Why The MBA Is Now The Most Popular Master’s

Source: AACSB

Source: AACSB

What’s even more surprising about these results is that they do not include MBA alumni who are likely to be among the most satisfied with the degree.  Most of the alumni from the best business schools in the world aren’t included in the study. By and large, there’s no alumni from Harvard, Stanford, or Wharton. None from Chicago Booth, Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management, MIT Sloan, Columbia Business School, or Dartmouth’s Tuck School of Business. For whatever reason, those schools and many more decided not to participate in the latest research.

In fact, alumni from only three business schools—Virginia, Carnegie Mellon, and Indiana University—of the Top 20 in the U.S. were included in the survey. As the demand for the MBA has grown so has the number of institutions that offer the degree. The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business, the major accreditation body of business schools, has now granted accreditation to 711 business schools, up from well under just 200 institutions in 1972 (see chart above). Much of the explosive growth in recent years has occurred in Europe, China and India. Yet, the AACSB total of 711 accredited institutions is less than 5% of the total number of business schools in the world.

WHY THE WORLD NEEDS MORE MBAS, NOT LESS

While many college administrators worry about the impact of technology on higher education and many business schools have seen demand for the full-time, two-year MBA program flatten in recent years, deans of the most prominent schools believe the degree’s future remains bright. “I believe that full-time MBA programs are the best vehicles by which young people can develop the leadership qualities that allow them to meet the monumental challenges of tomorrow’s business environment,” says Danos of Tuck. “The world needs well-educated and mature young people who are prepared to lead in the burgeoning firms that are growing with the world economies.”

Kellogg Dean Sally Blount

Kellogg Dean Sally Blount

Sally Blount, dean of Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management, agrees. In a recent essay entitled, “Yes, The World Needs More MBAs,” she argues that the increasing complexity of the world’s problems requires more leaders with the abilities that only an MBA can provide. “Clearly you can have a rewarding life and career without an MBA,” Blount concedes.

“And you can certainly become rich and powerful without one, as Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos, Richard Branson, and Amancio Ortega can testify. But when you’re creating the next Google or Apple, you’re going to need people with the training, skills, and network that business education is uniquely good at providing. There’s a reason all of those companies hire people with MBAs.”

Given the profound social challenges facing the country and the world, the demand for well-trained professionals can only go up. “The inability of the government to address fundamental social issues only enhances the need for the private sector to step in,” she adds. “We will need leaders who can hold government accountable for managing public resources and protecting the public trust—and who can leverage the power of markets to create lasting social value. “Intelligent, highly driven individuals will reinvent markets, fuel growth, and work across sectors to build strong, transformative organizations,” wrote Blount. “But markets or governments won’t do this on their own; the incentives just aren’t there. That’s why the world needs more, not less, business education. It depends on it.”

Source: U.S. Department of Education

Source: U.S. Department of Education

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