University of Chicago Booth School of Business

Though students in the three locations follow the same classes in consecutive order, slight differences in scheduling enable faculty to travel between the three locations to teach. Chicago students attend class on Friday and Saturday, every other week. Students in both London and Singapore attend class Monday through Saturday roughly once a month. A typical faculty member might spend a week in London, take a week off, spend a week in Singapore, and then return home for four to five weeks before repeating the rotation.

The basic curriculum is the same in all locations. Says Kooser, ‘‘What we teach is at a level that is consistent around the world.’’ While professors may adjust the examples they use in class or use cases that involve regional firms, and while each location may bring in guest speakers to focus on regional issues, no substantial variations are implemented in the program across locations.

In fact, consistency across the campuses extends beyond the faculty and curricula. Kooser reports that a constant challenge for the school is to ensure consistent quality in facilities and technology. ‘‘When students from Singapore visit the Chicago or London campus[es], for example,’’ he says, ‘‘it is only natural for them to compare the facilities and services available in the other locations with what they have experienced at their home campus.’’ This consistency also is important for faculty who travel between the locations so as to ensure that, as they travel from one location to another to deliver a course, they do not have to adapt to unfamiliar technology or processes. This is the kind of attention to detail you get from a world-class business school that has delivered an EMBA program again and again over many years.

While the London and Singapore campuses do not have permanent faculty, each has its own set of ‘‘permanent’’ staff (approximately 11.5 and 10.5 full-time equivalency, respectively) that help manage the location’s day-to-day operations. Led by the managing director for each location, staff members manage local marketing and recruitment efforts, on-site registration, catering and A/V needs, and student services such as course registration and materials. In addition, the school’s Career Services Office and Alumni Office both host staff in the two cities to provide program support as needed. Five staff members support the program in Chicago, but the program also relies on other staff members in the business school and university.

Latest Up-to-Date Executive MBA Rankings:

2012 Poets&Quants: 2

2011 BusinessWeek: 1

2011 U.S. News & World Report: 2

2011 Financial Times: 5

2010 The Wall Street Journal: 16

Rankings Analysis: Chicago maintained its rank of second place in the 2012 PoetsandQuants’ analysis, but gained some hidden ground due to a very strong rankings year in 2011. Booth nudged aside Northwestern’s Kellogg School for having the number one EMBA program in the newest BusinessWeek ranking. It was the first time Kellogg failed to finish in first place on BW’s influential list. And the school also gained ground in U.S. News’ survey of the best programs, finishing second, up from third in 2010.

Booth’s uplift in the BW ranking was largely the result of a slighter better show in the magazine’s survey of graduate satisfaction. Though it tied Kellogg for second place in the part of BW’s ranking that measures the opinions of EMBA directors, it won tenth place among graduates versus Kellogg’s 11th place finish. Booth grads told BW they were very pleased with the experience. As one Class of 2011 grad put it: “The professors are world class and will not water down their materials to cater to their students. Unlike other schools, students cannot simply coast and expect to make it through. As such, it is not a program for everyone, the mantra to think critically and quantitatively permeate throughout the school. Lastly, its optional Global New Venture Challenge competition, which is designed for EMBA students and the new Entrepreneurial Leadership class make it one of the best MBA schools to learn how to become an entrepreneur. ”

Application Fee: $100

Tuition & Fees: $148,000

Student Perspectives:

My Story: Balancing a Job as an Eye Surgeon with Going to Booth

Average Months of Work Experience: 152

GMAT Required: No, academic potential is based on prior academic record and work history

Enrollment: 555

International: 8%

Female: 22%

African-American: 11%

Asian-American: 26%

Hispanic/Latino: 2%

Mean Age: 36

Classes Meet: Alternate weekends with occasional week-long sessions

Length of Program: 21 months

Students From These Sectors:

• Financial Services: 22%
• Pharmaceutical/Biotechnology/Health Care: 17%
• Consulting: 13%
• Petroleum/Energy: 10%
• Technology: 7%
• Manufacturing: 7%
• Government: 4%
• Media/Entertainment: 2%
• Real Estate: 1%