Prepping for an MBA with a Business Studies Certificate

I'm Catherine Girardeau with MBA Podcaster. I'm working on an upcoming episode on prepping for an MBA by taking courses before starting the MBA program. Do people coming from non-business backgrounds need to get some coursework under their belts before applying for or entering an MBA program?

I talked yesterday with Charissa Asbury, Director of Business Programs in the School of Continuing Education at Columbia University. She said her program is really geared toward potential MBA applicants who may have practical experience working in business, but don't have a strong academic background in the subject matter they might encounter in business school. These students are looking for ways to enhance their applications. People who have been accepted to MBA programs also take Continuing Ed business courses at Columbia to get some academic coursework under their belts to better prepare them for the first year in an MBA program. Yet another group of students may be considering going for an MBA but have a less-than-stellar GPA. Getting a Business Studies certificate can be a great way to show schools that they can handle the rigors of an MBA program.

Five classes and a B- average are required for the Business Studies Certificate. The program is designed for part-time students, with most courses offered at night as well as during the day. "It's almost like a mini-MBA," Asbury said. "They are graduate level courses." Students who get the Business Studies certificate and then go into an MBA program have reported back that they were so relieved to have had that coursework done before entering the first year of their MBA. "With the exception of some of the higher-level math classes, our coursework is pretty close to what you could expect in your first year," Asbury said.

Sounds like in an ideal world, liberal arts grads considering B-school might want to take some math classes with Dale Meader at UCLA, then hop on over to Columbia to take the Business Studies Certificate. According to the folks I interviewed for my last MBA Podcaster show, in this economic environment, there's no such thing as being over-prepared for your MBA application.

Listen for the full show, which will be available on our site within the next couple months.

(Updated! Listen to the completed show here: http://www.mbapodcaster.com/MBA_MoreInfo/Preparing_for_an_MBA.asp?iEpisode=79)