EXECUTIVE MBA Profiles Publish Date 11/05/09

Thunderbird School of Global Management

Getting In

PROGRAM BASICS

Executive MBA in Global Management

1 Global Place
Glendale , Arizona 85306 United States

Status:

Private Institution

Length of program (months):

Classes meet:

Alternate weekends

Occasional week-long sessions

Tuition and fees for entire EMBA program:

Resident: $ 79,500
Non Resident: $ 79,500

Graduate business school is accredited by:

AACSB International

NCA

SCHOOL BASICS

Graduate business school enrollment:

Total: 1,368
Full-Time MBA: 683
Executive MBA: 126

Graduate degree programs:

Master of international Management/Business

Other graduate degree programs:

Master of Arts - Global Affairs and Mgmt Master of Science - Global Mgmt

ADMISSIONS

Rolling admissions?

Yes

GMAT Required?

If applicants are not required to take the GMAT, how are EMBA applicants' quantitative abilities checked before enrollment?

Three required essays; series of four-five in-person interview; work history.

Middle 80% range of GMAT scores:

N/A

Is the TOEFL required for non-English speakers?

Application fee:

$ 125

Number of applications to the newest class:

Applicants accepted:

69 %

Admitted applicants enrolled:

68 %

Reapplicants from prior years:

8 %

Applicants wait-listed during the last admissions cycle:

Wait-listed applicants admitted for the semester to which they applied:

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: 24 %
International: 16 %

Entering students are from the following regions:

Asia: 9 %
Latin America and the Caribbean: 5 %
North America: 84 %
Western Europe: 2 %

Entering North American citizens are from the following regions:

West: 5 %
Midwest: 1 %
Southwest: 93 %
Northeast: 1 %

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

African American: 5 %
Asian American: 15 %
Hispanic or Latino American: 8 %
White (Non-Hispanic): 72 %

Average months of work experience:

180

Middle 80% range work experience, months:

From: 98
To: 192

Average age:

Middle 80% age range:

From: 32
To: 41

Work background:

Have advanced degrees: 20 %
Work in the nonprofit sector: 5 %
Work at an organization with 100 or fewer employees: 23 %
Have title of president, CEO, or chairman: 15 %

EMBA students living within 45 miles of campus:

45 %

Average base salary for new EMBA entrant:

$ 117,250

Middle 80% base salary range:

Low: $ 60,000
High: $ 250,000

Students work in these functional categories:

Consulting: 5 %
Finance/Accounting: 20 %
General Management : 10 %
Marketing/Sales: 27 %
Management Information Systems : 8 %
Operations/Logistics: 15 %
Other: 15 %

Students work in these industries:

Consumer Products: 3 %
Financial Services: 20 %
Manufacturing: 5 %
Media/Entertainment: 2 %
Non-Profit: 5 %
Petroleum/Energy: 8 %
Pharmaceutical/Biotechnology/Health Care: 17 %
Real Estate: 3 %
Technology: 12 %
Other: 25 %

Top organizations sending students:

IBM
Intel
BP
Charles Schwab
AAA

FINANCIAL AID

EMBAs receiving financial aid through school:

65 %

Full-tuition scholarships awarded in past 12 months:

Does the school offer a guaranteed loan to EMBAs, regardless of nationality?

Academics & Lifestyle

FACULTY

Faculty employed by the B-school:

Full-time faculty:

Tenured: 27
Non-Tenured: 21

Adjunct/Visiting Faculty:

Tenured: 0
Non-Tenured: 21

Women on Faculty:

Tenured: 7
Non-Tenured: 17

Minority Faculty:

Tenured: 8
Non-Tenured: 9

International Faculty:

Tenured: 4
Non-Tenured: 7

Faculty with PhDs:

Tenured: 27
Non-Tenured: 26

STUDENT LIFE

Does the program include a mandatory international trip or project?

Yes

Description:

3 overseas trips are required. The 9-day study tours include cultural learning, industry visits, guest speakers and course content. Combined with classroom sessions to augment what is learned in that particular location. 3 credits earned per trip.

Does the school offer pre-program orientation for all EMBA participants?

Yes

Does the school offer temporary housing/accommodations for EMBA participants?

Yes

Description:

On campus housing includes two levels of executive accommodations, hotel and dorm, that are offered for a discounted fee to EMBA students. They also have access to lounges, study rooms and business centers.

Do EMBAs have access to a health club or gym?

Yes

Special student/home/work/life initiatives:

We work with our students to offer services such as recording classes they miss due to work obligations, providing TA help for quantitative classes, and having regular class rep forums to solicit feedback.

How far away from a major airport are most EMBA classes held? (miles)

TEACHING/ACADEMICS

Teaching methods:

Case Study: 35 %
Distance Learning: 6 %
Experiential Learning: 15 %
Lectures: 10 %
Simulations: 4 %
Team Projects: 20 %
Other: 10 %

Faculty also teaching in full-time program:

97 %

Tenured/tenure-track EMBA faculty:

59 %

Faculty with at least five years of full-time corporate experience:

53 %

Average class size, core EMBA class:

Average class size, EMBA electives:

Elective courses:

Estimated hours per week in class and outside classwork:

Hours per week in class: 8
Hours per week outside of class spent on classwork: 13

Last revision of core EMBA curriculum:

2007

Distance-learning EMBA via the Internet, videoconferencing, or some other medium?

