History of MBA begins in 1901 when graduates of Dartmouth business school, New Hampshire (USA) got Master of Business Administration degree. However, at that time such education wasn’t highly thought as it is now. “MBA” letters in diploma meant just that person took a course of manufacturing and market which was relevant at the beginning of the 20th century. After 66 years such degree came to Great Britain. To the other part of Europe it came much later.

During more than 40 years business schools maneuvered between theory and practice, innovational and traditional disciplines intending to create a program that would prepare complete professionals for business world. To the end of 20th century more than 900 academies which give MBA degree, in USA more than 90 000 MBA students graduate each year. All this makes business education as popular general one.

Of course, American business education is the leader on the market MBA educational programs. If American MBA degree is valuable both in USA and Europe European degree is rated highly only “at home”, except, maybe, French INSEAD and English LBS. It’s no sense to talk about competition between American and European business education. The reason of American business schools leadership is quick reaction on students’ and employers’ requests. Educational programs are approached to practice that helps graduates to work successfully in top international companies. But recently European business education seriously begins to achieve good paces.

The top American business schools are next institutions (according to rankings of FT.com, Forbes.com, and Businessweek.com): Stanford University GSB, Harvard Business School, University of Pennsylvania: Wharton, Columbia Business School, Chicago GSB, Northwestern University (Kellog), MIT Sloan, University of Michigan (Ross) etc.

The leaders among European business schools are (according to FT.com ranking): HEC Paris (France), London Business School (Great Britain), IMD (Switzerland), Instituto de Empresa (Spain), INSEAD (France/Singapore) etc.

Qualitative MBA program would cost from $50000 to $70000 (not considering indirect costs on studying).  Many of the schools cooperate with banks and stipulate for opportunity of their students crediting. Sometimes a company finances their employees’ education. Talking about financial aid we need to mention that it is pretty easy to get a credit in USA because almost all the schools there cooperate with banks directly. However in European countries you will have to find financing by yourself as European business schools do not give credits (in most of cases) that cover all the educational costs.

Basic types of MBA programs:

• Full-time MBA programs are the most common, normally lasting two years. Students enter with a reasonable amount of prior real-world work experience and take classes during weekdays like other university students.
• Part-time MBA programs normally hold classes on weekday evenings, after normal working hours. Part-time programs normally last three years or more. The students in these programs typically consist of working professionals, who take a light course load for a longer period of time until the graduation requirements are met.
• Executive MBA (EMBA) programs developed to meet the educational needs of managers and executives, allowing students to earn an MBA or another business-related graduate degree in two years or less while working full time. Participants come from every type and size of organization – profit, nonprofit, government — representing a variety of industries. EMBA students typically have a higher level of work experience, often 10 years or more, compared to other MBA students. In response to the increasing number of EMBA programs offered, The Executive MBA Council was formed in 1981 to advance executive education.
• Distance learning MBA programs hold classes off-campus. These programs can be offered in a number of different formats: correspondence courses by postal mail or email, non-interactive broadcast video, pre-recorded video, live teleconference or videoconference, offline or online computer courses. Many respectable schools offer these programs; however, so do many diploma mills. Potential students should check the school's accreditation before undertaking distance learning coursework.