An MBA can advance your career or your capacity for teaching and research, whether it is obtained online or from a traditional university. But a full-time MBA program will demand two years of intense business study, and despite being a generalist degree, you will still need to delve deeply into many business topics.
So how many credits are required for your MBA? In general, typical online MBA programs begin with 36 credits but can quickly increase to over 70 credits. We will give you a detailed overview of the academic credits you will earn and the knowledge you will ideally acquire during your MBA in this article.
What Is An MBA?
The MBA, also known as a Master of Business Administration, is a generalist degree. One of the most adaptable master’s degrees available is the MBA, which can be used for a variety of corporate positions in both small and large businesses.
An MBA candidate who has done their homework will be interested in topics like business structure and operations. Every aspect of a business, from accounts receivable to the responsibilities of the CEO, is well-understood by MBA graduates in a wide range of business-related disciplines.
MBA Concentrations To Consider
An MBA program’s structure can be either very general, covering a broad range of topics, or very specific, concentrating on the student’s main area of interest, such as management or accounting. Spend some time investigating what an MBA program has to offer for your particular objectives before enrolling.
There are a variety of specialized programs to think about, such as:
- Human resources
- Finance
- Marketing
- Information technology
- Information solutions
- Entrepreneurship
- Operations
Benefits Of An MBA
The MBA is a more specialized degree in the business field than the four-year bachelor’s degree or the two-year associate degree. It offers a more thorough education in many areas of business management practices and ideas. The graduate may profit from this in terms of their career and finances.
Your network of business professionals significantly grows once you are accepted into a program. While completing the coursework, you will network and forge business connections with professors, colleagues in related fields, and other influential allies.
As you gain practical experience, this can help your career both immediately after graduation and far into the future.
An MBA can provide opportunities, even in competitive job markets. You can carry yourself professionally if you have the experience, knowledge, and aptitude to do so.
General Structure Of An MBA
MBA programs have a wide range of courses, but they all have core requirements. Your management career will be built on the principles of marketing, accounting, finance, operations, organizational behavior, strategy, and business ethics.
While you may feel as though you don’t need all of those basics to enter the specific role you are seeking, this is actually one of the advantages of the MBA degree—you will have a solid understanding of every aspect of business beyond your specific bailiwick.
Even if you don’t require those additional skills for your short-term goal position, you’ll find them to be extremely useful in the future.
You can start taking electives as soon as your core courses are finished, or in some programs, concurrently. You now have a chance to exercise a little more autonomy over your MBA and choose a specialty.
You can delve deeper into any of the fundamental, core business disciplines mentioned above depending on the type of career you want to pursue after earning an MBA, or you can pursue additional specializations in areas where your school is an authority, such as in particular markets or even geographical areas.
When you are applying to various MBA programs, take note of the differences in these specializations’ strengths between schools.
Although we think it’s best to attend the most illustrious and well-known university you can afford, topic specializations can be helpful as a tie-breaker between similarly prestigious institutions.
For instance, attend Wharton if you want to specialize in finance, Stanford if you want to concentrate on entrepreneurship, CBS or NYU if you want to specialize in retail, etc. While all of these institutions excel in a variety of specialties, you should be aware that some of them are particularly strong in others as you weigh your options.
Breakdown Of Your Two Years
The majority of your first year will be taken up by those foundational, core courses (roughly 30 credits by the typical U.S. standard). As long as you fulfill the basic graduation requirements by enrolling in (and passing) enough elective courses, you can typically shape your MBA degree in any way you like.
Since you’re there to get a business degree, most universities require between 48 and 62 credits for graduation, with a certain percentage of those (typically all but 6–10) coming from the graduate school of business.
Credit Hours To Earn An MBA
Depending on the program, students who enroll full-time can usually complete an MBA in two years. Credit hours can range from 48 to 62, depending on the program, school, area of study, or concentration.
Due to the way the school counts the work that goes into the credits, the number of credits may not be the same for each student. One school may require 62 credits, while another may require 52, but the time required to complete the credits is essentially the same in both cases.
Read More: How Long Does It Take To Get Your MBA?
Credits Required And Some Examples
The majority of conventional U.S. programs fall within the 48–62 credit hour range mentioned above. four-semester-two-year programs.
However, many schools have their own distinctive systems that they use instead of the semester system in order to emphasize flexible learning, global immersion, or immersive learning styles.
Let’s examine a few specific institutions that each have their own philosophy regarding the MBA program and the way in which students receive credits.
Columbia Business School (CBS)
The system used by CBS is more conventional. To graduate with an MBA, students must complete 60 credits, of which 42 credits must be electives and 18 credits must be core courses. In order to graduate in two years, students usually enroll in 15 credits per semester.
Finally, even though you can skip core courses if you can show that you already have the necessary background knowledge, you still need to make up those credit hours in order to reach the required 60.
This means that if you already have those foundations under your belt, you may be able to use your free time and coursework to delve deeper into one or more specialties.
Harvard Business School (BHS)
Unsurprisingly, HBS operates a little differently than everyone else. Credit hours are not really relevant to their program since all students must complete the same required curriculum during their first year, which includes the renowned HBS FIELD Global Immersion program as well as foundational courses in marketing, organizational behavior, finance, and strategy.
Get ready to get to know 89 intelligent peers well because you will be taking all of these first-year courses with your designated “section” of 90. After completing all of the required core courses in year two, the MBA student is completely free to choose the courses they want to take.
In your second year, you have the freedom to enroll in up to five elective courses per term (semester), giving you plenty of opportunities to broaden and deepen your MBA education.
Stanford GSB
To graduate from Stanford, MBA candidates must complete 105 credit units. Yes, 105. You read that correctly. Keep in mind that Stanford uses a quarter system and counts credit hours somewhat differently (in the U.S.) before you panic and cross it off your list., the exact hour requirement of a “credit” varies slightly from state to state).
Although you will enroll in more courses, their lengths will be shorter. You should be aware that your first year will be primarily devoted to core courses, with some room for electives and a focus on leadership coaching as well as a distinctive Global Experience Requirement.
The second year is up to you, just like at HBS; explore your electives and enroll in up to 12 credits at other Stanford schools. Although as we will see there are other schools with a similarly relaxed attitude, Stanford’s marketing places a lot of emphasis on the freedom to venture outside the business school.
Final Words
Depending on the program, institution, field of study, or concentration, an MBA may require 48 to 62 credits. Along with having a solid business academic grounding, MBA graduates should also have experience, leadership potential, and a network of useful contacts that will help them advance in their chosen fields of work quickly.
