Are you a rockstar looking to start your own record label, Music Production Company or manage your concert events globally?
Maybe you are an Economist who would like to successfully handle adverse effects of economies on businesses?
Perhaps you are a passionate protestor against global warming and want to use profitable and non-profitable business forms to bring about change?
Or a Liberal Arts major who wants to start a neighborhood, profitable yet socially responsible, Arts Centre?
From an MBA in Music Management to Business Economics, or an MBA in Environmental Management to Liberal Arts, they all very much exist and are pursued by candidates who are peaking in their industry but would like to gain business management and leadership skills to accelerate their career, and perhaps venture into unique businesses.
Let’s look at some of the edgier MBAs that candidates are actively seeking in global B-Schools.
1. MBA in Social Innovation
It is no big surprise that individuals, corporates and economies on the whole are now looking at innovation not only in terms of profit and efficient progress, but critically through social and environmental development. Be it economic or healthcare development, climate change or education, candidates looking to feed their moral and ethical values can look at INSEAD, IE, MIT, Harvard, Stanford and the likes for an education through Social Innovation. Some of these programs urge you to live and work in developing countries or organizations in need of social change, and to bring about innovation with the help of local students and non-profit professionals. The core of this module is to develop your Socially Innovative Leadership skills.
2. MBA in Business Economics
As discussed briefly above, candidates looking to understand the relationship between economics and its impact on businesses and the governments should consider an MBA in Business Economics. Under this specialization, aspirants can learn Financing & Managing Governments, Risk Analysis and Environmental Management, International Industrial Development Strategies, Econometrics, International Macroeconomic Policies and Energy Management, among others. Candidates can either work for organizations analyzing the economic policies and effects on businesses, or vice-versa work with the government analyzing the organizational growth and organizational impacts on the economy. Wharton and NYU are two of the Top schools offering this specialization.
3. MBA in Environmental Management
Most profit and non-profit organizations require leaders passionate about environmental responsibility, who can precisely calculate business risks and implement effective usage of alternative sources of energy. This specialization produces young leaders who can make analytical environmental decisions across various industries, disciplines and boundaries. It helps students understand the connection between communities and businesses, and also touches upon corporates’ social responsibility initiatives. Yale & University of San Francisco are some of the programs giving a Dual or Joint Degree in this specialization.
4. MBA in Healthcare Management
This particular specialization has gained popularity due to the revolutionary changes in global healthcare policies. It intends to help candidates learn global policies, strategies and innovations in the healthcare industry, as well as manage healthcare informatics, public health in developing countries, health law, fraud and abuse. It also tackles the correlation between healthcare and technologies, medical management of diseases, quality and operations management and the likes. Some of the schools recognized for this program are Michigan-Ann Arbor, University of Alabama-Birmingham, University of Minnesota-Twin Cities and Virginia Commonwealth University.
5. MBA in Music Business
Creative problem-solving has become core to most businesses, including the music industry, so whether you are a professional musician or a music business professional, you will learn the skills of marketing your talent in the most efficient manner, while honing your leadership skills. The curriculum includes teaching aspirants new technologies and production & distribution methods, so creative leaders can attain success in the rapidly evolving music industry. The students will learn application of best practice business theories to problems that have musical inclinations. This degree can be pursued as a Joint Degree with the MBA at UC Berkeley, NYU and Henley Business School, among others.
6. MBA in Luxury Management / Marketing
Brands are given the title “Luxury” simply because of their positioning in the market for many years. While that in itself is an art, many candidates aspire to further this positioning and branding in the market, and often Luxury Brands demand candidates to specifically have the skillsets to do so. This industry poses several challenges, such as the nature of the target market, the importance of establishing a relationship with the client and, most importantly, loyalty. Hence, an MBA in Luxury Brand Management has come into play, and it is surprisingly not limited to fashion accessories alone, but also fragrances, cosmetics, watches, jewelry and more recently cars and other items deemed out of the spending power of most. Some of the modules taught under this specialization are retail strategy, luxury marketing, marketing and planning strategy, innovation and design, brand strategy, and the likes. Some of the well-known schools that conduct this course are, ESSEC, NYU, LSBF and IFA Paris.
7. MBA in Sports Management
The USA alone boasts of generating $400 billion per year from the Sports Industry, and with various countries putting their best foot forward, be it in Olympics, Football, Cricket or Basket Ball, the demand in the market for experts in Sports Management has increased drastically. The specialization can be done either as a Joint Degree with an MBA & MS in Sports or as an MBA in Sports Management. This specialization enables you to manage sports business problems on a large scale, as coaches, athletic directors, agents or recruiters, amongst others. This curriculum includes indulging in new technologies, usage of public relations skills, sports law, best practices business from ethical and moral perspectives, and the science of sports for the maximization of revenue in the sports business. Some of the universities that excel in this specialization are Columbia, Indiana University, University of North Carolina and George Washington University.
You can find various other specializations that both accelerate your management skills and help you pursue job functions that you are passionate about. These specialized skills enhance your profile and give you opportunities to obtain niche roles in specific industries that there is a huge demand in the market for. Most importantly, these specializations give you the competitive edge in the market that many others might not be able to showcase with a generalized MBA program and/or work experience in that industry.
