Fifty-fifty: 1-Year MBA Vs 2-Years MBA

The other day, my nephew asked me the difference between a 1-year MBA and a 2-years MBA. After all both deliver a Master’s in Business Administration. Why spend one extra year to earn the same degree? Well, I said to him, the difference lies in the way you get there – you can take an express train to your destination, or you can purchase a ticket for a regular train ride. The express train gets you there with no stops on the way; while the regular train ride is more leisurely … you can imbibe the scenery, chat up your fellow travelers, sip your chai, even play a couple of rounds of cards … and you eventually get to where you want to, in good time.

I could see that the youngster wasn’t quite convinced. Is one better than the other, he insisted on knowing? Or is it simply a matter of choice, he asked?

My explanation to him was that apart from the obvious difference in duration of each of the programs – after all one is 100% longer and an extra year is an eternity when you are that young – there are certain significant differences. The one-year MBA is fairly intense, with the curriculum kind of densely packed into 12-hour schedules that fill every study day. There are lectures, quizzes, case-studies, assignments, submissions and seminars that almost leave you breathless 24*7, throughout the year. A one year MBA is a full-time commitment, with zero distractions. The two year version is easier paced. But more importantly, it gives program participants greater peer interaction, and most times better industry exposure. 

By this time my nephew’s father, my cousin, had joined us. A good one-year MBA in the US costs US$ 130-140K, he said; the two-year one is US$ 200K. A good USD 60-70K cheaper. Why spend more if school reputations are comparable? Valid point, I agreed. It is a choice you make.

There are some fundamental differences in the formats, I started to explain. 

The one-year format is better suited to those who have worked for 5-6 years, and already understand the rudiments of business. And those opting for a mid-career ‘get-ahead’ accelerator. Many candidates are in fact corporate sponsored, on ‘study leave’. Those fresh from an under-graduate program are better baked in the two-years version. 

A strong quantitative background, and a good knowledge of Economics and accountancy helps enormously in the shorter format. Those from liberal arts adapt better to the longer course, as they get more time to acclimatize to the quanti-heavy curriculum.

 The two-years program most often offers a choice of specialization post the first year of coursework. For most candidates, this gives them time to make a more informed, more thought-through decision. In the one-year format, the choice is mostly pre-decided. 

One big plus of the two-years format is networking: you get to befriend those from your senior batch, and your junior one too. The one-year MBA has no seniors or juniors on campus at the same time.

Both summer jobs and placements are very different in the two MBA options. The two-year format keeps a clear window for an internship at the end of the first year; the one-year format does not have the luxury of time for that. For job openings, especially in the US, almost everyone in the two-years program gets to meet potential employers through campus placement. Those doing a European one-year MBA are invariably ignored by American employers who consider it just half-an-MBA!

I don’t know if my nephew gained anything much from my various perspectives on the two MBA options, but interestingly, the debate on the one-year versus two-years has come closer home in the past few months.  After being granted autonomy, the Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) have started giving one-year executive MBA degrees instead of PG diplomas, despite reservations from the government and the UGC. The government had last year opposed the IIMs’ idea to give out a one-year executive MBA degree, as India has no provision for a degree, especially a Master’s degree with a course length of only one year. India after all follows a ‘3 + 2’ model — three years for undergraduate programs, and two years for postgraduate degrees but only one for PG diplomas. Some countries where the education system follows the ‘4 + 1’ model, generally offer one-year executive MBAs. Though in the US, it is mostly a ‘4 + 2’ structure that is followed. UGC rules for awarding of a Master’s degree are actually unambiguous: “No student shall be eligible for the award of the master’s degree unless he/she has successfully completed a minimum of two years after the first degree or five years after plus two or earned the minimum number of credits prescribed by the university for the program.”

India’s best known 0ne-year MBA program is the one offered by the Indian School of Business (ISB). It has a very good ranking and excellent placements. I was invited as a guest lecturer there last year. Somehow, my overwhelming impression of the school was that everyone seemed to be in some ceaseless hurry. Also the students looked very stressed, perhaps stretched. Interestingly, one of the students stepped up to me to say, ‘hullo’. Said he used to work for me some years ago. We exchanged pleasantries. We got chatting. He said he used to be in client servicing. Had hit a kind of glass ceiling within the ad agency. “I was making about Rs. 12 lacs CTC. This program will hopefully get me to double my salary. For one year time investment (and loss of salary), and about Rs. 40 lacs in fees and expense, the ROI is pretty good.” The youngster had used a very appropriate measure for judging the value of his MBA program: ROI. Who can quarrel with that? It is empirical. And, it is objective.

Or is it really? Should an MBA be nothing more than a career passport stamp that provides employers some confidence in a candidate’s abilities? To me, an ideal MBA is an amazing two-year vacation filled with new academic learnings and insights, networking events, group projects, ethics and morality sensitisation, traveling and hobnobbing with diverse classmates, including some very bright foreign students. At FMS-Delhi, 38 years back, it cost me Rs. 21 a month in fees, and a wee bit more annually to pursue an incredibly enriching MBA. And, ROI and the MBA were not hyphenated. Thank God!