Previous

Page - 3

The Indian School of Business at Hyderabad was the first to offer the one-year MBA programme in India in 200I, followed by XLRI in 2004. IIM Ahmedabad is also on course with its one-year programme, which begins in April 2006, there are also plans afoot by IIM Bangalore to launch a one-year Executive Master of Business Administration programme from the academic year starting July 2006.
Says Prof. A. Krishna Murthy of M. P. Birla Institute of Management Studies, "Trends in business education abroad generally point in favour of shorter programmes with the length of executive education courses continually shrinking." So, it is a global phenomenon that business schools are offering shorter duration full programmes or even shorter duration courses - from five-week courses to 10-day ones or even 7-day ones.

The one-year MBA is also an excellent value proposition for those who have left their jobs or taken a mid-career sabbatical for higher studies. "It takes into account the substantial and varied experience the selected executives bring to the classroom," says Tamonas Gangopadhyay, Professor In-charge of the one-year MBA programme at XLRI.

The upsurge seen recently in one-year degrees has been driven, for the most part, by corporate demand, serving mostly experienced professionals and recent undergraduates with some work experience. Although two-year programs are still the norm in most business schools, accelerated and specialized one-year programs are seeing slight increases in enrollment. Business schools have been adversely impacted by this trend; in fact, they are offering degree options that combine an undergraduate business degree with an MBA in a five-year program. Albert W. Niemi Jr., Former Dean of the University of Georgia's Terry College of Business, explains that, "I don't see, in the data that we have collected in terms of starting salaries that there is any difference in the way one-year people are treated by industry. One-year grads do as well as two-year grads in terms of earning power in the marketplace."

Nowadays, there are many different types of MBA programs. Before making a decision, you should evaluate each and every one. Even though they are both full-time programs, one-year MBA programs are quite a bit different than their two-year counterparts. A one-year MBA program has very strict requirements for admission, both in academic training and work history.

Program Duration

One-year MBA programs usually last between eleven and sixteen months. Because schools will be the priority during this time, one-year MBA programs are not for students who will be working full-time.

Next

* Contributed by -
Oumkar Umesh,
Senior Correspondent - The Observer of Management,
Article Published in Vol. 1 Issue 12 December 2006.