ANN ARBOR—The University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business will offer its 20-month Executive MBA Program in Los Angeles beginning in August 2012. Applications will be accepted in January.

“Michigan Ross is a top-tier, global brand that already attracts a significant number of candidates from the West Coast,” said Dean Alison Davis-Blake. “Thus, Los Angeles offers an ideal entry point for the Michigan Ross EMBA. 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.”

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

Davis-Blake joined Michigan Ross as the Edward J. Frey Dean of Business in July 2011. She describes the move to the West Coast as an opportunity to further expand global access to the school and its world-class faculty. More than 43,000 Michigan Ross alumni live and work in 88 countries; U-M alumni comprise a worldwide network of some 500,000 members.

“This growth on the West Coast allows Michigan Ross to build on a strong alumni presence in the region,” she said. “We are confident Ross graduates, who know firsthand the value proposition of a Michigan degree, will recommend candidates, sponsor employees and recruit our graduates.”

The Michigan Ross EMBA Program already offers a superior model of distance learning due to its once-a-month format, Davis-Blake says.

“This West Coast expansion allows us to respond to a market need and replicate that model of delivery to future markets across the U.S. and beyond,” she said.

Davis-Blake anticipates delivering additional 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 open-enrollment and custom executive education programs across the globe.

Excellence at Home and On Location
In 2010, the Financial Times ranked the Michigan Ross EMBA No. 2 in general management and No. 4 in corporate strategy. In the latest Bloomberg Businessweek survey (2011), the Michigan Ross EMBA was the only top 10 program to earn an “A+” on teaching, curriculum and support. In addition to earning an “A+” in finance, marketing and strategy in the Bloomberg Businessweek survey, the Michigan Ross EMBA program is known for its strong leadership focus, which is developed through the unique Professional Development Program.

Davis-Blake is confident the Michigan Ross EMBA will be “the program of choice” for senior-level candidates seeking a general management curriculum from their home base in Los Angeles. She targets a debut class of approximately 35-50 candidates eager to learn from world-renowned scholars in a flexible, monthly format that caters to their personal and professional commitments.

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

The Michigan Ross difference is its commitment to action-based learning, which allows EMBA students to develop critical new competencies outside the daily work environment. The program’s signature Executive Multidisciplinary Action Projects course epitomizes this concept. During ExecMAP, EMBA students 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. ExecMAP offers a unique opportunity for executives to immerse temporarily in an alternate industry, work overseas, or get inside an entrepreneurial venture.

Candidates for the Michigan 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 appeals to leaders at the director, VP or chief executive level. Candidates also include high-potential leaders seeking to advance their careers and ascend to senior management in their organizations. The curriculum places intense focus on personalized leadership development and delivers strategic and global perspective.

“Everything we teach is designed to prepare our students to be decision-makers at a very high level,” Davis-Blake said.

Programming will replicate the Ann Arbor curriculum on the West Coast. At times, members of both cohorts will convene in the same location and engage in coursework together. Candidates begin in August of one year and graduate 20 months later in April. With each monthly residency, leading Michigan Ross faculty will deliver programming from Friday morning through Saturday afternoon. As with Ann Arbor, the West Coast location will be all-inclusive, state-of-the-art and centrally located; tuition and fees cover lodging, dining, books and other supporting materials.

Michigan’s Ross School of Business delivers business education in multiple formats. In addition to the Executive MBA, the school offers graduate degrees through its top-ranked Full-time MBA, Part-time MBA (evening and weekend formats), Global MBA, Master of Supply Chain Management and Master of Accounting programs. Its Master of Entrepreneurship program, a joint degree offered in partnership with the U-M College of Engineering, debuts in August 2012. Michigan Ross also offers the undergraduate BBA degree and the doctorate of business administration. Non-degree executive education is offered in both open-enrollment and custom formats throughout the world.