As young professionals become less willing to pause their careers for a two-year degree, more business schools are offering one-year MBA programs, the Wall Street Journal reports.
Largely due to rising tuition costs and—until last month—a hot job market, applications to traditional two-year MBA programs have steadily declined in recent years. At the same time, however, there has been a more than 250% surge in the number of accredited one-year programs offered since 2012, according to business school accreditation firm AACSB International.
Students who complete a one-year, full-time MBA earn the same degree as those in traditional two-year programs by starting in the summer and taking courses over a full year on a more intense schedule. Tuition is often between 25% and 50% less expensive than the two-year option.
Experts say applications to traditional two-year programs could rebound amid the coronavirus pandemic., as MBA applications tend to rise during recessions, with professionals trying to bolster their chances of landing a job by padding their resumes. One-year programs as well as online MBAs could see the sharpest rise in applications in a downturn, since some prospective students may be wary of taking out large loans.
