Well most of the questions here can be answered clearly, by defining the boundaries between MiM and MBA, i have tried to do that in the next few lines, hope it is useful
So what is the MiM??The MiM or Masters in Management is a premium post-graduate degree targeted towards individuals who have just completed graduation or are young professionals. It is a degree providing comprehensive knowledge about varied management streams such as Finance, Marketing, Consulting, Entrepreneurship among many others, and as per our personal experience is an amazing degree especially if you want to switch streams early in life, or want to make forays in the management field.
The MiM is a relatively new phenomena compared to the old and tested MBA concept, but this in no way undermines its importance as a first class degree, with well known colleges such as London Business School, HEC Paris, ESCP Europe, London School of Economics, Duke Faqua School and Bocconi offering it as Flagship degrees , the MiM is here to stay and will soon be a real force to contend with on a global scale. Though it is majorly a European phenomena, colleges in the USA have also started taking notice with many well ranked colleges such as Duke Fuqua, HULT and Thunderbird offering their own versions of the MiM often naming it as Masters in Science in Management (Msc) or Masters in international Management.
The Masters in Management degree's may vary from anywhere between 10 months to two years, depending on the college you apply to and they usually offer a comprehensive array of electives so you can tailor your course to follow the subjects you love.
So how is the MBA different from the MiM ??The difference between the two can be explained along a number of fronts, we will try to explain the MBA vs MiM battle in the next few lines:
Popularity (Old & Respected vs New & Upcoming)The MBA is an old and respected name in the field of business studies and has an excellent brand recognition with several well known colleges offering the degree in various variations.
The MiM on the other hand can be regarded as the new kid on the block, though it has been around for over 20 years now, it was a relatively unknown European phenomena but now is being recognized by countries all over the world, with more and more universities offering the degree. Needless to say with colleges such as Duke Fuqua, LBS, LSE & Bocconi offering the MiM as flagship courses, we can safely assume it has an excellent future.
The Target Audience (Seasoned professionals vs Young professional & Graduates) The MBA requires its students to pass through very stringent criteria's such as having a certain amount of work experience, lots of professional achievements, academic distinctions etc and though this improves the quality of the customers of the MBA, it also leaves a lot of young smart people disgruntled because now they will have to work and accumulate many years of experience before they are eligible to apply for the MBA. The MiM sensed an opportunity here, the degree realizes the importance of work experience, but does not think that it should be such a major deciding factor in the admission criteria, especially when there are a lot of young ambitious students who do not prefer to take this long wait. Keeping this in mind, the MiM can be described as a degree more suited to the 21st century youngsters which borrows from the core principles of the MBA and targets these young, smart, ambitious people.
So, while the MBA is targeting the experienced class of people having 3 or more years of work experience on average , the MiM is meant for fresh graduates or people having less than 3 years of work ex, who want to have a fast track career growth plan.
No. of colleges offering the degree (Global Phenomena vs European identity) Well it is no surprise that there are literally thousands of colleges offering MBA degrees, we all know by heart the names of the Top 10 IVY degree MBA schools. Schools like Havard, Stanfard, HEC, LBS, LSE are brands in their own right and anyone would kill to get an admit into these top schools. Since a long time the MBA was the only mainstream degree these colleges offered, but they have not been oblivious to the winds of change blowing in favour for a degree suited to young professionals. As the MiM is gaining popularity many schools have taken notice and adopted the degree in their offerings portfolio, this was especially the case in European schools such as HEC , ESCP, ESSEC which were quick to adopt the Masters in Management and also make it one of its flagship products, some of them have been offering it for over a decade now and hence have a very rich curriculum and recognition as a top MiM school. Well known colleges such as IE, LBS and LSE also recognized the potential of the MiM and have been offering it for the past 6-7 years, giving high quality education via it. The US brands are still staunch supporters of the MBA and though some offer their own versions of MiM such as Havards 2+2 program and YALE's young scholar program, it is not Masters in Management in the true sense. Though in recent years famous colleges such as Duke Fuqua and HULT have started offering the MiM and are attracting a huge number of students from all over the world because of it.
