By Rob Bradfield
Staff Writer
Baylor’s Executive Master of Business Administration program is ranked No. 35 in the nation, according to the new Executive MBA rankings by the Financial Times.
The program, divided between campuses in Austin and Dallas, is a 21-month graduate program focused on giving students practical experience.
Dr. Gary Carini, associate dean of the Hankamer School of Business and EMBA global strategy professor, said the program’s recent success reaffirms Baylor EMBA’s goals and indicates that alumni satisfaction with the program is certainly extremely high.
This year, Baylor EMBA moved up four places nationally and is the fourth-highest ranked EMBA program in Texas, according to the Financial Times.
The rankings are determined by alumni polls; to be considered, a school must have a 20 percent return on the polls.
The Financial Times also ranked Baylor EMBA first in the state for salary growth.
Students entering the program average a 58 percent increase in their pay after completion.
This is comparable to programs in New York, France and Switzerland.
Classes are two days a week, but students enrolled in the program are required to be employed full time as well.
“Afterward, students return to those jobs but very, very often get promotions, and some actually change their line of work,” Carini said.
Carini said this is because of the wide range of industries that students are exposed to in the program, such as real estate, manufacturing and retail.
Each campus also has an area of industry that it specializes in.
The Dallas program focuses on the health care industry and the Austin program focuses on technology.
The program in Austin just moved to new facilities on Parmer Lane and Loop 1.
“It’s going to signify to the Austin community that we have a strong, permanent presence there now,” David Wallace, director of Baylor EMBA’s Austin campus, said.
Students in the program have typically gained experience prior to entering the program, Wallace said.
“The average aged student is 36 years old,” he said. “Most of our students have families; most of our students have worked in managerial positions before.”
The program is designed to strengthen and diversify the skills that students developed in their positions at corporations, Wallace said.
Some students start out in positions at large corporations like IBM or Dell, but not all decide to continue their careers there.
“We happen to have a strong amount of entrepreneurial fervor so that many times our students go out and start their own businesses,” Wallace said.
The program is open to MBA students with previous leadership and managerial experience.
Interested students can apply online at the program’s website: www.baylor.edu/business/awemba, or call the graduate programs admission office at (254) 710-4163 to schedule an appointment.