Executive MBA in California

Not everyone is ready or interested in pursuing the holy grail of American business education, the Master of Business Administration, early in their career.

For some, the expense seems to be too much, too soon. For others, their careers are already taking off and a graduate degree can seem unnecessary. And for others still, the ambition to achieve executive management status simply hasn’t caught fire yet.

By the time it does, though, a traditional program can seem slightly out of touch. Aimed at candidates with between three and five years of experience, a typical full-time MBA can be an exercise in remedial education for someone who already has a decade or more of on-the-job management experience behind them.

Yet there is much in those programs that still carries great value for senior leadership roles.

The executive MBA is tailored-made for professionals at this level. It delivers that all-important information in a format, and with a perspective, that creates real value for natural leaders who know the business they’re in well enough to advance to executive levels.

What Is an Executive MBA Degree?

An executive MBA, or EMBA, is a graduate degree in executive business education, just like a regular Master of Business Administration. Offered at the same business schools with full MBAs, they are taught by the same instructors and cover the same ground in strategy, communications, management skills, and analysis.

Where the EMBA differs from a traditional full-time MBA program is primarily in two areas.

An Executive MBA Program Assumes You Already Know the Basics… and More

The major difference is that an EMBA typically skips past some of the managerial basics that MBA programs include and focuses on the more advanced and less obvious factors in successful management and leadership.

In fact, an EMBA is almost an entirely different experience in many ways. Rather than focusing on preparations for entry-level management positions and all the basic building blocks of career planning, executive MBA programs start off at the other end of the spectrum—what you do when you get to advanced levels of management.

That not only shifts the kind of curriculum you will face, but also the very nature of classroom engagement and relations with professors and fellow students. It’s a course of study that treats students as the accomplished professionals they already are.

The EMBA Program Format Caters To Professionals With Limited Time for Study

Because the EMBA is aimed squarely at people who have extensive work experience and management skills, they are by definition serving non-traditional students. That means people who already have careers, families, and strong community ties. In many cases, they will continue working in positions they love through the course of the program.

The responsibilities that come with both work and family require a different kind of scheduling from traditional college MBA programs. EMBAs are almost always structured as a part-time program. Some of them only meet monthly.

Even on a part-time schedule, the reduced credit requirements mean that many EMBAs can be completed in less time than a traditional two-year MBA.

As accomplished managers, many candidates for EMBAs have more money than time. So it’s also not unusual to find students who fly in for class meetings even from halfway across the country. At programs like Sonoma State, the executive MBA in wine business may really be the only option in the country… and well worth it for the low-residency format and the international study tour it includes.

An increasing number of people earn their executive MBA online, taking advantage of the flexibility and accessibility remote learning offers.

Of course, this is also a clear fit for online EMBA formats. Many executive programs split the difference, however, going with a hybrid combination of on-site intensives and online projects and coursework in between.

Getting Into the Best Schools in California for Executive MBAs Isn’t as Hard as It Sounds

People are often surprised that it can seem to be easier to get into a top 10 executive MBA program in California than be admitted to a regular MBA.

The truth is, though, that EMBA admissions are just as competitive—the difference is that you have already gone through most of the competition by the time you even consider applying.

That’s because most business schools in California that offer an executive MBA program look for applicants who already have significant accomplishments in business behind them before they apply. You can expect to need 15 or more years of work experience, and between 5 and 10 years in a management role to be seriously considered. You didn’t get that far unless you have the kind of drive and talent these schools are looking for.

It can seem a bit strange to be applying for school when your most recent formal academic experience is decades in the rear view mirror. But the application process for an EMBA is designed to handle that. It’s common for schools to forgo any sort of standardized testing requirement. You’ll also largely be judged based on your recent resume, not the ancient history of your undergraduate major and GPA.

Unlike regular MBAs, the EMBA application pipeline is both smaller and more personalized. So you’ll usually have plenty of assistance from the adcom in getting through the process. In fact, it can be as much a process of you evaluating the program as vice versa.

Finally, interviews tend to be low-key and collegial. Interviewers are primarily concerned with finding candidates with a good fit for the program. That means they are as interested in your goals, needs, and perspectives as they are with your background.

Does an EMBA Degree Make Sense for You?

