Description

A Master of Business Administration, or MBA degree, is a graduate-level business and management degree with a focus on leadership and managerial skills.

By earning this degree, you can equip yourself with the skills and knowledge to accelerate your career, transition to new industries, or even launch your own businesses. It’s the most common and one of the most versatile graduate degrees available. MBA students may enter their programs from a variety of backgrounds, and there are different types of programs to suit a range of needs.

Typically, MBA students enter their programs after gaining a few years of work experience (in nearly any field) and have long-term goals of working in any area of business, and particularly in leadership roles.


MBA degrees are not the only type of advanced business degrees. Some students instead pursue a Master of Science (MS) business degree. As you pursue an MBA, you can learn a wide variety of business fundamentals, including economics, marketing, finance, strategy, organizational behavior, and accounting. Outside the core curriculum, you can typically customize your experience through concentrations, elective classes, and internships with actual companies. This can help you to develop some of the leadership skills necessary to run a business—and these skills transfer to many career paths. MBA concentrations, also called specializations or majors, are focus areas that you pursue as part of your degree. To complete a concentration, you'll typically need to pass a series of courses in your desired focus area. Though not all MBA programs require that students choose a concentration, they can help demonstrate deeper knowledge in your focus area and set you up for success in that area of business.


By earning this degree, you can build a foundation for a new career or prepare yourself for better, often higher-paying opportunities. You can gain functional job skills and a well-recognized credential to potentially attract recruiters and hiring managers in a variety of fields. People with an MBA degree tend to earn more money than people who don't hold the credential, and people who earn an MBA tend to receive a salary increase upon completing their program. According to a GMAC survey, the median starting salary projected for 2023 MBA graduates in the US was $125,000. Factors that can influence your post-graduate salary include your industry, location, school attended, and total years of work experience. Pursuing an MBA can be a significant financial commitment. It’s important to define your goals when deciding whether the investment is right for you. Through an MBA program, you’ll have the opportunity to expand your professional network, elevate your career prospects, and increase your earning potential.


Weighing the cost against the return, most MBA graduates agree that earning their MBA was worth it. In a 2022 survey from GMAC, over 85 percent of MBA graduates reported a positive return on investment from their graduate education. A majority found their business school education to be professionally, personally, and financially rewarding (84, 72, and 68 percent, respectively).

“The training you receive in an MBA Program prepares you to deal with ambiguity and provides a buffer against uncertainty,” says Hayden Noel, Assistant Clinical Professor at the University of Illinois. “You would be better equipped to take advantage of changing opportunities post-COVID. You will also become more effective as a leader and better understand the different functions of your organization. This leads to more positive outcomes in your current job.”

While there are plenty of good reasons to pursue an MBA degree, not every person (or professional field) requires one. Be sure to find out what hiring managers in your desired field are looking for by checking out current job postings on sites like LinkedIn or Indeed. If you’re planning to pivot into a new industry, you might find less expensive, less time-consuming ways to build the skills you need. Consider if alternatives like individual courses, professional certificates, or bootcamps might be a better fit. If you’re feeling unsure, some online MBA programs let you try out a course (sometimes for academic credit) before committing to the full degree.

What You Will Learn!

  • Accounting and Finance
  • Managerial Economics
  • Marketing Management
  • Project Management
  • Organisational Behaviour

Who Should Attend!

  • MBA students.