Health Care to Sports, Data Analytics to Engineering, MBA Gets Diversified

In the not too distant past, MBA aspirants were mostly from the Finance sector, seeking to boost their career as investment bankers or management consultants. Over the years, a sizable percentage of engineering professionals, especially from Information Technology (IT) related fields.

This scenario has changed to one of greater diversity. The classes are now full of doctors, lawyers, entrepreneurs, musicians, movie directors and sportspersons. Manchester City captain Vincent Kompany has just graduated with an MBA from Alliance Manchester Business School.

The diversification can also be seen in the Class of 2019 at Harvard Business School (HBS) with a batch strength of 928. It has 45% (415) Economics/Business education background, 36% STEM and 19% Humanities/Social Sciences. In work background, the largest groups are from technology, communications, government, education, and non-profit.

In technology, what could be better than Data Analytics, initiatives that help businesses increase revenues, improve operational efficiency, optimize marketing campaigns and customer service efforts?

Healthcare is another area in need of professionals with business education. The MBA program at the UCLA Anderson School of Management gives the option to specialize in healthcare and another specific concentration through elective courses in the second year of the program.

NUS Business School at the National University of Singapore had partnered with IBM in 2013 to launch a Business Analytics Center and launched a Master of Science in Business Analytics. For the MBA program, it has classes like “Analytics for Managers.”

Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University has a data analytics pathway as part of its MBA program as well as a range of analytics-themes executive programs. HEC Paris is among the European schools to have added analytics curriculum to its MBA program.

In the US, Temple University’s Fox School of Business and Management, Tepper School of Business at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) and Emory University’s Goizueta Business School are among those offering data analytics courses.

An MBA in sports management while emphasizing the business fundamentals such as finance, organization, innovation and marketing will be less focused on theory and ideas but would concentrate on the actual implementation.

The sports MBA program at San Diego State University (SDSU), besides covering all the usual core courses of a regular MBA has tailored its content to focus on the contemporary sports business. It also allows students to complete a consulting project with a sports organization. The University of Liverpool’s Football Industries MBA focuses on one sport in particular and deals with the finances of running and sustaining a football (soccer) club, the laws of the game, and becoming a football executive.

Healthcare is another area in need of professionals with business education. The MBA program at the UCLA Anderson School of Management gives the option to specialize in healthcare and another specific concentration through elective courses in the second year of the program.

The Columbia Business School has an MBA in Health and Pharmaceutical Management, a flexible program that has economics, finance, management, marketing, operations, and strategy in the curriculum.

The MBA in Healthcare program at the Darden School of Business, University of Virginia, includes knowledge about biotech, health service, medical device and pharmaceutical sectors. Healthcare-related banking, consulting, entrepreneurship, and venture capital activities are also part of the program.

The Foster School of Business and the School of Public Health of the University of Washington, Seattle, has a 2-year full-time concurrent MBA and Master of Health Administration program.

For those business managers wanting to specialise in law, Harvard, Kellogg and NYU Stern are among those offering joint MBA degrees. With business leaders facing growing regulatory environments in everything from employment, taxes and finances and corporate lawyers having to fully comprehend their clients’ businesses dual-degree programs, such as the JD/MBA becomes increasingly relevant.

While MBA programs had been a favourite choice for career advancement for engineers, fast-paced technological advancements are boosting the demand for professionals who understand both sectors.

In such a situation, several schools including the Stanford Graduate School of Business are launching joint courses in engineering. The Isenberg School of Management and the College of Engineering now offer four MBA/MS dual graduate degrees. These are MBA/Civil Engineering, MBA/Environmental & Water Resources Engineering, MBA/Industrial Engineering, and MBA/Mechanical Engineering. In each of the four programs, the student will receive both the MBA and MS degrees in approximately three years.