1-year Full-time US-based MBA options (2013 update)

**7/2013 news**  The Cornell Johnson program is considering add a 1-year full-time option based in New York City. Read the Poets&Quants article here. 


While the 2-year full-time MBA remains the standard for a lot of applicants, more and more people are looking for viable 1-year full-time options for their MBA as they place a higher emphasis on the opportunity cost (i.e. foregone salary) of going to b-school. 

Europe has typically been the home of the 1-year MBA, with options such as INSEAD, IMD, Cambridge, Oxford, ESADE, IE, RSM, Cranfield, Warwick, the LBS Sloan Masters in Leadership and Strategy and many others attracting the majority of applications for 1-year programs. 

There are some options worth looking into in the USA as well, and they are increasing in popularity. Here is a starting point for those interested in researching 1-year US-based MBA options.  Many of these programs are designed to attract older applicants who have more focused interests and less need for career-changing educational experiences. So, I have divided the list into 1-year programs aimed towards more experienced applicants, and 1-year programs aimed towards applicants of the traditional MBA age.

for more experienced applicants:

MIT Sloan Fellows Program

working experience: 10-years is required to apply

class size: about 100

Stanford Sloan Master's Program

(technically an MS in Management rather than an MBA)

working experience: 8 years is required to apply, and the average is 12 years

class size: about 80

USC IBEAR

working experience: the average is 10 years

class size: about 55-60

for MBA-aged applicants:

One thing that is stressed with most of these 1-year programs below is that you need to have clearly defined academic and/or professional goals. 

1-year students also sometimes miss out on key 2-year student experience, such as the summer internship. For instance, at Kellogg, 1-year students spend their summer on campus. 

In addition, Goizueta notes here than the ideal candidate for the 1-year MBA has earned an undergraduate degree in business or economics or has strong quantitative background in majors such as engineering or mathematics.

Cornell Johnson Accelerated (1-year) MBA

According to this blog posting, this program is apparently normally for individuals who already hold an advanced degree. However, with a CPA or CFA, you're eligible for admission even if you don't have an advanced degree.

working experience: 4 years (median)

class size: 45 (here is a link to the class profile)

Northwestern Kellogg One-Year (1Y) Program

working experience: the current class ranges in age from 23 to 35

class size: 80-90 (they expect to double or triple this number, read more at a Poets&Quants article here)

Emory Goizueta 1-Year MBA Program

working experience: an average of 5+ years (compared to an average of 5 years for the 2-year program)

class size: 39

Babson One-Year MBA Program

working experience: average of 5 years (the same for the 2-year MBA)

class size: 78

Boston University 1-Year International MBA

More details on the program can be found here. The program starts with 3 months in China.

Thunderbird 1-Year MBA Option

class size: not given (the MBA GM program overall has 548 students, as per this source)

Hult International Business School 1-year MBA

Admissions information is available here.

More reading:

The Top MBA Programs if You're in a Hurry (WSJ.com)

U.S. Schools Increase One-Year Programs (ClearAdmit.com)

Have you Ever Considered an Accelerated MBA Program? (ClearAdmit.com)

If any readers would like to suggest other programs, email me!

John Couke
john.couke@gmail.com

MIT Sloan Fellows Essays for the Entering Class of 2013 are Available

The MIT Sloan Fellows program's admissions essay topics for the current 2012-13 admissions season have been released.  Here they are: Required - Statement of Objectives:

What are your immediate and ultimate professional objectives for attending the program? Specifically, please indicate how your objectives fit with the purposes of the MIT Sloan Fellows Program in Innovation and Global Leadership and indicate what you would contribute to the Sloan Fellows community. (500 words or less, limited to one page)

Required - Essay 1:

Discuss a defining experience in your development as a leader. How did this experience demonstrate your strengths and weaknesses? (500 words or less, limited to one page)

Required - Essay 2:

Please tell us about a time when you had a difficult interaction with a person or group while working in a team environment. Describe in detail what you thought, felt, said, and did. (500 words or less, limited to one page)

Required - Please answer only ONE of the next two essays.

Essay 3:

Discuss a time when you made an unpopular decision. What did you learn
from the experience? Describe in detail what you thought, felt, said, and did.
(500 words or less, limited to one page)

OR

Essay 4:

Please give an example of a significant innovation (product or process) that you developed for your organization (500 words or less, limited to one page) Additional Information:

Please use this section to include any additional information that you believe
is important for the Program to have in evaluating your application, but that
you were unable to include because of the constraints of the online application.

Please do confirm this information directly in your MIT Sloan Fellows
application, available from the school's admissions website.

