MBA vs. Specialized Master's: How the Degrees Differ

If you want a business master's online, the first choice is usually between an MBA and a specialized master's such as an MSc in Finance, a Master of Accountancy or an MSc in Marketing. The two can look similar on a fee table, but they are built for different people. This guide explains the differences in audience, entry requirements, curriculum and admissions tests, using official program pages as examples.

Two kinds of master's degree

The UK Quality Assurance Agency (QAA) describes master's courses in business and management along two lines: content, either "specialist versus non-specialist or generalist," and whether a course is designed "for career entry or career development students." That gives four broad types:

QAA also warns that "the title alone does not determine the type of course." An MA in Marketing could be written for new graduates or for experienced marketers. So read the entry requirements and course structure, not just the name.

The MBA: broad and built on experience

QAA's benchmark statement calls MBA degrees "essentially generalist in nature although a limited amount of specialisation may be included." It describes generalist post-experience courses as building on "significant postgraduation and/or relevant work experience," normally at least two years, and notes that pre-experience courses "typically do not use the MBA title."

Online MBA pages reflect this:

• Imperial College Business School's Global Online MBA requires "a minimum of three years of continuous relevant full-time work experience after graduation."
• Boston University says successful Online MBA applicants "typically have at least six years of full-time, post graduate experience."
• Syracuse's Whitman School generally expects "at least 18 months of full-time professional work experience" by the program start.

QAA says these courses are "distinguished by an emphasis on leadership and strategic management." Heriot-Watt's online MBA core, for example, includes Financial Decision Making, Strategic Marketing, and Leadership Theory and Practice alongside people, project and strategy courses. Many MBAs let you add a concentration. Penn State World Campus's online MBA, for example, "includes 39 core credits and 9 credits of concentration course work." A concentration adds depth, but most of the degree is still general management.

The Executive MBA

An Executive MBA is a master's degree, not a separate level of qualification. The difference is the intended audience, and the entry requirements show it. As with any MBA, check the page itself: some programs called "MBA" ask for as much experience as an EMBA, and some EMBAs ask for less. Browse online master's programs and filter by degree type to compare the requirements side by side.

The specialized master's: depth in one field

Specialized master's degrees go deep in a single subject. QAA describes career-entry specialist courses as programs that "do not usually require previous work experience and are designed for career entrants," often with a related first degree, and notes that some "are linked to professional body qualifications and membership." Post-experience specialist courses, by contrast, "will normally require prior or contemporaneous relevant work experience."

The same business school can set very different expectations for its MBA and its specialized master's. Imperial's online MSc Strategic Marketing states that "Work experience is not a requirement," while its Global Online MBA requires three years. Syracuse says "Work experience is not required for admission to Whitman’s online M.S. programs," but it does expect experience for the MBA.

Where a program states a link to a profession, it is more often on a specialized master's page. Syracuse, for example, says its online M.S. in Professional Accounting "is registered as a New York State CPA Licensure Qualifying Program." If that matters to you, read finance vs. accounting, and check the finance and accounting subject pages for programs that state a professional-body relationship.

GMAT, GRE and the Executive Assessment

Test policies vary widely, and they often differ between an MBA and a specialized master's at the same school. Some examples from official pages:

• Required unless you have enough experience. UNC Kenan-Flagler says "GMAT or GRE scores are required for applicants with fewer than five years of professional experience" for its Online MBA. For its online Master of Accounting, "A GMAT or GRE test score is not required to apply."
• Waivers. UMass Amherst's Isenberg Online MBA lists "GMAT/GRE Waivers Available."
• Optional. Syracuse states that "GMAT and GRE scores are optional for all Whitman online MBA and M.S. programs."
• Not required. Penn State says applicants to its online MBA "do not need to submit any GRE or GMAT test scores."

The Executive Assessment is a separate test offered by the Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC), which says it is "designed for busy professionals and non-traditional candidates" and is "a more streamlined assessment." Only use it where the program says it accepts it.

Remember that "optional" is not the same as "not reviewed." When a test is optional, the page often says what a score can add (for example, evidence of quantitative skills). If the page says nothing at all about tests, do not assume they are not required; ask.

How to decide

Questions that usually settle it:

1. How much work experience do you have? If you have little or none, most MBAs will not be open to you yet, and a career-entry specialized master's may be the realistic option.
2. Do you want breadth or depth? An MBA prepares you to manage across functions. A specialized master's prepares you to work deeply in one.
3. Are you aiming for a professional qualification? Check whether the specific program, not just the school, states a relationship with the relevant professional body, and what that relationship is.
4. What does the admissions page actually require? Write down experience, test policy and prior-degree rules for each program; they vary more than titles suggest.

Then line up your finalists in compare to see attendance, duration and fees together.