Lindsay Mack earned her bachelor’s degree from Georgetown University in 2005. Nearly 15 years later, when she considered the best way to grow her business acumen, an MBA was not it.
Mack, who is from Philadelphia, grew her career without an MBA. When ready to advance her skills in platform strategy, she opted for a faster, lower-cost cohort program instead.
For students like Mack, the cost of a top MBA — averaging $225,605 in the U.S., according to a 2022 report by BusinessBecause, an online publisher of graduate business content — is daunting, and the value is questionable.
“I didn’t see how making such a significant investment (in an MBA) would really leapfrog me to the next level,” says Mack, now Comcast ’s executive director of product management.
Cost isn’t the only barrier to attaining a graduate business degree. BusinessBecause reports that the average acceptance rate for the most competitive U.S. business schools is 16%, based on its analysis of data from U.S. News & World Report and other sources.
If you want access to business school education without the price of tuition or hassle of admissions, you have other options.
IF YOU PRIORITIZE CREDENTIALS
Consider a graduate business certification. A certification — offered by accredited colleges and universities — differs from an MBA degree primarily in how long it takes to complete the program.
Business certifications typically require about 12 to 15 class credits, while a master’s degree requires at least 30 credits, says Karen Rinehart, assistant dean of graduate programs at Marquette University Graduate School of Management in Milwaukee.
Because you’re taking fewer credits compared to an MBA, you can expect to pay much less. For example — based on the 2022-23 academic year — tuition for a graduate certificate in strategic management from Harvard Extension School, a Harvard Division of Continuing Education, is $15,500. A Harvard MBA costs $73,440 in tuition, not including fees.
Certificate programs are often more specialized than graduate business degrees. This can be great for those looking to develop a specific skill set — like business analytics — to advance in their career, says Olivia Jobson, associate director of graduate recruitment at Oregon State University College of Business.
IF YOU NEED A MORE FLEXIBLE SCHEDULE
Consider a self-guided online course. Companies like MasterClass, Skillshare, Udemy and Coursera let you learn business skills at your own pace.
“Our central tenet is to meet learners where they are,” says Marni Baker Stein , Park City, Utah-based chief content officer at Coursera. The company offers individual courses, professional and credentialed certifications, and full degrees through university partnerships.