Go To Businessweek.com
Executive MBA Profile Publish Date 05/27/12

The Pennsylvania State University

The Pennsylvania State University

  • Program Basics

      • Penn State Smeal College of Business Executive MBA Program
      • Penn State
      • 220 Business Building
      • Penn State University
      • University Park, 16802, Pennsylvania
      • United States
      • Status:
        • Public
      • Length of program (months): 21

    • Classes meet:

        • Alternate weekends
        • Occasional week-long sessions

    • Tuition and fees for entire EMBA program:

      • Resident: $93,000.00
      • Non Resident: $93,000.00

    • Graduate business school is accredited by:

        • Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB)

  • SCHOOL BASICS

    • Graduate business school enrollment:

      • Total: 446
      • Full-Time MBA: 186
      • Executive MBA: 81
      • PhD Program: 78
      • Undergraduate business school enrollment: 5,030
      • Other graduate degree programs: Master of Accounting, Other

  • ADMISSIONS

      • Rolling admissions? Yes
      • GMAT Required? No
      • If applicants are not required to take the GMAT, how are EMBA applicants' quantitative abilities checked before enrollment? The Smeal EMBA builds a relationship with every candidate to understand all of their capabilities. Candidate success is assessed using an individualized process exploring work experience, career progression, overall success, industry experience, and team experience. An interview of all applicants allows us to understand our candidates on a different level than a traditional process. This approach reduces our reliance on standardized tests significantly.
      • Is the TOEFL required for non-English speakers? No
      • Application fee: $0.00
      • Number of applications to the newest class: 220
      • Applicants accepted: 45 %
      • Admitted applicants enrolled: 35 %
      • Applicants wait-listed during the last admissions cycle: 2
      • Applicant interviews are: Required
      • Applicants (admitted and denied) who were interviewed: 100 %
      • Admitted applicants who were interviewed: 100 %

  • CLASS PROFILE

    • EMBA students in newest entering class who are:

      • Female: 23 %
      • International: 6 %

    • Entering students are from the following regions:

      • Africa: 3 %
      • Asia: 6 %
      • North America: 91 %

    • Entering U.S. citizens are from the following regions:

      • Mid-Atlantic: 85 %
      • Northeast: 15 %

    • U.S. students in newest entering class who are:

      • African American: 6 %
      • Hispanic or Latino American: 9 %
      • White (Non-Hispanic): 82 %
      • Chose not to report: 3 %
      • Average months of work experience: 195

    • Middle 80% range work experience in months:

      • From: 84
      • To: 264
      • Average age: 37

    • Middle 80% age range:

      • From: 32
      • To: 47

    • Work background:

      • Have advanced degrees: 11 %
      • Work in the nonprofit sector: 14 %
      • Work at an organization with 100 or fewer employees: 9 %
      • Have title of president, CEO, or chairman: 3 %
      • EMBA students living within 45 miles of campus: 51 %
      • Average base salary for new EMBA entrant: $146,000.00

    • Middle 80% base salary range:

      • Low: $75,000.00
      • High: $200,000.00

    • Students work in these functional categories:

      • Consulting: 11 %
      • Finance/Accounting 11 %
      • General Management : 9 %
      • Human Resources: 4 %
      • Marketing/Sales: 20 %
      • Management Information Systems : 14 %
      • Operations/Logistics: 20 %
      • Other: 11 %

    • Students work in these industries:

      • Consumer Products: 9 %
      • Financial Services: 24 %
      • Manufacturing: 11 %
      • Media/Entertainment: 3 %
      • Non-Profit: 11 %
      • Pharmaceutical/Biotechnology/Health Care: 17 %
      • Technology: 17 %
      • Other: 9 %

    • Top organizations sending students:

      • Bank of America
      • Merck
      • Hershey
      • Independence Blue Cross
      • University of Pennsylvania

  • FINANCIAL AID

      • EMBAs receiving financial aid through school: 60 %
      • EMBA scholarships are awarded based on: Other
      • Full-tuition scholarships awarded in past 12 months: 0
      • Does the school offer a guaranteed loan to EMBAs, regardless of nationality? Only to domestic students
      • Maximum loan amount: $55,000.00

