Your Search for Atlanta’s Best Accelerated MBA Programs
Most folks pursuing an accelerated MBA know which industry or area of concentration they want to pursue. They are MBA candidates who want to advance their current careers, not switch them. Others choose the accelerated route because it can be difficult to leave two years of work and salary. Continue reading…
The 5 Best Dallas Executive MBA Programs
In the world of business, the Executive MBA degree is akin to an Iron Man decathlon in which one simultaneously attempts work, life, and school with equal gusto.
Designed to reskill and get mid-career professionals up to speed on the latest management trends, the value of an EMBA as a useful negotiation tool is undisputed—especially if you can get an employer to fit the bill. If not, it’ll cost you but the investment is one that will certainly go a long way to paving a future leadership position way up the corporate ladder.
And when it comes to corporate ladders, the greater Dallas metro area has got an embarrassment of riches. The region is HQ to Exxon Mobil, AT&T, American Airlines, Southwest, Texas Instruments, JC Penney, and Gamestop, among many others on the 2017 Fortune 500. You could also do a lot worse with the area’s cultural offerings, especially if you like football, art, and authentic Tex-Mex.
Let’s take a closer look at five best Dallas Executive MBA programs:
Baylor’s Hankamer School of Business
The Baylor Hankamer School of Business 48-credit, 21-month, $91,000 EMBA is designed for mid-level executives. The program emphasizes leadership skills, decision-making, human resource management, global strategic management, and contemporary business issues within a cohort lock-step structure. The 50-credit, $94,000 EMBA Healthcare curriculum does the same but specifically tailored to the healthcare sector. EMBA students arrive from a variety of companies, including Apple, AT&T, Xerox, Wells Fargo, Microsoft, Coca-Cola, Wal-Mart, and American Airlines. The EMBA does not require GMAT or GRE scores but applicants must have at least five years of work experience.
Southern Methodist’s Cox School of Business
The SMU Cox 21-month, $120,150 part-time EMBA prepares experienced business leaders to take their career to the next level by helping them move into higher executive level positions or to expand their company’s reach. The EMBA emphasizes general management practices, strategy, finance within real-world applications. Applicants are expected to have at least eight years of work experience but GMAT/GRE scores are not required.
UT-Austin’s McCombs School of Business
The curriculum for McCombs School of Business 2-year, 42-credit, $116,800 EMBA is based on a cohort system in which groups of five students “encourage teamwork and development of leadership skills” among one another and each student is paired with a mentor from the previous year’s class. The EMBA covers effective communication, risk and change management and business ethics. Of the 68 students in the EMBA class of 2018, the average age is 37 and the average work experience is 14 years.
UT-Dallas’ Naveen Jindal School of Management
The UT Dallas Naveen Jindal School of Management 21-month, 53-credit, 5-semester, $85,000 EMBA was developed to prepare “experienced professionals for careers in upper management.” The cohort structure centers on “the fundamentals of business, marketplace advancement, leadership, corporate assets strategy, and data use and interpretation.” The average UT Dallas EMBA student is 40 and with an average work experience of 16 years. Applicants must have a minimum of eight years “professional business experience with international and management experience,” although GMAT or GRE scores are not required.
UT-Arlington College of Business
The UT Arlington College of Business 15-month, 37-credit, $74,500 EMBA (and accompanying Asian Business Studies certificate) is ideal for helping mid-level and upper-level managers and executives “develop the skills needed to move their company into global markets or to increase the company’s presence in a global market.” The EMBA focuses on the “skills and knowledge needed to run multinational firms, manage data, and develop effective teams that will help firms expand into global markets, maintain customer value, and build long-term customer relationships.”
Its cohort structure allows students to gain “extensive experience working collaboratively as part of a team,” which extends to the two-week Chinese immersion trip in which students develop a project specific to the region.
The average UT Arlington EMBA student is 38 with an average of 16+ years of work experience. Executive MBA students generally pay for the program through employer sponsorship, although there are scholarship and financial aid opportunities available.
MBA Graduate Joins Rotman as Lab Executive Director
At the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto, graduation can mean a new position with the school itself, which is exactly what happened to Sonia Sennik.
Sennik recently graduated from the school’s Executive MBA program, according to a press release. Now, she’s joining the business school as the first-ever national Executive Director of the Creative Destruction Lab. She will be working alongside lab founder and Academic Director Ajay Agrawal, the school’s Peter Munk Professor of Entrepreneurship. The lab has been helping science-based business ventures succeed since 2012. It mentors them what they need to know to get past the “seed stage.”
Rotman describes the lab:
“It employs a unique, objectives-focused coaching process to help founders commercialize advances in science and technology. The Lab also provides experiential learning to MBA students through year-long courses where students work alongside the Lab’s Fellows and venture founders, giving them a unique chance to learn how to evaluate, finance, and manage technology businesses.”
