Posted by shivax on 03/01/13 12:52am

• Posted by Thomas Graf on 03/05/13 5:04pm

  Hi there,

  thank you for your question. It is true that traditionally European MBA programs are rather 1 year programs and North-American MBA programs take 2 years to complete.

  In the meantime, the market on both sides of the Atlantic has become more flexible, however, and business schools diversify their program portfolio to meet the demands of potential future students as good as possible,

  The European business school ESADE, for instance, offers a fulltime MBA that can be studied in 12, 15, or 18 months. Everyone has the same 12 months but then you can extend your time of study by taking extra electives to specialize in an area of your interest, join an in-company project, or study at a partner university abroad.

  A similar approach has the London Business School MBA.

  Now looking at US schools, take for instance the Thunderbird MBA: You can study it as an Accelerated MBA (12 Months) or as a normal MBA - and even the normal MBA can be studied in 15 to 20 months. The requirement for the Accelerated MBA is that you have a first degree in business or superior work experience (it may be a question of negitiation at the end of the day).

  Similarly, the Johnson School at Cornell University offers an Accelerated MBA and a Two-Year MBA.

  So, what you decide for may depend on your pre-experience and your preferences. Finally, as for your question on career options my general advice is:

  • If you target a career in the US, go for an US MBA.
  • If you target a career in Europe, it doesn't matter where you make it provided that the reputation and quality is good.

  Best wishes
  Thomas

  By Thomas Graf
  Owner MBA Compass
  Author of the MBA&MIM eBook

  Reply