What’s the difference between an EMBA and MBA?
Do companies think that EMBAs aren’t genuine?
And how are online programs?
Any especially good deals? (Many companies aren’t reimbursing as much as they used to…)
TIA!!!
An EMBA is an Executive MBA. It is designed for people who have significant experience in a business and hold at least a mid-level managerial position already. It is sort of part time and the formats vary. Most require week long residencies at several points throughout the program. The student is usually sponsored by the company and s/he is granted leave to attend the on campus sessions. Here is an example of one:
http://www.embamcgillhec.ca/en/pedagogical-approach/
Online programs from brick and mortar schools are well regarded. Those from for profit online schools not so much.
Huge difference between an EMBA & an MBA.
MBA programs are designed for those with 2 to 5 years of work experience who will complete the program prior to age 30… Many enter MBA programs to enable themselves to switch jobs & to switch industries.
An EMBA (Executive MBA) often requires a minimum of 10 years of work experience of which at least 5 years is in management. Often one’s employer pays for the EMBA upfront in one lump sum six figure fee. EMBA students look to make connections with other executives while learning from shared experience as well from a structured curriculum.
About 20 or 25 years ago, a top MBA educational consultant advised one to always choose an EMBA program over an MBA if eligible.
The top two full time MBA programs–Harvard & Stanford–historically have preferred candidates with less work experience than most elite full time MBA programs. Northwestern & Penn-Wharton historically have been friendlier & more accepting of those age 30 and above & with more than typical work experience in their full time programs.
One qualified for an EMBA program might be bored & feel out of place in a regular full time MBA program.
Companies think that EMBA graduates are accomplished managers.
Online programs vary, but one major bank employs most of their MBA degree holders from the University of Phoenix. I suspect that the program may have been jointly developed by the major bank & the University of Phoenix.
I’m a CPA who has been in the business world for 30+ years. My H has a MBA. So here are my two cents.
First off. with an MBA a lot depends on that school you are thinking of. For many companies, the name of the school matters a lot. The first thing to think of is what career goal you want to further by getting a MBA. This can help you to choose a school and type of program that fits your needs best.
A full time MBA program will require that the student give up his/her job and attend full time. This has advantages including being able to fully immerse oneself in the educational experience and with professors and students in his/her cohort. Plus the student is on campus for activities, lectures, career placement etc. My H worked for 7 years and then went back for a MBA and never regretted it.
An EMBA allows students to continue working while earning a degree part-time. The advantages of a continued paycheck are obvious although it can be a lot to juggle (I do know people who have managed to do so). Some EMBA programs (I’m thinking of ones at top schools such as Wharton and Columbia as two I’m familiar with) require that the company sponsor the person in the program – especially since the programs require time off from work. Some companies will sponsor a person and pay the cost of the EMBA but will require that he/she stays at the company for an agreed upon number of years after completing the program or pay the company back for the expenditure. It is a small sample, but people I know who got EMBAs stayed at the company which sponsored them.
Here is something put out by Wharton describing differences in its MBA and EMBA program.
https://executivemba.wharton.upenn.edu/mba-or-emba/
Some MBA programs consist of all night and weekend classes and would not require the company’s sponsorship. The downsides of this are: that they would likely take quite some time to complete if a student is working full time and only taking one or two classes a semester and that due to timing and part-time schedules it could be very difficult to get involved with activities and to develop relationships with professor and fellow students.
Personally I’m not a huge fan of online programs as I think it loses something not only academically but also in terms of developing relationships with professors and fellow students. I also feel that online programs could well be lacking in the area of career placement since the student is not on campus. However, I recognize that for some people it is the best option. In those cases I would agree that a program sponsored by a reputable brick and mortar school is probably best.
I think purely online programs defeat a major purpose of an MBA/EMBA which is forming a network by bonding with classmates. FT MBA, PT MBA, and EMBA programs may all be worthwhile depending on the schools, format, goals, overall costs, etc.
Do note that while you can pick up multiple masters (and there are various business/business-related masters programs out there), you may only pick up one MBA (pretty much no reputable American MBA program will take you in if you already have an MBA/EMBA) and the network and brand of some MBA programs may range from helpful to very powerful.
I think more details about the options and net costs and goals would be needed to provide decent advice.
BTW, as someone who got a bachelor’s from the engineering school of a research U and then an MBA, I would note that while going somewhere cheaper for engineering undergrad makes a lot of sense (even if you had much higher-ranked options), the top MBA programs very well may justify their hefty price tags. For many jobs that require an MBA, there is a high return on an elite brand/network for those who have the goods.
If you are thinking about the difference between an MBA and an EMBA a few things come into play.
