Hard-hitting Rutgers EMBA program rises in rankings

The Executive MBA Program (EMBA) at Rutgers Business School jumped up in the rankings again this past year moving from 17th to 13th in the United States according to The Financial Times. This builds on The Wall Street Journal ranking which placed the Rutgers EMBA program 8th in the US for a five-year return on investment and 20th best Executive MBA program in the world.

“The program’s reputation as a very-high-quality teaching program is paying dividends,” said Professor Farrokh Langdana, Director of the Rutgers EMBA Program. Rutgers EMBA students learn from top-notch professors who provide the cutting-edge theoretical tools, practical insights, and vital hands-on skills that enable graduates of the program to achieve enormous success in the workforce.

The program is distinguished by a rich curriculum that is continuously updated based on input from industry executives to meet the demands of a constantly evolving business environment. “The world is changing so rapidly that what was relevant a year ago isn’t today,” said Langdana. “We have to adapt quickly to what companies are facing right now and develop courses that are current and practical for students to be successful managers.”

With managers wearing so many hats these days, the Rutgers EMBA program prepares them to deal with all the things thrown at them – human resource issues, supply chain management challenges, marketing strategy in different countries, etc. Plus they are brought up to speed on the latest topics in business including derivatives, mergers and acquisitions, biopharma, the subprime crisis and the macroeconomic forces shaping the debate in Washington.

“The curriculum is constantly updated to reflect the changing global business world,” said Langdana, who became Director of the Rutgers EMBA program 11 years ago. “But it is not just a matter of adding new and updated modules to the program. The real challenge is to find professors who can leverage the vast amount of experience that the EMBA students bring to class and elevate the whole learning experience by synthesizing the theory with the real-world of the students themselves. This is the real challenge and this is where our strength lies.”

Alumni have marveled at how going through the Rutgers EMBA program has helped them in their career. “A day does not go by that I don’t make real world decisions using skills learned from the Rutgers Executive MBA Program,” said Todd Brock, Senior Executive, The Clorox Company.

With a rising reputation, the number of EMBA enrollments grew 10% in 2009.“It is tremendous to see Rutgers Business School increasingly gain recognition as a top business school,” said Michael R. Cooper, PhD, Dean of Rutgers Business School. “It certainly speaks to the exceptionally high quality of the EMBA program in delivering the cutting-edge business skills and knowledge demanded by world-leading companies.”

This quality is heightened by the school’s business, science, and technology focus, which incorporates a multidisciplinary approach with over 270 degree programs to partner with at Rutgers University, emphasizes current, real-world work relevancy, and leverages Rutgers Business School’s strong corporate partnerships.

Executive education goes global

In collaboration with its corporate partners, Rutgers Business School is developing a new pioneering business program with a global perspective taught jointly by eight leading business schools around the world. It will be the first ever corporate-designed Global Executive MBA program to ensure relevancy to the ever changing global business environment.

“This program will set the standard for global leadership,” said Dean Cooper. “A committee consisting of business school deans and corporate leaders who are passionate about the future of higher business education will shape this elite program.”

Rutgers EMBA students already interact with international business leaders during a two-week summer program in China. Students visit Beijing, Shanghai, and Hong Kong as part of a 3-credit 12-night summer seminar in China. The focus on the first two cities is mainly on manufacturing sites, while in Hong Kong students visit key sectors of the service industry including both large and small local companies involved in supply chain, R&D, shipping, and financial services.

“We focus on the down-to-earth realities of conducting business overseas, especially in China, which ensures that Rutgers EMBA students have both the cultural and economic skills necessary to allow them to succeed on an international assignment,” said Langdana.