Contact Information

Senior Director, Graduate Business Programs 

Dustin Cornwell

Office Location: Conrad N. Hilton Center for Business; Center for Executive Learning

Telephone: 877.LMU.8585 (877.568.8585)

Fax: 310.338.1890

E-mail: emba@lmu.edu

Website: http://emba.lmu.edu

Program Overview

The LMU EMBA is designed for accomplished working professionals to build the core business competencies and insights required for executive leadership. The 22-month program offers:

• First rate faculty comprised of academic and industry leaders
• Rigorous curriculum that melds the latest research and industry best practices
• Small, collaborative cohort with successful, highly motivated peers
• Saturday classes to minimize work conflicts
• Program includes 4 residential experiences:
  • Orientation (August, y1; 4 days), Sailing (May, y1; 2 days), Innovation (June y1; 5 days), International Capstone (March, y2; 1-2 weeks)
• Professional and career development fully supported by executive coaching
• Conveniently-located campus in the heart of “Silicon Beach”

The program begins in August of academic year one and ends in May of academic year two. For example, if a student begins in August of 2022, they will intend to graduate in May of  2024.

Graduate Program Policies

For a complete listing of the College of Business Administration’s Graduate Program Policies, please click here.  

Learning Outcomes

• Graduates will demonstrate competencies for using finance, accounting, economics, statistical tools, HR management, marketing and strategy concepts to analyze, evaluate and manage an organization’s performance.
• Graduates will have the knowledge and skills to function effectively as leaders, team managers and team members of organizations.
• Graduates will be able to utilize a variety of frameworks of ethical decision making, leading responsibly and acting with integrity.
• Graduates will demonstrate strong written and oral managerial communication skills.
• Students will have a global business perspective.

Major Requirements

The Executive MBA curriculum employs a modular structure with the focus shifting from analysis and evaluation in the first half of the program to strategic application and execution in the second half of the program. The 22-month, 56-credit-hour program is presented in four semester modules and one summer session between years one and two. The learning process is accomplished through three levels of integration.

Knowledge Content: To enhance relevance of core business concepts to the workplace, knowledge content (finance, accounting, economics, business analytics, marketing, leadership, performance management, and strategy) is presented by instructors with significant real-world experience in theme-based modules that closely approximate their application in real-world situations.

Managerial Competencies: Core managerial competencies (problem solving and decision making, communicating and interpersonal relations) are used to integrate and enhance the application of knowledge, experience, and learned concepts into the workplace.

Integrated Learning Environment: Relevance and enhanced retention are enabled through action-based assignments, illustrative real-world cases studies, integrated skill application projects, and on-scene domestic and international field trips.

The major components of the program are the classroom experience, skills-application projects, structured residencies, and experiential learning.

Experiential Learning

These experiences provide unique educational opportunities that augment classroom instruction. These are fully integrated into the curriculum and also provide experiential learning in the actual practice of management.

• Executive Leadership Orientation

Students begin the Executive MBA program with a four-day residential where they are oriented to the program, they set learning goals, they form study teams, and they engage in a variety of workshops and team-building exercises.

• Leadership Through Sailing

Between years 1 and 2, students will participate in a 2-day sailing course in their study teams, This is designed to help students identify the norms of team behavior including: emotional intelligence, handling risks and mistakes, conflict resolution and resilience, among other themes.

• Intersection of Government, Organizations, Innovation and Entrepreneurship:

 In the summer between the first and second years, students study and learn of business and government relations as it intersects with innovation and entrepreneurship. Our students take an immersive, three-day trip to Sacramento where they gain a better understanding of the legislative process and have the opportunity to meet with individuals who shape policies and decisions. Students engage with elected officials, capitol staff, NGOs, lobbyists, state departments and legislatively mandated offices that are integral to facilitating state government operations. Capital partners provide an insider’s perspective on how the legislative process works, the various players that support the effort, as well as the essential role that relationships and trade-offs (priorities) play in maintaining the fabric of a functioning state government. Later in the week, students have the opportunity to travel to Silicon Valley and study innovation at the headquarters of the world’s most innovative tech companies, including Tesla, Apple and Google. While there, students will hear from executives of these organizations about how their respective companies have innovated and adapted to change in the business environment. 

• Global Leadership Research

In the final semester, students take a two-week international journey to compare and contrast one emerging business center and another well-developed one, in the same geographic region of the world. Students meet with business executives and government leaders to gather findings for their final, capstone research project, while developing a comprehensive business plan. Every EMBA cohort spends some of their time overseas focusing on building sustainable communities - enhancing the marginalized and disadvantaged of society.

Skill Application Projects

Skill application projects provide important experiential learning by using business concepts learned in the classroom to solve real business problems. Each module or major curriculum focus uses a team project to facilitate the transference of knowledge into practical application. Projects are real business issues faced every day, such as a merger or acquisition, ethical decisions, opening new markets, major reorganization, or a functional business problem.

Classroom Experience

Classroom sessions are comprised of presentations by academic and business leaders. Learning is facilitated through interaction between participants and faculty, exercises approximating real management issues, case studies, and exploring management concepts found in readings and text materials. Individual skill development is stressed, with the aim of equipping executives with strategies they can use to improve their own decision-making and leadership capabilities.

The EMBA Curriculum Sequence

The LMU EMBA program consists of 56 semester hours taught over four modules and a summer session between the first and second years. Each module approximates a normal semester. The curriculum is integrated, which means that key concepts are addressed across courses and across modules. The sequence moves from acquiring business knowledge, to applying knowledge in real-world settings at the organizational level, to using knowledge and skills for making strategic decisions and leading change at the firm level.