Friday, July 13, 2007

MBA SPECIALIZATIONS

Students have the opportunity to pursue either a general management program or complete a specialization as part of the MBA program. Specializations are a matter of choice, not a prerequisite, and all students receive the same MBA education regardless of whether they complete a specialization. Students should consider their career goals and professional development in settling on a specialization. As more and more universities offer MBA programmes, it is becoming ever more difficult for candidates to decide on which business school offers the most suitable MBA programme to meet their requirements. Many business schools are digressing from the ‘generalist’ system, which has been the typical MBA model for the last thirty years. Today you can choose from a wide range of MBA specializations, ranging from an MBA in Financial Studies, as well as Insurance and Risk Management Accountancy and Finance, to an MBA in Sports Management, or even an MBA in Technology.The trend towards one-year niche, or specialist MBAs, designed for particular groups of professional people, appears to be market driven. Some fields may be nearly impossible to enter without specialized training. Research your chosen industry to determine whether a specialty program may be a better alternative for you than a generalist MBA degree.US schools in particular, reject the specialist MBA model. Their two-year format allows MBA students to be generalists in their first year, whilst specializing in their chosen field in their second year.Shape your studies to complement all that make you inimitable — education, experience, aptitudes, interests, passions. Famous MBA schools abroad all have their own specialties; for example, Harvard Business School is at the head of the class in commercial management, the University of Chicago Graduate Business School in financial management, and the Kellogg School of Management in marketing.

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