One-year MBA programs may be currently in vogue in America. This has long been the case in Europe. However, two-year MBA programs in America continue to suffer their worst application downturn in years. The reason for this is that international and domestic students are giving alternative programs a hard look. Some popular alternatives include online MBAs, part-time and weekend MBAs, and specialized MBA programs. Many people are researching one-year MBA programs zealously as well.

You can spend much less money and have your MBA degree in half of the time (sometimes even less) than a traditional two-year MBA program. This appeals to a lot of people. Most Elite business schools are catching on and are offering these programs. What students are finding is that these programs have the same quality and caliber of student body and instruction that their two-year counterparts do.

You also have the potential to earn more. It’s this higher Return on Investment (ROI) that’s making many people give one-year MBA programs another look. Business schools offer these programs because they know that more and more students want to learn complex business principles as quickly as possible and then return to full-time work as quickly as possible.

Most MBA programs last for 12 months. A small percentage span from 10-11 months. There is one University, the University of Miami that offers a super accelerated one-year MBA program which is for only 7 months! If you decide to attend a more expensive one-year MBA program such as Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management or Cornell University’s Johnson Graduate School of Management, you’ll be paying at most 80% of the tuition that these schools’ two-year MBA programs would charge.

For example, the tuition at Kellogg’s one-year MBA program would set you back $140,366. The tuition at the two-year MBA program (Kellogg) may be ranked and esteemed, but it is a whopping $211,000. At Cornell, you’d pay $141,000 to attend either the two-year MBA program at the Ithaca New York Campus or the Tech MBA program in New York City. Both programs have tuition at an amazing US $190,000.

What is the difference between the traditional two-year MBA and the one-year MBA?

MBA Internship opportunity

You can’t generally do a summer internship with the one-year MBA program. The main exception is with Cornell University’s accelerated MBA program which offers its students a two-week internship. The summer internship opportunity exists with most two-year MBA programs.

The problem is that many MBA students intern in companies during the summer. They are then hired by these companies upon graduation. They would have to line up their own career opportunities with most one-year MBA programs.

Career change

You should not do a one-year MBA program if you want to switch careers and move into a completely different field. Though it is possible for many to do. The main reason why a one-year MBA program is not advisable is because you won’t have much time to gain the in-depth knowledge that would be necessary for a career change. The same applies to honing your skills in a new field.

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