Dual degree in B-school PhD and MBA?

<p>There seemed to have been arguments going on that B-School PhDs can't get good jobs in industry. And I just discovered that some B-school PhD graduates have a MBA in their resume from the same school. And it looks like they got it on their way to PhD. </p>

<p>So, is this rare case, and is it gonna help him/her get a job even though he/her has a PhD?</p>

<p>Any input is appreciated. Thanks!</p>

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<p>The PhD in business is clearly less useful in terms of garnering industry jobs than is an MBA from the same/comparable school. For example, an MBA from Harvard/Stanford/Wharton is clearly a better industry draw than is a PhD/DBA from HBS/Stanford/Wharton, and is far faster and lower risk besides, for a not insignificant percentage of doctorate students are unable to finish the program.</p>

<p>Bottom line: if you know you are headed for industry and are not seriously considering an academic career, don’t pursue a doctorate in business. It’s not worth the time. </p>

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<p>These are rather common cases - often times these are people who became enamored with the world of business academia while as MBA students (despite the fact that MBA course curricula ironically has almost nothing to do with business academia). The MBA experience may also help in terms of admission, especially back to the same business school, because it provides you opportunities to establish connections with faculty and learn about their research agendas, which allows you to craft a convincing SOP as to why your interests match theirs. </p>

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<p>The MBA is practically useless in terms of obtaining an academic position. It may help on the margins by somewhat allaying a school’s fears that you may not be a strong MBA course teacher (yet, the fact is, most schools, frankly, don’t really care about your teaching abilities, and many new B-school faculty aren’t interested in teaching anyway).</p>

<p>Sakky;</p>

<p>I agree with the majority of the above, with the exception that there are some high end finance positions that a PhD would be quite desirable for, and that the vast majority of MBAs would lack the quantitative ability to handle.</p>

<p>Those finance jobs are unavailable to the vast majority of business PhD’s as well. Keep in mind that only a tiny minority of business PhD’s specialize in financial economics or financial accounting. If your PhD is in, say, organizational behavior or behavioral marketing, which are basically just business flavors of sociology or psychology respectively, you’re not going to be a viable candidate for any high end finance positions. </p>

<p>The most straightforward path to those quant finance positions is through a MS program in finance/compfinance/finengineering from Berkeley, Princeton, Chicago, MIT, or other such schools. Again, don’t bother with a PhD unless you are seriously considering an academic career. It’s not worthwhile otherwise.</p>

<p>Hi, Sakky
Thank you for your thoughtful reply and I’ve been reading your posts/replies in this forum and they are very imformative.
My aim is to actually to do academic research at this point, cuz 1, I am pretty good at maths, 2, I am the kind of person that like to put a lot of hard work into getting a job then enjoy the stability of that job. 3, I am an international student so PhD can get me a job thus a green card in US easier. But at the same time I am not 100% detached from the real world business, so my plan is to try (very hard) to get into a PhD program and during my residency in that program get a MBA while my tuition is covered by my RA or TAs. I’ll still strive to get the PhD afterwards, and getting an MBA is just kind of my plan B in case research become scary someday for me. So I guess my question boils down to: do you think getting an MBA en route to PhD is feasible, and will this kind of MBA with a PhD “baggage” be discriminated against in the industry when I decided not to do academics anymore? Thank you again for your potential tips. </p>

<p>Storch, thank you as well for providing another angle.</p>

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<p>While different schools have different rules, the truth is that your plan is highly infeasible at most schools which will outright bar or heavily restrict the ability of PhD students - even (or perhaps especially) the business PhD students - to easily earn MBA degrees. The MBA and PhD programs are always run by different departments with different admissions committees, so to earn an MBA means that you have to be admitted by the MBA program, which is no guarantee. More importantly, MBA programs and PhD programs are run out of entirely separate budgets, which means that your RA/TA-ship may cover your PhD tuition, but will not cover your MBA tuition. It is also highly questionable as to whether you would even be allowed to be registered as both a PhD and an MBA student at the same time. Each program usually requires a certain committed ‘time of residence’ which cannot be shared with any other program, and so to register as an MBA student will probably require that you de-register as a PhD student, and hence forfeit all privileges as a PhD student (i.e. your stipend, your office space, your research resources access, your eligibility for RA/TA-ships, etc.) during that time. </p>

<p>Now, granted, there are some business doctoral programs, notably Chicago and previously Harvard (although probably not anymore), that do allow opportunities to earn the MBA while as a PhD student. However, Chicago specifically states that you have to pay the MBA course tuition yourself, and Harvard (I think) forces students to assume an amortizing loan that is retired by the school only if you actually complete the doctorate, or else the burden of the loan rests on your shoulders. {Furthermore, like I said, I doubt that Harvard is offering such an opportunity to anybody anymore.} Other schools may allow you to earn the MBA as a streamlined program with the PhD - but only if you actually complete the PhD, which means that if you do not, the school will not award you the MBA degree either. </p>

<p>Again, there are many schools, each with different rules, so you may well be able to find one that allows you to complete the MBA without having to complete the PhD and/or that won’t force you to win admission to and separately pay for the MBA program. But I wouldn’t hold my breath. If you’re contemplating a business PhD program, you should anticipate getting that degree, and only that degree.</p>

<p>Thank you for your reply. You really know a lot about how it works. May I ask whether you have had experience as a B-school PhD student, or even on the faculty? Thanks again.</p>