MBA is Masters of Business Administration. This is the management and business postgraduate degree normally subsequent to a bachelor’s degree. The MBA is hosted by business schools and colleges of various universities across the world.
Masters of Business Administration or MBA for short, is a professional postgraduate degree. The course is designed for fresh starter in business and for experienced personnel seeking managerial and administrative skills and knowledge. For this reason, the MBA program accepts applications from virtually all fields but with strong emphasis on experience.
In recent times, MBA courses has added new areas and speciality. These new MBA fields are in computing and Information technology. Generally, MBA degrees are available with specialization in finance, investment, human resource management, management, marketing, entrepreneurship, supply chain management and so on.
Why do you need a MBA?
The response on “why MBA?” is best answered by the student. While a MBA offers great opportunities, it gets down to individual intrinsic motivation.
A MBA degree, especially from a top business school is a gate pass to certain careers. For example, top Wall street investment and banking cooperations value and hunt MBA graduates for employment. Though it is not close ended, getting into a career in finance, supply chain and logistics, human and people management in a fortune 500 company without a MBA is almost impossible.
In Nigeria, the MBA degree is not a necessary requirement for entry level positions. But as you rise higher in a business career, it would become a requirement. An organisation would want a significant number of its executives to be holders of top MBA degrees from world class business schools.
In addition, a MBA degree is a path for non business degree graduates to cross path. The core of many businesses is manufacturing, mining, chemical and allied, food and pharmaceuticals, construction and so on. As more non business graduates rise to the top of their career, they need to hone their skills in business and management. The masters of business administration MBA, provides that.
More non business graduates are getting admitted into MBA courses. This is also as recruiters seeks after these crop of MBA graduates. An Engineer, Artist or Programmer with a MBA degree brings in a diverse range of fresh business skills into the organisation.
Top Schools that Offer MBA in Nigeria
These are a list of Nigerian universities that host a Masters of Business Administration program. It is not arranged in any order but more likely based on their popularity. None of these Nigerian M.B.A have broken into the top ranked M.B.A globally.
1. Lagos Business School. This is the business school of Pan African University, Lagos. It’s MBA program is popular and well recommended by business executives in Nigeria.
Lagos Business School (LBS) has partnerships with some global institutions. These include the Association of African Business School (AABS), the Global Business School Network (GBSN), the Principles for Responsible Management Education (PRME) and the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB).
2. University of Lagos. UNILAG is known for it executive and part time MBA courses. While these programs are very expensive, UNILAG MBA gives the flexibility needed by many working executives. Students are often Lagos business executives. They go to work during the day and visit UNILAG campus at night or weekends for their study.
The regular Masters of Business Administration courses by University of Lagos is also rated within Nigeria.
Others are
3.University of Port Harcourt.
4. University of Abuja.
6. University of Benin
7. Covenant University
Top Global Schools for MBA
The list is in no particular order.
1. Wharton Business School. This business school is at the University of Pennsylvania.
2. Harvard Business School. It is located at Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts. United States.
3. MIT, Sloan school of management. This is the business school of Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Amherst
4. Kellogg school of Management. This business school is at Northwestern University, Illinois.
5. INSEAD: The business school of the world.
Online MBA degree for Nigerians
Considering the high cost of an Masters in Business Administration degree. Many overseas business schools are now making the curriculum available online. Some of the online MBA are in partnership with a Nigerian based body or promoter. Others are done completely remotely. The advantage of getting a world class foreign degree without stepping foot outside Nigeria is numerous. More on online MBA study in another post.
The online MBA schools that offer admission to Nigerians are
2. Rome Business School Nigeria.
3. Ahmadu Bello university: Distance learning online
Popular Nigerians with Masters of Business Administration Degree
1. Mrs. Ibukun Awosika: Former Chairman, First Bank
2. Godwin Emefiele: Current Governor, Central Bank of Nigeria.
3. Babajide Sanwo-Olu: Governor of Lagos state
4. Zainab Ahmed: Current minister of finance in Nigeria.
See a MBA student at Canada
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