ESSEC Business School
ESSEC Business School in France is launching a fully online Executive MBA, the fourth option in the school’s growing EMBA portfolio.
The 18-month ESSEC Online Executive MBA will begin in December . Delivered entirely in English, it will combine self-paced coursework with one live online session every two weeks. Cost is
€48,000 for EU candidates (including 20% tax applicable to EU residents) and €40,000 for non-EU students.
“Today’s executives are under constant pressure to deliver results, leaving little time to step back and think. The Online EMBA creates that space,” Steven Seggie, academic director of ESSEC’s Executive MBA programs, said in the school’s announcement.
The program is designed for senior executives, global professionals, entrepreneurs and business owners who cannot accommodate the travel or regular campus attendance required by traditional programs.
ESSEC already offers three other EMBA options including a weekend program in Paris, a hybrid EMBA and the modular ESSEC & Mannheim EMBA offered with Mannheim Business School. This year, its flagship Paris program debuted at No. 12 in the QS Executive MBA Rankings. Its Mannheim program rose one spot to No. 8 for joint programs.
FLEXIBILITY WITH A COHORT EXPERIENCE
The Online EMBA also advances ESSEC’s broader Transcend strategy, which calls for expanding lifelong learning and preparing professionals to remain “future-fit” as technology and organizations change.
Dean and President Vincenzo Vinzi previously told Poets&Quants that the school was growing executive education to help experienced professionals reskill and adapt, rather than focusing only on students at the beginning of their careers.
“The MBA is no longer a passport that lasts a lifetime — it is a visa,” Vinzi told P&Q. “It requires renewal through continuous learning and intellectual agility.”
ESSEC is positioning the online program as a flexible alternative that still preserves the interaction, coaching and peer relationships typically associated with an Executive MBA.
Participants will complete coursework through ESSEC Online and the school’s MyESSEC virtual classroom. The program will include live discussions, collaborative projects, group work, coaching and engagement with faculty and industry experts.
Students will work in diverse teams, allowing them to learn from executives across industries, functions and geographic regions.
The structure is intended to address a persistent tension in online executive education. Senior professionals want the freedom to study around demanding work and family schedules, but they also expect access to classmates, professors, coaches and alumni.
FIVE CURRICULUM PILLARS
The curriculum is organized around five pillars: leadership, artificial intelligence, innovation and entrepreneurship, sustainability and social change, and geopolitics. It also covers the traditional business core.
The emphasis on AI, sustainability and geopolitics reflects the expanding responsibilities of senior leaders, who are increasingly expected to manage technological disruption, global uncertainty and organizational transformation alongside traditional financial and strategic priorities.
ESSEC says participants will develop a more responsible approach to leadership, with environmental, social and governance considerations incorporated into core and specialized courses, teamwork and an ESG project.
The program also emphasizes learning by doing. Participants will apply course concepts through projects and collaborative assignments rather than relying solely on lectures and individual study.
Graduates will earn a Master in Business Administration degree from ESSEC Business School and a Bac+5 “Grade Master” credential recognized by the French Ministry of Higher Education and Research.
ONLINE EMBAS REMAIN A SMALLER MARKET
Online Executive MBAs remain less common than standard online MBAs, particularly among prominent European business schools. Many European schools offer blended executive programs or online MBA degrees without using the Executive MBA designation.
That makes ESSEC’s entrance into the category notable, even if it is not unprecedented. The school is adding a fully remote EMBA to a portfolio already built around multiple levels of flexibility and international immersion.
The ESSEC & Mannheim EMBA follows a modular format based in Paris and Germany and includes study trips to the United States and Singapore. ESSEC’s Weekend EMBA meets monthly in Paris and includes international residencies.
Its Hybrid EMBA is delivered 70% online and 30% in person, with live sessions every two weeks and study trips across Europe, Africa and Asia. The new Online EMBA removes required travel altogether.
All four programs run for 18 months.
Learn more about ESSEC’s new online EMBA here.
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