Texas’ McCombs School of Business

Texas' McCombs School of Business

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9. University of Texas at Austin

McCombs School of Business

1 University Station

B6004

Austin, TX 78712

Admissions: 512-471-7698

Email: TexasEMBA@mccombs.utexas.edu

Website: http://new.mccombs.utexas.edu/mba/emba

Apply Online: http://new.mccombs.utexas.edu/MBA/EMBA/Admissions.aspx

The Texas Executive MBA program is an unqualified bargain among the top ten schools. Even after a sizable increase in tuition this past year (a whopping $10 grand increase for residents), its EMBA program is still the only one among the top ranked ten schools with a price tag under six figures. The two-year program, consisting of four consecutive academic semesters and 42 credit hours of coursework. Each year commences with a week-long executive seminar to help prepare students for the upcoming year and concludes with a week-long seminar to apply what has been learned.

Unlike many EMBA programs that tend to draw the largest number of students from financial services and consulting, Texas’ attracts a very high percentage of managers and executives from the technology field. Some 42% of the latest entering class, for example, hails from the high-tech industry. It’s a diverse and impressive group: some 39% of the students already have advanced degrees and 5% have the title president, CEO or Chairman.

The goals of the Texas EMBA are to encourage and support students’ development in the following areas: top management perspective; economic, social, and political forces driving changes in international and domestic markets; competence in key functional areas of business; command of quantitative and qualitative tools; and capabilities in analyzing and redesigning organizations. In addition to the core coursework, participants complete six elective hours tailored to their specific areas of interest.

Classes, which vary in approach from lectures to discussions to case studies, group projects, and experiential learning, are scheduled on alternate weekends, meeting on both Friday and Saturday from 8:00am-5:30pm at the AT&T Executive Conference Center at The University of Texas at Austin.

Student Perspectives:

EMBA Road Warrior: Stephanie Carlton

Final Application Deadline: May 25

Latest Up-to-Date Executive MBA Rankings:

2012 Poets&Quants: 9

2011 BusinessWeek: 23

2011 U.S. News & World Report: 18

2010 The Wall Street Journal: 12

2011 Financial Times: 45

Rankings Analysis: As far as rankings go, it was a topsy-turvy year for Texas’ premier EMBA program, but the underlying tumult in the rankings didn’t affect the school’s PoetsandQuants’ standing. Texas maintained its rank of ninth in our 2012 survey.

The biggest hit was U.S. News’ four-place drop to 18th from 14th in 2010. But that was more than made up for by a seven-place gain in The Financial Times’ survey which ranked the school’s EMBA program 45th in the world, up from 52nd in 2010. McCombs also gained in the biennial BusinessWeek ranking, which measures programs by graduate satisfaction and a reputation poll among EMBA directors. BusienssWeek, which had relegated the Texas program to “second-tier” status in 2009, promoted it to a rank of 23rd in 2011.

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