LOS ANGELES, Calif.—The University of Michigan has a new address just a few steps from Rodeo Drive.

Applications are rolling in for the university’s Stephen M. Ross School of Business, which is offering a 20-month Executive MBA program that meets once a month beginning this fall at the Beverly Wilshire.

This marks the first time in the university’s history that a student can earn a Michigan degree outside the Great Lakes State.

It’s a business move, says Alison Davis-Blake, dean of the Ross School of Business.

“Los Angeles offers an ideal entry point for the Ross EMBA,” she said. “U-M is a top-tier global brand that already attracts a significant number of candidates from the West Coast.”

Delivering the Ross EMBA on the West Coast opens the door to a leading MBA customized for busy executives who would otherwise not travel outside the region, she says. It also opens a gateway to new industries, perspectives and educational opportunities for executives.

Davis-Blake describes the move to the West Coast as an opportunity to further expand global access to the school and its world-class faculty. Nearly 4,000 Ross School alumni live and work in California and more than 43,000 reside in 88 countries across the globe. Overall, U-M alumni comprise a worldwide network of some 500,000 members.

“We bring an action-based, once-a-month format that appeals to forward thinkers, entrepreneurs and career switchers eager to innovate in the global economy,” she said. “This West Coast expansion allows us to build on a strong alumni presence in the region, respond to a market need and replicate that model of delivery to future markets across the U.S. and beyond.”

Davis-Blake expects to add other off-site programs in the near future. The school’s Global MBA Program currently offers modules in Japan, Korea and China and concludes with an extended residency in Ann Arbor. Ross also delivers executive education programs across the globe.

She believes that the Ross EMBA will be “the program of choice” for senior-level candidates seeking a general management curriculum from their home base in Los Angeles. The program will be taught by faculty from the Ann Arbor campus.

“One of the key benefits of our program is that candidates spend more time learning, less time commuting,” Davis-Blake said.

The Ross School, well-known for its commitment to action-based learning, will offer the program’s signature Executive Multidisciplinary Action Projects course. Students will work in teams to execute high-level strategic projects for organizations that cover a vast array of industries and range from global multinationals to emerging startups in a variety of geographic locations.

Candidates for U-M’s Ross EMBA Program typically have 10-15 years of experience, with more than five years of supervisory experience. Programming is customized for candidates’ significant expertise and will replicate the Ann Arbor curriculum on the West Coast. As with Ann Arbor, the Los Angeles location will be all-inclusive and state-of-the-art.

More information: (310) 617-4750 or [email protected]

Related Links:

• Ross EMBA: www.bus.umich.edu/Admissions/EMBA/Whyross.htm