Specialized MBAs in the UK on the Rise: MBA News

By QS Contributor Updated Jun 15, 2014

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Specializing on a UK MBA Program

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The UK MBA scene has been witnessing a surge in the number of specialized MBA programs on offer, a recent report by The Guardian has found.

Specialized MBA programs have often proved a controversial topic amongst business schools, where some strongly believe that a large proportion of the value of an MBA education is through the wealth of diversity amongst a program's cohort, while other business schools see a specialized MBA as being a valuable tool to hone one's management abilities in a specific industry.

Specializing on a UK MBA Program

Some of the new specialized UK MBA programs on offer to business school students, highlighted by The Guardian include:

• An MBA for the music industry, from Henley Business School

• The University of Strathclyde Business School's MBA with a specialism in leadership studies,

• A biotechnology MBA from the University of Leicester's School of Management,

• An oil and gas MBA offered by Robert Gordon University in Aberdeen,

• Coventry University's range of specialized MBAs, including an MBA in aviation management, an MBA in public health, and an MBA in international fashion.

Specialized MBA programs are certainly useful for career hungry professionals who have a passion and talent within a specific industry, but they are not an ideal option for everyone. Further, some experts question whether a more focussed Masters program might be more appropriate, given the extreme specialization.

However, as The Guardian points out, some of the specialized MBAs in the UK have already proved successful for their students. Henley Business Schools' specialized MBA for the music industry has already secured one of its graduates employment with US rapper and Grammy Award winner Malik Yusef as an executive vice president of one of his new ventures.