EMBA Careers Q&A: Purdue’s Krannert School of Management

Purdue University's Krannert School of Management, based in the US state of Indiana, has been offering its executive MBA (EMBA) to candidates internationally for close to three decades. In this year's inaugural QS Global 100 EMBA Rankings for North America, the Krannert School’s EMBA took 17th place, a position it shares with Canada's Ivey Business School.

Fees for this 19-month program are currently advertised at around US$80,000 – relatively low among those listed in QS’s North America top 20. So, perhaps it’s no surprise that Krannert's executive MBA was recently described as a 'hidden gem' by one of their alumni.

In the first of a new EMBA careers Q&A series (you can see an MBA series on the same subject here), Jennifer Applebee, programs manager at the Krannert School of Management, shares her knowledge on career management for EMBA students.

How many of the executive MBA students in your current class are company-sponsored, and how has this number changed in recent years?

Currently, about 20-25% of our executive MBA students are fully company-sponsored. Another 50% are partially supported, and the rest are fully self-funded.

This level of support is a large drop from 10 years ago, when most of our students had full sponsorship. The financial crisis of 2008 resulted in significant company and sponsor cutbacks which has led to this change. In the past year, and looking ahead, there has been a small increase in organizations willing to provide most, or all of the funding for the program.

What kind of career services does the Krannert School of Management provide for its executive MBA students?

The Krannert School of Management offers a broad range of career services. We incorporate career management into the curriculum, including classes such as 'Leadership', 'Negotiations', and 'Managing Behavior in Organizations'. In-residence events such as company visits, guest speakers, networking events and one-on-one meetings are also offered at the Krannert Professional Development Center.

Additionally, we work with two third-party online resources, Ivy Exec and BlueSteps, for exclusive access to select job openings, career advisors, professional mentorship, résumé advice, live online classes, topical webinars, as well as exposure to hundreds of executive search firms worldwide.

Confidential sessions with certified career coaches are also available to our students, as is access to the Krannert alumni network.

What should EMBA students be doing during the program in order to fulfil their career goals?

EMBA students should try to implement the takeaways of all of their courses to their current positions, but especially the courses that pertain to career management. It is strongly suggested that they also take full advantage of all of the career management services that are on offer, as these are provided free of charge.

What are the most popular career goals among your EMBA students and how has this changed in recent years? (e.g. are more students looking to change careers?)

Most of our EMBA students are looking to progress within their current company. They are not looking to change careers, or even jobs for the most part.

We have a few students who are interested in entrepreneurship and would like to launch their own startups after graduation. In the past, company sponsorship was higher, so people have largely felt more inclined to stay with their respective organizations.

• Alongside the school’s flagship executive MBA, Purdue University’s Krannert also offers the IMM Global Executive MBA in conjunction with partner schools in the Netherlands, Brazil, Italy and China – a program that ranks 10th in the QS Global Joint EMBA Rankings 2017.