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A Master of Business Administration (MBA; also Master’s in Business Administration) is a postgraduate degree focused on business administration.[1] The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration such as accounting, applied statistics, human resources, business communication, business ethics, business law, strategic management, business strategy, finance, managerial economics, management, entrepreneurship, marketing, supply-chain management, and operations management in a manner most relevant to management analysis and strategy. It originated in the United States in the early 20th century when the country industrialized and companies sought scientific management.[2]

Some programs also include elective courses and concentrations for further study in a particular area, for example, accounting, finance, marketing, and human resources, but an MBA is intended to be a generalized program. MBA programs in the United States typically require completing about forty to sixty credits (sixty to ninety in a quarter system), much higher than the thirty credits (thirty-six to forty-five in a quarter system) typically required for degrees that cover some of the same material such as the Master of Economics, Master of Finance, Master of Accountancy, Master of Science in Marketing and Master of Science in Management.

The MBA is a terminal degree, and a professional degree.[3][4] Accreditation bodies specifically for MBA programs ensure consistency and quality of education. Business schools in many countries offer programs tailored to full-time, part-time, executive (abridged coursework typically occurring on nights or weekends) and distance learning students, many with specialized concentrations.

An “Executive MBA”, or EMBA, is a degree program similar to an MBA program that is specifically structured for and targeted towards corporate executives and senior managers who are already in the workforce.[5]
History

The first school of business in the United States was The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania established in 1881 through a donation from Joseph Wharton[4]. In 1900, the Tuck School of Business was founded at Dartmouth College[6] conferring the first advanced degree in business, specifically, a Master of Science in Commerce, the predecessor to the MBA.[7]

The Harvard Graduate School of Business Administration established the first MBA program in 1908, with 15 faculty members, 33 regular students and 47 special students.[8][9] Its first-year curriculum was based on Frederick Winslow Taylor’s scientific management. The number of MBA students at Harvard increased quickly, from 80 in 1908, over 300 in 1920, and 1,070 in 1930.[10] At this time, only American universities offered MBAs. Other countries preferred that people learn business on the job.[10]

Other milestones include:

1930: First management and leadership education program for executives and mid-career experienced managers (the Sloan Fellows Program at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology).[11][12]
1943: First Executive MBA (EMBA) program for working professionals at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.[13][non-primary source needed] Chicago was also the first business school to establish permanent campuses on three continents in Chicago (USA), Barcelona (Europe), and Singapore (Asia). Most business schools today offer a global component to their executive MBA. Since the program was established, the school has moved its campuses and is now based in Chicago, London, and Hong Kong.
1946: First MBA focused on global management at Thunderbird School of Global Management.[14][non-primary source needed]
1950: First MBA outside of the United States, in Canada (Ivey Business School at The University of Western Ontario),[15] followed by the University of Pretoria in South Africa in 1951.[16]
1953: First MBA offered at an Asian school at the Indian Institute of Social Welfare and Business Management in Calcutta.[17]
1957: First MBA offered at a European school (INSEAD).[18]
1963: First MBA program offered in the Spanish-speaking world by ESAN- Graduate School of Business in Perú (South America), under the direction of the Stanford Graduate School of Business, United States. Sponsored by the USAID- United States Agency for International Development, at the request of former President John F. Kennedy, which organizes the main business schools in the United States to study and explore the possibilities of developing management education projects in Latin America. Thus, on July 25, 1963, la Escuela de Administración de Negocios para Graduados-ESAN was founded, within the framework of an agreement between the governments of Peru and the United States to offer the Master’s program in Business Administration for interested applicants from all over Latin America.[19]
1963: First MBA offered in Korea by Korea University Business School (KUBS).[20][non-primary source needed]
1986: First MBA program requiring every student to have a laptop computer in the classroom at the Roy E. Crummer Graduate School of Business at Rollins College (Florida).[21] Beginning with the 1992–1993 academic year, Columbia Business School required all incoming students to purchase a laptop computer with standard software, becoming the first business school to do so.[22][23]
1994: First online executive MBA program at Athabasca University (Canada).[24]

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.

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.

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.

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.[29] These programs typically target working professionals who are unable to attend traditional part-time programs.[30]

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.