MBA Specializations

General Management Program vs. Special Management Programs

If you are an MBA aspirant, you have the opportunity to pursue either a general management program or complete a particular specialisation as part of the MBA program. Whether you opt for a general management degree or an MBA degree with a specialisation depends on your career interests and goals.

As more and more universities across the globe offer MBA programmes, it is becoming ever more difficult for MBA aspirants to decide on which business school offers the most suitable MBA programme to meet their specific requirements. Many business schools are digressing from the ‘generalist’ system, which has been the typical MBA model for the last thirty years. US schools in particular, reject the specialist MBA model. Their two-year format allows MBA students to be generalists in their first year, whilst specialising in their chosen field in their second year.

Today you can choose from a wide range of MBA specialisations, ranging from Financial Studies, Insurance and Risk Management Accountancy and Finance, to Sports Management, or even 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 specialised training. Research your chosen industry to determine whether a specialty program may be a better alternative for you than a generalist MBA degree.

Shape your studies to complement all that make you inimitable — education, experience, aptitudes, interests, passions. Reputed business schools abroad all have their own specialities; let’s take a closer look at some of the specialisations:

Finance

In the US the Finance department has become a battleground for business school supremacy. With the high profile of Wall Street amongst MBA recruiters, finance is one of the most eminent disciplines. Most of the world’s investment banks are staffed primarily by MBA graduates from schools with a strong background in finance. After several quiet years, demand for MBAs within one of the most popular sectors for business school graduates – investment banking – is back with a vengeance.

Some of the popular business schools for MBA in Finance are:

Wharton; London Business School; NYU Stern, Columbia Business School, The Kellogg School of Management

Health (Pharmaceuticals)

The health (pharmaceuticals) industry is a key player in the worldwide economy as more and more MBAs are opting for this sector. The industry’s largest market remains North America, which accounts for nearly half of all pharmaceutical sales, with Europe taking the second place.

As is the case in many key industries, MBAs tend to be recruited by the pharmaceutical sector, as much for their potential as for any specific previous experience, although academic training in the sciences or a background in such areas as sales or marketing can sometimes prove to your advantage.

Some of the popular business schools for MBA in Health are:

UCLA Anderson, Columbia Business School, University of Virginia (Darden)

MBA in Consultancy

Most consultancy firms see a top MBA as a fundamental management entry-level qualification. Without an MBA, it is almost impossible to become a senior consultant in a top-consulting firm. The MBA seems to have moved from a ‘nice to have’ to a ‘need to have’ qualification for those set on an international management consultancy career.

Some of the popular business schools for MBA in Consultancy are:

Chicago Booth, Imperial College, Kellogg School of Management, London Business School

Information Technology

Students interested in careers in management consultancy, software or database development, enterprise management systems, telecommunication and business analysis must opt for the specialisation and will be recognised as having a thorough IT background. IT graduates play essential roles in the business team, typically designing and implementing hardware and software solutions to business problems. They hold professional positions in areas such as client/server or web applications development, systems analysis and network administration. They constitute the important workforce as technical and management professionals in a variety of industries. Students obtaining such a certificate usually acquire positions in the top management consulting firms or as strategic analysts in the transportation, telecommunications, and financial sector.

Some of the popular business schools for MBA in Information Technology are:

MIT Sloan, Carnegie Mellon (Tepper), NYU (Stern)

Media

This one-of–a kind MBA is geared for professionals already working in media. It was specifically designed to provide graduates with the foundation, skills, and competencies required to both understand and function within the complex legal, ethical, economic, and social dimensions of media management.

Admission into this program requires entering students to have prior media, art or media related business expertise. Students come from a wide array of backgrounds in communication arts, radio, television, film, music, fine arts, gallery and arts administration, museum administration, law, education, business management, marketing, public relations; creative writing; journalism; multimedia; publishing; e-commerce; theatre; dance; and opera.

Each semester combines academic study with actual managerial experience. In the first semester, students focus their efforts on creating a comprehensive business plan for a media-related venture designed to satisfy a need, realise an opportunity, or address a challenge within a given media industry. In the second semester, students implement aspects of their business plans and in the third semester they develop and implement a marketing plan to promote their respective media ventures.

Some of the popular business schools for MBA in Media are:

York University (Schulich), NYU (Stern), Michigan (Ross), MIT (Sloan)