The Master of Business Administration (MBA) is a popular postgraduate qualification for professionals ready to progress or change their careers. It gives you a broad understanding of scientific management principles, building on your business experience to tackle real-life scenarios and walk away with developed marketing, financial, accounting and leadership skills.
Within the MBA offering, there is a range of MBA formats and specialisations catered to specific demographics, which let you dive into the details of your chosen field. We’ve broken down the types of MBA available, who they’re suited for and what you can gain from each specialisation.
Types of MBA
There are four primary formats of MBA available: full-time, part-time, online and executive. Each format delivers the general foundations of an MBA, with differences tailored to where you are on your business journey.
- Full-time MBA is the classic structure of MBAs, first introduced in North America in the 1800s. It’s full-time, in-person and usually based on campus. Prospective students are usually at least 3 years into their business careers and are looking to upgrade their resumes and increase their operational knowledge base through hands-on learning. Length of the degree can vary depending on the institute but the typical delivery is one year.
- Part-time MBA lets students study alongside their normal day-to-day work, giving you flexibility and financial support throughout your studies. Lots of part-time MBAs take place in the evenings to recognise your daytime career and can combine digital and in-person too. Again, prospective students are usually 2-3 years into their business careers, looking for the next step up, but perhaps unable to take a full year off work to pursue the qualification.
- Online MBA does what it says on the tin and lets you complete the MBA qualification online, remotely. This lets students fit the qualification around their work entirely, studying when it suits you. The online MBA is almost 100% remote although some courses require a residential component for face-to-face teaching and enhanced group learning. As it is usually part-time, the online MBA generally takes 2 years to complete.
- Executive MBA is an enhanced, part-time MBA program aimed at experienced managers and businesspersons at the executive level. They’re looking for people with over 10 years of experience in the field and offering a deeper understanding of the work. Executive MBAs are often funded by the company to support staff development and undertaken alongside full-time work.
When it comes to choosing between the four formats of MBA, think about what works best with your lifestyle and financial situation. If you’re not an Executive, then you’re choosing between full-time, part-time or online. The latter two formats provide flexibility and lighten the financial load of studying while the former might give you the fast track you need to the next step in your career.
Popular MBA specialisations
The classic MBA (delivered full-time, part-time or online) builds on what you’ve already learnt as a business professional through applying theory to collaborative, real-world exercises. You cover topics under three main headings of analytics, functions and ethics, with options to take electives to broaden the scope of study.
For some professionals, a specialised MBA will be suited if you’re looking to accelerate in a specific career or wanting to pivot and gain an understanding of your new field.
Popular specialisations offer the same groundwork of a normal MBA with tailored electives in your area of choice. We’ve outlined some of the popular specialisations and what careers they can lead to. Specialisations are for those with experience in the field already who know how they want to shape their career and are committed to a particular path.
Specialisation | Top Ranking Course (Studyportals Meta Ranking Data) | What’s covered | Who’s it for | Career opportunities |
Accounting | University of Chicago’s weekend MBA ranks top 0.01% worldwide |
| Those wanting to follow accounting and prepare for their certified public accountants’ exam. |
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Business Ethics | De Montfort University’s Global MBA with Responsible Leadership is top 5% worldwide |
| Fit for socially conscious individuals looking to strengthen companies’ social responsibility and sustainability standards. |
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Business Strategy |
| If you’re focused on senior leadership roles with oversight of strategy development and implementation. |
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Cybersecurity |
| Perhaps with a background in IT and not necessarily wanting a C-suite role but focused on digital transformation and responsibility. |
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Economics | The Maastricht School of Management’s Digital Economy specialisation is recommended by GMAC |
| Those looking to build on their experience or pivot to an economics focused career. |
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Finance |
| Maybe those wanting to start their own company in the fintech area or aimed at c-suite executive level. |
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Leadership | Australia’s Curtin University is ranked in the top 1% worldwide |
| With a varied portfolio aiming at a senior management position or wanting to lead transformation at companies. |
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Marketing | Hult International Business School offer a global MBA with marketing specialisation |
| Moving from another stream to focus on marketing, ready for c-suite responsibility. |
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Where to study your MBA
MBAs are offered globally by the majority of further education institutes. Where you study should be decided by what you can afford, how you want to study and what benefits different institutes offer. Take a look at Studyportals full MBA list to compare top MBA programs worldwide.
Like the Russell Group and Ivy League, business schools also have their own elite institutes known as the M7. All based in North America, these 7 universities have competitive entry requirements and offer the highest ranked MBAs in the world:
- Chicago Booth, University of Chicago
- Columbia Business School, Columbia University
- Harvard Business School, Harvard University
- Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University
- MIT Sloan School of Management, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
- Stanford Graduate School of Business, Stanford University
- Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania
America isn’t the only place to study for a MBA though. According to the Financial Times’ 2025 Business School Rankings, 6 of the top 10 institutes are based in Europe:
- IESE Business School, Spain — ranked 3rd
- Insead, France — joint 4th
- SDA Bocconi School of Management, Italy — joint 4th
- London Business School, UK — ranked 7th
- Esade Business School, Spain — ranked 8th
- HEC Paris, France — ranked 9th
Outside of Europe and the US, the Asian market has a strong offering of MBAs too, provided by:
- 12th — CEIBS, China
- 15th — Shanghai University of Finance and Economics, China
- 22nd — Nanyang Business School (NTU Singapore), Singapore
- 25th — Peking University, China
- 27th — Indian School of Business, India
- 30th — Fudan School of Management, China
Many of the above universities offer remote learning and dual degrees, jointly delivered by two or more institutes.
When choosing a suitable MBA, keep an eye out for accreditation. With rigorous checking to ensure MBAs meet global standards, there are three main accreditations available: AMBA, AACSB and EQUIS. If an institute has all three it’s known as the ‘triple crown.’
Accreditation is based on course design, teaching delivery, career development and student satisfaction. It allows students and employers to feel confident that their qualification meets international standards reflective of necessary business practice.
MBA Specialisation: when it does and doesn’t matter
An MBA specialisation is a personal choice as it impacts the course you study and how motivated you might be for it. Specialising doesn’t automatically mean you’ll enjoy it more, but it does give you a tailored study experience in something that you care about.
If you already know what area of your career you want to develop in, then a specialisation can help you stand out immediately from other applicants and help you make an impact as soon as you start in that field.
If you’re still unsure but know you want to improve your business knowledge and capability, then you might not need to specialise. Consider building your foundation first before adding to it.
With or without a specialisation, an MBA is an excellent choice to boost your salary, network and career!
