The Shorter, Faster, Cheaper MBA

Accelerated MBA programs of a year or less are gaining in popularity, but critics say they're not right for everyone and may leave some students shortchanged

By Alison Damast

Logan Snyder decided halfway through law school that he wanted to get his MBA degree. But after four years as an undergraduate business major, three years as a law student, and several years of work experience in between, spending two more years in business school was not an appealing prospect. Says Snyder: "It seemed like it would be a waste of time and money."

Fortunately for Snyder, his business background and work experience allowed him to bypass the traditional MBA route in favor of a one-year accelerated MBA program at Notre Dame's Mendoza College of Business(Mendoza Full-Time MBA Profile). After spending 10 weeks this summer brushing up on basic MBA core classes like accounting and finance, he jumped right into the second year of the two-year MBA program this fall and will graduate this spring. "It's been quite a whirlwind," he says. "I can't believe it when I look back four months ago and realize that I'm pretty much halfway through the program."

This type of business school journey is becoming more and more common for a growing number of students, who are tossing aside convention and opting for a shorter and more intensive business school experience at roughly half the price of a traditional two-year program. The condensed time frame of a one-year MBA program, coupled with a more attractive price tag, is proving to be irresistible for many students in this economy, say admissions officers and MBA program directors. A number of U.S. business schools that offer the accelerated programs say that applications were up significantly last year, with enrollment at record levels at some schools. And worldwide, nearly 70% of one-year MBA programs reported an increase in applications this year, according to the latest application trend survey from the Graduate Management Admission Council. To meet growing student demand for these programs, more and more schools are expanding their MBA offerings to include one-year programs, with some adding programs just in the last few months.

A Growing Trend

The trend mirrors a shift that has taken place in the MBA market over the past year, says Nunzio Quacquarelli, managing director of the QS World MBA Tour, which polled nearly 4,000 prospective MBA students in 35 countries last fall and again in the spring of 2009 for its annual applicant survey. One finding that stood out? Of this year's pool of MBA candidates, more students (44%) stated a preference for a one-year program over a two-year program (43%), a first in the applicant survey's 11-year history. In the U.S. the two-year model is still the preferred choice, but even that is beginning to change, he says. "Five year ago, the two-year MBA was significantly more popular than the one-year MBA model, but now they are neck to neck," Quacquarelli says.

Schools in the U.S. are already responding to the demand from students for alternatives. One school starting a new program is Rutgers Business School (Rutgers Full-Time MBA Profile), which is launching a one-year MBA program in the summer of 2010. The school has offered a two-year MBA program on its Newark (N.J.) campus for years, but never offered a one-year program, says Susan Gilbert, Rutgers' associate dean of MBA programs, who was asked by the school to explore options for a new MBA program on the school's New Brunswick campus.

While researching, she reviewed applicant data from the past few years and unearthed a surprising discovery; about 40% of the applicants to the school's two-year MBA program already held undergraduate business degrees and were likely up to speed on the concepts typically covered in first-year core MBA courses. Adding a one-year MBA program to the school's degree offerings seemed to make sense, Gilbert says, with the idea that the program would cater to these more experienced applicants. "There's a growing niche segment of students who aren't making as big of a career switch." Gilbert says. "They want their MBAs in a hurry in order to advance their career in the field and function that they are already in."

Uptick in Enrollments

Schools that already offer one-year MBA programs say they are starting to reap the rewards of catering to this new market of students. At Utah State University's Jon M. Huntsman School of Business, which has offered a one-year MBA for more than a decade, enrollment is at 56 students this fall, up from 43 last year. In fact, this year's class was so big that the first-year cohort couldn't fit into the classroom where lectures are typically held and had to move into the school's larger 80-person capacity classroom, says Ken Snyder, Huntsman's director of MBA programs.

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