There are a number of reasons why the Krannert Executive MBA Program is the right choice for the motivated mid-career professional:
- The key distinguishing characteristic of the program is, of course, the
design of the class schedule--namely, a series of six two-week residencies on
the Purdue campus, spread over roughly a 22-month period. This format eliminates
the distractions associated with the constant commuting to class and disruption
of work responsibilities that occur in the standard weekend or
alternating-weekend Executive program, which is what almost all other business
schools offer. Purdue's was the first such "modular" residential Executive MBA
program, and the school has by far the most experience in the world with the
format and the associated internet-supported learning-at-a-distance process that
takes place between residencies.
- Because of its design, the Purdue program accommodates very well participants
who have heavy job-related travel demands and who therefore can't count on being
home to attend class every weekend or every other weekend. Since the Purdue
Executive MBA residencies are set in advance for the full 22 months of the
program, participants can easily plan around those dates and avoid interfering
with job-related travel or other major job-related or family events.
- Another key advantage the schedule provides is that,
if a participant's job location changes during the program, it is a simple
matter to travel to Purdue for the residencies from the new location. If one
started in a local program and then got transferred, however, it would
essentially mean starting over again in the new place, since every program is
different. Examples in the Purdue program include: a participant who began the
program in Salt Lake City and got moved to Bangkok halfway through; one who
started the program in Connecticut and moved to Singapore halfway through. Both
continued the program without interruption.
- All this means that the program draws a
nationwide--indeed, regularly international--participant group, which enriches
the learning experience as compared with the local or regional character of the
participant group in most Executive MBA classes. Current participants include
individuals from such countries as Spain, Bolivia, the PRC, India, the UK,
Mexico, Brazil, Bulgaria, Venezuela, and Canada.
- The intensive residential sessions provide the
participants with an opportunity to get to know the other members of their class
very well and thereby to learn from each other outside the classroom. This is a
feature the standard Executive MBA program cannot readily duplicate, since the
participants scatter after class rather than remain in working study groups. In
this manner, perhaps as much learning takes place outside the classroom as
inside, in the Purdue program.
- The program is ranked 16th in the world by Business Week in its latest rankings
and 11th in the world (7th in the U.S.) by the Financial Times. Additionally,
there is the international reputation and prestige of Purdue University more
generally.
- The program ranks high in delivered educational value per dollar, with the tuition (which includes all course materials, and lodging and meals during the residencies) being the 4th lowest among the top 20 in the Business Week rankings, and much less than our major modular competitor, the Duke GEMBA program.
