Smith EMBA Draws Top 10 Ranking from Financial Times

The executive MBA program at the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business has repeated as a top 10 program among U.S. schools in the Financial Times EMBA rankings for 2016. The Financial Times ranked the program in this category No. 10 in 2016, No. 7 in 2015 and No. 11 in 2014.

Financial Times editors base their rankings on 16 criteria, giving the most weight to alumni salaries and the percentage of salary increase after graduation. Evaluators also consider faculty qualifications, student work experience, diversity and international focus.

"We always look for continuous improvement in our executive MBA program,” said Gary A. Cohen, associate dean of executive programs. “This includes raising the bar on admissions standards, ongoing enhancements to program operations and delivery, and working closely with our faculty on curriculum design, learning outcomes and critical thinking skills.”

He says the school evaluates the rankings subcategories closely. “We are proud of our No. 6 ranking for ‘Aims Achieved’ and No. 3 ranking for ‘Career Progress,’” he said. “These are two outstanding measures in determining the value of an executive MBA program."

“Career progress” is calculated according to changes in the level of seniority and company size where alumni work. “Aims achieved” refers to the extent to which alumni fulfilled their goals or reasons for pursuing an executive MBA.

The Smith School launched its executive MBA program in the United States and China in 2003. Both programs cater to working professionals, who typically have more than 10 years of professional experience.

Action learning projects complement traditional classroom sessions in the 19-month programs, and personalized executive coaching represents a large component of the experience. A culminating, weeklong business simulation challenges students to create a successful multinational company.

For more information about the Smith executive MBA, visit www.rhsmith.umd.edu/emba