Don’t Believe What You Hear: The MBA Is More Relevant Than Ever

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The MBA is much maligned today. It’s too expensive. It’s not relevant. It’s out of sync with the “new world.” Sure, depending on what you want to do with your life, an MBA may not be the best option. Yet, the idea that it’s generally not a useful graduate degree couldn’t be farther from the truth. The MBA is more relevant than ever—not just relevant, but necessary.

Why? For starters, it’s important to note that the world’s (and business’s) biggest problems are interdisciplinary. No challenge fits into a single lane. Want to run an organization trying to stop and reverse climate change? You better understand the chemistry of carbon, economics, project management, government, and leadership principles. Want to start a company that makes medical devices? You’ll need to know something about biology, federal regulations, marketing, and venture capital. Want to help a large tech firm develop and execute an AI strategy? Knowledge in software development, ethics, strategy, and scaling a product or service is critical.

You may argue that you don’t learn about all these varied topics in an MBA program. That’s true, you don’t. But MBA candidates come from exceptionally varied backgrounds. If you’re getting a master’s in physics, you and your classmates likely studied physics or a related discipline in your undergrad programs. Not so in most MBA cohorts. For example, only 24% of students in Harvard Business School’s class of 2024 studied business in college. Twenty-eight percent had engineering degrees, 14% studied physical sciences, 10% social sciences, 19% economics and 5% arts or humanities. While Harvard Business School is more diverse than many, undergraduate business majors make up less than half a class, on average, across a large sample of MBA programs.

Getting an MBA after earning a bachelor’s degree in a non-business discipline uniquely equips you to view problems differently and increases your chances of success. And that’s not only true at the individual level. Since you’ll be in a class with varied backgrounds, you’ll connect with people who might one day become business partners. Their understanding of different disciplines will help you—and them—do more than you otherwise could. One plus one truly is greater than two in this scenario. Even if you don’t partner with classmates, you’ll have access to a network you can call on when you need expertise beyond your own.

Another thing that makes an MBA relevant is that many MBA students learn through the case method. I describe the case method as learning through storytelling. Students read about a real-world situation a leader faced and then, with the professor acting as a facilitator, discuss what they might do if dealt the same challenge. Not only does the case method help aspiring leaders learn how to make decisions when there’s ambiguity and incomplete information, it helps them become stronger communicators who can act quickly and make persuasive arguments.

The challenges governments and businesses face today need such thinkers and communicators. Unlike other programs, the MBA isn’t just about knowledge, it’s about knowledge put into practice through leadership. That’s important; the world needs people who not only identify problems (most of us are good at that) but take action to solve them through their work and the work of those they lead. The MBA has a unique position in the landscape of educational offerings when it comes to this focus on developing in its students a way to think that helps them develop hypotheses, test those hypotheses, and then act based on what they’ve learned. It’s hard to lead if you can’t make convincing arguments about why the path forward is the right one.

Speaking of leading, virtually all MBA programs aspire to help their students become better leaders. No other graduate degree program does that. And for good reason: It’s hard. But it’s important. The single scarcest resource on the planet today is strong, competent leadership. Imagine a world where all leaders throughout the ranks of corporations and nonprofits had outstanding leadership skills. As importantly, envision a world where our politicians had those skills. After all, business is a training ground for many elected officials. In the 117th U.S. Congress, “businessperson” is the second most cited prior profession after “public servant.” The MBA does more than most graduate degree programs to help seed the world with leaders at a time when they’re more essential than ever.

Humanity certainly needs people with advanced degrees in disciplines outside of business, too. There’s no doubt about that. But claiming the MBA is somehow outdated is just wrong. If the degree went away tomorrow, the world would be worse off. It’s that important.

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