Company Sponsored Part-time Mba. How many commitment years?

Eight years is crazy high. Even four seems too high, especially for a weekend MBA. I know all of the strategy consulting firms require two years post-MBA, and that's for full-time MBA ($100K+). According to the New York Times, Target requires two years after sponsoring a part-time MBA at U of Minnesota.

I would do some research and use articles like the one above to negotiate a lower time commitment.

I read an article somewhere about an applicant being sponsored by one of the top consulting firms for a full-time MBA at (I think it was) HBS. She took out a loan first, and the company would pay her back in 4 installments. She had to commit to stay with them for at least 2 years. If she left after 6 months, she only got 25% of her money back (since 1 installment would be for staying 6 months). 50% if after one year, 75% if after 1.5 years and she would recoup everything if she stayed the full 2 years. Sounds like a pretty great and fair deal to me.

For your case, I would like to cosign the comments above: 8 years is WAY too long. I'm sure you can convince them to give you a better deal. Good luck

A friend works for a consulting firm and earned a company sponsored MBA with a three year commitment. 4-5 years may be a stretch for other firms in manufacturing, but eight years are way off. You may wish to negotiate for better terms as one may find your employer's terms too restrictive.

For what it's worth, in my company you have to work for double the time you went to study full time. If you leave earlier, you must the entire amount you were given within a month. And yes, some people do 6-year PhDs. Do the math But if you do a 1-year degree it seems like a good deal.

For part-time programmes, there is no commitment at all.

We have advised many students who were fully sponsored by their company; and the average is a four year commitment. However, every company has their own policies and I have seen the commitment range from zero to six years (nothing more than six years though).

Kimberly Plaga
Senior Admissions Consultant
Manhattan Review