MBA versus PhD in Business

[crc03]

Hi everyone,

I am planning on taking a graduate degree in the Business field. I know that the PhD and MBA programs are quite different when it comes to career. But since I´m very interested in consultancy, I think that both programs would equip me well for that (not sure, though).

Full-scholarships and assistanships are very important for me in the moment and I´ve heard that it´s a lot easier to get full-scholarship, TA and fellowships in a PhD than in an MBA program. Is that true?

Does anyone know about MBA programs that offers full-sholarship and assistanship (that would cover living cost)?

Looking forward to get advices!

Thank you!

[UofIgirl2000]

MBA programs tend to be programs that you will pay for yourself, whereas a Ph.D. program is more likely to have an assistantship. Of course, you are looking at 5 years (or more) of school instead of 2, so you will be forfeitting 3 years of earnings but incurring less debt. If you are looking for an MBA that would have scholarships and assistantships, ace your GMATs, look for private schools away from major cities, and a huge undergraduate business program may supply graduate teaching assistantships.

As for consulting, know the exact specialty that you want to get into. Is it financial consulting? IT consulting? HR development? You may be better served in an MSIS program or Masters of Human Resources program depending on the type of consulting in which you are interested, and not being an MBA, there may be more funding available. You might want to talk to someone in the field who is doing the work you want to do, and ask them what programs they would recommend.

[crc03]

Firstly, thank you for the reply!

The idea of a debt really bothers me, so I would rather not take a loan to pay for an MBA. Are there any good private school away from the major cities that you would recommend?

I´m intersted in Strategy Consulting. There are also some dual MBA/MS programs... maybe it would be easier to get a scholarship/assistanship there?

Thanks again!

[UofIgirl2000]

What you need to look for are programs that have Masters students teach or assist with undergraduate students. Private schools tend to have more money for scholarships than public, but public schools tend to have greater numbers of undergraduates in need of education. Your best bet is to look at a broad range of schools, and then narrow your selections based on the availability of funding. Come up with a list of schools, and then start writing to admissions for each about the possibility of assistantships and scholarships. You may want to make sure that your GMAT scores are well above the median scores published by each school... you will be more likely to be a top candidate at those schools and first in line for funding.

[queller]

Another factor to consider is what your background is prior. Do you have a business background prior to applying to MBA programs as the market is flooded with MBAs. Meaning if your not in a top program getting into strategy consulting may be very difficult. ( As most MBA programs only have a couple of courses on strategy as an MBA provides a large breath of information in business with a limited concentration on depth. )

When looking at schools also consider who recruits at them as with a business degree college recruiting is a good sign of where the likely job prospects after graduation are. (Ignore this if applying to the top 5 or maybe 10 MBA programs in the country.)

With the PhD the reason it is easier to get scholarships in them for business is most business minded people go into business not academia. Meaning while there is still competition there is slightly less of it. Plus the industry really needs professors so that is why they will give money to PhD students, or so a professor hinted to me to try to get me to look into business over CS. (No idea how accurate that information is.)

[martin_99]

My views will be slightly different as I believe one-year MBA will be good rather than full PhD or two year normal MBA (if you talk only from a degree point of view to get good job)