How are MBA programs different from undergraduate programs?
A. While MBA programs differ one from another, I can draw some general comparisons between the typical MBA program and the typical undergraduate business program. W&L’s undergraduate program is atypical — more on that in a moment.Most undergraduate programs in business ask their students to “major” in a specific functional area of business (e.g., marketing, MIS, finance). The students in these programs take typical foundation courses in accounting, economics, statistics, marketing, management, finance, MIS, and B-law. They then take many additional courses (as many as eight additional courses is not unusual) in one of these specialty areas. Thus, they are trained as a specialist. The advantage of this is that the students are easily labeled and slotted for a certain type of entry level position. The disadvantage is that the students often lack a “big picture” perspective. Most MBA programs are the exact opposite. They are designed to give students a broad exposure to business and comm
A. While MBA programs differ one from another, I can draw some general comparisons between the typical MBA program and the typical undergraduate business program. W&L’s undergraduate program is atypical — more on that in a moment. Most undergraduate programs in business ask their students to “major” in a specific functional area of business (e.g., marketing, MIS, finance). The students in these programs take typical foundation courses in accounting, economics, statistics, marketing, management, finance, MIS, and B-law. They then take many additional courses (as many as eight additional courses is not unusual) in one of these specialty areas. Thus, they are trained as a specialist. The advantage of this is that the students are easily labeled and slotted for a certain type of entry level position. The disadvantage is that the students often lack a “big picture” perspective. Most MBA programs are the exact opposite. They are designed to give students a broad exposure to business and com
