Should You Specialize Your MBA Degree?
Unlike a master’s degree in finance or accounting or another specialty, an MBA is, by definition, a generalist program. It exposes students to many disciplines—complex subjects like finance and soft ones like organizational behavior. If you’re contemplating business school, consider whether you’d prefer a general management approach or one offering majors or concentrations. The choice to be a b-school generalist or specialize your MBA degree will depend heavily on your career’s end goals.
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Advantages of a Generalist MBA Degree
Business schools want to admit students who will not only get hired after graduation but eventually run the firm. Most applicants see business school as a way to grow as a leader and advance their careers. The degree imparts a strong foundation of general business knowledge. During those two years, students gain a 360-degree understanding of how various departments operate.
MBA students typically come to b-school with a clear career goal after graduation. Nonetheless, business school is an excellent time to explore a variety of subjects that may ultimately redirect your path.
Today’s professionals want long-term flexibility in the global marketplace. To that end, career-switchers need courses that prepare them for the management responsibilities they will encounter in whichever sector they end up.
A potential drawback to a general MBA is that you may not acquire the depth of knowledge required for a particular position. However, the range of career opportunities from earning an MBA at a top program is invaluable.
Advantages if You Specialize Your MBA Degree
MBA specialization is a good move for individuals who know precisely what they want to do with their careers. Likewise, it’s excellent for those who want to build a more substantial skill base in that area. You get to customize your studies to fit your own goals and objectives.
Suppose you already know you’re interested in STEM, digital marketing, real estate, business analytics, social innovation, health care, etc. In that case, earning an MBA with a concentration can make you even more marketable. Recruiters like to see a strong focus on a particular field or functional area.
“There is a growing desire to have an MBA from a world-class institution while also having knowledge in x, y and z,” Brad Killaly, associate dean of the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business, told US News & World Report.
“This is a form of validation that formalizes their expertise in an area,” Killaly said, noting that nearly half of Michigan Ross MBA students choose a concentration.
We’re in a highly competitive job market. Having that specialization on your resume, plus a supporting internship or extracurricular activities, will help you stand out from the crowd. Students who specialize can also grow their niche network during the MBA program.
You’ll develop relationships with other specialists in the field, which can be beneficial when finding internships and jobs. That way, they’re ready to hit the ground running on day one.
Drawbacks of a Specialized MBA Degree
While focusing on a specific business subject is fine, it can be limiting. Specializing in one area can cause you to miss out on other important concepts, such as how the different departments of a business work together. One could argue that you should earn a degree in that specialty instead.
Depending on the career path you have chosen after graduation, by specializing, you could inadvertently pigeonhole yourself and narrow your job prospects, especially if you’re a career-changer.
The classroom experience may differ notably for specialists. A traditional MBA experience includes classes full of people with diverse and enriching perspectives. Participants in the same specialization will likely have similar backgrounds and professional experiences from which to call on.
Ultimately, when you’re running a company, chances are you won’t be pulling together the financial models or balancing the books. Understanding those aspects is undoubtedly essential. But you don’t need to be a master—ideally, you will hire others to do the deep dive.
Whether you pursue a general program or specialize in your MBA degree, pay close attention to all your classes—even the areas you plan to outsource when you have the budget.
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Stacy Blackman Consulting offers multiple services to meet your MBA application needs, from our All-In Partnership and Interview Prep to hourly help with essay editing, resume review, and much more! Contact us today for a free 15-minute advising session to talk strategy with a Principal SBC consultant.
Here’s a snapshot of the caliber of expertise on our SBC team.
Ashley
Ashley is a former MBA Admissions Board Member for Harvard Business School (HBS), where she interviewed and evaluated thousands of business school applicants for over a six year tenure. Ashley holds an MBA from HBS. During her HBS years, Ashley was the Sports Editor for the Harbus and a member of the B-School Blades Ice Hockey Team. After HBS, she worked in Marketing at the Gillette Company on Male and Female shaving ...
×Kerry
Kerry is a former member of the Admissions Board at Harvard Business School (HBS). During her 5+ year tenure at HBS, she read and evaluated hundreds of applications and interviewed MBA candidates from a wide range of backgrounds across the globe. She also led marketing and outreach efforts focused on increasing diversity and inclusion, ran the Summer Venture in Management Program (SVMP), and launched the 2+2 Program during her time in Admissions. Kerry holds a B.A. from Bates College and ...
×Pauline
A former associate director of admissions at Harvard Business School, Pauline served on the HBS MBA Admissions Board full-time for four years. She evaluated and interviewed HBS applicants, both on-campus and globally. Pauline's career has included sales and marketing management roles with Coca-Cola, Gillette, Procter & Gamble, and IBM. For over 10 years, Pauline has expertly guided MBA applicants, and her clients h ...