“The Creative Destruction Lab is expanding rapidly, both geographically and programmatically. Sonia will provide leadership, vision, and energy to help ensure the success of the Lab and its ventures in the coming years,” Agrawal said in the press release.
Sennik’s held important titles before, too. There’s HATCH, a consulting agency for engineering and construction projects, where she “held senior project and engineering management roles.” She was also the first to receive the Rotman Social Impact Award.
She’ll now help take the lab further, and it’s accomplished lots already. Its graduates prove it. Some of these companies include Atomwise in San Francisco and Kyndi in Palo Alto. This year, the lab expanded to include a program all about quantum machine learning startups.
We’ll see what’s next with Sennik in charge.
Georgetown McDonough EMBA Alumni Shares His Entrepreneurial Experience at Patri
The Georgetown McDonough School of Business recently interviewed Josh Ellars, a former Executive MBA student and current entrepreneur. Ellars founded Patri, a software and consulting firm that provides solutions to help companies maximize revenue from the global public sector technology market. The company helps accelerate profitability through technology that streamlines the bid opportunity qualification process and through custom consulting engagements that simplify public sector market entry and promote sustained growth. Continue reading…
The Best Executive MBAs in Atlanta
The city of Atlanta might just become the next hot spot for business. The southern city’s population increased by more than 90,000 last year, and it’s likely to grow even more. Right now, it’s the ninth-largest metro statistical area in the country—clinging to the top 10 in the U.S.
This influx of people has followed the city’s booming job market. That and the warmth that comes with living in the great state of Georgia. The cost of living in Atlanta is also affordable, especially when looking at other major metros along the East Coast. The city was ranked among the 12 “best big cities” to live and the median annual salary is $48,750.
This might just make Atlanta the next best place to build on already-established experience to pursue an executive MBA. Here are five of the best programs in the city.
The Best Atlanta Executive MBA Program Options
Goizueta Business School – Emory University
Emory University’s Goizueta Business School has been around for a while, since 1919. That’s nearly 100 years. It’s no wonder that its executive MBA program offers all the perks it does. The school’s had time to finesse its programs. The school sits on Emory University’s campus within driving distance from downtown.
The Executive MBA program at Goizueta caters to the older professional who needs flexibility. That’s why the program has two tracks: one on the weekend and a modular EMBA. The modular EMBA allows students to finish the program in 20 months. That’s not even two years. Either way, students begin the program in September. The weekend MBA offers five areas of focus: finance, healthcare, leadership, strategy, and general management.
J. Mack Robinson College of Business – Georgia State University
If you’re looking for hustle and bustle, the J. Mack Robinson College of Business at Georgia State University might be it. Located downtown, the school’s been around six years longer than Goizueta. So it’s way past the century mark.
The Executive MBA program is short, too. It takes just 17 months to complete. Classes take place every other weekend. Most students are around 40-years old. This Atlanta EMBA program has received rank after rank from publications like U.S. News World & Report, CEO Magazine, and Ivey Exec.
Scheller College of Business – Georgia Institute of Technology
At the Scheller College of Business at the Georgia Institute of Technology, MBA candidates can expect a lot of immersion into the world of business. The school sits smack dab in Midtown Atlanta, the city’s second largest business district.
MBA students can decide to focus on one of two options: global business or management of technology. The Executive MBA program has a heavy foundation focused on the basics of business, but it also compounds that with a required international residency.
Terry College of Business – University of Georgia
Sitting on the University of Georgia’s Atlanta campus, the Terry College of Business‘ Executive MBA program is worth keeping your eyes on. Students do have to complete two week-long residencies at the school’s Athens campus, but it’ll be worth it.
With a professional executive mentor, students get direct access to the business world from someone who knows how to navigate it. The Executive MBA program has been ranked 14th in the world by The Economist. It combines classroom education with field experience—all in 18 months.
Michael J. Coles College of Business – Kennesaw State University
The Michael J. Coles College of Business at Kennesaw State University sits outside the city of Atlanta, but it’s still very close. Located in Kennesaw, Georgia, the school hasn’t been around as long as others on this list. But that doesn’t make it any less competitive.
For one weekend a month over 17 months, students learn real-world experience to give their years of experience even more edge. The program is proud of what it can offer students interested in expanding more globally. The eight month-long additional global program provides students a 10-day international residency, as well as working with another MBA program in Europe.
Alumni Spotlight: JPMorgan Vice President Juan Solis, Quinlan MBA
The Loyola University Chicago Quinlan School of Business recently took a look at the life and career of 2008 MBA graduate Juan Solis, the current Vice President of JPMorgan Chase. A short interview touched on a few topics, including why Solis chose Quinlan, and whether he had any advice for current or prospective MBAs. Continue reading…