As others have mentioned full time MBA programs tend to attract students with less work experience. They are typically used as a way to transition between industries, or as a stepping stone to a more highly paid management position within a firm. The advantage of a full time MBA is that the student would have more time to bond with the class, that many courses will go into more detail, and that campus recruiting for jobs post graduation will be a bigger focus for the school.
EMBA programs are highly variable in terms of their quality ranging from excellent and very rigorous to diploma mill type programs. They are targeted mainly at candidates with significantly more work experience and each school tends to have a bit of a focus on the types of candidates that they go for. Most EMBA programs at a minimum expect employers to sponsor time (not necessarily money) so that there is a guarantee that students can attend block week classes. It is becoming less the case that employers fully sponsor the cost.
The advantages of EMBA programs are that you can keep working, that you are likely to network with a much more senior group of people, and that classes while shorter will be richer in discussion because classmates will have much more direct experience in the topics being discussed so classes tend to be more collaborative and full of applicable insights vs. theory and students who are all hoping to grab one of the available MBB or finance jobs.
If one is ever thinking of working internationally there are some great programs that are stronger than some of the fully US based ones (US News etc don’t spend much time on international business schools but several of them have global reputations that are on par with or better than most of the top US schools).
Some to consider would be:
EMBA Global Asia (Columbia, London Business School, Hong Kong University) (Skews towards business owners, entrepreneurs, smaller class size than most of the others but integrated into the student bodies of all three schools during electives)
EMBA Global (Columbia, London Business School) (Skews towards finance and consulting types, lots of the top European business people go here vs a fully US or fully European program)
INSEAD (Skews very global, shorter than most of the other programs, heavy language requirement)
TRIUM (HEC, NYU Stern, London School of Economics) (Probably attracts people with a little bit more of a policy bent than some of the others)
Kellogg/HKUST (Well regarded, tends to cherry pick people who are close to being promoted to C level or MD positions in finance to keep post graduation salary numbers high)
Chicago Booth (Hong Kong) (Also well regarded, slightly younger group than some of the others)
Lots of useful info from all of you!
My MBA is from an EMBA program and I agree with all that has been posted. They tend to be highly focused and for people who have strong work experience. A very good friend completed his through Kellog, He owned his own company but had never completed his undergrad degree so these programs can be highly diverse both in age and background but most students have experienced some degree of work success prior to starting the programs. I agree that the diversity of students adds a richness to the programs. Some of the programs are a combination of online and campus face to face time because the concept is that you are working while you complete the program.
@happy1 has it mostly correct except I would say that the EMBA isn’t really part time. I completed my EMBA at Kellogg in 2009 and it was a lot more work then my Undergrad, which I did complete part time.
At Kellogg, and I suspect Wharton and others that are top EMBA programs, the class curriculum is the same, professors use the same syllabus they use in their full time MBA courses. The exams and projects (mostly case study driven) are the same. You pay a premium, but most of your classes are taught by the best the school has to offer. We were told when we started that the teachers love to teach the EMBA classes because they get real life push-back to academic theory and that they often learn more then the students. I know firsthand that the discussions in and out of class are very incredible.
The networking was also very valuable, I spent 2 years with 49 other students who share every class. My class included people who are now, 10 years later, CEOs of major corporations, senior partners at large consulting firms, and some pretty successful venture folks. We all stay in contact, more than I do with my classmates from undergrad or my other MS program.
To me, the benefit the EMBA offered was I could apply tools I was taught on Friday-Sunday, the following Monday. It is a very rare traditional MBA student that is applying corporate governance principles and business law while taking a class from the person who wrote “The Textbook” on Business Law that every student in the country uses.
I should add that I think you get what you pay for. My company paid for me to get my Kellogg EMBA. However, if I had to do it over again and pay for it myself I would have. That being said, I would only have done that at one of the best programs. I have a friend who did an EMBA at a teir III university and he believes he basically attended some lectures and was granted a degree. To me that wouldn’t have been worth the $45K he paid out of pocket at the time. Sometimes, you do get what you pay for.
Finally, re-reading your original questions:
One that hasn’t been addressed. Do companies value the EMBA? That is a very tough question. My experience is that at the level where EMBAs are in their career, companies do not hire degrees, they hire professionals. I’m absolutely sure that the tools I learned in my EMBA helped me advance in my career to a point where I am an exceptionally accomplished executive. When head hunters call me, they call me because of my accomplishments in my career and not the pedigree of my academic record.
It is that old paradox, does the degree make the person or will that person be successful and they went for the education to help them do their job.
