According to GMAC’s 2023 Corporate Recruiters Salary, top U.S. employers pan to offer “newly minted” Master of Business Administration (MBA) graduates $50,000 more annually than candidates with just a bachelor’s degree (in terms of median base salary). This is an obvious and motivating factor for professionals who choose to enroll in an MBA program. But aside from the possible bump you’ll get in salary when you graduate, what else can you expect from an MBA?
The answer is plenty, if you look at the data and research the perspectives of current and former MBA students. Even those with non-business undergraduate degrees can excel in their careers and generally consider an MBA an essential steppingstone on their pathways to success. But what if you have unique career goals and are seeking a more specialized MBA program? Or what if you can’t feasibly give up your job and income to complete a two-year, on-campus MBA program?
Thankfully, you have options. For instance, Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi (TAMU-CC) offers seven 100% online MBA program concentrations designed for working professionals. In addition to a general, customizable online MBA, TAMU-CC’s six specialized programs prepare you with the expertise to be effective in high-demand industries and jobs. Further, if you have a non-business bachelor’s degree, you can still apply to TAMU-CC’s online MBA programs. TAMU-CC offers supplemental prerequisite business courses to provide you with foundational knowledge needed to succeed in an MBA program.
An MBA for Non-business Majors: Here’s What You’ll Be Studying
Liberal arts majors sometimes make the best business leaders despite not having a business education background. If you think you have potential to succeed in the business world, earning an MBA can be a smart choice, complementing the education and training you received at the undergraduate level. In addition to the advanced topical coursework included in unique, specialized programs like TAMU-CC’s online MBA in Healthcare Administration, MBA programs will likely cover the following core subjects:
Accounting, Economics and Finance
MBA programs will typically cover accounting, economics and finance. Some students considering an MBA choose to only take the required accounting courses, forgoing the more advanced classes. Others may decide to earn a specialized MBA in accounting to pursue a high-level job in the steady, dependable and evolving field.
The study of economics takes a wider, more general perspective on the business world. Here, you will study economic systems, theories and how the exchange of goods and services impacts business. Economics also involves politics, which is an area where non-business majors may have some experience and training. Courses in foundational and managerial economics can prepare you for more advanced classes in concentration programs like TAMU-CC’s online MBA in International Business — a degree and corresponding business field centered around extremely complex global economics.
In your finance courses, you will learn about investing, budgeting and assessing the financial health of a company. If you majored in math or another quantitative field of study, a specialized MBA in finance might prove challenging and fascinating. A strong background in quantitative analysis will undoubtedly come in handy during advanced finance studies. Plus, the field of finance can be extremely lucrative for those with a high degree of expertise, education and experience.
Marketing Management
Marketing is all about communication and human behavior. In marketing management courses, you will study how to influence people, how to brand products and services, and how to analyze the volumes of research that pour in from data providers so you can target your customers more effectively. While marketing isn’t for everyone, it is good for all business students to have at least a basic understanding of this important area.
Plus, some MBA programs like TAMU-CC’s include core courses focused on the software solutions that today’s marketing leaders use to exponentially increase the impact of their campaigns and targeted reach. If you want to delve further into the advanced analytics that currently drive marketing — and modern business in general — TAMU-CC offers an online MBA in Business Analytics that provides you with cutting-edge knowledge of evolving technologies and their business applications.
Organizational Behavior, Operations Management and Administrative Strategy
In core coursework, you will be studying individual, group and intergroup human behavior in organizations. You will also learn about models of management and operational strategy, including how to apply them effectively to various business situations. These studies culminate in the integrative study of administrative strategy, preparing you to synthesize all your gained business knowledge and put it to best use in leadership roles.
If you want to focus more on developing your leadership skills in order to ascend the management ranks in your company or to start your own business, a specialized MBA in management could be an excellent choice.
As you can see, an MBA program covers a wide range of subjects, and specialized MBA concentrations allow you to delve deeper into the areas of study that best suit your goals. Don’t worry if you come from a non-business educational background — with options like TAMU-CC’s, plenty of non-business majors excel in their MBA programs and subsequently go on to pursue rewarding careers.
Learn more about TAMU-CC’s online MBA programs.
