Global and Civic Society the Focus of New MBA Scholarships

January has seen the launch of two new initiatives offering MBA scholarships that focus on extending the degree’s reach among those from industries and countries that are currently underrepresented in MBA cohorts.

One, available for the part-time MBA program at Chicago Booth, targets an underrepresented industry among MBA students’ employment histories – the nonprofit and government sector. The other, available for the full-time MBA at HHL Leipzig Graduate School of Management, targets students from the world’s least developed countries and those who might otherwise lack the resources to access an MBA education.

Full-time scholarships at HHL Leipzig for an MBA in Germany

If it’s a full-time MBA that’s of interest and you’re keen to use your MBA skillset to explore business opportunities in your country of origin, then HHL Leipzig Graduate School of Management’s new initiative warrants further reading. 

HHL Leipzig is offering full-fee MBA scholarships, in addition to monthly living costs, to suitably-qualified students from the world’s least developed countries to study an MBA in Germany. The scholarships are to be awarded in cooperation with the Kofi Annan Business Schools Foundation (KABSF), an organization that aims to stimulate entrepreneurship in recipients’ home countries when they return from their period of study and, thus, provide a boost to the local economy and job market.

“During its eight years of development, KABSF has encouraged the goal of spreading solidarity from North to South to help reinforce human resources and eventually help their home countries to benefit,” said KABSF’s board chairman, Dr Hans van Ginkel.

As evaluated and denoted by the UN, the world’s least developed countries (LDCs) numbered 48 in 2015, and include Bhutan in Asia, Senegal in Sub-Saharan Africa and Haiti in the Caribbean.

Despite the MBA scholarships’ association with the Kofi Annan Business Schools Foundation, candidate selection lies solely with HHL Leipzig and those interested in applying must therefore meet the school’s standard requirements for MBA study. KABSF, meanwhile, already holds links to another MBA in Germany, at ESMT, as well as to the program offered by Vlerick Leuven Gent Management School in Belgium. (You can read more about ESMT’s participation in KABSF and some recipients of the organization’s fellowships here.)

“Becoming a member of KABSF demonstrates the social entrepreneurship that HHL values in contributing to the global society,” said HHL Leipzig’s dean, Dr Pinkwart, adding “HHL's mission suits the objective of KABSF perfectly, as we aim to educate effective, responsible and entrepreneurial business leaders.”

Part-time MBA scholarships for Chicago Booth

Chicago Booth’s new scholarship initiative will see eight awards of full tuition made each year for admission to its part-time MBA program, known as the ‘Weekend MBA’.

The focus here is on those with backgrounds in the nonprofit and government sectors, areas that are commonly underrepresented on MBA programs. And, as it is a part-time program, participants are able to continue in their full-time employment during the course of the program.

In Chicago Booth’s full-time class of 2017, for example, 11% of students are said to have come from backgrounds in the nonprofit and government sectors, when combined with the numbers joining the program from the education sector, as compared to the 23% of students who hail from consulting backgrounds and the 18% who have worked in investment banking (commercial and brokerage combined). 

The new MBA scholarships will be partially funded by a US$4 million gift from the Neubauer Family Foundation and will be officially known as the Civic Scholars Program. To each recipient, the initiative could be worth more than US$125,000, as there are a total of 20 courses to complete in the Weekend MBA and each course costs US$6,338, according to pricing for the current academic year.

“This is an opportunity to strengthen the development of future leaders from the public and nonprofit sectors across the United States, and Booth's data-driven and collaborative approach will help these professionals drive change within their organizations that has a dynamic impact… The same leadership skills are required to run all enterprises regardless of sector,” said Joseph Neubauer, who is an MBA alumnus of Chicago Booth and currently serves as chairman of the University of Chicago’s Board of Trustees.

“In time, this will help the school broaden its impact into these sectors, by building a community of talented and well-trained alumni,” Sunil Kumar, Chicago Booth’s dean, said of the new initiative.