What Does MBA Stand For?

Preparing for an MBA degree program is fairly straightforward. Typically, you need a bachelor's degree from a university-recognized institution and will likely need to meet other graduate admissions requirements as well, such as having a minimum undergraduate GPA. You'll typically need to complete an application process for graduate school to be admitted into an MBA degree program, even if you attended the same institution for your undergraduate degree.

Beyond applying and making sure you meet the requirements, it's good practice to brush up on any business skills you’ve picked up during your career or in your undergrad program, especially if it’s been some time since you finished your bachelor's degree.

There can be many potential benefits to earning an MBA degree. Advancing your education is a great way to gain new insights, explore current technologies and network within your industry. Depending on the career path you have in mind, earning an MBA degree can prepare you to pursue a variety of roles, as well as hone your business skills. Compared to specialized master’s degrees, such as a Master’s in Accounting, an MBA degree takes a more generalized approach to business education. This means that it covers a wide range of business concepts and skills, making it easier for you to apply these concepts across many different business career paths.

You should, of course, consider whether an MBA is a better fit for your career goals compared to a more specialized master's degree in your chosen field. For instance, if you earn an MBA with a Specialization in Finance, you are choosing a program with a blend of business and finance classes over a Master's Degree in Finance, which would be more exclusively geared toward that discipline.

If you’re interested in pursuing an MBA, you will want to know about the various types of programs offered and the different concentrations to choose from.

Options are also available for busy professionals who may not be able to commit to going back to school for a traditional, full-time program. Here are a few paths you might consider:

If you already have a particular career path in mind, you may want to choose a program that adds a specialization to your MBA degree. A specialization allows you to broaden your understanding of a specific discipline to help position yourself to pursue career opportunities in a particular field, while retaining the core business curriculum of an MBA. For example, earning an MBA with a Specialization in Finance would help you to develop business administration skills in addition to high-level finance skills, preparing you to pursue finance careers  like business manager, commercial banking officer or financial analyst.

At DeVry, we offer a hybrid or fully online MBA program designed for motivated, working professionals. Choose from 10 MBA degree specializations and customize your MBA to meet your specific career goals:

The cost of earning an MBA degree can vary depending on the school you attend, and whether or not you have incoming transfer credits, scholarships or grants. To learn more about the cost of earning an MBA degree at DeVry and to gain more insight into our scholarship offerings, visit our tuition and financial aid page.

An MBA isn't your only option if you're interested in business or a related field. Some other alternatives to an MBA include master's degrees in specific fields such as accounting, project management or marketing. At DeVry, we offer MBA degree specializations in each of those fields, and more.

Here are some degree paths that you might consider in lieu of an MBA degree: