Doing an MBA without Getting an MBA

With the rise of Massively Open Online Courses (MOOCs) and rumblings about the decline of all but the most elite MBA programs, people are now genuinely asking if it is both possible and advisable to do an MBA without getting an MBA. You will save tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands in tuition not paid and income earned, and you will have the freedom to customize your studies. The obviously missing component is the pedigree. You will also miss out on University resources, the benefit of classmates and the future benefit of an alumni network. The credential-free MOOC MBA is neither an easy option, nor one with a proven track record. So here are five thoughts to ponder for those considering this new, non-conventional form of business education.

Start with a Clear Goal and Career Strategy

One’s drive and energy are greatest in the pursuit of excellence. Even if you decide to study full time, this is probably a multi-year endeavor. What do you hope to accomplish in your career? Can you articulate how this will empower you to accomplish your career goals? Can you accomplish the same with a smaller investment, such as one or two courses? This is your self-education project and you can cover all the core and elective courses in a conventional MBA or you can assemble a completely different portfolio of business and business-oriented classes.

Budget Your Time

Time is a scarce and precious resource. The next important step is to write out a time budget that covers everything. In a given week, when will you be working, studying, sleeping, eating and recreating? Make sure to include everything such as commuting, household chores, shopping and of course parenting responsibilities. What kind of breaks will you give yourself? For example will you take the summer off from studying? How many classes can you handle at once? Since MOOCs do not necessarily follow standard quarter or semester calendars, can you handle a week or more of overlap? Decide this in advance and stick with it.

Study the Most Relevant Content First

Unless there are prerequisites to consider, start with the class that is most relevant and work your way down. If there are prerequisites, start with those so you can get to the classes you want the most as soon as possible. Later on, you can worry about the exact weeks certain classes are offered to round out your portfolio of classes.

Get a Study Buddy When Possible

By partnering with at least one person, you expand the value of the class experience greatly by recapturing some of the interactive nature of a classroom. This is particularly valuable when studying business topics because other people’s real life experiences act as case studies in themselves. And like losing weight, having at least one other person with you helps keep you both on track when the going gets difficult.

Consider Formal Certificate Programs

By introducing a business certificate into your education and onto your resume, you may be earning the best of both worlds for yourself. Even the most elite business schools offer certificate programs that require a fraction of the time and monetary investment of a full time MBA program. Here are some examples.

Harvard Business School’s CORe Program is a nine week online introduction to business concepts for college students and recent graduates that requires an application, a nominal tuition, a final exam taken at an actual test center, and perhaps most importantly the real possibility of failure as well as the real possibility of earning the certificate with Honors or High Honors designation that can be verified by Harvard’s registrar.

Stanford Graduate School of Business offers several options, including Stanford Ignite, the Summer Institute for General Management, and the Stanford Innovation & Entrepreneurship Certificate. Stanford University also offers other business programs outside the GSB.

MIT Sloan School of Management offers several executive certificates, including Management and Leadership, Strategy & Innovation, and Technology, Operations and Value Chain Management. Other top business schools also offer certificates in their executive education programs including Columbia Business School, the University of Michigan and the University of Virginia.

Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth has a well-known summer program for engineering and liberal arts undergraduates and recent graduates called the Bridge Program. Other business schools have assembled similar summer undergraduate programs including Berkeley, New York University and the University of Chicago.

In the not-too-distant future, I believe it will be very normal for people to say, “I earned the [x] Certificate at [Harvard, Stanford, etc.] and then rounded out my business education with MOOCs.” You can get the jump on this upcoming trend.

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Here is one final thought. Have an exit strategy. If you know what your objective is, you should have a clear exit plan. If you reach or change your objective, then the assumption that you still need to take certain classes may no longer be true. Within your overall plan should be points of exit. You can always return for more later on in life.