I learned MBA courses in UK and U.S.A. Actually, I was a full-time student at a British business school and learned in the U.S.A as an exchange student. This gave me an opportunity to learn the difference between the American MBA course and the European MBA course. Surprisingly they are very different more than what I expected. If you are planning to study at an MBA school, I strongly recommend considering which region you are going to study in because it has a lot of differences.
I can assume many MBA applicants consider which MBA they are going to take. I was also wondering which course was good for my career.
I will explain what was the difference between American MBA school and European MBA school.
British schools are more academic, American schools are more practical
Many people may think that an MBA is the same no matter where you study. However, I think you need to pay attention to the local characteristics as they greatly influence the atmosphere of the school and the content of the classes.
For example, most of the lecturers on MBA courses in the UK are professors. All of the professors are consultants for private companies, so there is a lot of talk about the real world, but I felt the content of the classes was more academic.
On the other hand, MBA courses in the US are taught by external lecturers, so the talks are more interesting. For example, I was able to learn directly from venture capitalists who really invest in startups and serial entrepreneurs who have successfully started their own businesses many times.
Personally, the lectures at the American business school were more interesting for me because I was looking for practical knowledge. This might depend on what you are looking for MBA course.
It might be different depending on the school. I strongly recommend talking to current students about what the classes look like.
Background of Students are different
In addition to lecturers, students are different. How are they different? I will explain several differences.
Professional background
Many MBAs in the US are interested in entrepreneurship, and I felt an atmosphere of enthusiasm for entrepreneurship that is unique to the West Coast. There was a wide range of backgrounds, from engineers and consultants to real estate.
Conversely, in the UK, there were a lot of finance people at my school, perhaps influenced by the financial centre of London. About 20% of the students were probably in finance. The next majority was business consultants. Conversely, I felt there were quite a few engineering.
Nationalities
Furthermore, there are differences in nationalities. American schools have more Americans. There are many Asians who look Asian but grew up in the USA. Many international students were of Chinese descent and they were super rich.
Conversely, in the UK, partly because of the emphasis on multinationality, British people were in the minority and many students were from India and South America. In the UK, many international students (especially those from developing countries) were rich. Some are serial entrepreneurs or sons/daughters of family business owners.
age
As you might know, American business schools prefer younger generations. I clearly see the trend at the American business school. Many students look 20’s.
On the other hand, European business school has a higher generation. They have a lot of 20’s students but they have more 30’s students.
This has pros and cons. Since I was 30’s when I studied, I was more comfortable at European business school.
‘It was surprising how much difference there was between schools’
Conclusion
After actually studying at schools in the UK and the US, the content and atmosphere of what you could learn were quite different because different schools focus on different fields of study, even in the same major.
It is difficult to say which is better, the UK or the USA, because they are both different.
I liked the multinational environment in the UK, but the content and atmosphere of the classes were more practical and interesting in the USA.
