10 Top EMBA Programs with Low Tuition Fees: Part 2

Considering enrolling on an EMBA program but not convinced that your employer will part with the money to make it happen? Well, looks like you’re going to have to be a self-funded EMBA candidate (unless you can find another channel through which to fund your studies). You’re certainly not alone – though we’ve seen a slight recovery in the proportion of company-sponsored candidates, the long-term trend is definitely towards more and more candidates paying their own EMBA tuition fees. And why not? You’ll almost certainly enjoy a very healthy return, so investing in yourself needn’t be a risky enterprise. 

That said, reducing costs will be a concern for many, if not most, self-funded candidates. An EMBA isn’t cheap – there’s simply no escaping that fact. However, there is a great deal of variety in the price tags of top programs. While it should never be your top reason for choosing a program, if you were looking to save, say, a few thousand dollars here or there, you certainly have some choices. We took at the look at the tuition fees of the world’s top-50 EMBA programs (according to the FT) to put together a two-part list of the ones with the lowest tuition fees (see part 1 here).

So, ‘stop going on about it and tell us what they are then’, do we hear you say? Ladies and gentlemen, please read on to find out. Dollar prices are conversions correct at time of publication.

Warwick Business School, UK

EMBA tuition: US$57,976

Starting in September 2015, Warwick Business School – a pioneer of distance learning formats – will be offering its executive MBA program from the European Union’s tallest building, the (despite its young age) iconic Shard in London as well as from its home campus and by distance. The 45 elective modules also afford you opportunities to study in Germany, India, Ireland, Mexico, Switzerland, and China – indeed, completing a module at a non-UK venue is compulsory  over the three years of the program. Graduates from Warwick’s EMBA program get an average salary increase of 94% three years after graduating. 

IESE Business School, Spain

EMBA tuition: US$57,925

IESE’s EMBA program lasts 19 months and can be taken in Barcelona (weekly), Madrid (weekly or fortnightly) or São Paulo (fortnightly). It is a bilingual program, delivered in both English and Spanish. Candidates are obliged to undertake three intensive weeks in the second year, during which time there are opportunities to travel to Shanghai or New York. Learning is focused on problem solving, with IESE (which has ties with Harvard) placing an emphasis on the case study method, as it does on its full-time MBA program. The 275 current candidates are 30 years old on average, with 42% coming from an engineering background and 36% from economics.

ESCP Europe, multi campus

EMBA tuition: US$57,431

ESCP’s EMBA program can be taken in Paris, Turin, Madrid, Beirut or a combination of Berlin and London – or, if you choose the itinerant study track, across all five of these options. Candidates can choose between taking the course over 18 or 30 months or may also take the 12-month General Management Programme, which consists of the full EMBA program’s nine core courses (candidates can upgrade to the full EMBA on completion of this shorter program and move on to its other required modules). The degree includes five week-long seminars and requires candidates to complete a collaborative international consulting project. Elective options are spread across the school’s network of campuses and see candidates studying alongside those from other tracks. 

ESSEC/Mannheim Business School, France & Germany

EMBA tuition: US$53,519

Offered in modular or a weekend formats, the ESSEC & Mannheim Business School EMBA program takes 18 months to complete. The modular format sees candidates take classes in Paris and Mannheim, and includes one residency in the US and one in Asia. The weekend format, meanwhile, can be taken in either Paris or Mannheim, and extends to two five-day residencies in Europe and one ten-day residency in Asia. In both cases, the curriculum is built around six areas: leadership & personal development, entrepreneurial thinking, communities of learning & networking, residencies, advanced management and business fundamentals. Class sizes range from 45-50 for each track.

KEDGE Business School, France

EMBA Tuition: $39,378

While KEDGE Business School can only trace its history back to 2013, it is the result of a merger between two schools – Euromed Marseille and BEM Bordeaux – which can trace their history back to the 1870s. The school’s Global MBA (the school’s name for its EMBA) lasts for 24 months and can be taken in Paris, Marseille, Shanghai or Bordeaux. Alongside the main curriculum, candidates also follow a ‘development & management path’, which aims to help them mature as leaders. There are 18 core courses, in addition to which a range of majors (spread over the campuses) can be undertaken. Candidates must also complete between two and six international business seminars and lead a business development project.