TODAY’S MBA students are in a hurry to get on with their careers, and a growing number are reluctant to take two years out to study the traditional MBA model.

Once dismissed in America as “MBA-lite”, the one-year European MBA is gaining ground. In response, a growing number of business schools now offer a fast-track version of the traditional two-year programme. So is it a pared-down substitute, and does its success mean that the two-year MBA is passé?

Time and money are the two main reasons for speeding up an MBA. Said Business School fees are £27,500 for the one-year version and £39,000 for the executive two-year programme, though the latter includes accommodation.

Many high-flyers can’t spare the time out of their careers to spend two years studying. Pippa Grace, now managing director of Rasini, completed her MBA at Said last year. She says: “I planned to remain in the hedge fund industry, which is evolving rapidly, so I could not afford to be longer than a year away.”

With the average age of MBA applicants rising, an increasing number have family responsibilities, so being a student again for any length of time is impracticable. ESADE’s minimum work experience of five years for one-year MBA applicants attracted Julian Harland, who lives in Spain. The 18-month programme requires only two years’ work experience. “On my programme the average age is 33. We are older and more confident because we have a well established business background.”

It is cheaper, it is quicker — but is it MBA-lite? Does the programme compress the longer version, or leave out chunks? Opinion appears to be divided, although there is no doubt that it is not an easy option. Olaya Garcia Lancha, director of full-time MBAs at ESADE says: “It is intense and demanding, with additional Spanish language training. The advantage of having more experienced students is that they can skip introductions to areas that they have covered in their business careers.”

Kay White, an American who was attracted to the efficiency of the Ashridge one-year programme, finds that all traditional MBA subjects are covered, although not in as much detail as longer courses. “Instead we learn the basics and know where to get in-depth information if needed.”

Working a ten to 12-hour day means little thinking time to consolidate what you are learning, says Stuart Campbell, a former production director in garment manufacturing: “Sometimes you feel you’re on a treadmill, leaping from one subject to the next. Having to secure a job at the end of it adds to the intensity.”

Professor Roy Westbrook, MBA course director at Said, agrees that, in theory, the one-year course allows less time for job search but adds: “In practice, I suspect that all MBAs start searching seriously in their last two terms.”

Grace discussed the programme with friends at other business schools and concluded that it is two years’ subjects compressed into one. Her regret is that a year was not long enough to take advantage, both academically and socially, of everything that Oxford University had to offer.

Not everyone found the timescale limiting, though. Justin Fry, a Said alumnus, packed more than his MBA into the year. He completed a two-month consulting project for the Government of Quebec, another for Carphone Warehouse, founded a high-tech start-up, Seamless Display, which was a Venturefest finalist, and gained a certificate in software development.

So, if time and money were no object, which MBA would win? Harland would still go for the quicker version. “I am so enthused that I would get restless if I was studying for 18 months or two years. I’m keen to put ideas into practice.”