×Geri
Geri is a former member of the Admissions Board at Harvard Business School (HBS). In her 7 year tenure in HBS Admissions, she read and evaluated hundreds of applications and interviewed MBA candidates from a diverse set of academic, geographic, and employment backgrounds. Geri also traveled globally representing the school at outreach events in order to raise awareness for women and international students. In additio ...
×Laura
Laura comes from the MBA Admissions Board at Harvard Business School (HBS) and is an HBS MBA alumnus. In her HBS Admissions role, she evaluated and interviewed hundreds of business school candidates, including internationals, women, military and other applicant pools, for five years. Prior to her time as a student at HBS, Laura began her career in advertising and marketing in Chicago at Leo Burnett where she worked on th ...
×Andrea
Andrea served as the Associate Director of MBA Admissions at Harvard Business School (HBS) for over five years. In this role, she provided strategic direction for student yield-management activities and also served as a full member of the admissions committee. In 2007, Andrea launched the new 2+2 Program at Harvard Business School – a program targeted at college junior applicants to Harvard Business School. Andrea has also served as a Career Coach for Harvard Business School for both cu ...
×Jennifer
Jennifer served as Admissions Officer at the Stanford (GSB) for five years. She holds an MBA from Stanford (GSB) and a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Jennifer has over 15 years experience in guiding applicants through the increasingly competitive admissions process into top MBA programs. Having read thousands and thousands of essays and applications while at Stanford (GSB) Admiss ...
×Erin K.
Erin served in key roles in MBA Admissions--as Director at Haas School of Business at UC Berkeley and Assistant Director at Stanford's Graduate School of Business (GSB). Erin served on the admissions committee at each school and has read thousands of applications in her career. At Haas, she served for seven years in roles that encompassed evaluation, outreach, and diversity and inclusion. During her tenure in Admissions at GSB, she was responsible for candidate evaluation, applicant outreach, ...
×Susie
Susie comes from the Admissions Office of the Stanford Graduate School of Business where she reviewed and evaluated hundreds of prospective students’ applications. She holds an MBA from Stanford’s GSB and a BA from Stanford in Economics. Prior to advising MBA applicants, Susie held a variety of roles over a 15-year period in capital markets, finance, and real estate, including as partner in one of the nation’s most innovative finance and real estate investment organizations. In that r ...
×Dione
Dione holds an MBA degree from Stanford Business School (GSB) and a BA degree from Stanford University, where she double majored in Economics and Communication with concentrations in journalism and sociology. Dione has served as an Admissions reader and member of the Minority Admissions Advisory Committee at Stanford. Dione is an accomplished and respected advocate and thought leader on education and diversity. She is ...
×Anthony
Anthony served as the Associate Director of MBA Admissions at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, where he dedicated over 10 years of expertise. During his time as a Wharton Admissions Officer, he read and reviewed thousands of applications and helped bring in a class of 800+ students a year. Anthony has traveled both domestically and internationally to recruit a ...
×Meghan
Meghan served as the Associate Director of Admissions and Marketing at the Wharton MBA’s Lauder Institute, a joint degree program combining the Wharton MBA with an MA in International Studies. In her role on the Wharton MBA admissions committee, Meghan advised domestic and international applicants; conducted interviews and information sessions domestically and overseas in Asia, Central and South America, and Europe; and evaluated applicants for admission to the program. Meghan also managed ...
×Amy
Amy comes from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania where she was Associate Director. Amy devoted 12 years at the Wharton School, working closely with MBA students and supporting the admissions team. During her tenure at Wharton, Amy served as a trusted adviser to prospective applicants as well as admitted and matriculated students. She conducted admissions chats with applicants early in the admissions ...
×Ally
Ally brings six years of admissions experience to the SBC team, most recently as an Assistant Director of Admission for the full-time MBA program at Columbia Business School (CBS). During her time at Columbia, Ally was responsible for reviewing applications, planning recruitment events, and interviewing candidates for both the full-time MBA program and the Executive MBA program. She traveled both internationally and dome ...
×Erin B.
Erin has over seven years of experience working across major institutions, including University of Pennsylvania, Columbia Business School, and NYU's Stern School of Business. At Columbia Business School, Erin was an Assistant Director of Admissions where she evaluated applications for both the full time and executive MBA programs, sat on the admissions and merit scholarship committees and advised applicants on which program might be the best fit for them based on their work experience and pro ...
×Emma
Emma comes from the MBA Admissions Office at Columbia Business School (CBS), where she was Associate Director. Emma conducted dozens of interviews each cycle for the MBA and EMBA programs, as well as coordinating the alumni ambassador interview program. She read and evaluated hundreds of applications each cycle, delivered information sessions to audiences across the globe, and advised countless waitlisted applicants. ×