I think that as long as the high quality EMBA programs (Kellogg, Wharton, Booth, Fuqua, Ross, Columbia) continue to educate professionals that will be successful in their careers, companies will be respecting the programs.
@BrianBoiler Just to clarify it was the people who went through the EMBA programs who referred to their program as part time. I went back to check this and both felt the program was part time because: 1) they were not 100% focused on the MBA as both had significant responsibilities to handle at work as well and 2) their programs took longer than the traditional 4 semesters to complete. So while the program was intensive, they did consider it to be part-time. The people I asked did attend undergrad full-time so perhaps the full-time/part-time opinion is, in part, a matter of one’s baseline perspective. In no way did I imply that the total expereince of getting a EMBA was part-time. In fact I referred to the difficult juggling act that people must do to balance work and educational responsibilities in my first post.
Also note that I kept the EMBA programs in a completely separate category from a traditional part-time program of taking one or two classes/semester.
The people I know who did the EMBA were very happy with their expereince and education. It is a different expereince than getting a full-time MBA and if given a choice, the decision as to the best path should be based on each individual’s criteria.
Anyway, hopefully the OP has enough information to understand the differences in programs. I think we all agree that the OP needs to assess which direction is the best in terms of his/her lifestyle (including the ability to give up income for 2 years), career goals etc.
@happy1, didn’t mean to call you out, just to clarify. Every classmate I had was working at least a fulltime job while fullfilling the curriculum of a Full Time MBA (maybe a little less as we did some stuff accelerated during two weeks of 8-8PM classes over the two years).
The point is, a PT MBA is where you take one or two classes a semester. In the EMBA we took 4-5 classes per semester.
Also, as stated above, not all EMBAs are created equal, so maybe.
@momofthreeboys did i read correctly that your friend was allowed to do their Kellogg MBA without an undergrad degree? That is interesting, when I applied it was required and you needed a 3.0 GPA in that undergrad to be accepted.
The programs are not interchangeable, i.e. a prospective student gets to decide if they want the EMBA or MBA track.
If you are 25 years old and have two years of banking experience, you will not be accepted into Columbia’s EMBA program. You might be a fantastic candidate for their traditional MBA program- in which case, they will tell you that. But it would be highly unusual for a professional to be looking at acceptances from both programs and need to make a decision. You are either early stage career and ready for the MBA program, or you are mid-career, and with your company’s blessing and support, going to start the EMBA with the expectation that you will NOT be interviewing with other companies during the program, and will be applying what you are learning either immediately or in the job they promote you to after you finish the program.
Online? They are GREAT for specific skill development, i.e. taking a managerial accounting course from an online MBA program. At the moment, they don’t have the clout in the job market that a traditional MBA does- their admissions standards are weaker, there is MUCH less mentoring and hands-on learning.
I did a one semester “marketing boot camp” course in my MBA program (a thousand years ago, but still). A team of us were supervised by a professor, and once a week we met in the conference room of a major corporation where we were helping with a new product launch. We were treated like members of the internal launch team by this company- each of us had a specific deliverable we were responsible for, had to get buy-in from our colleagues, had to do the analytics and the numbers to validate what we were recommending, etc. Only difference between us and members of the internal corporate team was that we were not getting paid, AND we were getting supervised by a professor (sort of a famous guy in the marketing world) who really challenged us to deliver new ideas and demonstrate some ground-breaking thinking. We used a research technique to segment the market which had the company’s market research department agog- they had never used it before.
This is hard to replicate in an online MBA program. This was a very popular second semester of the first year course for students that wanted a job in brand management, because once you started interviewing in the Fall you could talk about it. I didn’t take it until second semester of my second year- and I already HAD a job lined up- but still, incredibly useful experience. Not much theory but a ton of applied wisdom!
This discussion should be moved to the Professional/Graduate School-Business MBA section.
The only people who may be considering an MBA (FT or PT) vs. EMBA would be someone around 30-33. It comes down to goals vs. costs vs. the specifics of each program.
@BrianBoiler Yes, he completed it I think 2 years ago, maybe 3 it’s hard to remember and yes he had never completed an undergrad degree. Maybe he was an exception since he’s co-CEO of a mid-size company he founded?
I felt my EMBA program WAS full - it was continous over several years and the class-time was pretty equivalent to what undergrad was like, at least 12 credits if not more each semester. Lots of 2 AM mornings…but a long, long time ago.
Is this for one of your boys?
Kat
The difference is the student population and the process. The degrees are are actually the same.
University of x.
Masters of business administration.
It’s not an honorary degree.
An important question: Why do you want to get an MBA ? The answer to this question should help direct you to the appropriate type of MBA program as well as to which delivery method is best suited to your needs & goals.