7 'mini MBAs' offered by top institutions and organizations that'll give you a taste of business school for a fraction of the cost MBA programs are both costly and time consuming, but you could try the "mini MBA," which are weeks long and teach you a lot of the same subjects covered in business school. Top schools like Rutgers, Clemson, and Bentley and organizations like Marketing Week offer these certificate-granting programs. Learn the core principles of business online at programs like these for anywhere between $275 to $6,000. You can choose to specialize in certain aspects of business that are most appealing, from digital advertising to entrepreneurship. Click here for more BI Prime stories. A traditional MBA is a two-year commitment — or more if completed while also working part or full time — and can be costly. Prestigious programs like Stanford and Harvard, ranked No. 1 and No. 5 in the world respectively, can charge up to $120,000 for full tuition. If spending the extensive time and money to go to business school doesn't pique your interest, but you're still intrigued by the value an MBA can have for your career, there's another option: the "mini MBA." While there's no set definition or criteria for what's involved in a mini MBA, these are generally short (think: weeks-long), certificate-based programs geared toward business professionals who want the chance to network and advance their understanding of core principles covered in business school.