The Daniels College of Business Executive Master of Business Administration (EMBA) program was ranked as the number 96 program out of 139 in the world by the Financial Times Sunday of last week.
This marks the fifth consecutive year DU’s EMBA program has been ranked in the Top 100.
Daniels was chosen from a field of 139 programs that participated in the ranking process, which involved asking alumni who graduated three years ago to rate the program based on a variety of specific criteria. At least 20 alumni had to respond for a program to be ranked.
Some of the many aspects of the ranking included diversity of students and staff based on nationality and gender, international course experience and number of languages required upon graduation.
The criteria focus around four main themes, including value of the degree, content of the program, career enhancement as a result of the program and the program’s international focus.
One of the most important criterian in the ranking process is the average salary received by graduates of the program.
DU’s EMBA students earn an average of $163,450 after graduation, which is a 44 percent increase in their average earnings before completion of the program according to the Financial Times.
According to Barbara Kreisman, associate dean of executive education, the Daniels EMBA program is unique because of four main factors: a greater emphasis on leadership and ethics, a program six months shorter than most, experiential learning such as participating in a Leadership Sailing Trip based in San Diego and the use of long-term assignments, such as the creation and implementation of a business plan over the course of the program.
“One of the most unique facets of the Daniels program is its focus on an integrated curriculum,” said Kreisman. “The focus is less on doing ‘assignments’ and more on relevance and integration of content.”
Additional aspects of the program are its emphasis on critical thinking and decision-making skills, technical business knowledge, leadership, small class sizes, a variety of people from both the business and academic worlds teaching classes and an emphasis on building social capital through direct community involvement according to Kreisman.
Executive MBA programs are designed for professionals with several years of work experience and offer flexible class schedules. The Daniels program attracts professionals from several sectors, including technology, health care, law, non-profit and real estate who aim to develop their business skills. The average Daniels EMBA student is 39 years old and has 15 years of work experience according to Kreisman.
Kreisman said Daniels works to maintain its high international standards through continuous adaptation to feedback, along with an emphasis on the development of skills needed in the “real world” of business.
“We continuously enhance our program content via input from employers, alums, current students and faculty,” said Kreisman. “Our goal is to create leaders for a world that does not yet exist by enhancing their critical thinking skills and developing students’ ability to make decisions.”
