Know yourself
The starting point when considering your business education is to get to know yourself: your educational experience, goals, aspirations, strengths, opportunities for development, and constraints. You should begin by taking stock of your educational experience. What degrees have you earned and from which schools? How have they helped or hindered your career development? What non-degree management development courses have you taken? How have they helped you to advance your education and career?

What are your goals? Are you most interested in a making a career transition or simply to advance your career? If it is the former, you may be interested in a full-time program. If the latter is most important to you, then a part-time program may be what you are seeking. You might also consider whether your focus is more advanced and current knowledge or to sharpen your personal management skills?

It also is important to understand your strengths and opportunities for development. Think realistically and ask colleagues about the areas on which they feel you should focus. In addition, you should consider your constraints. Can you afford to step out of your current position? What type of financial and time commitment are you willing to make to achieve your educational objectives?

Explore the alternatives
There are many different types of business programs. Degree programs range from bachelor’s degrees through doctoral degrees. At the master’s level, you can select from general business masters (often called MBA’s) and specialized master’s degree programs, which focus on a particular area of business and management. In addition to the various types of degree programs, there are many non-degree programs offered by many organizations, including business schools. Of course, the options available to you will depend on what you have learned about yourself.

You also should explore the broad provider alternatives that are available today. For example, for business schools offer deep non-degree programs, often on their campuses. However, there are other organizations ranging from consulting organizations to non-profits focused on specific areas, such as leadership development. You also must consider the various delivery modes available to fit your needs. These range from on-campus to branch campus and to all onsite to completely online. For many, the question about country will be important. Today, high-quality business programs can be found all over the world.

Research the programs
After narrowing the program types most appropriate to your goals and constraints, you should conduct comprehensive research to identify the best fit for your needs. If you are considering degree programs, you should begin by narrowing your research to programs offered only by accredited institutions. In addition to AACSB International, the European Foundation for Management Development’s EQUIS accreditation can offer assurance about the school's quality. If your interest is in obtaining an MBA, then the Association of MBA (AMBA) accreditation is a signal, if AACSB or EQUIS accreditation have not been achieved.

Your research should go beyond the media rankings of business schools, which can be misleading for a variety of reasons. Keep your goals and constraints in mind when researching programs. These help you to understand what criteria are most important to you.

Ask questions
This step cannot be ignored. To truly understand whether a program fits your needs, you should talk with admissions representatives from the programs, current students and alumni, and faculty. Your questions should link to your goals and aspirations, and to the criteria that you care most about.