  • FACULTY

      • Faculty employed by the B-school: 146

    • Full-time faculty:

      • Tenured: 64
      • Non-Tenured: 82

    • Adjunct/Visiting Faculty:

      • Tenured: 0
      • Non-Tenured: 15

    • Women on Faculty:

      • Tenured: 10
      • Non-Tenured: 21

    • Minority Faculty:

      • Tenured: 13
      • Non-Tenured: 23

    • International Faculty:

      • Tenured: 9
      • Non-Tenured: 18

    • Faculty with PhDs:

      • Tenured: 64
      • Non-Tenured: 52

  • STUDENT LIFE

      • Does the program include a mandatory international trip or project? Yes
      • Description: Our global immersion is conducted one month prior to program completion and is a 7 to 10 day learning experience in another country. The country is chosen by the students and is specifically developed around the class interests and global current events.
      • Does the school offer pre-program orientation for all EMBA participants? Yes
      • Does the school offer temporary housing/accommodations for EMBA participants? Yes
      • Description: Four star domestically / 5 star internationally
      • Do EMBAs have access to a health club or gym? Yes
      • Special student/home/work/life initiatives: Full-time onsite executive coaches, spouse / partner meetings, regional networking for students and family.
      • How far away from a major airport are most EMBA classes held? (miles) 15

  • TEACHING/ACADEMICS

    • Teaching methods:

      • Case Study: 55 %
      • Experiential Learning: 5 %
      • Lectures: 15 %
      • Simulations: 10 %
      • Team Projects: 15 %
      • Faculty also teaching in full-time program: 96 %
      • Tenured/tenure-track EMBA faculty: 80 %
      • Average class size, core EMBA class: 45
      • Average class size, EMBA electives: 0
      • Elective courses: 0

    • Estimated hours per week in class and outside classwork:

      • Hours per week in class: 12
      • Hours per week outside of class spent on classwork: 15
      • Last revision of core EMBA curriculum: 2010
      • Distance-learning EMBA via the Internet, videoconferencing, or some other medium? No
      • Leading areas of study: Entrepreneurship, Finance, Marketing, Strategy, General Management

    • Graduation Requirements:

        • Students must have attended a minimum number of classes
        • Students must have earned a pre-determined GPA/Letter grade average
        • Class participation accounts for some percentage of students' grades
        • Write a complete business plan
        • Present final company-specific project results to relevant parties
        • Other
      • Global immersion
      • Significant recent changes to EMBA program: 2010

    • TECHNOLOGY

      • Technology improvements in the last three academic years: New computers for both labs in Keller building, network infrastructure updates, new computers and monitors in Trading Room, new ticker for Business Building lobby, digital signage, server storage solution, lecture capture, podium upgrades for MBA classrooms, new computers for MBA classrooms, new projectors for MBA classrooms, wireless replaced, server upgrades, video conferencing upgrades and equipment additions.
      • Amount spent: $694,930.00

  • B-SCHOOL ALUMNI

      • Living MBA alumni: 4,996
      • Active MBA alumni clubs: 0
      • Countries in which MBA clubs exist: 0
      • Living MBA alumni who gave in past year: 8
      • Mean gift from MBA alumni: $197.00
      • Median gift from MBA alumni: $50.00
      • Did school receive an individual gift in exess of $10 million in the past academic year? No
      • Business school endowment $77,250,655.00
      • Does the main university offer career placement services for alumni? Yes
      • Does the main university have an alumni networking Web site? Yes
      • University alumni networking site: https://psualumcareer.com/career/
      • Does the B-School have an alumni networking Web site? Yes
      • Business school alumni networking site: http://www.smeal.psu.edu/smealconnect
      • Does the B-school offer career services for alumni? Yes
      • Do current MBA students have access to an alumni database? Yes

  • CAREER SERVICES

      • Do EMBAs have access to career services? Yes
      • Does the school allow its EMBA students to interview on campus with corporate recruiters targeting executives for full-time jobs? Yes
      • School's policy regarding recruiters targeting EMBAs: We do not offer career help to those students who are sponsored by their firms.

Getting In

B-School Life

Finding a Job

Paying the Bills