Designed for working executives, the IE Brown Executive MBA is incredibly global, which is why it is ranked No. 3 in the world globally by The Economist. It blends immersive residential experiences across Madrid, Spain; Providence, RI USA; and Cape Town, South Africa – with each location representing a culturally diverse opportunity to explore business from a new perspective. IE’s Madrid campus is modern while its Segovia campus dates back to the Roman Empire; Brown’s 250-year-old “Ivy League” campus is augmented with state-of-the art classrooms in Providence’s innovation district.
Brown’s EMBA is relatively young, with the inaugural class graduating in 2012. The program is about to welcome its 13th cohort this March. As for the current class graduating May ‘23 — they are a group of 40 students, 50/50 male/female. The breadth of experience varies, with an average of 10-12 years of professional experience – which falls in line with what Brown requires; a minimum of 10 years. Prospective students must also have 2 years in management/supervisory roles, a 3.0 GPA in undergraduate degree, and international travel experience by way of either work or pleasure.
The program requires 13 credit hours and spans 15 months, beginning in March and ending in May with a flexible curriculum that blends online learning with residential experiences.
EMBA students take 20 courses varying in length with a curriculum that is unique in the sense that it integrates management courses such as economics, cost accounting, operations, management, leadership, marketing and strategy blended with a range of topics in the social sciences; with classes in DEI, sustainability, sociology, healthcare, research methods.
Another hallmark of the program: five required residencies – two in Madrid at IE (two weeks each), two at Brown in Providence (two weeks each) and one week in Cape Town, South Africa. The Cape Town immersion experience is primarily tied to the Entrepreneurship in Developing Regions course where EMBA students research and support local entrepreneurs and nonprofit organizations in townships.
Students are exposed to different yet complementary ways of critical-thinking which, by design, helps them go beyond learning about a particular subject, to discovering its context, origin and influence.
IE Brown EMBAs students have access to facilities, lectures, events and student centers on both IE and Brown university campuses which have very active entrepreneurship centers. Outside of the required curriculum, students often participate in events, competitions and mentoring support.
