MBA vs. MA: The Decision

An important question to answer before you begin the admissions process in earnest, is what kind of business program to pursue. Ivy Admissions can provide you with all of the information and support you need to answer this question in the first phase of our unique four-phase approach. Here are just a few of the important points to consider:

The Master of Business Administration (MBA) is the most popular graduate business degree and is offered by a large number of universities. It is designed to prepare students to assume managerial positions in a wide variety of organizations. The generalized MBA is the most popular with students, giving exposure to the full range of business fields including accounting, decision science, finance, international business, management, marketing and operations.

In addition to the MBA, many universities offer Master's degree programs that allow students to specialize in one area of business such as accounting, engineering management, finance, health care management, hotel management, international business, management information systems, project management, taxation, tourism and transportation.

In order to decide which degree is most appropriate for your educational goals, it is important to focus at this time on your career goals. Now is the time to ask the essential question: What type of career do you wish to pursue?

In answering this question, we don't want you to focus on a specific job, but rather to think about the type of industry you would like to work in, the position that you would like to have and the level of work that is of interest to you. Do you want to lead the Accounting Department of a medium or large-sized company, or do you want to be an entrepreneur and be responsible for every aspect of a company (from top to bottom), even if it is a small one? Would you like to work in the Finance Department or do you think Operations is more appealing to you? Are human relations and supervisory work more interesting to you, or do you prefer the science of forecasting & strategic planning?

The answers to these questions will help us determine which path you should follow in the time ahead. An M.B.A. degree will prepare you so that you can manage projects and people across the various functions of an enterprise, whereas a specialized Master's Degree will prepare you to be a leader in a specific area of knowledge or expertise. Therefore, we should consider the skills and interests you have demonstrated in the past and compare them with the dreams of the kind of career you would like to have five or ten years in the future.

More information is available from our admissions counselors, and on the web at our full-service client page, available exclusively to Ivy Admissions clients. Contact us or sign up with Ivy Admissions to learn more.

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