Non-business majors often go into an online MBA program with two distinct advantages. First, a liberal arts background will likely have emphasized skills that are very important to online MBA program success:

  • Communication skills
  • Analytic skills
  • Teamwork skills

Second, some researchers have shown that students who have an undergraduate degree in business do not perform as well students with other degrees. For some online MBAprograms, less than 25 percent of their students possess undergrad business degrees.An MBA for non-business majors can be an ideal complement to the other skills they will have learned as an undergraduate and an expansion of skills in subjects such as accounting, statistics and organizational behavior.

While not the end all, be all of MBA success, business acumen is an important component of an online MBA program. Acquiring that business acumen will likely require non-business majors to have certain business foundational courses that prepare them to enable them to smoothly transition into a rigorous online MBA program. Foundational business courses including those in statistics, accounting, economics, finance and business law are required of non-business majors but these courses are taken pass/fail and do not count toward the student’s grade point average.

Beyond the foundational courses, an MBA for non-business majors will include the same curriculum as it does for business degree undergraduates. Each student will encounter classes such as negotiations, business statistics, ethical leadership, applied finance, and economics for managers. Business technical classes including managerial accounting, manufacturing and service operations are essential components of the online MBA program. Also core to online MBA programs will be classes in strategic marketing, strategic decision-making and strategic communications. Courses in business policy and higher performance round out the online MBA curriculum. Each class is seven weeks in length and once the foundational courses are completed, most students earn their MBA within 12-16 months.

Beyond the coursework and the technical skills acquired, an MBA for non-business majors will yield the tools of principled leadership that will enable you to command admiration and deliver results. Engaging, hands-on experiences help students learn to communicate professionally, work as a team and approach complex business situations with integrity. The online MBA program will support your aspirations with a powerful business alumni network that works for your continued success.


Sources:

http://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ765369

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/8-reasons-not-to-get-a-business-degree/