(edit title) BTH's MBA is not a real MBA BTH explanation confuse applicants? Options

[feiutm9898]

According to BTH website. The title of online MBA program is "Master of Science"

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The program leads to the degree "Filosofie/Ekonomie Magister. Huvudområde: Företagsekonomi" which translates in English to "Master of Science (60 credits). Main field of Study: Business Administration" or "Master of Science in Business and Economics (60 credits). Main field of Study: Business Administration".
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A real MBA degree should be "Master of Business Administration" according to wikipedia.

Do anyone know this?

[gplusa]

Well, to be fair, an Engineering qualification in Sweden is ALSO a Master of Science, and not a Master of Engineering. Yet it's still a top engineering qualification. The Master of Science programme is a very large programme, with a large number of branches. I would focus less on the title, and more on the content. Personally.

[Puffin]

Well MBA degrees are very rare in Sweden - they are not well known at all apart from Handels

Also BTH is a technical college

[gplusa]

Given the varying quality of MBAs handed out around the world, I'd possibly be tempted to look at a alternative business qualification where the credibility of the qualification can be more easily established. Many employers are a bit skeptical of MBAs (especially in Sweden), which means an MBA from a good institution can be tarnished as a result.

[tillerman]

A MBA is not really an academic degree, but a professional degree.

To go on for doctorate, for example, you are really expected to have a master of arts or master of science degree.

[kaze]

MBAs are just a way of proving you have more money than sense.

[gplusa]

Personally, I agree with you, tillerman. A normal Masters degree would follow on from an undergraduate degree in a similar field. So you know that someone with a proper Masters has an excellent grounding and extended acedemic knowledge. I've never subscribed to the belief that a Masters qualification which is a cut down study programme padded out with work history, should be held in the same light as a Masters qualification earnt the traditional way. The fact that so many people have one, perhaps shows how easy they are to attain.

People still seem to be queuing up to have some form of formal credentials, so good luck to them. MBA programmes will be in business for a long time. If I was the O.P. (and not just looking to take a pot shot at Swedish study systems) I'd take on that Masters of Science programme. Give up the title in favour of some real substance.

[feiutm9898]

http://www.rediff.com/getahead/2006/mar/08mba.htm

MA/ MSc: Greater specialisation

An MA/ MSc will go in depth into whichever area you choose to specialise in.

Explained Dr Lakshmi, "Should you pick an MSc in marketing, you will find courses related to international marketing, e-marketing, cyber marketing, etc. This is better for people who have already got an overall education in terms of a BCom or a business management degree. I think an MSc is suited for those people who want to specialise even further in one area."

Unlike the MBA, the MSc usually doesn't require prior work experience; however, do crosscheck with the universities you are applying to.

It is very rare, though, that a university would require work experience.

MBA: For more mature students

Says Dr Lakshmi, "An MBA is meant for someone who has done his/ her first degree or, maybe someone who hasn't even done his/ her first degree but has worked for a few years in some area in their organisation. For example, maybe they have been clocking receipts or have HR jobs, or maybe they are tourist operators who don't have a view of how the whole industry works. The MBA is meant to round up that individual and give him/ her idea of how the whole organisation works."

This degree works better for those who are mature in terms of job and age. The average age of the class for an MBA programme will be in the mid- to late twenties. But it is not surprising to also find students who are in their thirties and forties.

Speaking from experience, Dr Lakshmi adds, "Such students add tremendously to the class. At the end of the day, it is not about what we teach or what we do -- we teach you a little bit about everything. The MBA is about the skills you pick up from each other and the synergy which goes on in the class between people with experience."

~ In popular perception, it is the MBA that tends to sound the most impressive. However, in terms of practicality in the job market, what Dr Lakshmi stated is important to remember, "Don't be prejudiced by the name; the name doesn't mean anything other than the fact that they are all master's degrees. If you study for an MA in economics and don't do it well, you don't get a job. If you do an MSc in HR and do it well, you will get a job. At the end of the day, your qualification is as good as what you make it to be. It is what you can do for your employer, what you can prove you can do, that is most important."

[mjennin2]

To add on to what gplusa said, the fact of the matter is that the work environment is simply getting ever-increasingly competitive. Technology and globalization have both reduced the number of physical bodies needed to get a job done, and increased the amount of knowledge one must realistically attain to perform adequately.

As told by my grandparents, several decades ago a high school diploma wasn't even needed in order for one to get a job and work your way up. Soon, it was a requirement, but college wasn't. And now college is. But college alone is now no longer enough...kids are going straight from college to get their masters now, and for many (teachers, etc.) having a masters is NECESSARY before you can gain employment; for most, it is something that one must get in order to get that promotion and a higher paycheck. (For me, its my golden ticket to get the hell out of this city for 2 years and live off of loans if I have to in order to escape the trap of adult life and actually experience life for once before I'm old and dead. But I digress.) Soon, it will be one's Ph.D that will be required in order to get good employment / advance in your career.

It's just the nature of the beast, unless you are an entrepeneur who capitalizes on common sense and ingenuity instead of drudging along the hard-beaten path of advanced degrees beleagured with the rigidly useless monotony of bureacratic formalities. :::merrrrr:::

[Puffin]

http://www.rediff.com/getahead/2006/mar/08mba.htmMA/ MSc: Greater specialisationAn MA/ MSc will go in depth into whichever area you choose to specialise in.Explained Dr Lakshm ... (show full quote)

http://www.rediff.com/getahead/2006/mar/08mba.htm

MA/ MSc: Greater specialisation

An MA/ MSc will go in depth into whichever area you choose to specialise in.

