MBA in Information Technology | TopMBA

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What is an MBA in Information Technology?

An MBA in IT will provide you with the skills needed to manage both IT systems and employees, combining the traditional business knowledge of an MBA with specialized courses on information security, telecommunications and IT project management, to name a few. 

What You Need to Study an MBA in Information Technology

As an MBA promises to help develop your skills (and teach you new ones), it doesn't matter whether you come from an IT background or not.

Generally, most b-schools will require the following:

  • Three to five years of professional experience (although this can vary)
  • An undergraduate degree
  • A good GMAT/GRE score
  • Employers’ recommendation

MBA in Information Technology – Course Content

Though the skills taught during an MBA in IT program can be applied across a wide variety of careers that require managing IT specialists, the program itself is fairly specific. For the most part, the skills learned on this specialization include:

  • IT entrepreneurship
  • Biodesign
  • Biotechnology
  • Data, big data, and data mining
  • Supply chain management
  • New energy technology

Top Schools for an MBA in IT

The 10 top schools for an MBA in IT, or information management, according to actively hiring MBA employers are:

Entry requirements

Required IT skills and work experience

While a related undergraduate degree is not necessarily a prerequisite for all MBA in IT programs, previous experience and IT skills are important, on top of the usual MBA entrance criteria. Required previous work experience is between two and five years for most programs, either in IT or management.

Like all other MBA specializations, competency in - or an aptitude for - finance, communications, and strategy are assumed. IT-specific skills are diverse in themselves and include network management, programming, software development and data mining. An MBA graduate who knows coding has a leg up on graduation, says Julia Min Hwang, assistant dean of career management services and corporate engagement at Berkeley-Haas, one of the top schools for an MBA in information technology.

While MBA programs do not require a certain score in any particular section of the GMAT, students looking to go into IT fields tend to perform strongly on the quantitative section of the test.

Are programming skills necessary?

While programming skills are not necessary to manage members of an IT team, they can be beneficial when attempting to communicate with technical specialists. The more rounded your communication skills are, the more you and your career will benefit!

Top Careers to Pursue with an MBA in Information Technology

IT careers are many and varied, especially with an MBA. The multifaceted nature of the IT industry carries over into its management roles, which can range from project management in software design and development to network and systems management.

Here are some of the top jobs MBAs can land after their specialization:

  • Analytics Manager
  • System Manager
  • Data Processing Manager
  • Business Analyst
  • IT Manager
  • IT Consultant
  • IT Director
  • Chief Technology Officer

Salaries

Here are some of the top-tier IT positions with the highest average salaries you could land after your MBA, according to PayScale:

  • Chief Technology Officer: US$161,674
  • Information Technology Director: US$120,723
  • Business Development Director: US$104,367
  • Analytics Manager: US$95,210
  • Information Technology Manager: US$88,424

Top Firms Hiring Information Technology MBAs

If a successful career in IT is your goal, here are the firms you should consider sending your application to:

  • Google
  • Facebook
  • Adobe
  • Apple
  • LinkedIn
  • Amazon
  • Salesforce
  • Microsoft
  • eBay

Google, Facebook, Amazon, Twitter, and many more tech companies all also offer IT internships on a regular basis. An IT MBA can be a useful distinction to have if you are targeting a technologically-inclined business. Pretty much every company needs IT managers and IT MBAs are perfectly suited for those roles – be it as a hire or an intern.

Best Locations for IT Careers

The Silicon Valley remains a clear hotspot for tech companies and start-ups like, but there are plenty of up-and-coming cities where tech firms are cropping up en masse.

Here are the top US cities for IT careers, according to TechRepublic:

  • Washington DC
  • New York City
  • Seattle
  • Los Angeles
  • Boston
  • Chicago
  • Dallas
  • Atlanta

Other tech-heavy locations for IT MBAs across the globe include:

  • London
  • Toronto
  • Amsterdam
  • Singapore
  • Berlin
  • Tokyo