{"id":28014,"date":"2015-03-26T03:00:56","date_gmt":"2015-03-26T10:00:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/2015\/03\/mba-specializations-for-fast-tracking-your-management-career\/"},"modified":"2015-03-26T03:00:56","modified_gmt":"2015-03-26T10:00:56","slug":"mba-specializations-for-fast-tracking-your-management-career","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/mba-specializations-for-fast-tracking-your-management-career\/","title":{"rendered":"MBA Specializations for Fast-Tracking Your Management Career"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Discover<\/a><\/p>\n

Wine industry management? We\u2019ll drink to that. Photo courtesy Daniel Lee<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

As we\u2019ve mentioned previously on the blog, business school graduates are no longer limited<\/a> to jobs in traditional fields like investment banking, consulting, and financial services. In recent years, there\u2019s been increasing opportunity for business students to pursue MBA specializations that prepare them for careers in tech<\/a>, entertainment<\/a>, music<\/a>, and healthcare<\/a>.<\/p>\n

So, how do you choose from among so many possible MBA careers, especially if your interests lie off of the beaten path? One option is to enroll in a business school that\u2019s well-known for a niche MBA specialization.<\/p>\n

Find your management niche<\/h4>\n

As Nancy Hass points out in an article in the New York Times<\/em><\/a>, graduate schools of business have been champions of specialization over the last few decades: \u201cSince 1990, the year that the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business International, the main accreditation board for business schools, changed its guidelines to encourage innovative curriculums, schools have focused on areas like aerospace, wine management, luxury goods, real estate and energy management.\u201d<\/p>\n

These niche programs allow business students to focus intensely on the commercial and practical concerns of their chosen MBA career path. Jan Williams, the board chairman of the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business, explains<\/a> that the level of in-depth knowledge and hands-on experience associated with such MBA specializations can \u201chelp fast-track a student\u2019s career.\u201d<\/p>\n

To get you thinking about potential career fast-tracks, let\u2019s take a closer look at some different niche MBA specializations at leading business schools:<\/p>\n

MBA for aviation<\/h4>\n

The Aviation and Aviation Management MBA<\/a> at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (ERAU) in Daytona Beach, Florida can prepare you for a variety of exciting MBA careers in the business of flight. In this program, you will concentrate on how modern business practices apply to aviation and aviation organizations.<\/p>\n

The first year of coursework revolves around core aviation business classes like \u201cStrategic Marketing Management in Aviation\u201d and \u201cOrganizational Behavior, Theory, and Applications in Aviation.\u201d ERAU keeps its curriculum current<\/a> by obtaining input from an advisory board of aerospace executives and representatives from organizations like NASA and the International Civil Aviation Organization. Needless to say, there are plenty of opportunities to network with industry professionals<\/a> from these major organizations.<\/p>\n

MBA for the wine industry<\/h4>\n

In 2008, Sonoma State University School of Business and Economics<\/a> in Rohnert Park, California was the first to offer an MBA specialized exclusively in the business practices of the wine industry. The school is located in California\u2019s wine country, so it\u2019s been able to establish a strong partnership between its MBA program and world-renowned winemakers. Students can enroll in such industry-focused courses as \u201cWine Industry Compliance and Law,\u201d \u201cInternational Supply Chain Management,\u201d and \u201cMarketing and Sales Strategies for Wine.\u201d One popular student club on campus is the Wine Sense Club<\/a>, for obvious reasons.<\/p>\n

MBA for the gaming industry<\/h4>\n

Students in the University of Nevada-Reno MBA program<\/a> can choose nine elective credits from a variety of industry or functional MBA specializations, including courses focused on the study of gambling and commercial gaming. Graduate-level business courses in economics and gaming management include titles like \u201cCasino Industry Regulation,\u201d \u201cEconomic and Social Aspects of Gaming and Gambling,\u201d and \u201cQuantitative Methods and Applications in Casino Gambling.\u201d MBA students at UNR\u2019s program also have the opportunity to find internships and conduct research at local hotel and resort casinos (another reason why location matters when choosing an MBA program<\/a>).<\/p>\n

MBA for sports fans<\/h4>\n

As Hass points out in her NYT article, \u201cEuropean business schools were early adopters of the specialization model.\u201d It\u2019s no surprise, then, that Liverpool\u2014home to the Liverpool Football Club (that\u2019s soccer, for you Americans)\u2014is also home to the first and only MBA specialization dedicated to the football industry. University of Liverpool Management School<\/a>\u00a0students who aspire to work for football clubs and governing bodies or who want to pursue a career in football marketing, media, and sponsorship can take courses and complete work-based projects with such industry leaders as Liverpool Football Club, Manchester City Football Club, the Football Association, and UEFA. Relevant courses include \u201cInternational Football Industry\u201d and \u201cBecoming a Football Executive.\u201d<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re a business school hopeful who already has a specific focus in mind, then pursuing a niche specialization from a leading business school may help accelerate your path to career success. Even if you\u2019re not quite sure which of the many possible MBA careers are right for you, researching different types of MBA specializations can still give you valuable insight into the available options.<\/p>\n

Tell your fellow business school applicants in the comments section about other niche MBA careers out there. Then, prepare for the specialized program of your dreams by signing up for a free GMAT practice test<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The post MBA Specializations for Fast-Tracking Your Management Career<\/a> appeared first on Kaplan GMAT Blog<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Wine industry management? We\u2019ll drink to that. Photo courtesy Daniel Lee As we\u2019ve mentioned previously on the blog, business school graduates are no longer limited to jobs in traditional fields…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":120,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"1","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9,558,243,940],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-28014","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-gmat","category-kaplan-blog","category-blog","category-gmat-prep-gmat","entry"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28014","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/120"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=28014"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28014\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=28014"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=28014"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=28014"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}