What is an MBA Degree?

what is an mba concept

According to data from the National Center for Education Statistics, the Master of Business Administration has been the most popular degree in the US since at least 2011. In 2022, more than 205,000 graduate degrees in business were conferred to students at American universities, over 50,000 more than the next closest field.

And maybe because of such veneration, the MBA has entered into the realm of myth. The elements around the degree have taken on epic proportions in online discussions where people hash out the minutia of it in hyperbolic terms – impossible admissions requirements… extreme salary potential… exorbitant costs… elite business contacts and networking potential.

At the same time, you’ll find plenty of people arguing that an MBA degree is overkill, that you don’t need it, that it will never pay for itself.

Against the backdrop of these debates, you might find yourself wondering whether an MBA still means what it used to, and that’s probably what brought you here.

It’s worth taking some time to really dive into what an MBA degree means today, in California and beyond… and what it really means to your bank account and career prospects.

The MBA Wasn’t Originally Built to Carry the Load It Has Taken on in Modern Business

The early promise of the MBA, developed in the early 20th Century, was to teach the scientific principles of management. Like other great breakthroughs of the era, it was thought that teaching the foundations and principles of business could make commerce a matter of inevitable success, just like E would always equal MC².

The MBA is an American invention, although not a Californian one. But it embodies the classic California ethos of innovation and enterprise.

The first two MBAs awarded in California were granted in 1927 by the Stanford Graduate School of Business.

Yet the promise of the MBA shifted quickly from learning the art and science of management to putting a shine on individual career prospects. Many students today see the value of earning an MBA as coming from the luster a big-name school puts on their resume. For them, it’s about making the right contacts and leveraging the right reputation.

It’s a big shift from the origins of the degree.

What Does MBA Stand for in the Business World Today?

Is there really anyone today who doesn’t know what the letters MBA stand for? The Master of Business Administration is not only the most popular type of graduate degree program in the US, MBAs offered through American universities are a huge draw for international students from around the world.

In the world of business, M-B-A are hallowed letters that stand for a lot more than just the words they abbreviate.

Originally, the MBA wasn’t even very popular. More focused degrees, delivering greater expertise in specific fields of study, were considered superior.

It’s taken time to deliver on the promise of there being value in more general expertise in management itself. Today, an MBA is really all about educating managers in the high art and hard science of business leadership, and in how to tie all the knowledge and tools together. An MBA education synthesizes the best practices in:

It puts those together with critical thinking and problem-solving skills that prepare graduates to crack any tough business decision that comes at them.

But it’s also had to carry a load of excessive expectations. Many students imagine six figure salaries, private jets, and senior leadership jobs that are theirs for the taking.

That’s absolutely a possibility. But the reality is more about executing efficiently in the trenches of tough, but meaningful business guidance and operation.

The Value of an MBA Degree is More Than Just Reputational

mba looking out upper floor office window

The mythology often holds that anything other than an on-campus, full-time degree is a risky investment.

But this is a myth struck from the idea that it’s only the networking and social elements of an MBA that hold value.

The reality is that the variety in formats available in California MBA degrees delivers a customized and even idealized experience for more kinds of students with more varied career ambitions than ever.

In fact, online MBAs from California business schools open up all kinds of new ways to succeed in business, even for students far from California.

It’s true that not every kind of MBA degree will meet the needs of every student. But there is more likely to be a particular MBA format that will meet your needs no matter where you look in the Golden State.

One of the greatest mythologies around what an MBA stands for in today’s business world is around the Magnificent 7: the top-ranked business schools offering MBAs in the country.

Those are followed by the Top 15, Top 20, Top 25, and Top 100 usually just abbreviated as the T15 and so on… you get the picture.

If there is one thing that most people know about MBA programs, it’s that they are largely ranked and judged by reputation.

California is blessed with 6 of the T100, and one of the most magnificent of the M7: Stanford Graduate School of Business.

The myth is that these top-ranked schools are the only ones worth considering for your graduate business education. That they are hyper-competitive, extremely expensive, but absolutely necessary for landing top-tier jobs in high-paying industries like consulting, finance, or technology.

But that would give you only 6 options among the nearly 90 universities that offer MBAs in California. And at their best, they produce only a few hundred graduates each year. Those elite few certainly do end up on terrific career paths… but so do thousands of others who graduate from California’s other business schools.

The name of certain California business schools on your resume will definitely get it a second look—but it doesn’t guarantee you a job.

Myth can become reality if enough people believe it, however. So the reality today is that there are indeed important differences among business schools in California. There can even be key distinctions between different MBA tracks in the same school.

Those differences aren’t always what they seem, though. An MBA from a specialty university like Chapman, which may never crack the Top 50, but has a respected and connected Entertainment and Media Management concentration, may do more for your career in Hollywood than graduating at the top of the class at Stanford.

What you do with your MBA is what ultimately gives it meaning.

Like other types of graduate degrees, MBA programs have evolved with both the technology available and the demands of the market.

Even the different formats and types of MBA degrees take on a meaning of their own in the business world.

This throws another wrinkle into the question of what’s an MBA degree all about. The experience of students earning an MBA in these various tracks won’t be the same. A senior manager in an Executive MBA program at Golden Gate University will come away with a different perspective and different career prospects than a graduate of the hybrid degree at the school.

Similarly, someone participating in USC Marshall’s One-Year IBEAR (International Business Education and Research) MBA will come out with different skills, contacts, and prospects than graduates from a full-time MBA comprised primarily of US-based students from surrounding areas.

Yet in the long scope of your business career, your MBA will occupy the blink of an eye. The foundations are important. But what you build on them will draw on experience and expertise that still lie in your future. At the end of the day, your MBA will stand for what you do with it.

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