By Elizabeth Ingber

For The Post

Experts say that an increasing number of Czech professionals are going back to school for a master's degree in business administration, or MBA.

It used to be that an MBA was something special. Now it's all but required of middle and top managers looking to climb the corporate ladder, says Jana Roháčová of Hays Czech Republic, a Prague recruiting company.

Roháčová says getting an MBA is a way for professionals to distance themselves from the competition.

Yet there are challenges: expensive programs and balancing course work with careers and, sometimes, family.

Experts say the challenges are worth it.

"Generally speaking, an MBA is a different kind of program. It is not regarded as a master's degree among the Czech community. It's viewed as top business professional training, and an MBA does have this value," says Lída Aylsworth, recruitment and marketing manager at the University of New York in Prague (UNYP).

Below, The Prague Post surveyed some of the MBA programs on offer throughout the country.

University of New York in Prague

This school provides weekend classes to full-time businesspeople.

"In our program, students are encouraged to do group projects, challenge themselves and challenge the professor," says Aylsworth. "That happens sometimes, too."

The course is designed for between 50 and 60 students and costs 29,800 Kč ($1,356).

UNYP's program works in cooperation with a Swiss partner school, Institut Universitaire Kurt Bösch.

This marriage allows for international guest speakers and students from more than 60 different nations to participate in UNYP's program.

The school also offers a pre-MBA program free of charge.

Its goal is threefold, says Ayslworth: "[The pre-course] should get professionals used to the classroom again, provide an overview of financing and business, and cover basic English vocabulary tied to the business world."

One-third of MBA students enroll in this pre-course before matriculating into the MBA program.

University of Finance and Administration

This Prague school offers another successful, and rapidly growing, MBA program.

The program is run in conjunction with City University in Bellevue, Washington, which provides the program's course books and faculty.

"The instructors work as facilitators to allow discussions to take place and to enable interactive discussions," explains Jiří Tillner, the school's international program coordinator. "In the classroom, we simulate some real-life problems and form effective solutions."

Currently, 91 students are enrolled in the program, and by October, the student population is expected to grow to approximately 110.

"The clients come from quite a good list of companies," Tillner says. "One of the big advantages is that people are going to meet and be friends over the next year and a half."

The program comes at a price, though: Each course costs 15,400 Kč per course, and 15 courses are offered.

At the end of the program, the students will have an American diploma.

The content is City University's, says Tillner. "We market it, we sell it, we organize it, and in the end the students are students of City University."

That means students can study at any one of City University's branches around the world.

CMC Graduate School of Business

This school in Čelákovice promises a truly global educational experience, and provides two different MBA programs: a weekend MBA program in conjunction with DePaul University in Chicago and an executive MBA in conjunction with Thunderbird, the Garvin School of International Management, in Phoenix.

About 30 students are enrolled in each.

The weekend program costs 440,796 Kč, while the executive program costs 839,612 Kč — and financial aid is available for both.

The weekend program includes 18 courses, each lasting three weekends.

The Executive MBA consists of higher-middle to top-level senior and potential executives, plus a large number of international students.

The program includes 10 seminars, seven held in the Czech Republic, one in Russia, one in Switzerland and one in the United States. Students can also opt to study in China or Mexico.

"Many of the faculty are regional experts and bring their expertise and focus to the classroom. The student body is also very diverse in terms of nationalities, industries, educational background, gender, etc.," says Jan Bernat, the school's marketing director.