MBA Specializations

An MBA program offers you a detailed insight into the nuances of business fundamentals. However, if you want to understand the multiple facets of business that govern crucial decision-making and at the same time delve deep into the nitty-gritty of a particular sector or industry function, you can opt to specialize in the particular discipline from the MBA curriculum. MBA specializations, thus, allow you to command stronghold of your desired functional area, giving you a more targeted managerial experience within the scope of 360-learning in business. For instance, if your area of interest is in Finance, you can opt for an MBA with a specialization in Finance or a combination of Finance and Accounting. Similarly, if you are aiming for an Operations Management role, you can select an MBA specialization in Operations or Supply Chain Management.

Listed below are the most prominent MBA specializations:

• Accounting
• Entrepreneurship
• Finance
• HR and Organizational Behavior
• Consulting
• Information Systems
• Marketing
• Non-Profit
• Operations
• Strategy
• Supply Chain Management
• Healthcare Management
• Luxury Management
• Real Estate Management

MBA programs typically dedicate the first year of the curriculum to helping you build a strong base in business basics. In the second year, you can choose to specialize in one or a combination of concentrations from an array of specialization options offered by the program; your area of interest, academic background, professional experience, industry trends, opportunities, and sync with career goals primarily influences selecting an MBA specialization.  Moreover, if you are applying for an MBA to make a shift in the industry or your role, the MBA specializations ensure that you are thoroughly acquainted with the rudiments of your aspired for industry/function.

With the world rapidly adapting to the technological advancements in all aspects of the industry, B-schools are updating their MBA curriculum to ensure that the leaders of tomorrow are perfectly trained in leveraging technology to arrive at smart business solutions. Consequently, a large spectrum of US-based MBA programs have acquired the STEM designation while several others have retained the traditional MBA curriculum, only updating its concentrations with STEM designations. STEM is the acronym for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics and, hence, a STEM-designated program is one that offers the astute managerial and leadership training while honing your technical skill-set. Thus, the Dartmouth Charlton College of Business offers STEM-designated MBA concentration in Business Analytics. The Fuqua School of Business, too, provides a STEM-designated specialization in Management Science and Technology Management, for aspirants to the consulting, healthcare, technology, manufacturing, finance, and entrepreneurship realms. Likewise, the USC Marshall MBA’s specialization option in Management Science and the Vanderbilt MBA program’s concentration in Finance are STEM-designated. Similarly, UConn, Purdue, Ivy College, Simon-Rochester, Kelley, and Wisconsin-Madison offer several STEM-designated specializations that include functions such as Financial Analysis and Investments, Digital Marketing Strategy, and Business Analytics, Supply Chain Management, Operations, Asset Management, Strategy, and Information System.

Together with core courses, experiential learning, and global opportunities, MBA specializations help ascertain that you obtain a solid rooting in business essentials. As judicious selection of a specialization module, during your MBA, can significantly impact your career opportunities, ascertaining the perfect alignment of your career aspiration, learning requirement, and concentrations offered by a program play a major role, besides other factors such as scholarship opportunities, location, program duration, in selecting schools. Conduct thorough research or apply with Experts’ Global’s MBA Admission team if you need guidance in choosing your MBA specialization.