It certainly seems like a good deal: A full-fledged M.B.A. degree in half the time and for less money. But is it?
这的确像是笔划算的买卖：一半的时间和一半的花费就能拿到正式的MBA学位。不过确实如此吗？
While business schools in Europe for years have favored a shorter M.B.A., institutions stateside and elsewhere have lately been warming to one-year degrees as they seek to appeal to cost-conscious students. Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management announced earlier this year that it plans to at least double the size of its one-year option, for example, while Melbourne Business School at Australia's University of Melbourne this fall is replacing its 16- and 20-month courses with a 12-month offering as demand grows for even more abbreviated programs.
多年来，欧洲的商学院一直青睐较短学制的MBA，近来，为了吸引注重成本的学生，美国和其他一些地方的学校也开始对一年制的学位感兴趣。西北大学凯洛格管理学院（Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management）今年早些时候宣布，计划至少将一年制项目的招生规模翻倍，而随着学生对时间更短学制项目的需求增加，澳大利亚墨尔本大学墨尔本商学院（University of Melbourne's Melbourne Business School）将于今年秋季将16个月和20个月的课程换成12个月。
The appetite is real. A survey this year by QS Quacquarelli Symonds Ltd., a business-education research company, found that 29% of U.S. and Canadian respondents preferred programs of 10 to 18 months, up from 21% in 2009. Preference for programs lasting 19 to 24 months fell to 57% from 71% in that time.
需求确实存在。商业教育研究公司QS Quacquarelli Symonds Ltd.今年所做的一项研究发现，29%的美国和加拿大受调查者更青睐10至18个月学制的项目，比例较2009年的21%有所上升。青睐19至24个月学制项目者的比例从71%跌至57%。
But as business students learn, it isn't just about cost. Prospective one-year M.B.A.s need to consider the benefits of the one-year option, as well as the drawbacks, which include fewer networking opportunities, the potential loss of a summer internship - often the key to landing a full-time job - and deep immersion in individual subjects.
但正如商学院学生所学的，这不仅仅是关于成本的问题。想上一年制MBA的人需要考虑一年制的好处，同时也应考虑存在的缺陷，这包括建立人脉的机会更少，可能没有夏季实习──这通常是获得全职工作的关键──还有太过专注于个别的科目。
'Thinking that you can learn all the basics of management in just one year is simply impossible,' says Jordi Canals, dean at University of Navarra's IESE Business School in Spain. Mr. Canals - whose school's only full-time M.B.A. program takes two years to complete - says it takes at least seven or eight months to learn the fundamentals of business, such as strategy, marketing and finance, and another year to gain 'literacy' in those areas.
西班牙纳瓦拉大学（University of Navarra）IESE商学院院长若尔迪•卡纳尔斯（Jordi Canals）说，在一年之内就学完管理学的所有基本知识是不可能的。该学院唯一的脱产MBA项目是两年制的。卡纳尔斯说，需要至少七或八个月的时间学习商业的基础知识，比如战略、营销和金融，然后还需要一年时间在这些领域“扫盲”。
Betsy Ziegler, associate dean of M.B.A. programs and dean of students at Kellogg, says one-year students are required to come in with some business courses under their belt - most have undergraduate business degrees - which allow them to jump right into higher-level courses, electives and club activities. Tuition for Kellogg's one-year M.B.A. is $75,400, and the two-year option costs $56,550 a year.
凯洛格商学院MBA项目副主任、学生处主任贝特西•齐格勒（Betsy Ziegler）说，他们在招收一年制学生时要求学生有一些商业课程基础，以便能迅速进入更高级别的课程、选修课以及俱乐部活动，大部分学生都有本科商业学位。凯洛格一年制MBA的学费是75,400美元，两年制学费为每年56,550美元。
Though students generally pay less for a one-year M.B.A., the immediate return is also smaller. Two-year M.B.A.s from the class of 2011 reported median starting salaries of $85,000, but that figure was $73,203 for those graduating from one-year programs, according to a report from the Graduate Management Admission Council. While 86% of two-year M.B.A. graduates reported being employed after graduation, 75% of those in one-year programs did.
虽然一年制MBA学费一般较便宜，但短期回报也更少。美国研究生入学管理委员会（Graduate Management Admission Council）的一份报告显示，两年制MBA项目2011届学生的起薪中位数为8,5000美元，而一年制毕业生的起薪中位数为73,203美元。86%的两年制MBA毕业生毕业后就找到了工作，一年制毕业生的这个比例为75%。
One-year M.B.A. students often can't participate in summer internships at coveted firms, such as those in finance, making it near impossible for them to land full-time jobs there after graduation. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. says the majority of its associate hires come from internship programs, while the summer intern pool accounts for nearly all M.B.A. hires at Morgan Stanley. Both companies say they focus internship recruiting mainly on two-year programs.
