Educational Leave

Hi there,

This depends on many things:

• Firm (most have some form of sponsorship)
• Office location (Firm A might sponsor the MBA in location A but only 50% in location B)

There are also differences regarding the type of sponsorship. For instance, McKinsey DACH also allows PhDs, social leaves, and secondments, whereas other McKinsey offices only sponsor/grant MBA leaves.

This is a good networking topic to talk about with current consultants.

Cheers,

Florian

Hi,

MBB will give you an LOA if you qualify for a top MBA program. Not for PhD. 

While you could also take an LOA for personal reasons, PhDs normally take around ~3-5 years at least, depending on how fast you finish your dissertation etc. No firm is going to give you an LOA for that long. Maximum is normally 6 months for LOA. 

Hi,

MBB and Tier 2 have MBA sponsorship programs for high performers. As for PhD leave, such programs definitely exist in Germany for example (but often on a case by case basis as this is not a very common route). I have not seen anyone in the US take leave in order to pursue a PhD to then return to consulting.

Also, there are usually stipulations around the sponsorship. The firm only pays for the program if the employee agrees to return to the company for at least two years after completion of the program (or some variation of that).

I hope that helps

Most of them (MBB and Tier2) will offer a (sponsored) MBA leave. Never heard of other options, though, although I am confident most are open to approving a sabbatical for educational purposes.

Hi there,

Q: Which consulting companies offer educational leave in the form of a PhD or MBA? What are the differences between them? 

Most consulting firms allow employees to leave for an MBA (sponsored or not sponsored). The exact firms offering that and the level of sponsorship depend on the country.

Best,

Francesco

Actually, it depends more on the geography than on the firm. 

In Germany, for instance, they are super generous with this and they fund your MBA / PhD and you can go away for 2-3. 

In other geographies, not so much. 

On average, I would say that all the Tier 1 and 2 firms are willing to fund your MBA on the condition that you return for 2 years. 

This is something that you can also learn more about during networking as well. 

Best,
Cristian

Most of the larger firms (MBB, Big4) will pay for an MBA (you have to apply). It is less common as you move to lower tiers and smaller firms, and PhD is also less common.