Why the Two-year Program is Here to Stay

Paul Danos, Dean Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth.

As we all know the two-year MBA program is only one of a multitude of choices for those pursuing graduate work in business. It is particularly good for those with little formal business education as it gives an academic year of basics, an internship, and an academic year of electives. I have found that the students in these programs really appreciate taking electives where researchers present cutting-edge knowledge. It is satisfying for the students and for the faculty. As a matter of fact most of our students at Tuck lament not being able to take more electives.

One of the reasons why the MBA degree is so pervasive today and growing in so many parts of the world is that it gives relatively young people the ability to change careers and to substantially upgrade their prospects and trajectory. For some that can be done with a one-year program or a part-time program, but for others the two-year program is ideal. Those with undergraduate business degrees in some cases could get all they need in a shorter program, but those with technical, engineering or purely liberal arts backgrounds often require a longer experience. I have known many undergraduate business majors who want a two-year program because they missed out on the intense leadership and teamwork aspects of the best two-year MBA programs. One thing I am certain of is that there will be a mix of offerings as features of the business education landscape for a long-time to come.

Tags(clickable): Education, MBA, Business School