Description:

N/A

Group work done via the Internet:

6 %

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

Other:

Demonstrate ability to converse in a second language at a specified fluency level through either passing 6 credits of language classes at Thunderbird or testing out through passing an external language exam.

Additional EMBA Programs:
EMBA programs run in another country:

LG Electronics Thunderbird Executive MBA
Executive MBA Europe

Domestic partnerships or in-house EMBA programs:

N/A

In-house EMBA programs provided for companies:

Recent changes to EMBA program:

Aligned EMBA curriculums in the US and Europe so courses can be shared by both cohorts; they will study together in person 4 times and will share two web-based courses. Now 5 residential modules, 2 Arizona, 3 overseas.

TECHNOLOGY

Technology improvements in the last three academic years:

In 2009, a state of the art learning management solution was implemented. The school’s broadcast studio, used heavily for synchronous distance learning, was fully converted from analog to digital broadcast capabilities in 2008. Ongoing cycles of classroom technology upgrades continue. Increasing the use of software as a service, the school’s career management center moved to a platform known as Thunderbird Global Connect, in 2008.

Amount spent:

$ 3,500,000

Alumni Affairs & Careers

B-SCHOOL ALUMNI

Living MBA alumni:

30,256

Active MBA alumni clubs:

151

Countries in which MBA clubs exist:

Living MBA alumni who gave in past year:

10 %

Mean gift from MBA alumni:

$ 483

Median gift from MBA alumni:

$ 100

Did school receive an individual gift in excess of $10 million in the past academic year?

Business school endowment

$ 14,571,000

Does the main university offer career placement services for alumni?

Does the main university have an alumni networking Web site?

Yes

University alumni networking site:

http://my.thunderbird.edu

Does the B-School have an alumni networking Web site?

Yes

Business school alumni networking site:

http://my.thunderbird.edu

Do current MBA students have access to an alumni database?

CAREER SERVICES

Does the school offer EMBA students access to the career services office?

Yes

Does the school allow its EMBA students to interview on campus with corporate recruiters targeting executives for full-time jobs?

Yes

What is the school's policy concerning recruiters targeting EMBA students for full-time jobs?

We encourage recruiters to consider EMBA students for full time jobs and open positions, however most campus recruiters are looking for less experienced, entry level MBAs.

SCHOOL COMMENTS

Additional school comments:

The European EMBA program was moved from Prague to Geneva in 2008 and will begin a new cohort in January 2010. This program is being held with a partner school in Geneva and is targeted towards senior professionals from Europe and the Middle East. The two EMBA cohorts (Europe and US) will share a number of international study tours and joint class sessions, thereby building their global networks.

Graduate Comments

The strengths [of the professors] were not only a consistent focus on global issues, but the linking of their subject areas to the overall strategy of the firm and what makes financial sense in the long term.

A relatively minor issue was that the schedule of classes through two of the semesters at the school had several gaps of multiple weeks for a few classes.

Instructors have real-life experience and are currently engaged in business projects around the world. They are typically called upon to consult because they are experts in their fields.

[The program should] be more selective with applicants and provide long-term career counseling services.

It is one of the strongests programs in the country. The focus on international business is absolutely critical in today's economy.

The diverse backgrounds, professional experience, and education were strengths of the professors. The fact that most of them were full-time, PhD instructors was a strength. Some of the teachers, without properly preparing their classes, taught at a level that went above the students' heads.

The online courses really needed improvement. There needed to be direct interaction with the professors instead of all pre-recorded content.

I think some investment in the latest technology and upgrades to physical classrooms would help the overall academic experience. I would have liked to have had more interaction with successful alumni.

Overall, I thought the program was terrific. Unfortunately, we were going through the program as the economy was melting down, so several of my classmates, (myself included) were laid off before graduation and/or had to change jobs or take pay cuts. The job environment post-graduation was dismal and having the executive MBA didn't seem to have the cache or influence it once had with job recruiters.

Some of the professors had practical experience but some of them had only little experience and did a poor job in transporting their experience.

Many of the instructors were from outside the U.S., which added to the international value. Management, leadership, and cross-cultural negotiations were excellent. But professors need to improve the use of technology and multi-media into the programs and interactions with students. Leverage new online, video, and telepresence capability to further facilitae outside-the-classroom interaction.

There was a really good balance between theory and practice, but my preference is to err on the side of more practice. That makes all the difference in the world when it comes to flexing different muscles. I think an increased focus on leadership skills - the soft skills - would have really helped some of my peers in the class. They are imperative to their success going forward.

It may help to be a longer program. I felt like we rushed through some of the topics, and it would have helped to be able to spend more time with the material.