Unlike traditional MBA programs, Executive MBA (EMBA) programs allow students to work full time and take classes at nights or on the weekend. The EMBA is sometimes referred to as an MBA designed for working professionals. EMBA students usually have 10 or more years of work experience and are seeking upward mobility from middle-management into upper-management, according to education-portal.com. Prospective EMBA students can choose from among several top-ranked colleges.
The Degree
An EMBA degree usually takes two years to complete, but some programs offer 18-month programs. The EMBA is different from a traditional MBA due to the high level of experience that EMBA students bring to the classroom. Most institutions that offer the degree require a minimum of 10 years of work experience and structure their curriculum to incorporate team-oriented education that allows students the chance to share the diversity of knowledge represented by an admission group. Students can choose core concentrations in fields such as accounting, marketing and finance. Many EMBA students are sponsored for partial or full tuition by their companies, and some institutions even require sponsorship as a criteria for admission.
Admission Requirements
Though admission requirements vary slightly, many EMBA programs require applicants to possess an undergraduate degree, demonstrate proficiency in management and leadership through current occupation and experience at other jobs, ability to speak and write in English, scores from standardized exams such as the GRE and GMAT, letters of recommendation, personal essay and in some cases, a personal interview. Many colleges also require a minimum of eight to 10 years of work experience, although some schools such as Duke University, have a minimum work experience requirement of only three years.
U.S. News & World Report Top-Ranked EMBA Programs
There are a number of ranked institutions in the 2011 "U.S. News & World Report" listings of best EMBA programs. Among the top 10 are the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia; the University of Chicago; University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill; Duke University in Durham and Columbia University in New York. The Wharton business school at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia offers a two-year, weekend-residential EMBA program. Students attend classes on Friday and Saturdays on alternate weekends, with five additional extended sessions and a one-week international study seminar that takes place overseas. Students are also required to commit 15 to 25 hours of outside study time. The first-year curriculum focuses on core classes in foundational management knowledge. In the second year, students are provided a number of elective opportunities. The average age of the 2010 EMBA class at Wharton was 34, and 45 percent of students held an advanced degree.
Businessweek's Best EMBA Programs
Among the schools cited in the "Bloomberg Businessweek" listings of best EMBA programs are Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois; University of Southern California in Los Angeles; University of Michigan in Ann Arbor; University of California, Los Angeles; New York University and Georgetown University in Washington D.C. Northwestern University's Kellogg school of management has a 22-month EMBA program with four course schedules, two of which meet every other week on Friday and Saturday, and two that meet once a month from Thursday through Sunday. Applicants are required to have at least eight to 10 years of managerial experience, and most accepted students have an average of 12 to 15 years of work experience. Core courses include ethics and executive leadership, managerial economics, managerial finance and statistical decisional analysis.
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