MiM Degrees: Should MBA Candidates Apply to Them Instead?
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The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s Kenan-Flagler Business School launched a new master’s in management (MiM) program in January 2025, and according to Poets & Quants that will be the 39th program of this type at top United States business schools. UNC’s move follows by only a few months the University of Chicago’s introduction of a similar MiM program—reportedly one of the first two new degree programs introduced at the Booth School of Business since World War II—along with an expansion of the MiM program by Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management.
These new programs continue trends identified by recent surveys, which suggest there’s growing interest in shorter and less expensive MBA alternatives, such as the latest CarringtonCrisp poll we covered in our October 2024 report, “The Future of the MBA is Online, Says New Survey.” And although MiM programs have historically been more popular in Europe than in the United States, all these new U.S. MiM degrees might change that tradition.
Should potential MBA applicants consider an MiM instead? Yes, some should. There have always been candidates who applied to MBA programs even though they were never good matches for those programs. But now, many of those applicants have options that would serve their career objectives more effectively.
What Is an MiM, and Which Students Does It Serve?
Master in management degrees are “pre-experience” or “bridge” degrees designed for recent college graduates with little if any professional work experience, including those who did not study business or economics as undergraduates. Unlike MBA programs, which seek applicants with at least three to seven years of work experience, MiM programs provide foundational management training tailored for early-career professionals.
These are very different objectives from those driving MBA programs. MBA programs are intended to train top management, which in most organizations means any manager with a chief executive title. These C-suite executives include the chief financial officer (CFO), chief operating officer (COO), chief marketing officer (CMO), and of course, the chief executive officer (CEO).
What this means is that MiM programs cannot be considered “light” substitutes for MBA programs because these are very different programs that aren’t really competitive with each other. An MBA is a generalist’s degree that develops practical problem-solving skills that are applied regularly by successful chief executives. By contrast, an MiM is a specialist’s degree that teaches theoretical and technical concepts that early-career business analysts frequently apply. One of the best descriptions of the relationship between these two programs frames the MiM program as a precursor that’s worthwhile training for an MBA program later.
Several MiM programs are tailored so they appeal to different market segments. For example, several are entirely online, like the iMSM master’s in management program offered by the University of Illinois Gies College of Business. Others offer STEM designations, meaning that the U.S. Government has certified these programs for developing skills required by high-demand careers in science, technology, engineering, or mathematics.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) classifies STEM careers as offering some of the greatest growth potential and highest pay during the 21st century, and a STEM designation can provide special benefits to international students seeking work in the U.S.
According to GMAC data from 2021, 85 percent of MiM applicants are age 24 or younger, and 76 percent have less than two years of work experience. Additionally, some programs, like the iMSM program from Illinois Gies, do not accept applicants with undergraduate business degrees. Steve Thompson, the admissions director at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management, told Poets & Quants that the MiM’s value proposition lies with providing these non-business undergraduates an accelerated pathway into business careers with an elevated skill set and comprehensive business knowledge.
Why are Business Schools Adding MiM Programs?
Probably the one factor that fueled the creation of new master’s in management programs more than any other was the increasing reluctance of top business schools to admit MBA applicants with less than three years of work experience. The schools want applicants to have that experience for an important pedagogical reason: that experience provides students with practical problem-solving perspectives they can share during classroom discussions of business cases.
As late as the 1990s, it was still possible for an applicant with good undergraduate grades and test scores to win acceptance to several top 40 U.S. MBA programs right out of college, without any professional experience. But the schools started tightening those requirements during the 2000s. Today, it’s very unlikely that a student could win entry to a top MBA program without at least three years of full-time, professional work experience.
Product Differentiation
This admissions policy left early-career college graduates who lacked work experience in a predicament, because it shut them out of MBA programs. So the schools then started to offer more specialized business master’s degrees in finance, accounting and management to meet the needs of these recent graduates who nevertheless wanted to pursue business master’s degrees.
In this way, the schools could diversify their product offerings and attract a different applicant base without cannibalizing their MBA enrollments. In other words, this strategy amounted to a classic form of product differentiation, which Investopedia defines in this way:
Product differentiation distinguishes one company’s products or services from its competition. Successful product differentiation leads to brand loyalty and sales. A product differentiation strategy identifies and communicates the unique qualities of a product or company while highlighting the differences between that product or company and its competitors. Product differentiation can create a competitive advantage for the product’s seller and build brand awareness.
