What is the Difference Between an MBA and an International MBA?

This blog has been sponsored by IE Business School, which runs one of the top-ranked International MBA programmes globally.

With nearly 20% of users surveyed on FindAMasters.com interested in Business and Economics, and companies increasing their focus on global business, an International MBA might be just the right next step for your management career. But what are the differences between an MBA and an International MBA and what should you be looking out for? We’re here to help you pick the right programme for you by answering some common questions.

What’s the difference between an MBA and an International MBA?

An MBA focuses mainly on providing an overview of every aspect of business including accounting, strategy, legal, marketing and organisational behaviour. It equips you with the knowledge and skills for management roles in departments across any business, in any sector. An International MBA covers all of this, but with—as the name suggests—an international focus, so you’ll be learning about different laws, economies, trends, politics and cultures. You’ll learn how an international business operates, how to adapt to global industries and how to make the most of a digitised world.

How does the course content differ between an MBA and an International MBA?

While an MBA focuses on the fundamentals of business, an International MBA is focused more on the global economy, with an additional focus on entrepreneurship. A significant portion of International MBA studies involves evaluating the core components of entrepreneurship and gives you the chance to put these learnings into practice, tackling real-world problems for real companies and entrepreneurs. And because your coursemates will have a more international outlook, you’ll come across lots of different ideas and experiences that you can take forward in your own entrepreneurial thinking.

IE Business School’s International MBA takes this one step further with its heavily customisable programme and its dual degree offerings, where you can cover the content of two Masters degrees and graduate with two diplomas.

What type of student studies an MBA vs an International MBA?

Usually, students will need a minimum of three years of work experience for an MBA or International MBA, so you will be joined by lots of different people at different points in their careers. The main difference will be with the makeup of the student body. An International MBA will most likely be a lot more international than a standard MBA. At IE Business School, they have more than 70 nationalities represented in their International MBA and a global community of over 70,000 alumni.

This means there will be great international networking opportunities, with students joining from all around the world. In addition to the course content, you’ll learn about different cultures, languages and ways of thinking just from having conversations with your coursemates.

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