The study, to be published in the Academy of Management Learning and Education Journal, comes from two researchers at Stanford University's Graduate School of Business.
It argues that, except for MBAs from the most prestigious schools, the degrees do not affect long-run salaries. Researchers suggested an out-of-date curriculum and the growing number of MBAs as possible reasons for what they deemed the degree's diminishing value.
But the study has provoked opposition nationally. Officials from the Graduate Management Admission Council, which represents business schools, have responded with research showing that MBA graduates report making $27,000 more in starting salary than before earning the degree.
Leaders from the business schools at UNC and Duke University say an MBA still gives its holder an advantage, despite the journal study's findings.
Bob Adler, associate dean of Kenan-Flagler's MBA program, said the study's focus on salaries misses the point. "I would reject any study that values our education on how much you make."
Adler said that despite increasing enrollment, UNC's school falls into the category of elite schools, where the study says the degree might still be valuable. Kenan-Flagler ranked 15th in Business Week's 2001 ratings of full-time MBA programs.
Duke officials also said students benefit by earning an MBA from the school. Jim Gray, associate dean of marketing and communications at Duke's Fuqua School of Business, said an MBA from the school is still respected in the professional world. "For Duke University's campus, the research doesn't apply," Gray said. Fuqua was ranked fifth in the Business Week ratings.
J.J. Froehlich, a second-year student in UNC's master's program, said despite the study's claims about salaries, he finds the MBA program to be valuable. "It gives you the ability to make a career or life change," he said.
He said his business school training readied him for an internship he completed at Johnson & Johnson this summer. "I think one year of intense training prepared me very well," he said.
