Program Basics

• • Executive MBA (EMBA)
  • The Paul Merage School of Business
  • 4302 Pereira Drive
  • MPAA 101
  • Irvine, 92697-3130, California
  • United States
  • Status:
    • Public
  • Length of program (months): 21

• Classes meet:

  • • Alternate weekends
    • Occasional week-long sessions
    • Other

• Tuition and fees for entire EMBA program:

  • Resident: $99,624.00
  • Non Resident: $99,624.00

• Graduate business school is accredited by:

  • • Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB)

SCHOOL BASICS

• Graduate business school enrollment:

  • Total: 829
  • Full-Time MBA: 195
  • Part-Time MBA: 444
  • Executive MBA: 138
  • PhD Program: 52
• • Undergraduate business school enrollment: 643

ADMISSIONS

• • Rolling admissions? Yes
  • GMAT Required? No
  • Are applicants allowed to submit the GRE? Yes
  • If applicants are not required to take the GMAT, how are EMBA applicants' quantitative abilities checked before enrollment? We review undergraduate transcripts for a GPA of at least 3.0 and assess a candidate's academic background in quantitative courses. The GMAT is at the discretion of the Admissions Committee. An optional but highly recommended Harvard Business Math online course is offered to all incoming students. All are encouraged to complete before the start of the program.
• • Is the TOEFL required for non-English speakers? Yes
  • Application fee: $150.00
  • Number of applications to the newest class: 54
  • Applicants accepted: 78 %
  • Admitted applicants enrolled: 83 %
  • Applicants wait-listed during the last admissions cycle: 0
  • Applicant interviews are: Required
  • Applicants (admitted and denied) who were interviewed: 98 %
  • Admitted applicants who were interviewed: 98 %

CLASS PROFILE

• EMBA students in newest entering class who are:

  • Female: 29 %
  • International: 17 %

• Entering students are from the following regions:

  • Africa: 0 %
  • Asia: 12 %
  • Europe: 6 %
  • North America: 82 %
  • Oceania: 0 %
  • Latin America and the Caribbean: 0 %

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

  • West: 100 %
  • Midwest: 0 %
  • Southwest: 0 %
  • South: 0 %
  • Mid-Atlantic: 0 %
  • Northeast: 0 %
  • Possessions and territories: 0 %

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

  • African American: 7 %
  • Asian American: 21 %
  • Hispanic or Latino American: 7 %
  • Multiethnic/Multiracial : 3 %
  • Native American: 0 %
  • White (Non-Hispanic): 55 %
  • Chose not to report: 7 %
  • Other: 0 %
• • Average months of work experience: 186

• Middle 80% range work experience in months:

  • From: 122
  • To: 308
• • Average age: 40

• Middle 80% age range:

  • From: 31
  • To: 51

• Work background:

  • Have advanced degrees: 31 %
  • Work in the nonprofit sector: 0 %
  • Work at an organization with 100 or fewer employees: 31 %
  • Have title of president, CEO, or chairman: 20 %
• • EMBA students living within 45 miles of campus: 94 %
  • Average base salary for new EMBA entrant: $152,045.00

• Middle 80% base salary range:

  • Low: $78,000.00
  • High: $221,700.00

• Students work in these functional categories:

  • Consulting: 6 %
  • Finance/Accounting 17 %
  • General Management : 31 %
  • Human Resources: 0 %
  • Marketing/Sales: 17 %
  • Management Information Systems : 9 %
  • Operations/Logistics: 14 %
  • Other: 6 %

• Students work in these industries:

  • Consulting: 3 %
  • Consumer Products: 6 %
  • Financial Services: 11 %
  • Government: 11 %
  • Manufacturing: 11 %
  • Media/Entertainment: 6 %
  • Non-Profit: 0 %
  • Petroleum/Energy: 0 %
  • Pharmaceutical/Biotechnology/Health Care: 11 %
  • Real Estate: 0 %
  • Technology: 11 %
  • Other: 30 %

• Top organizations sending students:

  • Allergan
  • Disney
  • Edwards Lifesciences
  • First American Financial Corporation
  • Rockwell Collins

FINANCIAL AID

• • EMBAs receiving financial aid through school: 59 %
  • EMBA scholarships are awarded based on: Merit
  • Full-tuition scholarships awarded in past 12 months: 0
  • Does the school offer a guaranteed loan to EMBAs, regardless of nationality? No

FACULTY

• • Faculty employed by the B-school: 129

• Full-time faculty:

  • Tenured: 27
  • Non-Tenured: 21

• Adjunct/Visiting Faculty:

  • Tenured: 1
  • Non-Tenured: 80

• Women on Faculty:

  • Tenured: 10
  • Non-Tenured: 32

• Minority Faculty:

  • Tenured: 10
  • Non-Tenured: 13

• International Faculty:

  • Tenured: 4
  • Non-Tenured: 26

• Faculty with PhDs:

