Pepperdine University

48. Pepperdine University

Graziadio School of Business and Management

6100 Center Drive

Suite 400

Los Angeles, CA 90045

Admissions: (310) 568-5702

Email: regina.korossy@pepperdine.edu

Website: http://bschool.pepperdine.edu/programs/executive-mba/

Apply Online: https://app.applyyourself.com/AYApplicantLogin/ApplicantConnectLogin.asp?id=pepp-emba

Pepperdine’s Executive MBA program is offered in several locations in Southern and Northern California. In the L.A. area, classes are held at Pepperdine graduate campuses in West Los Angeles, Irvine, and Malibu, and in Northern California at the school’s Silicon Valley Center at Techmart.

The program challenges senior managers to step out of their comfort zone and go even further – on both a professional and a personal level. With a focus on experience-driven learning and collaboration among colleagues, you will be part of a rewarding learning experience and emerge an even stronger leader. Each cohort is assigned an alumnus class advisor who acts as a mentor and coach throughout the program – a resource many EMBAs cite as one of the most indispensable aspects of the Pepperdine experience.

Designed around a “live case” model, students undertake Applied Research Projects in which they dig deep into every facet of their own organization, culminating in a comprehensive strategic plan they can implement in their business.

Latest Up-to-Date Executive MBA Rankings:

2012 Poets&Quants: 43

2011 BusinessWeek: 31

2011 U.S. News & World Report: NR

2010 The Wall Street Journal: NR

2011 Financial Times: 90

Rankings Analysis: Pepperdine’s EMBA program slid five places to a rank of 48th place from 43rd in PoetsandQuants’ 2012 analysis of the world’s best Executive MBA experiences. The decline, however, was due to a change in the methodology to create a global list versus a North American list. The school’s EMBA program earned an impressive ranking of 31 from BusinessWeek in 2011, an improvement from its unranked “second-tier” status in 2009, the last time the magazine ranked these programs. The Financial Times ranked the program 90th in the world, a drop of four places from 86th in 2010.

BusinessWeek, which ranks EMBA programs on the basis of graduate satisfaction and a reputation poll among EMBA program directors, generally found favorable reviews for the program. As one 2011 grad put it, “While I might like to see some modest improvements, I really couldn’t be more pleased. I felt completely transformed by this program. The learning challenges were just about right for me, which is to say there were days I wondered whether I could keep up, so it was an appropriate stretch. In addition to terrific faculty, we had a class advisor who was a PhD and who worked diligently to effectively nurture our group, very successfully so. I felt this program represented a serious challenge, which made graduating so very rewarding.”

Yet another EMBA grad had a slightly different perspective: “There is room for improvement in the description of the assignments, papers, etc. There was a great deal of inconsistency between different professors. Also, I would have liked better coordination between the administration and the professors on a variety of issues (food, classrooms, grading, schedules).”

Application Deadline: Rolling admissions depending on start date

Application Fee: $100

2012 Tuition & Fees: $108,040

Average Months of Work Experience: 173

GMAT Required: No

Acceptance Rate: 88%

EMBA Enrollment: 220

International: 1%

Female: 35%

African-American: 10%

Asian: 17%

Hispanic: 1%

Mean Age: 38

Classes Meet: Fridays and Saturdays once every three weeks.

Length of Program: 20 months

  • Students work in these functional categories:

    • Consulting: 22%
    • Finance/Accounting 3%
    • General Management : 28%
    • Human Resources: 4%
    • Marketing/Sales: 15%
    • Management Information Systems : 1%
    • Operations/Logistics: 27%
    • Other: 0%
  • Students work in these industries:

    • Consulting: 5%
    • Consumer Products: 22%
    • Financial Services: 12%
    • Government: 7%
    • Manufacturing: 10%
    • Media/Entertainment: 5%
    • Non-Profit: 1%
    • Petroleum/Energy: 1%
    • Pharmaceutical/Biotechnology/Health Care: 9%
    • Real Estate: 8%
    • Technology: 17%
    • Other: 3%

ALSO SEE: THE BEST LOS ANGELES METRO EXECUTIVE MBA PROGRAMS 

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