5 Most Popular MBA Concentrations

MBA programs offer hundreds of concentration options for students to focus on a particular area of business. Although choosing a concentration isn't required for every MBA degree, having a concentration can help you define the trajectory of your career. It's important to think strategically while also choosing a concentration you enjoy. Below are the five most popular MBA concentrations, for your consideration. You can also use our business school search  to find MBA programs by concentration, size, location, and more. 

1. Strategy

An MBA concentration in Strategy prepares students for careers managing complicated dynamics in shifting global markets—and offers some of the highest starting salaries for MBA graduates. Businesses in every industry need strategy to compete, which requires people who can formulate and implement objectives and policies that will lead to success. 

2. Corporate Finance

Lucrative and competitive, a concentration in  Corporate Finance offers students the chance to put their analytical skills to the test. You'll study quantitative and theoretical approaches to managing corporate finances as well as statistics in order to obtain the skills necessary to manage huge quantities of money

3. Operations

Want to be a top executive? Consider an MBA concentration in  Operations . Operations are how organizations turn inputs, such as materials and labor, into outputs, like new products or faster processes. Without streamlined operations teams, businesses would fall behind their competitors. Operations skills are also widely applicable to a variety of nontraditional business disciplines, such as healthcare and education. 

4. Entrepreneurship

Concentrate in Entrepreneurship if your goal is to start and manage your own business. You’ll study successful and unsuccessful cases and gain experience developing business proposals. You'll also learn about opportunity assessment, resource acquisition, team building, leadership, and fundraising—everything you need to get a successful startup off the ground. 

5. Management

Management is still a popular MBA concentration. Why? It's simple: good management skills are critical to the success of a company at every level. Managing people, money, and information well is imperative, and if you want your MBA to make an impact no matter what industry you work in, a concentration in management could be right for you. 

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