Best Master's in Business and MBA Programs

A master's degree in business provides students with the management skills and tools essential to leadership positions in a variety of business fields and industries. The credentials and expertise earned during master's in business programs translate into both expanded career opportunities and increased earning potential.

Best MBA Programs

One of the most popular advanced business degrees is the Master of Business Administration (MBA), which equips students with a broad set of business skills transferable to multiple arenas. Most MBA programs involve the study of core business school subjects, such as accounting, economics, finance, human resources, organizational design, marketing, operations, policy, quantitative methods and statistics.

Many students find that the best MBA program is a specialty degree with a concentration in a particular area of business such as accounting, finance, human resources or marketing. Specialty MBA programs provide training in general management and business while also focusing specifically on the in-depth concepts, tools and applications surrounding the particular specialty area, such as an MBA in health care management.

Master's in Business

Those looking to improve their expertise in one specific field may choose a business master's degree program in a specialized area like taxation, information technology or organizational leadership. These highly-specialized advanced degrees focus almost exclusively on issues related to the subject and prepare students to manage within that field.

The business master's degree you pursue depends on your career aspirations. Whether you want to gain broad management skills, focus on a particular industry, or start your own business, the program you select should suit your plans for the future.

_{Note: All numbers are averages.
Sources: Data from schools listed on AllBusinessSchools.com, May 2007; PrincetonReview.com; Finaid.org, 2008}