A Master of Business Administration, or MBA, is the most popular advanced degree in the United States. Business degrees currently account for more than a quarter of all master’s degrees [1], but current statistics group MBAs with more specialized business master’s degrees including the Master of Science in Analytics, or MSA. While MBAs still make up the majority of advanced business degrees, some experts suggest the growing popularity of courses like the MSA has helped business qualifications overtake the master’s in education [1].
Today, specialized business master’s degrees like the MSA are as easily accessible as the more traditional MBA. Students can choose to study such programs at bricks-and-mortar institutions or remotely via online courses offered by leading education providers like Villanova University. Such availability increases the options of students across the United States, but it can also make it difficult for them to choose.
An MBA gives students a broad base of knowledge about the business field that builds on the knowledge gained during a bachelor’s degree. An MSA offers a more specialized education in analytics, a growing field that concerns the analysis of business data [2]. Both courses have their strengths and weaknesses, but is an MBA or an MSA the right choice for you?
