This is a discussion from Linkedin.com. Â Ean asked “Can someone tell me the difference between a Masters of Business Administration(MBA) and a M.S. in Management? The course descriptions look similar, but I am not sure what kind of weight a M.S.M holds.”
The primary difference is the “core” requirements for the MBA generally 10 courses. The Masters program is good, but the MBA seems to be the Gold Standard.
I would agree that the MBA is much more recognized, but I would also posit that the relative value of each program depends on what you plan to do with the degree. For someone who wants to specialize in change management and leadership development, I would offer the MS or MA in Management as much more focused to support that goal – on the other hand, if a management position within an organization is what you want, then the MBA is probably better.
I know folks who are successfully managing departments and corporations, being consultants and who are unemployed. In each case, some have MBAs, some have Management degrees, and some have some other type of degree. Not sure that, outside the Ivy League schools, it is as critical as the MBA recruiters would have us believe.
The traditional MBA curriculum alays focused on exposing an individual to all the key areas of management within the business operations domain, and to a certain extent ensuring a solid financial literacy base for advanced ffinancial analysis and decision-making competencies revolving around identifying ket risk or opportunities with beneficial returns. The masters in management route though often similar would in some cases emphasise other key competency areas which that sgrow as specifc business school emphasised as being critical operating paradigms or perspectives to consider and in some cases grow as a body of knowledge.
The truth is the both the MBA and the MSBA are very similar, they require about the same number of total courses and require a grounding in general business disciplines, quantitative and communication skills.
The difference (at our school) is in the upper division electives. MBA students have a fairly tightly scripted program, there are only 4 electives which can be used for a concentration. The MBA is considered to be a “generalist” degree, covering the scope of management issues.
The point is, unless you have a clear reason to take a degree other then the MBA, the MBA is what you want.