Committing to a traditional MBA isn’t feasible for everyone. If you are looking to power up your business administration skills, but do not want to put your life on hold for a year to study, this post is for you! We list MBA alternatives to help you to make the decision that is right for you.
#1: Mini MBAs
As the name suggests, a mini MBA is a condensed version of an MBA covering typical MBA modules. A mini MBA might be the right MBA alternative for you if you want to brush up on your skills but do not necessarily want the formal MBA qualification.
Here are some institutions and companies that offer mini MBA courses:
The London School of Economics: MBA Essentials
The MBA Essentials online certificate course offered by The London School of Economics was developed by LSE academics from the Department of Management and Accounting. The 10-week course is designed to help you to make strategic business decisions and to lead with influence.
Marketing Week: Mini MBA in Marketing and Branding
Mark Ritson founded the Mini MBA series at Marketing Week. The course has been designed to ‘give you the tools you need to become the best marketer you can be’.
There are two courses to choose from:
- Mini MBA in Marketing The Mini MBA in Marketing is an MBA level, CPD accredited course that is designed for marketers from all backgrounds. The modules include: market orientation, market research, Segmentation, targeting, positioning, objectives product, price distribution and more.
- Mini MBA in Branding The Mini MBA in Brand Management course is designed to give you a complete brand planning process. Modules include: The what and why of brand, Brand Management, Brand Diagnosis, Targeting, Brand Positioning, Tactical Execution and more.
London School of Business and Finance: Online Executive Mini MBA
This course has been designed for managers who have a minimum of 5 years of management experience.
Modules include:
- The Challenge of Managing Yourself
- Successfully Managing Individuals
- Leading High-Performance Teams
- The Fundamentals of Finance and Budgeting
And more
This is a four-day course that aims to help you to excel in a management role, make more effective management decisions understand key strategies and more. This MBA alternative may be an option if you want to increase your knowledge over a few days rather than weeks. Find out more about the LSBF Executive mini MBA.
Birkbeck University: The Mini MBA
The Birkbeck Mini MBA is ‘is intensive and practice-based’. It aims to equip you with essential business skills
The course covers four topics:
- People and performance
- Marketing in action
- Strategic change
- Finance for managers
University of Salford Manchester: Mini MBA in Business Leadership
5-day Mini MBA in Business Leadership programme delivered by the University of Salford’s Business School tutors is a ‘taster’ of their Masters in Business Management.
The Course is designed for senior executives and managers who aspire to move into more senior roles.
Invited MBA: 12-week part-time Mini MBA
This MBA alternative might be the solution for you if you would prefer to study over a few months, without putting your career on hold.
Invited MBA offers a virtual MBA that was designed by Abilitie, a world leader in executive leadership and business education.
University of Cumbria: Mini MBA
The Mini MBA offered by The University of Cumbria spans 5-days and covers topics including Economics and Global Trends, Financial Management, Leadership and sustainability, CSR, Social Innovation, leadership, strategic management and more.
This is an MBA alternative to be considered by those with high aspirations and little time.
#2: The powerMBA
If you need an MBA alternative that can easily slot into your lifestyle, you might want to consider The PowerMBA
The programme covers topics that would be covered in a traditional MBA such as strategy, finance digital marketing and more.
On the course, you’ll learn from some of the top business minds, including the founder of Netflix, YouTube, Airbnb, Tesla, Shazam, Sage and many more.
#3: Quantic MBA
Quantic School of Business and Technology offers a 13-month online MBA programme. This MBA is an alternative to the traditional MBA because it is app-based.
During the 1-month programme, students work through 9 concentrations including Markets & Economies, Accounting, Data & Decisions, Leading Organisations, Marketing and pricing, strategy and more.
#4: Jolt: A Business School for self-made people
Jolt’s Switch to Tech immersive course is a 4-week programme taught by execs at Google, Facebook and more. This programme may be a good option for those who come from a non-tech background. During this programme, you will learn
- Communication Skills
- Project Management
- Data Analysis
- Terms and Models
- Product
- Marketing
- Sales and CS
#5: Product School
Product School is the global leader in product management training. All of the course instructors are real-world product leaders.
If you are considering doing an MBA with the hopes of becoming a product manager, you might like to consider Product School as an MBA alternative. They offer industry-recognised Product Management certificates.
#6: Masters in Management
Depending on how long ago you graduated with your undergraduate degree and how much experience you have acquired, you might consider a Master in Management (MiM) as an MBA alternative.
The ‘typical’ MiM student graduated within the past 2 years with a 2:1 degree. They want to build their foundational knowledge in business and confidently transition into the business world afterwards.
Institutions that offer a Masters in Management include:
- London Business School
- University of Liverpool
- The London School of Economics
- INSEAD
- University of Birmingham
- University of Reading
And more
Considering doing a master’s but aren’t sure? Read Should I do a Masters Degree?
#7: MBA related Books, Online Courses and Podcasts
If you are dedicated to developing your business skills and knowledge and don’t need the structure of a traditional MBA programme, you might turn to books, online courses and podcasts as an MBA alternative.
MBA Books
There are several MBA books. Many of these were written by people who have completed a traditional MBA. Here are some examples of MBA books:
The 10-day MBA
The 10-day MBA is a business classic. It provides an invaluable guide for individuals who do not have the time to complete a full-time business degree. The book by Steven Silbiger has chapters in Marketing, Ethics, Accounting, Organisational Behaviour, Quantitative Analysis, Finance, Operations, Economics, Strategy, Business Law, public speaking, negotiating and more.
