A degree may open the door to a variety of opportunities and diverse career paths. The degree programs offered at AIU will not necessarily lead to the featured careers. This collection of articles is intended to help inform and guide you through the process of determining which level of degree and types of certifications align with your desired career path.
When it comes to graduate programs that help students prepare to pursue career paths in business management, MBA programs are among the most widely considered option, often offering students the ability to specialize in a particular field or discipline. For MBA candidates interested in business leadership roles, this might lead to the decision to pursue a management MBA specialization. However, in more recent years, another type of graduate-level business program focusing on management has become relatively popular as well—the master’s in management1 (sometimes referred to as a MiM or MSM depending on the degree conferred).
While more options are generally a good thing, the fact that both types of programs provide coverage of the business and management skills needed to pursue management and leadership positions might prove confusing for anyone trying to decide on a master’s-level program. Assuming that the master’s in management degree vs. MBA question is more than a matter of semantics, what is the difference between MBA and master’s in management programs?
Before we can answer this question, it makes sense to begin by asking two more basic ones: What is an MBA in management degree program? And what is a MiM degree program?
What Is an MBA in Management Degree Program?
A management MBA degree specialization is designed to cover core business topics and principles—i.e., the fundamentals of general business operations, such as global financial management, business research, marketing, and strategic management—with an elective course focus on management skills. Individuals who decide to pursue an MBA in management may have different motivations for doing so. Some might hope to increase their chances of advancing within their current organization (if they are working), to pursue new leadership opportunities within the same field at a different organization, or to look for management roles in a completely different field.
What Is a Master’s in Management (MiM) Degree Program?
Much like MBA programs in general and the MBA management specialization in particular, a MiM program is generally comprised of business and management courses designed to help students prepare to pursue management opportunities. As a result, some course overlap between the two types of programs might be expected. However, at many schools, MiM programs are geared toward students without professional experience and therefore provide more basic and foundational coverage compared to the average MBA program—something to consider as you compare the pros and cons of MiM vs. MBA programs.
MiM vs. MBA: What Are the Similarities?
Both MiM and MBA in management degree programs may share some characteristics in common.
- As we have already discussed, both are graduate-level programs in general business that are designed to help students prepare to seek business and management roles.
- Although those wishing to pursue MiM and MBA management programs must possess a bachelor’s degree as an admissions prerequisite, neither MiM nor MBA programs typically require students to have a bachelor’s in business—this is in contrast to certain other types of master’s programs, which often may require a bachelor’s degree in the same or related discipline.
- And finally, for schools that require standardized test scores as part of the admissions process (AIU does not), either GRE or GMAT scores are generally acceptable.
MiM vs. MBA: What Is the Difference Between an MBA and a Master’s in Management?
There are typically several differences between MBA and master’s in management programs.
- An MBA is its own category of master’s degree—a Master of Business Administration—while a MiM is typically conferred as a Master of Science in Management.
- Another difference between the two programs is, in many cases, the students themselves. MBA candidates tend to have at least a few years of work experience going into their degree program, whereas MiM candidates tend to be fresh out of college with little to no work experience.2
- Depending upon the school, a MiM program may take less time to complete compared to an MBA program—some MiM programs can be completed in under two years versus two years or more for many part-time and full-time MBA programs.3 However, AIU’s MBA in management program, and all of its MBA specializations for that matter, can be completed in about a year’s time—an important factor for a number of busy adults.
What Can You Do with an MBA in Management?
So, in terms of career paths, what can you do with an MBA in management? The MBA degree’s perceived versatility and applicability to myriad career paths within the business world means that you may have different options depending upon your unique circumstances, including prior professional experience, where you live, and what industries interest you. Because the leadership fundamentals that are covered in an MBA management specialization can be applied to numerous fields, graduates of such programs may choose to pursue careers in general management, operations management, and more.
AIU’s MBA in Management Program
American InterContinental University’s MBA in management program
- is designed to strengthen and grow students’ leadership skills,
- can be completed in one year,
- has no minimum work experience requirements for admission,
- offers multiple attendance options (online, in-person, and hybrid formats are available), and
- is programmatically accredited by the Accreditation Council for Business Schools and Programs (ACBSP).
1 Graduate Management Admission Council, Demand for MBA and Business Master’s Programs: Insights on Candidate Decision Making, Summary Report: mba.com Prospective Students Survey 2019, https://www.gmac.com/-/media/files/gmac/research/admissions-and-application-trends/demand-for-mba-and-business-masters-programsinsights-on-candidate-decision-making-summary-reportmbac.pdf (last visited 10/8/2020).
2 Graduate Management Admission Council, Understanding the Role of the Master in Management in Global Business Education, https://www.gmac.com/-/media/files/gmac/research/curriculum-insight/2017_gmac_mim_whitepaper_8x12_final_web-002.pdf (last visited 1/10/2021).
3 mba.com, How Long Does It Take to Complete a Business Master’s Degree?, https://www.mba.com/explore-programs/program-types/how-long-does-it-take-to-get-business-masters (last visited 1/10/2021).
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