Today, I’m announcing an exciting development for our Executive MBA program.
The Notre Dame Executive MBA program, currently available in South Bend and Chicago, is being re-envisioned as the Notre Dame Global EMBA. Based at our South Bend campus, the Global EMBA will provide working professionals with an ethical leadership-based global MBA program with a focus on educating both the mind and heart.
Gianna Bern will continue to serve as the academic director. The Global EMBA program will launch in fall 2024 with the goal of enrolling two cohorts using the current EMBA application requirements.
By bringing all Global EMBA students to the South Bend campus for their residencies, we can provide a holistic Notre Dame experience and establish greater consistency between the cohorts. The shift to a global perspective aligns with the larger business demand for effective leaders with a strong understanding of the complexities of a global economy, particularly in working in diverse cultures. We expect this global focus to include immersions in the Global South, which would differentiate Mendoza in the EMBA program marketplace.
The Global EMBA is designed to leverage all of the strengths of our existing EMBA program, including the curriculum, the faculty, the Stayer Center and the reputation for excellence represented by the Notre Dame MBA degree. To deepen the international experience of the program, students will participate in a minimum of two required international immersions (one at the beginning of their program and one in their final semester). Students also will have the option to either participate in on-campus electives or a third international immersion during the June electives week. At minimum, this represents a doubling of the global immersions that EMBA students currently complete.
This also means that the Notre Dame EMBA-Chicago Class of 2025 that just started classes will be the College’s final Chicago-based cohort. While the launch of the Global EMBA will not have a direct impact on either the South Bend or Chicago Class of 2025 cohorts, those students will be offered the opportunity to take part in a June 2024 pilot of the new summer international immersion at a location to be determined.
We look forward to sharing more details about the Global EMBA in the coming months, including the locations, projects and partners for the international immersions and how these experiences will advance our charge to Grow the Good in Business.
The evolution of our EMBA program is a hallmark of the forward-thinking of our faculty and staff in considering how we can best serve our students. I especially want to recognize the following: Craig Crossland, Senior Associate Dean for Academic Programs; Gianna Bern, Academic Director of the Notre Dame EMBA; Rob Kelly, Chief Operating Executive; and Ryan Retartha, Dean’s Advisor and Senior Director of Strategy and Planning. We are grateful for the leadership that Megan Piersma, Director of Experiential Learning, is providing to the team and this new initiative.
There are many additional people to thank who have devoted countless hours to getting us to a point where we are ready to launch the next evolution of our EMBA. To all, please know you have my gratitude.
In Notre Dame,
Martijn