, but he did it. I think he pulled it off by starting in the summer, taking 5 classes a quarter. Something like that.

Executive MBAs are generally 18 months...

There are also several 1 year tracks out there, e.g. Kellogg, Thunderbird.

 
Best Response

are typically for students who were undergrad biz majors that meet a variety of pre-reqs. 1 year students also should have a clear-cut career path in mind and can't deviate too far from that path.

since b-school/formal business education isn't necessarily part of European business culture, pretty much every program is 1 year and several are very prestigious.

However, be sure that you have strong reasons for wanting a one and done program. Part of the tangible value of an MBA is: 1) forming strong networking relationships with your classmates over the 2 year period 2) really figuring out what you want to do with/after your MBA 3) getting a summer internship in a field that interests in you and you want to further explore. 4) enjoying two years outside the workforce in a challenging, yet incubating & fun environment.

 

University of Western Ontario; Richard Ivey School of Business - #2 producer of case studies behind Harvard - consistant wall street access - top school in Canada - very few Americans; which means you get top billing with firms who have visa issues (read threads on the H1B visas etc.) - well ranked with a great alumni association - not European - 2 hours from Detroit; 2 hours from Toronto; short flight to NYC - one of the best career services in the industry

 

Many more shorter programs. Someone mentioned INSEAD, but you need to already have at least intermediate knowledge of one foreign language.

 

Thanks for the input. I didn't know there were so many 1 year programs out there. When you factor in cost and "foregone income" that extra year can be pretty significant.

I would be doing the MBA mostly because I feel it is almost a requirement now in many areas of business.

The impression I get from your posts is: there are programs out there, but they are usually either harder to get in to, or not a top program? And once you are in the 1yr program, it is very stressful?

Is that an accurate perspective?

 

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