一年制MBA学生通常无法去心仪的公司参加夏季实习，比如金融行业的公司，这使得他们几乎不可能在毕业后在这些公司获得全职工作。高盛集团（Goldman Sachs Group Inc.）说，其招聘的经理大多数来自实习项目，而在摩根士丹利（Morgan Stanley），所有的MBA新人几乎都来自夏季实习人才库。两家公司都说，他们把实习招聘的重点主要放在两年制MBA项目上。
To give its one-year M.B.A. students a leg up, University of Oxford's Said Business School this year is matching 10 incoming students with employers for eight-to-12-week assignments before classes begin. The school declined to name participating employers.
为了助一年制MBA学生一臂之力，牛津大学萨伊德商学院（University of Oxford's Said Business School）今年在开课前安排10名学生与雇主配对完成八至12周的工作任务。学院拒绝透露参与的雇主名单。
To give its one-years a shot at summer opportunities, the University of Miami School of Business Administration conducts its briefer M.B.A. on a calendar cycle, breaking for the summer months, rather than a traditional academic year. But it is still not easy to pull off an internship, since recruiting usually kicks off in January, days after the one-year students arrive. 'They've got to really hit the ground running,' says Gene Anderson, the school's dean.
为了让一年制的学生能有夏季实习机会，迈阿密大学工商管理学院（University of Miami School of Business Administration）将其短学制MBA项目的周期由传统学年换成了自然年，在夏季的几个月休息。但要获得实习机会依然不容易，因为招聘通常从1月开始，那时一年制学生刚开学没几天。学院院长基恩•安德森（Gene Anderson）说，他们需要立即快马加鞭行动起来。
Of course, a one-year option holds significant value for some students. Administrators say it can be a good fit for those with strong work experience and a clear career path. A one-year program may suit someone who wants to shift from finance to strategy within the same company or stay in marketing but at a different firm.
当然，一年制对某些学生来说有重要的价值。学校管理人员说，一年制很适合拥有很强工作经验以及清晰职业规划的人。如果想在同一家公司从金融部门转到战略部门，或继续做营销工作但要去另一家公司，那么一年制课程就很适合。
For students seeking a total career change, a two-year M.B.A. may be a better option, Mr. Anderson says, because the internship and additional electives, along with club and group travel activities provide 'a broader set of opportunities to soak things in' and explore new job paths. In other words, the shorter program is a mild career accelerant, while the two-year option is a launch pad.
安德森说，对于想彻底改变职业的学生来说，两年制MBA可能是更好的选择，因为实习机会和额外的选修课、以及俱乐部和团体旅行活动会提供更广阔的吸收东西的机会，并帮助学生探索新的职业道路。换言之，一年制项目是温和的职业催化剂，而两年制项目则是一个发射台。
As prospective students better understand the different experiences and outcomes, some have soured on the speedy approach. University of Miami's business school, which began offering a one-year M.B.A. in 2006, has seen applications fall by nearly half, to 54 for the class that started in January, down from 103 for the class five years earlier. Miami also offers a two-year degree.
随着准备申请的学生更深入地了解到两类项目之间这些不同的经历和成果，有些人对速成的一年制失去了兴趣。从2006年开始开设一年制MBA项目的迈阿密大学商学院发现，申请1月开始项目的人数减少了近一半，只有54人，而五年前是103人。迈阿密大学也开设有两年制MBA项目。
The one-year program at IE Business School in Madrid initially appealed to Jeff Taylor, who enrolled with plans to switch from education to human-resources without taking too much time or loan debt.
杰夫•泰勒（Jeff Taylor）最初对马德里IE商学院（IE Business School）的一年制项目很感兴趣。他的计划是在不花太多时间或贷款的情况下从教育工作转到人力资源工作。
After graduating this year, he's now an analyst in the human-resources department of a renewable energy company. Despite landing a job in the industry he wanted, Mr. Taylor says he's still waiting for his return on the investment to 'kick in.' Many others in his department don't have M.B.A.s, and he says he earns less now than he did as a teacher - under 35,000 ($42,800).
今年毕业后，他去了一家可再生能源公司人力资源部做分析师。尽管在自己喜欢的行业找到了工作，但泰勒说，他依然在等待自己的投资产生回报。他所在部门的其他很多人都没有MBA学位，而且他说自己现在挣的钱还不如做老师时多──只有不到3.5万欧元（4.28万美元）。