  • Tenured: 28
  • Non-Tenured: 67

STUDENT LIFE

• • Does the program include a mandatory international trip or project? Yes
  • Description: Requirements of the international residential include: participation; written report on opportunities/challenges of a company's entrance/expansion in that geographic market; group project analyzing the business functions for a designated company visited.
  • Does the school offer pre-program orientation for all EMBA participants? Yes
  • Does the school offer temporary housing/accommodations for EMBA participants? Yes
  • Description: Month-to-month lease for on-campus graduate housing during the program.
  • Do EMBAs have access to a health club or gym? Yes
  • Special student/home/work/life initiatives: Simultaneous to the mandatory EMBA new student orientation, the school hosted an optional spouse/partner orientation. The event was designed to provide a better understanding of the EMBA program, the students' upcoming experience and the impact on family.
  • How far away from a major airport are most EMBA classes held? (miles) 3

TEACHING/ACADEMICS

• Teaching methods:

  • Case Study: 33 %
  • Distance Learning: 0 %
  • Experiential Learning: 3 %
  • Lectures: 29 %
  • Simulations: 8 %
  • Team Projects: 18 %
  • Other: 9 %
• • Faculty also teaching in full-time program: 24 %
  • Tenured/tenure-track EMBA faculty: 59 %
  • Average class size, core EMBA class: 38
  • Average class size, EMBA electives: 34
  • Elective courses: 45

• New electives added in past 12 months:

  • Practice of General Management

• Estimated hours per week in class and outside classwork:

  • Hours per week in class: 12
  • Hours per week outside of class spent on classwork: 20
• • Last revision of core EMBA curriculum: 2005
  • Distance-learning EMBA via the Internet, videoconferencing, or some other medium? No
  • Describe distance learning EMBA: In 2007, the Merage School began webcasting and archiving all lectures and TA sessions in the EMBA programs. Today all classrooms are Mediasite enabled and equipped with a variety of digital teaching sources. Mediasite seamlessly records more than 60 hours of content each week from an adjacent control room. Students and faculty say the technology, which is completely transparent in the classroom, has had a direct positive impact on instruction and learning.
  • Joint degree programs: MBA/JD (Law), MBA/MD (Medicine)
  • Leading areas of study: Accounting, Economics, Marketing, Strategy, Organizational Behavior

• 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
  • EMBA students participate in week-long offsite learning experiences called residentials. Three residentials are required: a local residential before classes begin (opening residential); a second-year residential in an international location; and a final capstone course (closing residential).
• • Significant recent changes to EMBA program: 2005

• TECHNOLOGY

  • Technology improvements in the last three academic years: Classroom renovations included smart podiums. All large classrooms have twin projectors, high speed wireless networks, and laptop power at every seat. Classroom capture systems and built-in robotic cameras allow all instruction in largest classrooms to be streamed live via the Internet for classes, TA sessions, and conferences.
  • Amount spent: $328,000.00

B-SCHOOL ALUMNI

• • Living MBA alumni: 7,450
  • Active MBA alumni clubs: 13
  • Countries in which MBA clubs exist: 4
  • Living MBA alumni who gave in past year: 4
  • Mean gift from MBA alumni: $1,128.00
  • Median gift from MBA alumni: $100.00
  • Did school receive an individual gift in exess of $10 million in the past academic year? No
  • Business school endowment $24,700,650.00
  • 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: http://www.alumniconnections.com/olc/pub/CAI/
  • Does the B-School have an alumni networking Web site? Yes
  • Business school alumni networking site: http://merage.uci.edu/Alumni/
  • 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: Companies are welcome to recruit EMBAs as needed. The MBA Career Center assists in making connections with EMBAs.

SCHOOL COMMENTS

• • Additional school comments: The Paul Merage School of Business also offers a Health Care Executive MBA program that merges the medical and health-related industries with business education in a unique learning environment, designed specifically for health care professionals. The program is 24 months, meeting one weekend per month. It includes a residential trip to Washington, DC to explore health care policy

• • -The EMBA program was a great experience for me. I strongly believe that the more you put into something, the more you will get out of it. There are great networking opportunities to be had if you take advantage of all the opportunities available to you, and extracurricular events (business plan competition, investment competition, speaker series etc.) greatly add to the value of the program.
    
    -It seems the efforts spent by the school in terms of recruiting EMBAs is not nearly as strong as those spent on supporting Full Time or Part Time MBAs. More recruiting support for EMBAs will make the school more attractive to prospective EMBAs.
    
    -I would like to see the school provide full access to career services and recruitment for EMBA students. The current program only provides limited access. That needs to be changed.
    
    -The selection of classmates made for a well-rounded education. The dean of the school has a strong relationship with outside business community and it is evident in the support, speakers, and the five centers of excellence at the school.
    
    -There is not a sufficient emphasis on finance or an ability to tailor the program to personal interests, such as sustainability.
    
    -We had great logistical assistance from the school. No other items would have improved the day-to-day experiences.
    
    -More collaboration across departments and local businesses would have helped.
    
    -The school should provide more interactive assignments that are pertinent to our real work environment, current case studies, and more discussion and less lecture. Too many professors followed slides and assignments but didn't make sure they were relevant to us or ensure concepts were internalized.
    
    -There should be better use of technology in class, more incentive for innovative thinking, stronger finance core classes, and a chance to explore the international aspect in core classes. I'd like the school to allow new study groups in the middle of the course to stimulate teamwork and integration among students, experiment exchange programs with other international executive MBA programs.
    
    -The day-to-day experience could not have been improved. Really, it was that good. The administration's attention to detail was amazing. We had dedicated staff that supported us throughout the entire program.