Is PhD in Business a super MBA?

<p>Is PhD in Business a super MBA?</p>

<p>No, for reasons I stated in the other thread. A business doctorate is designed to produce future B-school profs. An MBA is a professional degree designed to produce employees for private industry.</p>

<p>lol that would be cool phd = SUPER DUPER MBA</p>

<p>I am definitely going for my super MBA. Making ppl call you doctor is a very good thing.</p>

<p>Uh, like I said, it's not a super MBA. Not by any means.</p>

<p>Why not, theoritically it seems to have all the advantages.</p>

<p>i think it would be like expecting to get paid expotentially more as a high school teacher because you have a PhD</p>

<p>well teachers do get a ton more if they have their PhD.</p>

<p>my mother's starting salary was almost double when she started teaching since she had her PhD</p>

<p>When I was considering Wharton, they referred to those who went on to receive an MBA after already attending a business school for undergrad as those receiving "super MBAs" since they had already fulfilled many b-school requirements and jumped ahead to take more advanced courses. At the end of the day, it's just an MBA degree.</p>

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Why not, theoritically it seems to have all the advantages.

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<p>Uh, no, it does not. Not at all.</p>

<p>First off, most doctoral students do not have access to the MBA career office resources, which tend to dedicated only to the MBA's. That's huge. Let's face it. The MBA is about the most 'mercenary' degree there is - the only reason to get one is to get a job, which is why access to the career office is so crucial.</p>

<p>To give you an example, at MIT Sloan, only the MBA students have access to the website of the Career Development Office in which they can sign up for interviews with companies, submit resumes, and so forth. It's not like you can just "borrow" somebody's password, as it is linked to your resume. If you use John Doe's password, and you're Jim Smith, then your resume will not match your online biographical data, which would immediately arouse suspicion. </p>

<p>Secondly, and probably far more importantly, MBA programs are ultimately about networking. You build your network by participating in class projects and extracurricular activities with other MBA students, such that, 10 years later, you can call up your old MBA project teammate in order to cut a business deal. Doctoral students don't get that, because they take separate classes apart from the MBA program and thus get very limited interaction with the MBA students. </p>

<p>So think of it from a social circle standpoint. As an MBA student, you will have a group of peers who will go on to a diverse group of careers - banking, consulting, technology, marketing, operations, and so forth. Not only that, but most of them will already have work experience in some of those fields. Hence, you can pull one of them over to ask "Hey, how is it to work in investment banking, really?" However, as a doctoral business student, your group of peers will largely (if not almost completely) be dedicated towards academia. </p>

<p>The point is, as a doctoral business student, your access to a strong professional network and to the career office will be greatly constrained. And that's the real value of an MBA program - the network, and the career office.</p>

<p>I agree with sakky</p>

<p>Would you say that most B school professors had MBA's before they got their Ph.D's? Wouldn't most of the professors have a lot of practical experience? For example, I would like it better if the professor teaching me finance actually worked in finance.</p>

<p>I HAVE A QUETION</p>

<p>IF YOU HAVE PHD IN BUSINESS
IS IT STILL RESPECTABLE AS MBA IN THE "INDUSTRY" NOT ACADEMIA</p>

<p>like if having a phD.. do companies still like that.. or do they view it not relevant to that of mba</p>

<p>even though phD is higher.. is it mba + morestuff (does it include curriculum-wise all the mba stuff
or different...</p>

<p>"MBA programs are ultimately about networking. You build your network by participating in class projects and extracurricular activities with other MBA students, such that, 10 years later, you can call up your old MBA project teammate in order to cut a business deal. Doctoral students don't get that, because they take separate classes apart from the MBA program and thus get very limited interaction with the MBA students. So think of it from a social circle standpoint. As an MBA student, you will have a group of peers who will go on to a diverse group of careers - banking, consulting, technology, marketing, operations, and so forth."</p>

<p>sakky (based on the above), just out of curiosity do you think that for a wharton undergrad it's a waste of time to get an MBA as the above statement is exactly what we have here at wharton UG plus most of my classes (upper level) are with MBAs...so im learning the exact same thing as the MBA program and have the same advantages of the elite social network</p>

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like if having a phD.. do companies still like that.. or do they view it not relevant to that of mba

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<p>Why spend two more years in school? It's two years more of tuition, and you don't get more pay when you graduate. A PhD in Chemistry for a pharmaceutical company is different than a PhD in Business for Deloitte.</p>

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Why spend two more years in school? It's two years more of tuition, and you don't get more pay when you graduate.

