<p>I have a question.
What's the difference between undergrad. business program and MBA program?
Do they teach you relatively similar stuff? Well I'm sure MBA teaches you with more depth, but is everything you learned as undergrad business major covered in the graduate MBA program?</p>
<p>If that's the case, then I see no reason to be a business major. It'll be pointless. I'd rather major Economics and learn something different other than what they teach you in MBA.</p>
<p>So my question is: What's the difference between undergrad business program and MBA program in terms of materials you learn?</p>
<p>The point of getting an MBA is to be able to make career switches, some jobs will require an MBA before allowing your career to advance.</p>
<p>If a school has both an economics and undergrad business program, usually the business program is recruited more. This means that you could potentially have a tougher time getting a job with that econ degree which would make it tougher to get the work experience you need for the MBA.</p>
<p>You shouldn't care too much about what you learn from the MBA program because the purpose is more of opening up new career ops and networking with people, grades matter less -- which is why the top MBA programs don't disclose your grades.</p>
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But really, do you get to learn relatively similar stuff in MBA program?
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<p>In most cases, No. Some MBA programs are entirely case-based (Harvard, Darden). Many MBA programs even require that you know basic accounting before you even begin classes. That doesn't mean they refuse to admit anyone who never took an accounting class or had a crash-course in accounting through a corporation, they admit you on the condition that you take some accounting courses before you enroll.</p>
<p>And its not like MBA programs have a rock-solid path you have to follow. Some will do basics in the first year and then the second will be entirely electives. In which case it's your own fault if you end up re-learning things. Others have a very small core-curriculum that could be redundant even for those who only took crash-courses through corporations, but it won't last long so it doesn't matter.</p>
<p>So I wouldn't worry about redundancy in studying undergraduate business anymore than I would worry about redundancy in studying economics or redundancy through corporations' training programs.</p>
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But really, do you get to learn relatively similar stuff in MBA program?
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<p>Yeah, there are similarities.</p>
<p>But you could actually see this as a good thing. That's because many people (including myself) see the academics of an MBA program to be purely secondary in value. The real value is in the networking and the recruiting. Hence, if you already know the material, you can spend less time on the academics and more time on networking/recruiting. There is little point in studying hard in an MBA program but not getting the job you want. I know a number of MBA grads who basically said that they regret studying as hard as they did (because they ultimately didn't get the job they wanted), and that they should have spent more time on building their interview skills, doing more recruiting and building their network.</p>
<p>From what I've looked at the difference between MBA and undergrad business curriculum is undergrad is instuctional, and MBA is more applied. In an MBA program you will be given a complex business dilemma, and the professor will simply say, "I need your solution by next Tuesday", and the rest is on you to group up, and solve the dilemma with your respective team/connections. In undergrad, you're given a problem, but then it's discussed and the business strategies and such are explained and taught specifically.</p>
<p>Other than that, the classes basically focus on the same business foundation.</p>