Yale SOM’s new home to open in early January
The Yale School of Management today (Dec. 9) said it plans to substantially expand its MBA for Executives program by offering two new concentrations in asset management and sustainability.
Until now, Yale’s Executive MBA admitted students exclusively from the healthcare sector and offered in-depth study of that industry as well as mainstream business skills common to all MBA experiences over a 22-month period every other weekend. The introduction of asset management and sustainability in the school’s EMBA portfolio will significantly broaden the appeal of its MBA for working professionals.
In an interview with Poets&QuantsForExecs, Senior Associate Dean for Executive MBA & Global Programs David Bach said the new concentrations are a natural outgrowth of the $155,500 program and the school’s approach to management education.
‘CONSISTENT WITH OUR MISSION TO EDUCATE LEADERS FOR BUSINESS AND SOCIETY’
“They are not industries or functions,” explains Bach. “This is not about marketing or supply chain management. These are big issues that span sectors and are pretty complex and where new thinking is needed. They are also in a place where business and society connect. So it’s very consistent with our positioning as a school and our mission to education leaders for business and society.”
The sustainability focus is something of a no-brainer, given SOM’s ability to partner with Yale’s School of Forestry & Environmental Studies, arguably the world’s best school in environmental studies. “We already have 8% of our full-time MBAss doing a joint degree with Forestry & Environmental Studies,” adds Bach. “And in terms of asset management, we have great faculty expertise and our alums have a very impressive track record in endowment management.
“Asset management really is what provides much of the financing around business and society,” explains Bach. “These are the people who manage university endowments, museums, symphonies, and manage pension funds. A big chunk of it is finance for the good of society and the responsibility you have when you manage money on behalf of retirees or students or people who want to benefit from cultural treasures. It is a set of skills that goes beyond finance so it is not a master of finance.”
ONE QUARTER OF SECOND YEAR TO BE DEVOTED TO THE DEEP DIVE IN A SUBJECT AREA
The deep dive in a subject area—be it healthcare, sustainability or asset management—will occur during one quarter of the second-year curriculum, added Bach. “It is still one program. Our students will do the integrated core in the first year along with leadership development that extends into the second year with global opportunities. And then primarily in the second year, they will spend a quarter of the curriculum taking a deep drive in one of these three areas.”
The school said that the expanded program is part of the school’s planned growth as it moves to a new campus, Edward P. Evans Hall, in January 2014. The program is enrolling students who aspire to lead in these areas for fall 2014.
Questions about this article? Email us or leave a comment below.