The MBA in 2020: will there still be one?

This paper aims to look at the reaction of business school deans to recently voiced disapprovals of MBA programs and seek to provide a glance into the future of the MBA degree in ten years' time.

Debates that took place at two influential deans meetings of EFMD and AACSB as well as GMAC statistics provide the main data sources on which the paper develops arguments.

Business schools in general and MBA programs in particular are set to survive the coming decade. However, there is an urgent need to rebalance the curriculum in order to produce graduates who combine analytical capabilities, managerial skills and attention to ethics and CSR. The paper suggests that key institutions such as AACSB, EQUIS, AMBA and GMAC need to take a fresh look at the future role of business schools in an increasingly globalized context.

The paper predicts that, in future, society will demand more professional and responsible managers. For MBA programs, this implies a need for substantial changes, both in content and in the mode of delivery.