What is an MBA?

Unlike other postgraduate programs, MBA students have typically chosen to return to studying after a period in work. At London Business School, for example, the average MBA student is 29 years old with five years of work experience under their belt. This is because MBA programs are often seen as a fantastic way to switch careers or develop the tools required to start your own business.

MBA classes are typically also extremely diverse. Although there are high-quality MBA programs available around the world, students will often travel great distances to study at the most prestigious business schools in Europe or the US. To use the London Business School as an example again, their MBA class of 2019 contains 63 different nationalities.

Perhaps the simplest way to decide whether it’s worth studying an MBA is to look at your current career status and analyze whether an MBA would significantly open new doors for you. If you’re still at university or only just starting out in the world of work, it’s potentially too early for you to justify investing in an MBA. If, however, your current career trajectory is beginning to stall and you feel developing new skills will enable you to apply for that big promotion, move to a bigger company or even set up your own, then the broad skill base you’ll acquire from studying an MBA could make it worthwhile. It’s quite common to find MBA programs which are taught over evenings and weekends too, so you might be able to continue working while you study.

If an MBA isn’t right for you, one alternative is to study a specialized business master’s degree instead. These offer more of a chance to deepen your expertise in a particular area – such as finance, management or business analytics – and will potentially give you a greater chance of career progression in those specialisms than the more general MBA would. Want to learn more about the best business master’s programs around the world? We’ll be publishing our first-ever ranking focused specifically on management, finance and business analytics master’s later this month!

To learn more about the QS Business Masters Rankings 2019, or the QS Global MBA Rankings check out our two preview pieces here and here, or watch the video interview with QS CEO Nunzio Quacquarelli below. These rankings will be published on September 25, so be sure to check back then for lots more content related to these postgraduate study options.