To receive the degree you need, you may already be thinking how long you’ll have to put in at school. You may be able to acquire a business degree from the comfort of your own home in as little as two years after graduating from high school, but you may not be getting the results you desire.
It is very uncommon for students to spend five or six years at a business school, frequently taking a few years off between their undergraduate and graduate degrees to work in the field.
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How Long Does It Take to Earn an Undergraduate Business Degree?
To land a well-paying career in business or finance, most students need at least four years of college education. If a business professional decides to return to school to further their education, there are several short-term choices, as well as regular-paced and accelerated graduate programs.
Associate Degrees in Business Administration
The majority of community schools offer an associate’s degree in general business or a specific subfield of business. Accredited by the Accreditation Commission for Business Education (ACBE), these programs can often be completed in as little as two years of full-time study. In order to graduate from an associate’s degree program in business, students must complete a wide range of business-related courses.
Introduction to Marketing, Introduction to International Business, Accounting I and II and Tax I and Law of Business and Career Planning and Management may be some of the college courses you study. You’ll also be required to attend general education classes as part of your degree requirements.
Before deciding to pursue an associate’s degree in business, students should consider themselves whether this path would help them reach their goals. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the majority of business jobs require a bachelor’s degree (BLS). An associate’s degree in business can lead to positions in customer service, retail sales, store management, and relationship banking, but these are the most common.
It is possible for someone with an associate’s degree in business to climb from an administrative assistant position to an executive assistant position that is still clerical. Most of these occupations don’t pay as well as those in the corporate world.
While an associate’s degree allows you to graduate from college more quickly, it does not offer the same career opportunities as a bachelor’s degree. The value of a two-year degree is still up for grabs. An associate’s degree can, however, be used to help you get to a bachelor’s degree later on if you chose to return to school.
Starting at a community college and then going to a four-year business school is an option for some students. Transfer credit regulations must be understood by students in order for their previously earned credits to be applied toward their new degree.
Bachelor degrees in Business Administration
For most jobs in business, you’ll need a bachelor’s degree, sometimes known as a four-year degree or a four-year college degree. According to the BLS, you may work as anything from a personal financial counselor to a wedding planner, a loan officer to a management analyst with a bachelor’s degree in business administration.
As part of an undergraduate business degree, students learn about all aspects of the industry. To further their education, many students opt to specialize in a particular area of business, such as marketing or finance; others pursue a comprehensive business curriculum that includes upper-level courses in a variety of business disciplines.
Additionally, there are undergraduate business management degrees available. In comparison to traditional business administration degrees, these courses concentrate more on management theory, but they are still extensive in scope. Students learn how to lead in many sectors of business.
How Many Years Does Business School Last?
Prior to going any further, it’s important to define the term “business school.” Business administration and related subjects of study are taught in colleges and universities. The term “business school” is often used in the business sector in the United States to refer to graduate-level studies in the field.
Asking whether you plan to attend business school may be a technique for your employer to find out if you plan to pursue a Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree or another master’s-level degree in business in the future.
As a result, when people ask “how long does business school take?,” they usually mean the time it takes to earn a master’s or doctoral degree in business administration.
The Timeline to an MBA
After completing your undergraduate degree and working for a few years, you may want to explore returning to school. The Master of Business Administration (MBA) is by far the most common graduate business degree available (MBA). According to the National Center for Education Statistics, more than 100,000 master’s degrees in general business administration were awarded in the 2017-2018 academic year.
It is common for business professionals of all types to get an MBA degree if they wish to rise through the ranks of their organizations. As a matter of fact, you may not be able to rise to the top of the economic world without this advanced degree. Management consultancy, financial services, investment banking, corporate finance, IT businesses, brand and product managers, and the healthcare industry were among the top industries for new MBA graduates in 2021. According to the Graduate Management Admission Council, median MBA beginning earnings in the consulting profession have risen to $135,000, and in finance and accounting, they’ve risen to $125,000.
