What’s the B-School?

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Business schools offer degrees in business administration, including MBAs, bachelor’s degrees, and associate’s degrees. They teach a variety of topics, often using case studies, and can be standalone institutions or departments within universities. The first business school was established in Lisbon in 1759, and the first major university business school was the Wharton School in 1881.

B-school is an abbreviated name for a business school, an institution that offers university degrees in business administration. While the term business school can mean different things in different areas and to different educational institutions, they are generally known as the premier trainers of executives and entrepreneurs in the United States and around the world. A business school may offer a master’s of business administration (MBA), a bachelor’s degree, an associate’s degree, or several other levels of certification. Many B schools also offer online business courses and degrees.

At a B school, you can take classes on a variety of topics, including organizational behavior, marketing, human resource management, accounting and finance. Many business schools use case studies for teaching. These case studies include descriptions and analyzes of the real situation and can be up to dozens of pages long. The most prolific producer of these case studies and one of the most renowned business schools in the world is Harvard Business School.

A variation of the B school is a business school as a department or college within a university. This type of business school is the most prevalent in the United States and is offered at many major universities across the country. They primarily teach business classes and offer bachelor’s degrees and often master’s and doctoral degrees. Often in the United States, business school is considered the department or college one enters after earning a bachelor’s degree in business. These colleges of higher education strictly offer business classes and are certified to grant master’s degrees.

Another type of business school common around the world, often in locations much smaller than large universities, is the two-year business school. These colleges often offer two-year degrees and a variety of online-only classes. They are often viewed more as ventures than institutions, but are accredited to certify associate degrees and are often a stepping stone to further business education or managerial positions in various organizations.

In 1759, the first institution specializing in business and commerce, the first B school in the world, was the Aula de Comércio in Lisbon. The first major university business school opened in 1881 with the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. The first doctoral program in business was offered in 1898 at the University of Chicago. In 1957, INSEAD in Paris became the first European school to offer an MBA, and in 1992, the Thunderbird School of Management became the first B school to open campuses on three different continents.




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