Every EMBA program is different, but so is every EMBA student. The track your career takes shapes you in a million unique ways. You’ll build strengths in leadership and management along the way—but just as surely, you’ll also find ways that your path has left you with blind spots and weaknesses that may only appear as you start to approach the most senior levels.

Managers typically look at returning to school for an EMBA in three situations:

They are planning a significant career switch between roles or industries that would benefit from MBA-level retraining
They are attempting to ascend to even more senior positions but find that the lack of an MBA on their resume is an impediment
They find that their organizational, managerial, or leadership skills are not at a level that allows them to achieve what they want in their current position

Considering the Networking Implications of an Executive MBA vs MBA in a Traditional Format

When you receive a Master of Business Administration through an executive MBA program, it doesn’t say “Executive Master of Business Administration” on the diploma — it’s a full-fledged MBA from the university that issued it.

So from the perspective of what ends up on your resume, there’s no technical difference in an EMBA vs MBA. But when you start thinking about what kind of skills and connections you can make, they are worlds apart.

One of the major reasons people pursue an MBA at any level is the networking and professional alliances that they build through the process. The cohort you go through it with can become some of your best allies for the remainder of your career.

If you’re already an experienced manager, however, you don’t have a lot to gain by making connections among people who are just launching their careers. Your peer group are other managers and leaders — these are the people you find in an EMBA program, not a traditional MBA.

Even with relatively less face time and fewer contacts, you’ll probably come away from your EMBA with more useful professional contacts for your late-stage career path.

It’s easy to get in a rut as a high-achieving executive. An EMBA can break you out of it, and give you not just new tools, but a new perspective that can unlock higher performance and accomplishments than you can even imagine.

Not every kind of managerial weakness or knowledge gap requires MBA-level education to address. But there is no better way to get an elite level of expertise in strategic thinking, transformative leadership, and engaged planning than through an executive MBA.

What You Can Expect From California’s Top Executive MBA Programs

The best EMBA programs are basically an MBA for adults. The average age in many programs is over 40. Students are used to assessing information quickly, making decisions, and working as part of a team. There’s much less of the jockeying and uncertainty that can come with cohorts that are just starting out in business.

Both because of the format and the more advanced level of students, EMBA programs offer a very different experience from conventional MBA studies.

There’s also less hand-holding. You can’t expect to be dropping in at the university writing center for tutoring, and if you did, you’d find the team there a little out-of-sorts for providing the kind of coaching you might need as a senior business executive.

Student support is delivered at a different level than what you’d get with a more traditional MBA. You’ll get a lot more one-on-one attention from instructors and administrative staff. You’ll receive significant logistical support, sometimes including assistance with travel plans and technology support. Event coordination and even catering support during campus intensives will all be taken care of—you have better administrative backstops during your EMBA than you have back at the office!

Career services are usually made available, but of course, play less of a role in EMBA degrees. Students are sometimes using the degree as a career pivot, but in general that have long since proven that they can build an appealing resume and hold up through an intense interview. The kind of recruiting events that are typical in regular MBAs are almost entirely absent in the executive MBA world.

Scheduling also works much differently, with the assumption being that most attendees are employed full-time and only available evenings, weekends, and for pre-scheduled blocks of immersion coursework. Your attendance will be more tightly programmed than in a traditional MBA class.

The People You Meet in an Executive MBA Can Help Take Your Existing Knowledge and Skill to the Next Level

Your classmates have a wealth of experience themselves. You can find yourself learning almost as much from them as you do from the instructors.

Many EMBA graduates cite the conversations they have with fellow students as among the most important and enriching parts of the experience.

The curriculum itself often leans into that earned experience. The fact that most of the cohort is actively working at high-level positions while they are attending the EMBA means that you will be encountering real-world business problems that they bring in the door… and discovering how the solutions are working in real-time.

There is still a core curriculum, covering quantitative analysis, corporate organizational and competitive strategy, and advanced principles of leadership and ethics. But you’ll find those conducted at a generally more advanced level, pushed higher by the caliber of you and your fellow students.

There’s also plenty of room for different EMBA programs to put their unique stamp on the student experience. At UC San Diego’s Rady, for example, you can oversee due diligence into startups as part of the team managing the Rady Venture Fund.