The Visual MBA
The Visual MBA is “a quick guide to everything you’ll learn in two years of business school”. This book by Jason Barron includes chapters on leadership, corporate financial reporting, entrepreneurial management, managerial accounting, business finance, marketing, operations management, strategic human resource management, business negotiation, strategy, business ethics creativity, global management and more.
The 30-Day MBA
The 30 day MBA by Colin Barrow covers business topics including Accounting, Finance, Marketing, Organizational behaviour, Business History, Business Law, Entrepreneurship, Ethics and social responsibility, Operations Management, Research and Analysis and Strategy. The 30-day MBA is also available as an audiobook.
Online courses
Udemy: MBA in a Box: Business Lessons from a CEO.
This course has been designed to help you to build the business acumen to start up your own business, grow an existing business or to advance your career.
MBA in a Box: Business Lessons from a CEO will teach you how to start a company from scratch, carry out a SWOT analysis, apply game theory in real business situations, set up the 4ps, understand financials, perform financial statement analysis, calculate customer-lifetime-value and more.
Skillshare: MBA course Branding and CRM
This course was created by Navdeep Yadav, a product manager. The course includes modules in marketing, digital marketing, financial reporting, organisational structure, resource management, CRM and more.
MBA your way by Laurie Pickard
As an alternative to completing a traditional MBA, Laurie Pickard decided to use massive open online courses (MOOCs) from platforms like Coursera and edX to get a business education equivalent to an MBA for a fraction of the cost of an MBA.
Laurie Pickard wrote a book called Don’t Pay for Your MBA: The Faster, Cheaper, Better Way to Get the Business Education You Need. The book teaches you how to define your goals and create an MBA education that is tailored to your aspirations.
In addition to her book, Laurie Pickard also created a course called MBA Your Own Way. During this course, you will learn:
- Where to find and register for a set of MOOCs that cover the basic business school curriculum
- How to budget for a MOOC-based business education
- How to Grow your network
Podcasts
The $100 MBA Show
Each episode of The $100 MBA Show podcast is delivered as an actionable lesson. Episodes include:
- 3 Automated ways to get customer feedback
- 3 low-cost ways to improve your team
- The most important step to improve your sales
Everyday MBA
Kevin Crain reveals entrepreneurship and business techniques and tips that you won’t learn in business school in the everyday MBA podcast.
#8: Irish Management Institute: Management Bootcamp
The Irish Management Institute is a highly interactive programme, designed to challenge and expand your business knowledge. This programme was formally known as the Mini MBA. On this 5-day Management Bootcamp, you’ll learn about strategy, leadership, finance, marketing and Human Resources.
#9: A Traditional MBA Online
If you have decided that MBA alternatives are not the right option for you an online MBA might be the solution. With an online MBA, you will still attain the traditional MBA qualification.
Studying the MBA online may offer you the flexibility to continue your day job whilst studying in the evenings/weekends.
Unlike MBA alternatives, you can do an online MBA at an AMBA-accredited business school such as at the University of Birmingham.
Here are some of the institutions that offer online MBAs:
- Warwick University – Distance learning MBA
- Birmingham University – Online Masters in Business Administration
- Durham University Business School – Online MBA
- Imperial College – Global MBA programme MBA
- Aston University – MBA (Online)
#10: Weekend MBA
Again, if the MBA alternatives in this post aren’t for you, a weekend MBA might be for you. Like an online MBA, a weekend MBA will provide you with greater flexibility than a traditional programme.
Here are some institutions that offer weekend MBA courses:
Imperial College Business School
Imperial College offers a 21-month, weekend MBA programme that enables you to accelerate and develop your career whilst studying one weekend per month.
Cass Business School
The Cass 24 month Modular Executive MBA, like the Imperial Weekend MBA, requires candidates to attend one weekend a month. This is ideal for people who are commuting to the UK from all over the world.
#11: isdi: DMBA
The final option in our list of MBA alternatives is The Digital Master of Business Administration is a 10-month MBA-style course. The course is centred around Technology. During this course, you will be helped to achieve official certification:
As well as earning these industry-recognised qualifications, you will complete modules in:
- Agile Methodology and Innovation
- Business Frameworks
- Digital Technology Foundations
- Digital Business Execution
- Leadership in the Digital ERA
The programme also includes an e-commerce challenge whereby students launch a real e-commerce business.
#12: Executive MBA In Product Leadership
The Institute of Product Leadership offers an 18-month accredited Executive MBA in Product Leadership.
On this course, you’ll gain relevant knowledge and skills to help you to progress in your career such as:
- Value proposition design
- Leadership Skills for Product Leaders
- User Experience Design & Prototyping
- Product Marketing & Growth Hacking
Summary: MBA Alternatives
Thanks for taking the time to read our post that shares some MBA alternatives to consider if a traditional MBA is not a feasible option for you.
There are several MBA alternatives to consider if you are wondering what you can do instead of a traditional MBA to develop your business acumen. An alternative solution may be needed because of work commitments, time constraints or financial constraints. If you are determined to enhance your business education, you’ll find the MBA alternative solution that suits you best.
This may involve creating your own curriculum, by taking advantage of the wealth of resources online and drawing on the insights of those who have completed an MBA. Or it might involve taking a mini MBA over the course of a week. Whatever you decide, we hope that this post shows that an MBA education is attainable and that there are good, less expensive alternatives to a traditional MBA.
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Featured photo by Julia M Cameron from Pexels
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