Explained Dr Lakshmi, "Should you pick an MSc in marketing, you will find courses related to international marketing, e-marketing, cyber marketing, etc. This is better for people who have already got an overall education in terms of a BCom or a business management degree. I think an MSc is suited for those people who want to specialise even further in one area."

Unlike the MBA, the MSc usually doesn't require prior work experience; however, do crosscheck with the universities you are applying to.

It is very rare, though, that a university would require work experience.

MBA: For more mature students

Says Dr Lakshmi, "An MBA is meant for someone who has done his/ her first degree or, maybe someone who hasn't even done his/ her first degree but has worked for a few years in some area in their organisation. For example, maybe they have been clocking receipts or have HR jobs, or maybe they are tourist operators who don't have a view of how the whole industry works. The MBA is meant to round up that individual and give him/ her idea of how the whole organisation works."

This degree works better for those who are mature in terms of job and age. The average age of the class for an MBA programme will be in the mid- to late twenties. But it is not surprising to also find students who are in their thirties and forties.

Speaking from experience, Dr Lakshmi adds, "Such students add tremendously to the class. At the end of the day, it is not about what we teach or what we do -- we teach you a little bit about everything. The MBA is about the skills you pick up from each other and the synergy which goes on in the class between people with experience."

~ In popular perception, it is the MBA that tends to sound the most impressive. However, in terms of practicality in the job market, what Dr Lakshmi stated is important to remember, "Don't be prejudiced by the name; the name doesn't mean anything other than the fact that they are all master's degrees. If you study for an MA in economics and don't do it well, you don't get a job. If you do an MSc in HR and do it well, you will get a job. At the end of the day, your qualification is as good as what you make it to be. It is what you can do for your employer, what you can prove you can do, that is most important." ... (hide full quote)

The problem is that you cannot really compare the market for MBAs in the UK/US with Sweden - here it is a virtually unknown qualifications

[Roger O. Thornhill]

MBAs are just a way of proving you have more money than sense.

MBA's are part of the credential war. It is a filtering method.

[feiutm9898]

http://www.hgu.gu.se/item.aspx?id=14730

What is an Executive MBA?

Executive MBA is a type of MBA (Master of Business Administration) specially designed and adapted for managers with the appropriate academic and professional experience in either the private or public sector.

The Master of Business Administration (MBA) originated in America over a hundred years ago and has now reached worldwide recognition. In the 1990s the Executive MBA programmes begun to be established outside North America. Accredited business schools worldwide now run more than 240 Executive MBA programmes.

Executive MBA programmes differ from other kinds of MBA programmes in the following ways:

Unlike full-time programmes students continue to work while they study and are generally older and more experienced,
Unlike most distance learning programmes the direct personal interaction in the classroom and in study groups is considered critical to the learning experience,
Unlike other kinds of MBA programmes, the participants of an Executive MBA start the programme in the middle of their career. This allows them to share valuable experiences from different positions from a large variety of professional backgrounds.
Executive MBA programmes usually offer additional support for participants, including staff support, meals, and other amenities, so participants with busy schedules can focus on learning.

[DidiE]

A magister's degree is a step up from the licenciate degree in Sweden, and is not the equivalent of a North American master's. Rather, it was pretty much a Scandinavian thing, meant to help people who liked the idea of an advanced degree but who didn't necessarily want to go to a PhD. There were, before the Bologna Process stepped in with standardised degree paths, a whole bunch of different ways to get post bachelor studies, which in most cases were only three years, and thus, still not equivalent to the 4 year bachelor's that is usually found in English-speaking countries. You could go direct into a PhD programme, you could do a magister's and then a licenciate and then step into the PhD- there were a number of ways to get going. I like the new way a lot better, actually

[Puffin]

I'm confused?

The Magister has nothing to do with licentiate or PhD - it was an exam that lay between bachelor and masters

There are many countries that have 3 year Bachelors - the UK for example - the North American countries often have a general multisciplinary year of study which is called the 'college year' in Sweden which is pre-bachelor

The acedemic degrees in Sweden

Undergraduate

2 years - Högskoleexamen - College degree - usually multidisciplinary - sometimes points demands for particular majors

3 years - Kandidateexamen/Bachelor degree - must have a a major of at least 1½ years of study at levels A B C + a bachelor dissertation

4 years - Magister - a degree that combined a bachelor degree with a 1 year Master - must have a major of at least 2 years study at levels A B C D + a bacehlor dissertation + a magister dissertation - last intake 2006 - phased out in preference of the 2 year Master

2 years - Masters - must have bachelors degree often must be degree in an allied subject + masters dissertation

Postgraduate

Licentiate - must have a bachelor and possibly masters - must write longer thesis

PhD 4 years (or licentiate + 2 years) - must have bachelor degree and sometimes Masters/Licentiate depending on faculty rules - consists of courses and PhD thesis

Vocational
A whole host of vocational degrees
3-5½ years - teaching - depends on grade (lärarexamen)
3 years nursing
5½ years medical school
5½ years Law degree

[DidiE]

The magister's is phased out, at least in our institute- it was not recognised as a 'real' degree by many countries outside of the Nordic area. Your institute or university may very well do things differently, but in ours, keeping with Bologna process, we upped the uppsats for the thesis from 10 to 20 points, required a much more stringent scientific contribution from the thesis, and thus earned the right to call the new degree programme a Masters, rather than a magister's. The OP is making a comment that the magister's is NOT a master's degree, and he's right.