Comparing MBA@UNC to Executive MBA programs

For those professionals who would like to continue working while they pursue their MBA degree, University of North Carolina’s Kenan-Flagler Business School offers a number of options, including its executive MBA (EMBA) programs and the online MBA@UNC.

Comparing the MBA@UNC to the Executive MBA Programs

While the MBA@UNC is different EMBA programs, students in either earn the same MBA degree from UNC as their on-campus counterparts — while retaining the ability to continue working during their studies. Each of UNC’s EMBA programs and the MBA@UNC require immersion experiences in which students travel to select destinations around the world for a face-to-face leadership lessons and networking functions with their professors and peers. Similarly, all of the programs take between 20 and 24 months to complete.

MBA@UNC provides flexibility in terms of both location and timing because students can work from anywhere around the world and can enter the program at different times throughout the year. Learning materials are available asynchronously, or at the student’s convenience, so scheduling constraints have a minimal impact on learning experiences and daily lives.

What are the Executive MBA Programs?

Kenan-Flagler offers three EMBA programs: Evening MBA, Weekend MBA and OneMBA. The first two have similar curricula but with different schedules, while OneMBA has a more global outlook. In general, the EMBA attracts students with considerably more work experience than the traditional MBA, with an average of ten years or more work experience for all three executive programs.

Evening MBA

The Evening MBA program meets for class twice a week in Chapel Hill. The program attracts around sixty students a year, most of whom are in their 30s and have worked for an average of ten years. All students begin with the same core courses to ensure a strong foundation, but the program allows for flexibility in class selection during the final eight months. Students can choose a concentration, like marketing or finance, and select electives based on their professional aspirations or interests. These electives meet in the evenings, or students can join electives from the Weekend MBA program. To stay current after graduation, Evening MBA graduates have the option to continue to take elective courses for a nominal fee.

Weekend MBA

Very similar to the Evening MBA in many ways, the primary distinctive characteristic of the Weekend MBA is that students meet all day on Friday and Saturday, twice a month for twenty months, rather than during the week. Like the Evening MBA, weekend students start with a core curriculum and branch out into electives in the final eight months, choosing more than ten electives from a list of thirty. Applicants must have a minimum of five years work experience, although the average student has eleven. Weekend MBA students also participate in two week-long immersions. Additionally, the program begins in January, rather than August.

OneMBA

OneMBA provides the knowledge, skills and connections necessary for a business professional to become a global business leader. The OneMBA is a partnership of five schools on four continents: Chinese University of Hong Kong, RSM Erasmus University, Technológico de Monterrey (EGADE), Fundação Getulio Vargas and UNC’s Kenan-Flagler Business School.

UNC students in the OneMBA program attend classes outside Washington D.C. one weekend a month on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, and all students participate in four residency weeks at the partner schools. The curriculum incorporates perspectives from all of the schools, and students around the world participate in the same core courses, working together on projects in global teams. Each class has about 100 students, with 30 of them based in UNC.

In Their Own Words: Kenan-Flagler Students

On MBA@UNC: “The online classroom experience is real and sacrifices nothing in comparison to an in-person program.”

On the Evening MBA: “I can leave work at 5 o’clock, come to school, spend three hours in class and then head home. It’s very manageable because my weekend’s free… it’s just a great match for my lifestyle.”

On the OneMBA: “It opens you up to look at your world from a different angle. You have [the] opportunity to network with people from all walks of life, different backgrounds, different countries.”