International Recognition (Well Known vs Gaining Respect)In recent years the MiM is gathering momentum as an internationally recognized degree and is already seen as a very attractive alternative to the MBA, with the number of students enrolling in it increasing year by year. The MBA has a long standing reputation and is a very popular degree, instantly recognizable in any sector. MiM on the other hand is still fighting to be internationally recognized, and MiM students may have to give a formal introduction about what their degree is all about, especially if they are targeting a job outside Europe. But as the number of students is increasing year per year, alumni network is getting increasingly diverse with graduates penetrating all areas of society the time is not far when the name MiM will register the same recognition and respect that is associated with the MBA. Additionally as MiM colleges are making partnerships with universities all over the world the MiM name is gaining a formidable reputation. For people who want to build a career in Europe or want a few years of work experience before returning to their home countries, MiM is an excellent degree as it has a huge name and reach in all European countries, especially U.K, France, Germany and Italy.
Job placements (Mid-High level jobs vs Entry-Mid level jobs)The MBA due to its rich and illustrious history &is known for its high quality education system, hence it has strong relations with big companies and these companies tend to strongly favor MBA students. This placement system of the MBA is a very strong reason why it is pursued by a lot of people. Also MBA graduates are an experienced lot and hence demand mid to high level positions with a good pay, these jobs are relatively in low quantities Here the MiM has a slight advantage as the fresh young MiM graduates are talented individuals ,with more or less the same training, who are just entering the job market and hence can be picked up for entry or intermediate level jobs, which a company has a much higher number of. Plus companies tend to favor such hires as they are young and fresh in the market, and can be molded according to the companies value systems.
Reception by companies (Very High vs High)Statistics show that MiM awareness is growing at a rapid pace among HR departments, and they are recognizing the MiM as a degree whose holders tend to be high caliber future managers and hence more and more recruitments at very good packages are happening from top MiM schools. Top firms of the world are looking at the Masters in Management as a source to attain high quality individuals & groom them for future upper management roles. Big names from every industry such as BCG, Mc Kinsey or Strategy& in Consulting, L' Oreal , LVMH, P&G in Marketing to BNP Paribas, KPMG in Finance are preferring MiM graduates because of the multi-disciplinary skills they attain during their course. In this way the MiM is offering heavy competition to MBA graduates, as these MiM students are developed to take up roles which earlier would have been reserved for MBA students, this way the companies can develop managers who are aligned to their companies values and do not have to go through the trouble of training new people for upper management jobs.
Tuition Fees (High vs Medium-Low)Another difference between the two is the amount of money charged by them as their fees, the MBA with its strong and rich background and has proven its ability to get students placed in top level companies, & hence charges high premium tuition fees ranging anywhere from 40,000$ to 100,000$ per year, this data may vary but this range seems to be constant in the top ranked colleges. On the other hand the MiM trying to remain competitive and true to its job of being an attractive alternative for youngsters, tends to offer top quality education at costs about half of that of the Average MBA. One can easily get a Masters in Management degree with an investment of 18,000$ to 35,000$ per year. The cost may be a deciding factor for young students and professionals who don't have that much money stored up or do not want to drown themselves with student debt. In this case MiM packs a lot of punch for the buck , and the ROI can be really great with average salary packages ranging around 50,000$ per year. Also MiM offers a significant amount of scholarship to students they deem deserving, and this further decreases the overall cost.
VerdictSo what should you opt for the MiM or the MBA? Well the choice is purely personal and depends on the situation you are currently in. But one thing we are sure of is that both the MBA and the MiM are fabulous degrees, and you can expect a fast track career path in either of the two.
You can check out more info about the MiM at
What is Masters In Management?Regards,
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07 Jan 2010, 02:58
