Overview: Known for its unique global approach, Boston University’s EMBA is designed for mid-to-senior level managers with 10 plus years of professional work experience. The program focuses on a cross-functional understanding of the interdependencies among organizations’ components, and offers a strong global component through a concentrated international module and trip designed to provide an understanding of the many factors that frame the business context in a range of a developed and developing countries. Throughout the program Boston University’s renowned faculty and industry leaders teach students. Upon completion of the 18 month program students are awarded with a Master of Business Administration degree.
Program Format: Students are taught through five modules, integrated case discussions, an integrated team-based assignment in each module, four weeklong residential sessions (one of which is international), and a capstone project, which involves the creation of an integrated business plan during the final module.
Program Schedule: The EMBA program meets on Fridays and Saturdays (the five module structure occurs on these days), and is 18 months in length. Classes are taken on Boston University’s campus in Boston, Massachusetts.
Curriculum: The EMBA curriculum is designed to meet the unique demands—and tap the specific talents—of seasoned executives from diverse fields. It provides a high-impact learning environment that engages participants through strategic workouts, teaming, visioning exercises, simulations, role-playing, and other interactive learning techniques.
The curriculum is organized around five modules, which are in turn bracketed by four residential weeks. The third residential week takes place at an international location (International Trip) determined by the faculty and is integrated with Module 4, focused on the global environment.
Residence Week 1: Business as a System
Management Systems, Organizational Behavior
January, Year 1
Introduces two of the program’s major themes:
- Management as a System, addressing the need to think systematically about business, and to integrate and leverage the functional components of a complex global organization
- Team Learning, providing an intensive business simulation where you explore firsthand the value of team building and problem solving as they apply to learning and business
Module 1: Value Creation & Performance Measurement
Financial & Managerial Accounting, Marketing Management, Data Analysis, & Operations Management
February-June, Year 1
This module builds an understanding of how organizations create and measure value, primarily through the correlation of functional areas and the successful interaction of internal teams.
In this module students:
- Analyze the effectiveness of companies’ marketing strategies
- Assess your own organization’s financial and operating performance
Gain a clearer understanding of the links among disciplines and quantitative decision-making processes
Residence Week 2: Playing By the Rules: Law and Ethics
Business Law, Ethics
June, Year 1
Focuses on learning legal rules affecting business. Students learn a framework for making ethical decisions. Students explore the intersection between law and ethics – behavior that might be legal but not ethical and the reverse – situations in which the legal option could be unethical.
Topics covered:
- Ethical Decision Making
- Contracts
- Employment law
- Intellectual property
- Corporate governance
Module 2: Competitive Market
Economics, Finance, and Strategy
July-September, Year 1
This module addresses:
- Project and enterprise valuation
- Industry and competitive analysis
- The strategic role of information technology
- Financial analysis and decision-making and risk assessment
Module 3: The Firm’s Decisions
Finance, Corporate Strategy and Strategy of Technology
October-December, Year 1
In this module students will examine:
- Process operations
- Decision-making in marketing, finance, strategy, and operations
- Macroeconomic market structures such as competition, monopoly, and oligopoly
Module 4: The International Environment and Global Strategy
International Management and Strategy, and Global Finance
January-March, Year 2
Topics covered include:
- Impact of historical factors on countries’ ideology and policy
- Effect of foreign exchange movements
- Role of joint ventures in managing strategic risks
- Role of global institutions and non-governmental organizations
Residence Week 3: The Global Environment
International Field Seminar
Country Analysis, International Management and Business Development
March, Year 2
The International Field Seminar provides a first-hand opportunity for students to evaluate a specific country including the social, political, economic environment and to determine how that environment has shaped strategy and management functions.
Lectures, presentations, and site visits with business and government officials will be augmented by team assignments that engage students with local businesses and organizations.
The EMBA Program intentionally selects destinations where the economy is emerging and business opportunity is abundant. During the past seventeen years, the EMBA Program’s International Seminar has included locations in Africa, Asia, Europe, and South America. Recent destinations include Istanbul, Turkey, Prague, Czech Republic, Tokyo, Japan, Shanghai, China, Bangkok, Thailand, Singapore, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, and Warsaw Poland.
Module 5: New Venture Creation in a Global Economy
Entrepreneurship, Capstone Business Plan
March-May, Year 2
This module focuses on:
Entrepreneurship and the process of creating new ventures both from the perspective of a new start-up and as a critical function in a larger organization. From idea to business plan to execution, the entrepreneurial process will be analyzed and applied to the capstone business plan developed by each team.
Residence Week 4: Leadership and Change
Leadership, Organizational Development, Conflict and Change, and Negotiations
June, Year 2
- Explore a variety of effective leadership styles
- Use a range of self-assessment instruments and structured feedback exercises to elicit valuable input from coworkers and team members on your own management performance
- Be challenged to examine personal and professional leadership plan
Team Learning
Group Development, Managing High Performance Teams, Peer Coaching, Process
January, Year 1 – June, Year 2
- Working collaboratively at an advanced level
- Strategies and tactics for leading high performance teams
- Effective tools for peer coaching, team and self-assessment
Electives Offered: http://management.bu.edu/exec/emba/curriculum/index.html
Class Profile: The average age of EMBA students at Boston University is 38, with 14 years of professional work experience.
Admission Requirements: The admissions committee selects Executive MBA class members with diverse skills and backgrounds, all of whom, have 10+ years of work experience, are experienced managers or senior professionals, continue to work full-time, and represent diverse industries and professional backgrounds.
Required Application Materials are:
- Executive MBA application
- Essay (included in online application)
- Résumé
- Letter of organizational sponsorship
- Two letters of recommendation
- Organizational chart
- Official copies of all university-level transcripts (undergraduate and graduate)
- Letter of introduction
- $125.00 Application fee
*No GMAT or Interviews are required for admittance
Application Deadlines:
Application Deadline | Notification |
June 15, 2012 | July 16, 2012 |
August 15, 2012 | September 17, 2012 |
October 15, 2012 | November 19, 2012 |
*Applications are accepted on a rolling basis after October 15th.