To MBA or not to MBA, that is the question 1

[MathMan]

I have heard that with the growing number of schools that offer &quot;Master of Business Administration&quot; programs, the quality of the education may not be high enough to warrant doing it.<br><br>My community university offers a two-year joint MBA/MENG program that sounds very interesting, but I want to make sure that if I decide to do it, I will get a good program. How can I rate one MBA against another? I'm sure they are not all created equal.<br><br>More generally, is it worth doing an MBA at all?

 

[kenstel]

The Association of MBA's produce a guide to business schools and MBA's (sorry, can't remember the exact title). It describes the content/format of many MBA's in UK/EC/USA and the facilities and resources of the business schools providing them.<br><br>The Association also evaluates MBA's ensuring that those gaining approval reach a minimum standard.<br><br><br>

 

[CJM]

Check out BusinessWeek's biennial ranking of MBA programs - it's on their website.&nbsp;&nbsp;The rankings are primarily focused on the US, but do have some international schools as well.&nbsp;&nbsp;US News & World Report also does a ranking, but I don't consider it to be as reliable.<br><br>However, remember that overall rankings are very subjective -- a top ranked MBA program may not be particulary good in your particular area of interest.&nbsp;&nbsp;Also, some of the top B-schools (for example, Duke) now have distance-learning programs. <br><br>As for the value of an MBA, I can't really tell you because I don't have one.&nbsp;&nbsp;My wife is currently in the MBA program at Duke, but she comes from a completely different background than me (she's a lawyer) -- it's extremely useful for her as she has no real mathematics/finance background.&nbsp;&nbsp;You might want to check out one of the technology-focused MBAs like Carnegie-Mellon or Queen's (in Canada) rather than a general mgmt MBA like Wharton, Duke or Stanford.&nbsp;&nbsp;The University of Michigan has a top-ranked general mgmt MBA that focuses more on manufacturing & less on I-banking, so that may also be more to your liking.<br><br>Return on investment is another factor -- some of the state schools (U.Mich., U.Va., UCLA, UC Berkely) have programs every bit as good as the top private B-schools, but at a fraction of the cost if you're a resident of the state.<br><br>Good luck in your quest for higher education!&nbsp;&nbsp;Let me know if you have any questions -- I did most of the B-school research for my wife, so I may be able to assist you.<br><br>chris

 

[cmc2011]

This question is for CJM.<br>Taking advantage of your research on MBA programs, do you know a MBA program oriented to the Natural Gas Industry or either to the Oil and Gas Industry? do you have the same information about the MBA programs taught in the UK?<br><br>Thank you,<br><br>cmc2011