MBA Without Work Experience

If you are looking for a MBA degree, then you have 2 options – take the CAT exam and apply to Indian B-schools like IIMs or appear for the GMAT and apply for an MBA abroad. Along with these entrance exam scores, work experience is also an important criteria for admission in B-schools, especially for MBA programs. Almost all MBA program requirements mention a minimum work experience needed in order to apply and to increase your chances of admission.

But is work experience really needed for all MBA programs? It might seem impossible but in reality you can pursue MBA without having some work experience. Additionally, there are some great benefits if you pursue an MBA without work experience. Let us take a look at those.

Benefits of pursuing an MBA without work experience

• You can attain the right networking skills. This will help you in getting a head start in your professional career.
• You do not have to take a break from your professional life and resume your studies.
• Starting salaries are higher when compared with that of an undergraduate degree. This means you would have more years of your working life to earn higher salaries.

Having work experience surely gives an advantage in getting into a top MBA program. However, there are some good universities that offer MBA for the candidates without work experience. Most of the following universities have an Early MBA option (also called deferred MBA or accelerated program) which allows you to apply for an MBA in your final or pre-final year. If selected, you get a conditional offer and then you will have to work for 2-5 years before you finally join the school.

So, let’s look at some B-schools in which you can pursue an MBA without work experience.

USA

• MIT’s Sloan School Of Management 
• Booth School of Business .
• Wharton MBA – University of Pennsylvania
• University of California, Berkeley – Haas School of Business 

UK

• Northampton University
• University of West London
• Coventry University

Germany

• Ludwig Maximilians (University of Munich)
• University of Tubingen
• Technical University of Munich

Australia

• Graduate School of Business (Monash University)
• Melbourne Business School
• La Trobe University
• Graduate School of Business and Law, RMIT

Canada

• The University of Windsor
• New York Institute of Technology
• Thompson Rivers University
• Brock University

In India, Indian School of Business offers you the early MBA option also known as Young Leaders Program. However, in some other schools, you do not even need to go for an early MBA option as they accept students directly after undergraduation. With 0 work experience you can get into the top schools like IIM, SP Jain, NMIMS and Great Lakes Institute of Management.

While work experience is not mandatory for IIMs, it does have some weightage in your overall application and can compensate for your low test scores. Hence, connect with the business school of your choice before moving on to the application process and avoid the last minute hassles. Good luck!