Hi all,

Looking at doing an online mba, or masters of some sort, want it to be related to finance, as I want to get into investment banking.

Firstly I am an australian, but currently live in denmark. I want to do an online MBA because I'm not sure where I'll be in the near future. Also would like it to be with a European school I think, but I guess not that important. ANy suggestions on an masters or MBA that is accreddited, and will be considered by employers to have value, and one tahts not too expensive too.

I have been looking at the Swiss business school ditance MBA but Im not so sure if its worth doing. Its good cos its cheap, but I just dont think it has the right accredditations. Anyone got any reliable feedback on it, do you think employers will be impressed by it?

Thanks

SBS Swiss Business School offers a Distance Learning MBA with concentrations in International Management, Marketing, Global Financial Management, Entrepreneurship, E-Commerce, and is accredited by FIBAA and IACBE.

You also have
- Swiss Management Center (DL MBA with concentrations in Corporate & Managerial Finance, International Marketing Management, Leadership & Organisational Behavior, Operations Management, Strategic Management)
- College for Management Studies & Development (CMSD-SWISS)
- Robert Kennedy College

I did not check whteher these three are accredited, but you should find this information on their website.

Thanks, but those arent the big accreditations that the SBS has. I think they should have AACSB and EQUIS to really be recognised by prospective employers

I agree with that if you that AACSB, AMBA and Equis are the most important accreditations bodies on an international level. However, FIBAA is a reputed accreditation organization for German-language MBAs. There are some very good German MBAs that are solely accredited by FIBAA; here is the complete list of German Master programs accredited by FIBAA : http://www.fibaa.de/ger/master.htm

But then again, I have to admit that there aren't any MBA programs in Germany that are considered international "top" programs (ESMT, SIMT, HHL, GISMA are internationally known, but still not in the the same league as INSEAD, IMD or IESE).

I wonder if there are any programs in Switzerland that are accredited by the major accreditation organizations. I would really be interested to know!

This is what wikipedia says about accreditations:

Accreditation

Business schools or MBA programs may be accredited by external bodies which provide students and employers with an independent view of their quality, and indicate that the school's educational curriculum meets specific quality standards. The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) is generally regarded as being the most prestigious MBA accreditation, covering business schools worldwide.
....
Accreditation agencies outside the United States include the Association of MBAs (AMBA), a UK organization that accredits schools worldwide; the Council on Higher Education (CHE) in South Africa; the European Quality Improvement System (EQUIS) for mostly European and Asian schools; and the Foundation for International Business Administration Accreditation (FIBAA) in Europe.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MBA

Hi

Well basically it sounds like it needs to be AACSB accreditted to me to be worth throwing my hard earned cash at. It doesnt have to be swiss I guess, but I want something european, like belgium etc. that would have an investment banking focus, and hopefully is only a year long, but I guess maybe 2 is worth doing if its a respected MBA. Also would like it to be online, but I guess distance learning is OK. Any ideas thinaks guys

And thanks for the answers so far

Sorry, that's not directly in reply to your post, but to what I said above about German business schools:
In the new FT EMBA ranking, German schools are actually doing pretty well:

12. Gisma
13. Kellogg / WHU
31. Essec / Mannheim

I agree with that if you that AACSB, AMBA and Equis are the most important accreditations bodies on an international level. However, FIBAA is a reputed accreditation organization for German-language MBAs. There are some very good German MBAs that are solely accredited by FIBAA; here is the complete list of German Master programs accredited by FIBAA : http://www.fibaa.de/ger/master.htm

I could not find SBS in the "anabin" database either: http://213.157.12.18/scripts/SelectLand.asp?
SuchLand=4&MyURL=lstAliasnamen.asp
That could mean that the MBA is not recogized in Germany. Better check with your education department about your own country.

FYI:
The ZAB (Zentralstelle für ausländisches Bildungswesen) is based at the Secretariat of the KMK. Its website provides information on the responsibilities and services which the ZAB performs in the field of evaluating and recognising foreign educational qualifications and certificates; it also lists further sources of information and publications. The ZAB information system on the recognition of foreign educational certificates and degrees can be found at: www.anabin.de.
Languages: KMK: German, with some basic information in English, ZAB: German and English, ANABIN: German

I stand corrected. After reading the website once more, it looks like SBS is only accredited by the US accreditaion organization IACBE and holds a certificate by "Eduqua".

hello, the best finance for mba programs according to FT:
Best in finance**

University of Chicago GSB
University of Pennsylvania: Wharton
New York University: Stern
University of Rochester: Simon
Columbia Business School
Coppead
London Business School
Rice University: Jones
University of Toronto: Rotman
MIT: Sloan
you can check whether they have on-line programs. Thanks

Thanks Noya but none of them have distance programs

Im trying to get something with an investment bank focus, even if its a master of finance. Problem is I just want it to be a 1 year course preferably maybe 1.5 and have distance learning.

Any ideas guys?

would be most appreciated

hello khosanman, maybe for Master, you can check
# ICMA at university of reading in England. i checked the web site, and it provides MSc in International Securities, Investement and Banking. my sis said its very respectable in the field of finance. i myself am thinking of taking master there, though full-time.
# SOAS University of London (CeFims), it has distance learning for Msc Finance & Finance Law (guess for inv banking will be v great), MBA Banking
sorry only know UK-based schools. maybe others can help. cheers

thanks noya. I have seen the Cefims one. I just want to make sure that the course is with a very respectable school that the big banks are not going to discount.

Also I am even considering now doing a program on campus somewhere in europe, preferably netherlands, belgium, or somewhere relatively near denmark. But problem is I cant find any finance master degrees that start now, all have september start dates next year, and I just dont want to wait that long. Any ideas people?

I found a FT list of the top 25 Distance Learning Programs, which I found quite useful. Please note that programs are listed by the number of enrolled students, NOT by quality:

http://www.ft.com/cms/e677c5bc-b5b5-11da-9cbb-0000779e2340.pdf