At Home or Abroad: the Makeup of the EMBA Classroom

What are the benefits of an Executive MBA classroom made up of predominantly international candidates versus those classrooms which have a domestic cohort?

As an Executive MBA candidate, you are encouraged to spend time researching business schools to determine which one is best for you. There is the course delivery format to consider, fees, location and perhaps even the range of modules on offer. But another factor you may wish to investigate is the make-up of the EMBA classroom.

Data collected in the QS TopExecutive Statistical Review* (Fall 2011) highlights not only the diversity among business school classrooms, but the diversity between them.

George Mason School of Management in the US has 100% local students in its EMBA classroom, while fellow US school, SMU Cox School of Business in Texas, has 90% local students making up its EMBA cohort. Compare these with IE Business School in Spain which has just 5% of local students in its EMBA classroom, and ESCP Europe, TRIUM and Georgetown-ESADE’s Global Executive MBA all of which have full classes of international candidates.

Joshua Kobb, director of global initiatives for HEC Paris Executive Education, says the profile of an EMBA class is determined by a number of factors, including program format and location.
“At the end of the day, a participant will balance a number of these factors to determine the program that is best for his or her individual situation, but I would begin by saying that inherently domestic is not intrinsically inferior to inherently international.”

In looking at classrooms made up predominately of international candidates, Kobb says it is essential that a program's content address issues related to globalization and doing business in a global economy.

“This means faculty need to be, at a minimum, well versed internationally, that cases be international in outlook and that the global business environment be present in the classroom,” he says.

“Even a domestic-based manager or a firm operating on a domestic market will be impacted by the global economy, so any EMBA must build this vision. Increasingly, EMBAs offer international learning expeditions, or leverage their global locations to bring additional international elements to the program.”

Kobb says having an international participant body (including domestics with international experience) brings additional value to this recipe, as it allows for direct exchange and the sharing of experience on a global level.

“EMBAs are very practice-oriented, and build on the experience of those in the classroom. The more international they are, the more international the teaching/learning experience will be through classroom exchange. Of course, this has value to the individual who is looking to reinforce and expand his or her global vision.”

George Mason University’s (GMU) Executive MBA has 100% of its candidates from a domestic pool, but this certainly doesn’t minimize international experience.

“There's no typical student in the Executive MBA program,” explains program manager Lynda Carmichael. “Students come from all over the world, speak many different languages and have experience in a broad range of industries to create a stimulating educational environment. Yes, the students all live in the local area, but they are certainly an international mix; for example, we have students in the current class originally from Mongolia, India, Pakistan, and South Africa.”

Carmichael says the students on GMU’s EMBA program value being placed into diverse teams to learn about each other, drawing on their different strengths, skills, and backgrounds rather than being in a team that has all their strength concentrated on one area.

At the opposite end of the spectrum is RSM (Netherlands) – one of five international schools that make up the One MBA executive MBA program. The international learning environment is a key element of the One MBA.

“By sitting in an MBA classroom that is over 50-95% international, a candidate has the opportunity to learn how to lead and benefit from diverse teams in a safe environment,” explains Princess Cox, director of MBA marketing and admissions at RSM.

“We know from much research that diverse teams outperform homogenous ones. However, in reality, diversity is difficult for most business leaders to manage. By challenging themselves to learn to think outside their own perspective, the MBA candidate who attends an international program has a higher capacity for innovation and problem-solving, as well as thriving in the global environment that even local companies must operate in.”

Whether it’s a locally-dominated EMBA classroom you end up in or an international one, what is certain is that as an EMBA candidate you’ll be encouraged to look at both the domestic and the global perspective.

*The QS TopExecutive Statistical Review is compiled twice a year and published in both editions of the QS Top Executive Guide (Fall/Winter and Spring/Summer). The review looks at Executive MBA programs on offer from some of the world’s top business schools, including details of course format, language, fees, deadline dates, average age and minimum number of years experience needed. Such information offers EMBA candidates a comparative tool in which to research the Executive MBA program for them.