Application volumes for MBAs and the number of programs themselves have been steadily increasing over the last decade. At the same time, studies show that the prospects for MBA graduates of a reputed program are as good today as never before. Employers in most countries plan to hire more MBAs than they did last year at rising salary levels.

Going back in history, the first MBA program started at Dartmouth University in 1900, shortly followed by Harvard in 1905. Harvard initiated the now famous case study method. To this date, most of the changes and innovations in MBA programs are initiated at the famous US business schools.

Much sought after profiles are the combination of a non-business management related degree for the undergraduate studies, such as engineering or IT, with an MBA from one of the top business schools. The career prospects after graduation are largely dependent on the curriculum one had before entering the MBA program and the reputation of the business school. Salaries upon graduation also depend on these two factors with the addition of geographical aspects and the desired industry. Whereas in the current market climate, top MBA graduates of schools such as Stanford, Harvard or Chicago can start with up to 300-400,000 US$ per year in the private equity industry; starting salaries of most MBA programs in continental Europe or Asia are below 120,000 US$.

Initially however, it can be a challenging task to identify the one MBA program which is most suitable to one`s particular needs among the plethora of differnt offerings from business schools and private institutions all around the world. These offerings address pretty much all possible budget situations and time schedules.

To get a first overview of the MBA market, it is advisable to go through the variety of MBA rankings by reputed publications such as the Economist or the Financial Times. A criteria which most of these rankings take into account and which can be taken as a quality assurance as well, is the accreditation of a program by one of the official bodies such as AACSB, FIBAA, AMBA and CHE.

Type of Programs:
In the US, 24 month fulltime programs are the most common forms of training. A widely used admission criteria is that students possess prior work experience of at least 2-5 years. In recent years, shorter programs have been set up which reduce the total time spent to 12-18 months via a compressed course load. These shorter programs are especially popular in many European countries.
Part-Time MBAs stretch out over a longer period of time, usually at least 3 years and the instruction takes place on weekday evenings.
Executive MBAs (EMBA) are targeted towards managers and executives with work experience of at least 5 years. They are mostly held on certain weekends or in seminar style over a timeframe of 2 years.

Specializations:
Generally, a destinction can be made between general management MBAs and MBAs which specialize in a certain area. Standard specializations include accounting, corporate strategy, economics, entrepreneurship, finance, human resources, international business, marketing, organizational behavior, project management, and operations management. Unspecialized MBA programs often focus second-year studies on strategic management or finance. Cost:
Costs for MBA programs vary wildely with the most expensive ones being in the US. Generally the bandwidth goes from next to free-of cost (in some European countries due to Government funded education systems, e.g. in Germany) to well above 70,000 US$. A majority of top business schools offer a variety of means to finance your MBA, more on the financing aspect here (link to how to finance your MBA).