MBAs For All
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Program
Advantages
When you are getting an MBA, a
one-year program can save you considerable amount of time. It is especially
perfect for students who wish to pursue specialized study that will help them
advance in their current career or field.
Most one-year MBA programs reduce
core requirements and allow customization of courses through electives and
concentrations.
Program
Disadvantages
Unfortunately, some employers who
require an MBA frown upon the one-year MBA. Do your research before choosing
this program. Also realize that internship opportunities are much more limited
within a one-year program.
The primary difference between
one-year and traditional two-year programs is that with the shorter version,
there is little if any overlap with undergraduate business curricula. Thus, it
is highly recommended that students who decide on a one-yean program should
enroll soon after receiving their undergraduate degree and be able to satisfy
all core business course requirements. However, some one-year programs require
from two to five years work experience in lieu of the traditional first-year MBA
core study courses.
In most cases, one-year elective
courses are all but tailored to the applicant's career, so that the graduate can
re-enter the workforce as quickly as possible. Classic two-year programs most
often focus on elective and specialized course work in the second year after
completion of core requirements in the first year.
While the two-year programme is
best suited for greenhorns, for experienced professionals, the one-year
programme promises to do the trick. The nature of the offering also means that
the one-year programme has begun to attract a really diverse audience. Says
Rangnekar, "Doctors, lawyers, deep-sea divers, airline crew and defence
personnel are just some of those who come with no background in corporate
experience, hoping to make a career shift with the MBA." Kulmeet Bawa, 35,
Business Head, Defence at Sun Microsystems effectively crossed over when he left
the army to do an MBA. "Before I did the MBA, the only jobs I got were
conventional ones that were supposed to be best suited for defence personnel -
security agencies, logistics, operations and the like. But the MBA broke the
traditional mindsets of employers," he says.
