The two-year MBA programme is likely to get phased out in a decade as students and working professionals in a fast-changing world will find continuing education and executive MBA programmes more useful to stay updated rather than spending two years learning management in an educational institute, according to premier B-School Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad (IIMA) Director Errol D’Souza.

Agreeing, D'Souza says the two-year programme will diminish in importance over the next decade. “Given the rapid pace of change, spending two years in an educational institute learning management seems like a little waste of time.” He elaborated that corporations are also looking for people with prior work experience. “So, you want people who have worked for 3-4 years, have an understanding of organisations, and then come in maybe for a one-year programme and then do continuing education through executive education, which is another thing we focus on a lot. Then, you are constantly upgrading yourself as the world is changing,” he said.

https://www.businesstoday.in/education/story/iim-ahmedabad-sees-the-two-year-mba-programme-getting-phased-out-in-a-decade-352587-2022-11-11

MBA especially 2 year MBA degrees typically in North America is simply not the best for the future of works and careers.

His observations come even as questions are growing louder about the relevance of a two-year management programme in a rapidly changing and digitising world where what was taught in a two-year programme may not be practically applicable by the time the student graduates. In 2022, applications to premier US institutes, Harvard Business School and The Wharton School declined by 15.4 per cent and 13.9 per cent, respectively.

Harvard and Wharton still have several applicants per seat. 6,800 people applied for 870 seats in Wharton's class of 2025. The decline is in US applicants: international applicant numbers are still rising for the MBA. I think this is a huge challenge for small programs serving a domestic audience.