The first business school in the United States was the Wharton Business School, which was founded in 1881. At that time, the United States was the only country that featured business-related schooling. The first management school, the Tuck School of Business, was the first to offer the master's degree in commercial sciences, which was the predecessor to the MBA.
Though universities at the beginning of the 20th century offered courses in bookkeeping and accounting, the industrial revolution created a lot of changes in the workforce. Labor was now being handed over to machines more and so there was a need for workers to have more business and management skills, instead of performing physical labor. The need for these skills directly impacted the educational world, and the MBA was born. to fulfill this need.
As the country moved deeper and deeper into the 20th century, more and more universities began adopting the MBA to their list of offered graduate programs. Because of this boom of industry, new fields and specialized needs were arising often and many schools were not only adopting the program, but adapting the program to these new fields. In 1940, the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business introduced the Executive MBA program, which today is a regular offered program at most universities.
Prospective students can choose between a two-year, accelerated, part-time, or an executive MBA program. The decision to choose one program over the other is usually based on the need of the student. Many students, who need to work while obtaining their MBA, usually go the part-time route because it gives them more flexibility to balance school and work. MBA courses are often offered online, which allows students to work towards an MBA without having to be on campus.
With the addition of MBA programs into the educational world, the job market has seen new opportunities open up to those that have obtained an MBA. An MBA degree can allow you to advance in your current field of work, change your career, or start your own business. These opportunities fit with the free-market financial system; thus, the MBA is a staple degree that allows flexibility throughout a career.