Recent data suggests this differentiation strategy might be working, because currently demand for MiM enrollments appears to be growing. For example, the 2024 GMAC Application Trends Survey points out that 69 percent of all business schools and 50 percent of U.S. schools reported growth in applications to MiM programs. This data suggests the schools are capitalizing on demand from a demographic eager for accessible business credentials to jumpstart their careers.
Efficiency and Affordability
Besides differentiating their degree programs, the schools are offering MiM degrees for other reasons. Notwithstanding the fact that MiM and MBA degrees aren’t really competitive with each other, the schools recognize that, as a practical matter, potential students will compare the programs anyway and find that MiM programs offer several advantages over MBA degrees.
For example, MiM programs typically only require a year or less. In contrast, traditional (non-accelerated) MBA degrees require two years. That one-year difference also means a much lower opportunity cost for the time spent out of the labor force, during which a student can’t earn income.
MiM programs also cost much less than MBA degrees. For example, the MiM programs at schools like Chicago Booth and Northwestern Kellogg can provide access to top-quality curricula taught by outstanding professors at schools with strong alumni networks for a fraction of the cost of an MBA program. Despite a few exceptions like Stanford, tuition at many private schools’ MiM programs tops out between only $50,000 to $70,000, which is much less than the tuition at comparable MBA programs.
For example, Georgetown University’s MiM program charges $57,960 in annual tuition, which is 43 percent of its MBA program’s tuition of $134,368, and Carnegie Mellon University charges $66,300 in tuition for its MiM degree, about 44 percent of its residential MBA program’s tuition of $151,424. Plus, Chicago Booth’s MiM tuition of $65,000 is only about 39 percent of the $168,396 tuition for its MBA program. These advantages make MiM degrees seem like a more affordable pathway to develop early-career business skills.
Access to Even More Market Segments
Besides attracting young graduates with no professional experience, MiM programs enable business schools to attract even more market segments. According to a recent article by Marc Either at Poets & Quants, women and students from underrepresented backgrounds make up substantial proportions of the MiM classes, especially at the better schools. Either reports on one MiM program at the University of Southern California’s Marshall School, where women make up 86 percent of the class. Here’s an interesting excerpt from his report:
“We focus on the demographics,” says Evelyn Williams, founding academic director of Georgetown’s program who was also involved in designing MiM courses at Wake Forest. “From day one, we focused on over 50 percent of women, pre-experience. There is no excuse not to go after a lot of women and under-represented groups. Thirty-nine percent of the latest class is African-American or Latino—41 percent if you include Asian-Americans.
These new programs serve as a bridge program for first-generation students who can’t find a way to bridge into white-collar work. That was intentional. Composition is huge. The old rule that “Oh well the women don’t apply” is old and outdated. Parity is important. We have had to work to get more men in the program.
Financial Safe Harbor
Demand for college degrees is countercyclical; any time the economy slows down, higher education enrollments spike. An MiM program gives a business school additional capacity during a recession along with its MBA program. That additional capacity can be important for recent graduates.
For example, what happens if the economy falls into a recession and a recent college graduate doesn’t have enough work experience to win entry into an MBA program? An MiM degree can provide a graduate with a safe harbor that shelters them from an uncertain job market. They might be entering graduate study sooner than they had planned, but the program will still provide good preparation for an MBA program later on.
Harvard’s Special Case: Master of Liberal Arts, Management
Before we close, this report wouldn’t be complete without briefly mentioning one program that’s a very interesting special case. This is Harvard University’s degree called the master of liberal arts, management, offered by the Harvard Extension School.
Unlike about 53 percent of the 39 MiM programs tracked by Poets & Quants that require scores on the GRE or GMAT, this Harvard degree requires performance-based admissions (PBA). Students in this program automatically win admission by completing the first three courses with a B or higher grade. PBA is the most disruptive innovation to impact higher education in decades.
This Harvard program is also predominantly online. All the classes are conducted online except for a single brief class which must be taken in residence on Harvard’s campus in Cambridge, Massachusetts. And in contrast to most MiM students who are recent college graduates, this program’s older student profile resembles that of an executive MBA program. The $40,000 tuition is also substantially less than most other MiM programs from private universities on the Poets list.
No, this program is not taught by the Harvard Business School. But with the surprising combination of performance admissions, predominantly online instruction, and the biggest brand in higher education—Harvard University—this unique program deserves a closer look from MiM applicants.
