19. Southern Methodist University
Cox School of Business
P.O. Box 750333
Dallas, TX 75275
Admissions:214-768-3154
Email: dteems@cox.smu.edu
Website: http://www.cox.smu.edu/web/executive-mba
Apply Online: http://www.cox.smu.edu/web/executive-mba/admissions
Meeting on alternating weekends over a 21-month period, the SMU Cox EMBA program is designed to enhance students’ ability to think globally, plan holistically, and implement strategically. The curriculum focuses on People, Process, and Planning and all students take the same courses including a global study trip. This trip combines classroom instruction with visits to leading corporations, government agencies, and cultural sites.
Cox draws a highly impressive bunch of execs to its program, from such companies as Texas Instruments, Baylor Healthcare, J.C. Penney, Raytheon, AT&T, Emerson, and Verizon. Some 21% already boast an advanced degree and 6% of the latest entering class already have the title of president, CEO or Chairman. The average base salary of a new EMBA entrant at Cox is $172,017, well above the $140,000 median for the top 25 EMBA programs in our ranking.
Additional resources offered to Executive MBA students include: The Caruth Institute for Entrepreneurial Studies, Cox Mentor Board, Career Management Center, Business Leadership Center and Business Information Center.
Application Deadline: Rolling admissions until April 30; Applications accepted later than April 30 but on a limited space-available basis
Latest Up-to-Date Executive MBA Rankings:
2012 Poets&Quants: 19
2011 U.S. News & World Report: 23
2010 The Wall Street Journal: NR
Rankings Analysis: The Cox School’s Executive MBA program moved up one notch in PoetsandQuants’ 2012 ranking of the world’s best programs. The improvement was largely due to the school’s better standing in the 2011 BusinessWeek ranking. Cox’s program rose two places to finish an impressive seventh on the BusinessWeek list, earning the best scores of any U.S. school in the magazine’s graduate satisfaction survey. In 2011, only one other school did better among grads: IE Business School in Madrid, Spain. The school also got a boost from The Financial Times’ 2011 ranking which placed its EMBA program 70th in the world, up eight places from 2011.Cox did less well in the 2011 U.S. News ranking. The school’s EMBA program fell nine places in U.S. News to a still very respectable 23 from 14 in 2011.
All that said, the big news is BusinessWeek’s seventh place ranking and the raves from graduates behind it, especially since the program finished 17th in BW’s reputation poll of EMBA program directors. One Class of 2011 grad summed it up best: “The program was awesome. I was very nervous about starting the program but the caliber of the students, support staff, and the professors really encouraged me. Every semester I became more confident and by the final semester I was able to complete an entrepreneurial project alone. I could not have completed this program without the support of my study group and the encouragement of the professors. Everyone was very responsive to my questions. It was like being part of a huge family where everyone helped you and encouraged you to be the best you can.”
