Non-American MBA programs

Today, MBA and Doctor of Business Administration (DBA) designations can be found anywhere and even accessed through on-line, distance learning or e-learning. Because of the varying standards of MBAs worldwide, many business schools are accredited by independent bodies, such as the Association of MBAs and the European Foundation for Management Development.

France

The Sciences Po MBA is offered, along with other graduate and undergraduate programs, by the Institut d'Études Politiques de Paris. Accredited by the AMBA, the Sciences Po MBA is designed to produce graduates who think and work internationally, through an alliance of cultural tradition and a scientific approach to management issues.

United Kingdom

Persons holding an MBA from the world's top 50 business schools (according to the list published by the U.K. government) automatically receive the minimum score necessary to qualify for the U.K.'s Highly Skilled Migrant Programme. This program initially entitles the person to a two-year U.K. work permit, after which it can be renewed for an additional three years, if that person is gainfully employed at the time of renewal.

Germany

Germany was one of the last western countries to adopt the MBA degree. In 1998 the Hochschulrahmengesetz (Higher Education Framework Act), a German federal law regulating higher education including the types of degrees offered, was modified to permit German universities to offer master's degrees. The traditional German degree in business administration was the Diplom but since 1999, bachelor's and master's degrees have gradually displaced the traditional degrees (see Bologna process). Today most German business schools offer the MBA. German MBA degrees should be accredited by the Foundation for International Business Administration Accreditation (FIBAA), the only agency officially recognized by the German Akkreditierungsrat (accreditation council), the German counterpart to the US-American CHEA. Furthermore, most German states require that universities receive accreditation by an officially recognized accreditation agency, so FIBAA accreditation is mandatory in these states although accreditation by other agencies remains voluntary. All universities themselves must also be recognised by the state (staatlich anerkannt), which guarantees that they have the relevant funds to offer education, and are able to award degrees that have value.

Ukraine

Recently MBA programs appeared in Ukraine where there are now about ten schools of business offering a variety of MBA programs. Two of these are subsidiaries of the strongest European schools of business (OUBS and IBR), while the remaining eight are independent institutions.

South Africa

In 2004, South Africa’s Council on Higher Education (CHE) completed an extensive re-accreditation of MBA degrees offered in the country. The process was the first of its kind in the world to be undertaken by a statutory body and attracted widespread international media attention for its innovation and thoroughness.

Ghana

Business schools of the traditional universities such as the University of Cape Coast, University of Ghana, and the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA) all run a variety of MBA programs. In addition, foreign accredited institutions offer MBA degrees by distance learning in Ghana.

Pakistan

The Institute of Business Administration (IBA) is the oldest business school outside North America. The Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS) MBA program has instituted exchange programs with other schools in Europe and Asia. The Asian Development Bank recognizes LUMS as a center of excellence and awards full scholarships to MBA applicants from ADB member countries, covering the tuition fees, medical insurance, housing allowance, and other expenses.

India

The Indian School of Business (ISB), founded by its partners Wharton Business School, Kellogg School of Management, and London Business School, is a one year, US style Business School in India, focusing on Indian-International Businesses. The school awards a certificate rather than a diploma or degree.^[9]

The Indian Institutes of Management (IIM) are the oldest institutions for management education in India. Gaining admission to any of the IIM schools requires passing the Common Admission Test. The acceptance rate is less than 1%, making the IIMs among the world's most selective schools. Although the institute offers a postgraduate diploma in management rather than an MBA degree, the institute's diploma has gained prestige in India.

In addition to the IIMs and ISB, there are many other notable institutes imparting management education.

Rest of Asia

International MBA programs are acquiring brand value in Asia. For example, while a foreign MBA is still preferred in South Korea, many students are now studying at one of many "Global MBA" English language programs being offered. Hong Kong and Singapore are also becoming MBA destinations. For North American students who want a different experience, many of these programs offer scholarships and discounted tuition, to encourage an international environment in the classroom.

MBA program rankings

The MBA degree has become one of the most popular masters' degrees. As more universities started offering the degree, differences in the quality of schools, faculty, and course offerings became evident. Naturally, establishing some criteria of quality is needed to differentiate among MBA programs, especially for prospective students trying to decide on where to apply. As MBA programs proliferated, a variety of publications began providing information on them. Some of these consisted of compilations of information gathered from the universities offering the degree, usually published in book form. Eventually periodicals began publishing articles describing various MBA schools and ranking them according to some perceived quality criteria. One of the most prominent of these is Business Week, which devotes a biennial issue to ranking MBA programs. Financial Times, The Economist, Forbes magazine, The Wall Street Journal, and U.S. News & World Report also publish MBA program rankings. See the External links section below to view some of these rankings.

Different methods of varying validity were used to arrive at rankings of MBA programs. The Gourman Report, for example, did not disclose criteria or ranking methods, and these reports were criticized for reporting statistically impossible data, such as no ties among schools, narrow gaps in scores with no variation in gap widths, and ranks of nonexistent departments. In 1977 The Carter Report published rankings of MBA programs based on the number of academic articles published by faculty. Periodicals based their rankings on interviews with company recruiters who hired MBA graduates, surveys of MBA schools' deans, polls of students or faculty, and a variety of other means. The defunct MBA Magazine asked deans to vote on the best programs. The methods of obtaining ranks often changed from year to year. Initially, rankings included only a small number of universities consisting of the largest and best known Ivy League and state schools.

The ranking of MBA programs has been discussed in articles and on academic Web sites.^[12] Critics of ranking methodologies maintain that any published rankings should be viewed with caution for the following reasons:^[13]

• Rankings limit the population size to a small number of MBA programs and ignore the majority of schools, many with excellent offerings.
• The ranking methods may be subject to biases and statistically flawed methodologies (especially for methods relying on subjective interviews of hiring managers).
• The same list of well-known schools appears in each ranking with some variation in ranks, so a school ranked as number 1 in one list may be number 3 in another list.
• Rankings tend to concentrate on the school itself, but some schools offer MBA programs of different qualities (e.g. a school may use highly reputable faculty to teach a daytime program, and use adjunct faculty in its evening program).
• A high rank in a national publication tends to become a self-fulfilling prophecy.

One study found that objectively ranking MBA programs by a combination of graduates' starting salaries and average student GMAT score can reasonably duplicate the top 20 list of the national publications. The study concluded that a truly objective ranking would be individualized to the needs of each prospective student. National publications have recognized the value of rankings against different criteria, and now offer lists ranked different ways: by salary, GMAT score of students, selectivity, and so forth. While useful, these rankings still are not tailored to individual needs, and their value is diminished if they use an incomplete population of schools, fail to distinguish between the different MBA program types offered by each school, or rely on subjective interviews.

reference : Wikipedia