John Couke

john.couke@gmail.com

MIT Sloan Fellows Deadlines and GMAT/GRE Requirement

The MIT Sloan Fellows program has updated their website to show the current scheduling for application deadlines and decisions.  The following information is given here on the dates and deadlines section of their admissions website:

Application Schedule:

Deadline (for non US citizens and US citizens living outside the US) - 11/15/2012
Deadline (for US citizens currently residing in the US) - 1/16/2013

Decision - to be announced before 3/31/2013


GMAT / GRE requirement:

The GMAT waiver mentioned here is not something that is new to the program for this year - however it is always worth mentioning.  To get the waiver (for the GMAT or GRE) you need to produce a transcript showing a B grade or higher in one of the following courses: calculus (or more advanced mathematics), microeconomics, or finance. Alternative courses may be considered, in this case applicants need to send additional information about the course they took.

As with all school information, please read the requirements directly at the school's own admissions website.


Lastly, the program notes the application will be available in mid-August of 2012.


John Couke
john.couke@gmail.com

New MIT Sloan Fellows Japanese Website

There is a new online resource for Japanese applicants to the popular MIT Sloan Fellows program.  It contains profile information on the 13 current Japanese students in the program, and also details their experience navigating the admissions process, from scheduling to recommendation letters, the essays and interview preparation.  

Currently only the 2012 graduating class is featured, but it appears other years may be added in the future. 

Visit the site here.

John Couke

john.couke@gmail.com

1-year Full-time US-based MBA options

**Note: I have edited this article below to include the Thunderbird 11-month Accelerated MBA.**

While the 2-year full-time MBA remains the standard for a lot of applicants, more and more people are looking for viable 1-year full-time options for their MBA as they place a higher emphasis on the opportunity cost (i.e. foregone salary) of going to b-school. 

Europe has typically been the home of the 1-year MBA, with options such as INSEAD, IMD, Cambridge, Oxford, ESADE, IE, RSM, Cranfield, Warwick, the LBS Sloan Masters in Leadership and Strategy and many others attracting the majority of applications. 

There are some options worth looking into in the USA as well, and they are increasing in popularity. Here is a starting point for those interested in researching 1-year US-based MBA options.  Many of these programs are designed to attract older applicants who have more focused interests and less need for career-changing educational experiences. So, I have divided the list into 1-year programs aimed towards more experienced applicants, and 1-year programs aimed towards applicants of the traditional MBA age.

for more experienced applicants:

MIT Sloan Fellows Program

working experience: 10-years is required to apply

class size: about 100

Stanford Sloan Master's Program

(technically an MS in Management rather than an MBA)

working experience: 8 years is required to apply, and the average is 12 years

class size: about 80

USC IBEAR

working experience: the average is 10 years

class size: about 55-60

for MBA-aged applicants:

One thing that is stressed with most of these 1-year programs below is that you need to have clearly defined academic and/or professional goals. 

1-year students also sometimes miss out on key 2-year student experience, such as the summer internship. For instance, at Kellogg, 1-year students spend their summer on campus. 

In addition, Goizueta notes here than the ideal candidate for the 1-year MBA has earned an undergraduate degree in business or economics or has strong quantitative background in majors such as engineering or mathematics.

Cornell Johnson Accelerated (1-year) MBA

working experience: 4 years (median)

class size: 45 (here is a link to the class profile)

Northwestern Kellogg One-Year (1Y) Program

working experience: the current class ranges in age from 23 to 35

class size: 80-90 (they expect to double or triple this number, read more at a Poets&Quants article here)

Emory Goizueta 1-Year MBA Program

working experience: an average of 5+ years (compared to an average of 5 years for the 2-year program)

class size: 39

Babson One-Year MBA Program

working experience: average of 5 years (the same for the 2-year MBA)

class size: 78

11-Month Accelerated Full-Time Thunderbird MBA

working experience: "To be eligible for the Full-time MBA accelerated program, you must have an undergraduate major or minor in business, have completed courses in accounting, data analysis/statistics, finance and management, or have at least five years work experience including a year or more managing a budget and staff." (refer here).  "Either a degree in business or more than five years of work experience, one in management, is required for entry into the Accelerated program. Consideration on the quant portion of the GRE Revised Test (taken after August 1, 2011) or GMAT will also be weighed heavily in making selections for this program." (refer here)

class size: not given (the MBA GM program overall has 548 students, as per this source)

More reading:

The Top MBA Programs if You're in a Hurry (WSJ.com)

U.S. Schools Increase One-Year Programs (ClearAdmit.com)

Have you Ever Considered an Accelerated MBA Program? (ClearAdmit.com)

If any readers would like to suggest other programs, put them in the comments!

John Couke
john.couke@gmail.com