Academics

17 Months to Unlock Your Leadership Potential

The Smith EMBA is the only program in the region that takes a holistic look at all three criteria for executive positions: personal actions, team functions and business/strategic/financial acumen.

Become An Effective Leader

Designed for senior and rising executives, the Executive MBA coursework will build your foundation in the disciplines and functions of an organization through the lens of systems thinking. You’ll gain strategies to approach problems and complex situations that cross multiple functional areas and enhance your strategic and operational expertise. Review the full curriculum.

You’ll learn in a cohort of exceptional executives who each bring their diverse experiences from a variety of industries and backgrounds, enriching classroom conversations and widening your perspectives. 

Smith’s world-renowned faculty bring to the classroom both innovative research and extensive corporate and government expertise, to provide a highly engaging, thought-provoking and rewarding academic experience.

I wanted professors who were in tune with real-world needs and applications. The professors were always open to taking time to talk, not just in class but outside of class. I still email professors now if I have a question. The program put all the pieces together in a way that was really an eye-opener for me.

Alex Attumalil, EMBA ’20 Deputy Chief Information Security Officer Under Armour

Be Agile and Informed

Mastery Sessions are seminars woven throughout the 17-month EMBA experience to integrate your learning from the key business disciplines and accelerate your leadership development. These are updated often to keep pace with the ever-changing business landscape. Recent Mastery Sessions have included: 

  • Mindful Leadership
  • Blockchain: Myth or Reality?
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Why CEOs Succeed
  • Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in Corporate America
  • Negotiating Fearlessly
  • Effective Presentations
  • Systems Design and Thinking

Throughout the year, Maryland Smith hosts dozens of public talks that bring senior management executives, government and nonprofit leaders, and business thought leaders to share their real-world experiences and insights. You are encouraged to join the community for CEO@Smith, Future of Government Speaker Series, Distinguished Speaker Series in International Business, Women Inspire, Lifelong Leaders Forum, Being Black in Entrepreneurship and a host of other opportunities to engage with inspired minds.

Be Innovative and Fearless

Three Action Learning Projects (ALPs) give you the opportunity to put concepts into action. Working with a faculty advisor in teams or individually, ALPs challenge you to create actionable solutions for real business problems in real time. Projects focus on three broad areas where we see executive skills and leadership put to the test in organizations: entrepreneurship, business process consulting and leading change. Throughout, feedback from teammates is incorporated into your leadership development plan, to help you understand how others view you and your performance.

 

One of the most helpful aspects was the commitment to growing students’ leadership skills and capacity. Executive coaching was immensely helpful for me as I was exploring career growth and leadership opportunities. The sense of camaraderie, faculty support, and learning environment were worth the time and investment.

Sylvia Bugg, EMBA ’12 Chief Programming Executive & General Manager, General Audience Programming Public Broadcasting Service (PBS)

Be Authentic and Purposeful

Throughout this program, you’ll be challenged and invited to consider your own journey through purposeful leadership. What is it you want to accomplish, and who do you need to enlist to accomplish it? Leaders can harness market principles to make great things happen, but not alone – so how do you create win-win collaborations within teams, within organizations and across organizations?

Robust and established executive assessments help you understand your capabilities and increase your self-awareness. Regular one-on-one meetings with an executive coach will help you think through your personal leadership development plan, a customized road map with actionable steps and measurable benchmarks. Carefully curated experiences within courses and mastery sessions expand your skills. These assessments, experiences, multisource feedback, your coach and your plan are the key elements that drive your growth as a leader.

Who am I?

Take stock through assessments and develop your “why” statement. Mastery Sessions and coursework include CEO of Me, Leader of One and Creating Your Next Level Narrative.

What’s my purpose and value?

Understand what value you bring. Mastery Sessions and coursework include Develop and Communicate Your Value Proposition, Fostering Your Own Enterprise, Mindfulness Practices and Purposeful Attention.

How am I going to achieve my purpose?

Practice critical negotiation, collaboration and ethical leadership skills. Mastery Sessions and coursework include Purpose and Profit, Negotiate to Win-Win, The Benefits of Teams with High Levels of Trust.

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