An undergraduate business degree should give you a solid foundation in the fundamentals of business: management, finance, accounting, operations, strategy and statistics. Business school should also provide you with a real understanding of business ethics as well as leadership skills and the ability to communicate effectively. All these aspects will benefit a business career, and are absolutely essential to success in senior management positions. But these are the basics that virtually any employer will expect. And the basics are only the beginning. The real way to gain knowledge, and to get ahead in a career, is to receive an MBA.
Even if you are only beginning to ponder pursuing a graduate business degree, you need to start mulling over some specific concentrations. Most business schools require students to take core courses for foundation and electives of their choice in a variety of different concentrations, specializations or majors in the business field.
The variety of concentrations available at business schools, as in the business world itself, is pretty dizzying. Different schools offer different specializations, and you’ll want to do your own in-depth research as you consider which programs to apply to. That said, here’s a look at some of the most common business subject concentrations:
Finance: This field includes areas such as capital markets, corporate finance, commercial banking, hedge funds, sales and trading, financial planning, investment banking and private equity. Whether you see yourself trading stocks on the floor of the NYSE or helping individuals plan their financial futures, whether on Wall Street or in your hometown, finance may be the concentration for you and is a fundamental part of every business education as well as a concentration.
Accounting: This concentration is designed for those seeking a career in accounting administration or business accounts administration and will benefit anyone who plans to pursue a role that involves financial decision-making or communicating with investors. Areas likely to be covered are managerial accounting, taxation, auditing, accounting information systems, corporate finance and analysis of accounting data.
Marketing: A specialization in marketing will teach you to identify audiences for various products and services, and to understand competitors and the market in general. Successful marketing professionals are innovators who can conceive effective campaigns and then properly promote, distribute and price those goods or services. Beyond marketing firms, this specialty is particularly popular in the media and entertainment fields, and marketing skills can be crucial for an entrepreneur.
Global/International/Multinational Management: International business requires a variety of marketing, managerial and financial skills and knowledge unique to each country or region—whether an established or emerging foreign market. An understanding of differing financial institutions and political systems is key to operating international businesses, global organizations or government agencies. How to value international companies, enter into and operate in foreign markets, and currency hedging are likely areas of study in this concentration. Many students who plan to specialize in global management choose to attend a business school with study abroad or international internship opportunities.
Human Resource Management: This concentration focuses on what is the greatest asset of many companies—its employees. Likely areas of focus include organizational psychology, hiring and firing, training, performance evaluation, promotion, salary and bonus compensation, record keeping of personal and performance data and legal issues.
Operations Management/Information Systems: Students specializing in operations management will learn efficient ways to run and manage businesses involved in the production of goods and services. Typical skills include management of the distribution and supply chain, an understanding of various information systems for production, logistics and operations strategy, and production, inventory and quality management. Information systems specialists design, analyze and manage the information necessary to best run such businesses and stay competitive.
Risk Management/Insurance: This concentration applies most obviously to those who plan to seek a job in the insurance sector, which deals with accidental risk and loss, but also primes the pump for careers in enterprise risk management—managing and minimizing financial, operational and other risks for almost any type of company or organization.
Health Care/Pharmaceutical Management: This complex and changing field is full of issues unique to it, from regulatory compliance to medical malpractice to legal issues in managed care. A concentration can help prepare you for myriad roles in pharmaceuticals and biotechnology companies, HMOs, insurance organizations, government agencies and health care consulting firms.
Real Estate: Real estate concentrators focus on the particulars of real estate finance and investment, valuation, commercial real estate and real estate investment trust (REIT), international real estate, developments, tax issues and analysis of the real estate market.
Entrepreneurship/Entrepreneurial Management:For those innovators who plan to launch or cultivate a new business, this specialization pulls together study of the many different fields necessary to give a new company the best chance to succeed. Having a great idea is only the start. Successful entrepreneurs not only see opportunity but also make things happen, by gathering capital and resources, launching and sustaining a business and capturing a market.
If you are considering earning a graduate degree in business, decide the career you want, and its corresponding concentration, and then search the GradSchools.com directory to find the ideal program for you.