Master of Business Administration (MBA) students are required to attend graduate-level courses in a wide range of business disciplines including accounting and finance; management and leadership; marketing; and business strategy. A capstone project, internship, or other concluding experience is sometimes used as a substitute for a conventional academic thesis paper in the last year of an MBA program.
MBA programs come in a variety of forms and may be completed in a variety of amounts of time.
Traditional Full-Time MBA
The MBA, like other master’s degrees, involves two years of study. Examining a school’s MBA curriculum will reveal that the credits and courses needed to earn an MBA vary greatly from one to the next. Fewer than 30 credits may be required by some business schools while up to 60 credits may be required by others. Traditional full-time MBA programs tend to be more successful if the curriculum is closer to 30 courses than 60 credits.
A full-time MBA program includes what? Since attending graduate school full-time is a full-time job, classes are generally held during regular business hours, starting as early as 8 a.m. and going until 6 p.m. Don’t let anybody fool you: an MBA requires the same amount of time commitment as a full-time job (plus some).
An MBA degree is worthless if you don’t make the most of the extracurricular possibilities it provides, such as meeting other students and faculty members, attending recruitment events, and participating in student organizations.
Accelerated MBAs
To fulfill the needs of working people who want to improve their careers faster, several universities now offer one-year MBA programs. An intensive one-year MBA program is required. A two-year curriculum often requires the same amount of work as a one-year degree, but in half the time. Summer and weekend sessions aren’t uncommon in an accelerated MBA program because it takes so little time to complete the whole curriculum.
Accelerated MBA programs can be completed entirely online or on-campus, depending on your preferences. An accelerated MBA may revolutionize your career in a short period of time, but it requires a tremendous lot of dedication and hard work on your part.
Part-Time MBAs
The accelerated MBA format is the antithesis of the part-time MBA. Instead of cramming as many classes as possible into as little time as possible in order to get your MBA as quickly as possible, a part-time program allows you to take your time.
Part-time MBA programs are a fantastic option if you don’t want to or can’t quit your work to study full time. Part-time MBA programs are a popular choice for working parents, whose commitments to their families preclude them from enrolling in a full-time MBA program.
There are more evening and weekend MBA classes for part-time students than for full-time students.
As a result of your reduced course load, you’re more than likely going to take two years to get your degree. The majority of part-time MBA students complete their degree in three years, but some students take even longer, spending as much as five or six years in business school classes.
Forget about winning any type of race and instead focus on learning the knowledge, skills and experiences that can help you advance your career in a positive direction.
Executive MBA Program
These programs incorporate elements of both full-time and part-time programs, but they are specifically designed for business leaders who have already worked for many years in their current positions. According to U.S. News & World Report, full-time MBA students in 2020 had an average of four years of job experience, while executive MBA students had an average of 13 and a half years of work experience.
Executive MBA programs, like standard full-time MBA programs, may usually be completed in roughly two years. Executive MBA students, like those enrolled in part-time MBA programs, are unable to take time off from their employment, therefore their class schedules tend to take advantage of nights and weekends.
Executive MBA students, unlike full-time MBA students, don’t have to perform an internship as part of their course of study because they already have extensive business experience. High-level and possibly global courses and immersive experiences are an option for them.
How Long Does It Take to Earn a Master of Business Administration (Non-MBA)?
You don’t have to have an MBA to pursue a career in business at the graduate level. Master’s degrees in many different fields of business, such as finance, accounting, human resources, marketing, and more, are now available at business institutions. In contrast to an MBA program, a Master of Science degree in business tends to have a more specific course of study.
A full-time MBA takes two years to complete, whereas most business-related Master of Science degrees may be completed in as little as 12 to 16 months, according to U.S. News & World Report. Students can start their master’s programs earlier because of the lower demands for full-time job experience in these programs, which allows them to complete their degree earlier in life and profit from it for a longer period of time.
It’s possible to hasten your business master’s degree completion by selecting accelerated program formats and degree programs with less credits required. Master’s degree programs in business are graduate-level programs, and the coursework will be difficult. Keeping this in mind is important. In that case, you’re not alone in needing a more reasonable pace to get through business school.