Experiential Learning Is an Important Feature Even in Executive MBA Programs

Although EMBAs are compact programs, structured for busy people without a lot of time on their hands, they can still deliver some superlative experiential training opportunities. Rather than internships, these tend to take the form of seminars, special presentations, site visits, and conferences. At the UCLA EMBA program, participants have the option of participating in more than 20 international study options.

For students in programs with on-site intensives, the residential sessions often take the form of a high-end business conference. You’ll find yourself in hotels with meals provided, attending seminars in conference rooms, and going on field trips to some of the incredible, world-changing businesses that California is practically dripping with.

Most EMBAs have final capstone projects, just as other kinds of MBA programs. You are likely to find more flexibility in picking your project, however. It may be an analysis project, a portfolio of your class assignments, or even a team-based effort. Many EMBA students end up incorporating very real issues from their current company and job—getting a passing grade as well as solving a genuine business problem.

Executive MBA Programs Online Make Life Easier for Busy Professionals

For busy executives, an online option can be the difference that makes an MBA possible.

EMBAs have been available long before online education became a thing, but some of the first online business education programs were aimed at executive audiences.

In fact, California is widely considered to be the place where the first stab at online executive education was made. In 1985, the Western Behavioral Sciences Institute in La Jolla started a remote education program called Connected Education. It was designed to take advantage of new technologies and flexible programming to deliver up-to-date training for senior executives and other professionals with no time or opportunity to get back into the academic world.

Lecturers included astronauts, science fiction authors, composers, and even AI researchers.

California schools have kept up with that impressive diversity in lecturers and faculty, and the basic appeal of remote executive MBA programs in the USA remains the same.

Executive MBA Programs Online Simplify the Logistics of Attendance

Executive MBA online programs add a whole new level of efficiency that any manager is bound to appreciate: they cut out an entire stack of logistical considerations around how you get to and from class.

Even if you are lucky enough to have an elite-level EMBA right down the block, it’s still disruptive to block out the travel time in your schedule—not to mention the downtime that comes with commuting.

Online classes can get started right on time from anywhere with internet access. You’re free to work right up to the last second on that important project proposal—or to make it to your kid’s soccer game and pay full attention for once without checking your watch every ten seconds.

Online Executive MBA Degrees in California Keep Costs Down and Availability High

While cost isn’t usually the number one consideration of individuals at the executive level, it’s true that online programs often take some of the costs out of the equation for top EMBA programs. Even just the opportunity costs associated with giving up your position for a regular MBA at this level are substantial.

More importantly, however, going online opens up access to top EMBA schools from across the country—including the elite business schools that offer them in all corners of California.

Although your airline miles might not accumulate as quickly, your family will be happy you are saving time with an online MBA Executive program instead.

And while some execs are perfectly happy to take a jet to get to class if they find a program that is worth it, it’s hard to argue that life isn’t better and easier if you can just fire up your laptop instead.

Executive Online MBA Programs Keep Flexibility Front and Center When You Need It

As a corporate executive, you know that business demands can come up at any time. Those have to take precedence over coursework. If you’re in the office at 10pm on a Friday, it’s important.

Earning your EMBA online ensures that you will enjoy the flexibility you need to keep up with your coursework as well as with your professional obligations. Many classes and projects can be taken asynchronously, meaning you don’t have to be online at the same time as your instructors or classmates. That lets you time shift as well as travel if your job requires it.

Finding the Best Executive MBA Programs in California

It stands to reason that a state with some of the best executive leadership in the world is going to have some of the best executive MBA programs, too. You can find them at schools public and private, in NorCal and SoCal, in the heart of Hollywood and on the rim of Silicon Valley. And you’ll find both evening/weekend onsite programs as well as hybrids and some of the best online executive MBA programs in the country.

Despite the popularity of the search term, there is no Stanford Executive MBA… sorry to all of you hoping to find it on this list!

Reputation can be even more important for executive MBAs than traditional programs. Fortunately, you’ll find that the best schools for executive MBA degrees in California also have top reputations for business education. In general, a school isn’t going to start up an EMBA program if it isn’t already drawing top candidates and placing graduates in impressive positions.