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<p>Well, I don't agree with this. Almost all PhD's in business (as in almost any other field) are funded. So not only do you not have to pay them, they actually pay you (although they pay you only a pittance, it's better than making "negative salary" by paying tuition). You may have to work as a TA or an RA, but the point is, doctoral students rarely if ever have to pay tuition. </p>

<p>Nevertheless, it is still true that it doesn't make any real financial sense to prefer an MBA over a PhD. After all, if the only thing on your mind is money, then just get your MBA from Wharton or Harvard and just go become a Wall Street investment banker. You would make far more money doing that than you ever would as a business academic. You should pursue the PhD in business only because you really care about research. </p>

<p>
[quote]
IF YOU HAVE PHD IN BUSINESS
IS IT STILL RESPECTABLE AS MBA IN THE "INDUSTRY" NOT ACADEMIA</p>

<p>like if having a phD.. do companies still like that.. or do they view it not relevant to that of mba

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</p>

<p>If anything, the PhD is almost certainly "worse" than the MBA, except for certain industries (notably consulting). That's because the business PhD strongly signals that you are interested in research and academia. If you get a business PhD, companies will rightfully wonder why you are now pursuing an industry job. Is it because you just couldn't get a faculty position and are just pursuing an industry job as a "backup plan"? If a faculty position opens up later, are you just going to quit your job to take it? These are legitimate questions that a business doctorate will elicit. No company wants to feel that you may quit in a few months or a year time because some tenure-track assistant professor position will open up later. </p>

<p>
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even though phD is higher.. is it mba + morestuff (does it include curriculum-wise all the mba stuff
or different...

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</p>

<p>It is completely different. The doctoral classes are far more theoretical and research oriented, whereas the MBA classes are generally practical and geared towards people going right back into industry. </p>

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Would you say that most B school professors had MBA's before they got their Ph.D's?

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<p>No. Pick any prominent B-school, look at the CV's of the profs, and you will note that most do not have MBA's. </p>

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Wouldn't most of the professors have a lot of practical experience? For example, I would like it better if the professor teaching me finance actually worked in finance.

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</p>

<p>Maybe that's the way it should be, but that certainly is not the way that it is. Again, check out the CV's of the profs at any B-school, and you will notice that many of them (probably most of them) have only limited practical experience. Some of them have no experience at all and got their PhD's straight out of undergrad.</p>

<p>A few things...first, a Ph.D. in business is not just going to take you two more years. It's going to be a longer process and a year or more of it will include a dissertation.</p>

<p>Secondly, don't assume it's one or the other. My father has an MBA AND a DBA. (Doctor of Business Administration) Of course, he's been a college professor with those degrees for over thirty years now. My opinion would be that the only reason to pursue a DBA or Ph.D. in Business is if you want to go into academia. It's not necessary for other pursuits. My father does side consulting for businesses but his main focus is at the university level.</p>

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A few things...first, a Ph.D. in business is not just going to take you two more years. It's going to be a longer process and a year or more of it will include a dissertation.

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<p>Actually, I think it's about right. An MBA takes 2 years. Business doctorates take about 4. So it is delta 2.</p>

<p>Maybe we are looking at different programs. Those that I know about count the MBA separate from the doctorate. My father's MBA was a one or two year program. His doctorate took him two years in coursework and four years for his dissertation because of the research he was doing.</p>

<p>6 years seems to be too long. For example, at HBS, doctorates take about 4-5 years (closer to 4).</p>

<p><a href="http://www.hbs.edu/doctoral/programs/index.html%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.hbs.edu/doctoral/programs/index.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>At Stanford, it's about the same.</p>

<p><a href="http://www.gsb.stanford.edu/phd/overview/index.html%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.gsb.stanford.edu/phd/overview/index.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>Even at MIT Sloan, which is known for the length of its doctoral programs, students get done in an average of 5 years.</p>

<p><a href="http://mitsloan.mit.edu/phd/faq.php%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://mitsloan.mit.edu/phd/faq.php&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>