Specialized MBAs in Ukraine are mainly confined by risk management and pharmaceutical business. In the past three years, experts have noted reduction in demand for MBA programs in general. But now there can be traced new trend in this area – the demand for graduates of business schools is growing again, and specialized MBA programs are becoming increasingly popular.

 For example, in Lviv Institute of Management you can study MBA programs with specializations “risk management” and “management in the pharmaceutical field.” The program lasts two years. As a rule, risk management is learnt by financial and risk managers from the banking, stock exchange and investment spheres. But the pharmaceutical industry is mainly leant by managers of insurance and pharmaceutical industry professionals.

Experts claim that these programs are necessary because employers interested in hiring staff who are professionals in a particular industry. Such programs abroad are becoming more popular and widespread, there are even very unusual specialty – for example, an MBA in the film industry.

Opponents of specialized MBA are mainly expressed by representatives of the conservative business schools. They argue that the purpose of an MBA – just to give knowledge on management, to develop leadership qualities, rather than focus on a specialization. After all, the MBA program –is a general program, and its object must not be just the one subject (marketing, finance, human resources) but business in general. Some representatives of this view generally believe that specialization was invented by schools with low quality of teaching and learning, to enhance its credibility.

Now in Ukraine, specialized MBA program is only in Lviv Institute of Management, earlier it was possible to obtain an MBA for banking, and energy. But now the creation of specialized MBA is only possible to order corporations. This is because very few people understand what an MBA in principle, but the demand for specialized programs is less. In addition, the reason of it is a serious shortage of qualified teachers who have worked on these programs, as well as the high cost of preparing such a teacher.