Business education recycles a handful of words — master, MBA, MSc, MIM, Mastère — and every country seasons them differently. Before comparing schools, compare categories. Here is the honest map.
The four labels, decoded
| Label | What it usually means | Typical entry point |
|---|---|---|
| MBA | Master of Business Administration — a generalist degree designed around professional experience | After several years of work |
| MSc | Master of Science in a business specialty (finance, marketing, analytics…) | Straight after a bachelor |
| MIM | Master in Management — the generalist pre-experience master, big in Europe | Straight after a bachelor |
| Mastère | The French school label for a multi-year graduate program — LIBS's is a 2-year, English-taught international-management program | Straight after a bachelor |
The only question that matters first
Do you have several years of professional experience? If yes, the MBA category is genuinely for you. If no — you are finishing or just finished a bachelor — then a pre-experience program (MIM, MSc, Mastère) is what fits, whatever a school's marketing says. A pre-experience student in an experience-based classroom loses twice: the case discussions assume a past they don't have, and the network is built on careers they haven't started.
Where the LIBS Mastère sits
The Mastère in International Management is a pre-experience, 2-year, 100% English-taught graduate program in Lyon — internationally, think MIM. We say plainly that it is not an MBA, because borrowing the label would put the wrong students in the room. What it offers instead: global strategy, international marketing, entrepreneurship and cross-cultural management, in an international cohort, with free French on the side.
Checklist before you apply anywhere
Ask every school — including us — these four questions, and insist on written answers: Is the program pre-experience or post-experience? What exactly is the diploma delivered, and by whom? What share of teaching is genuinely in English? What support exists for international students after admission? Schools comfortable answering in writing are usually schools you can trust.
Frequently asked questions
Is a Mastère recognised outside France?
What travels internationally is the program's content, language and the delivering institution. LIBS states its diploma terms in writing before enrolment, so you can present them accurately anywhere.
Why doesn't LIBS just call its program an MBA?
Because it is pre-experience. Using the MBA label would attract students the format doesn't serve — the opposite of an honest admission process.
Can I do the LIBS Mastère after a non-business bachelor?
The program is designed to be joined after a 3-year degree; your profile is reviewed at application and the answer comes in writing.
Related guides
The LIBS Mastère
The full program guide.
English level needed
CEFR levels for graduate business study.
Four intakes a year
October, January, April, July.
Talk to a LIBS advisor
Tell us where you are and where you want to study — you'll get answers in writing.