Designed for global executives
Thunderbird's #3-ranked Executive MBA program exposes you to the tools that you need to expand your career options worldwide. Our program's multicultural focus emphasizes the social, economic and political aspects of international business, teaching you the management hard skills and cross-cultural soft skills to lead in any global capacity.
The Executive MBA program combines a traditional MBA curriculum (taught through a global lens) with in-depth global political and economic studies, plus overseas experience and exposure. In this program you will:
- Explore business courses within a global context.
- Acquire business knowledge, an understanding of cross-cultural issues and second-language skills.
- Learn about political and economic conditions of various world regions.
- Draw on the perspectives and experience of acclaimed faculty currently engaged in global consulting and research.
Through case studies, peer interaction and hands-on experiential learning, you'll be connected with top national and international corporations, gaining the real-world experience of a truly immersive global business education. You will also have the opportunity to learn from the best practices of fellow global professional participants – and even solve your own business problems as part of the EMBA experience.
Sample weekend schedule
| PERIOD | FRIDAY | SATURDAY |
|---|---|---|
| Period One 7:50 a.m. - 9:40 a.m. |
Global Strategy I | Global Finance MID-TERM EXAM |
| Period Two 10:00 a.m. - 11:50 a.m. |
Project Management | Global Strategy I |
| Lunch Break 11:50 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. |
Lunch/Free Time | Lunch/Free Time |
| Period Three 1:00 p.m. - 2:50 p.m. |
Entrepreneurship & Intrapreneurship | Contemporary Business in Latin America |
| Period Four 3:10 p.m. - 5:00 p.m. |
Entrepreneurship & Intrapreneurship | Project Management |
Planning for your future
To ensure you get the most out of your Executive MBA experience, a Personal Leadership Development component engages you in self-assessment, feedback and goal-setting activities at various stages throughout the program. This creates a framework for establishing professional targets and milestones within your current career, company or industry – or helps you prepare for a career transition after graduation.
iPads increase interaction, convenience
In keeping with innovations in educational technology and for added convenience in both classroom and remote learning, every EMBA participant receives an iPad 3 (included in course fees) pre-loaded with course materials, case studies and apps.
Sample course descriptions
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Course Number: GM-8673Credit Hours: 1.50
This course is based in Abu Dhabi and Delhi, will provide students with an interesting comparison between a small nation seeking to diversify from its dependence on oil and gas and a large diversified country coping with stark disparities in income, resources and education. This course will help students formulate answers to the following questions; (i) what are the implications of important similarities and differences between the UAE and India with regard to past and future growth prospects?
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Course Number: GM-8672Credit Hours: 1.50
With a strategy leveraging oil wealth, entrepreneurship and geography, the UAE has emerged as a service and trade-oriented economy linking Europe, Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa. This course, is based in Abu Dhabi and Dubai, will provide students with an understanding of where the UAE fits in this the broader pattern of development for the MENA region as a whole and will explore answers to the following questions; (i) what are the implications of important similarities and differences between the UAE and other MENA economies with regard to past and future growth prospects?
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Course Number: GM-8674Credit Hours: 1.50
GM-8674 Field Seminar in India
This course provides students the opportunity to visit companies and meet executives and government officials to learn about the challenges and opportunities that business leaders currently face in India. Students will also have opportunities to visit homes and interact with family members to understand first hand India?s changing economic, cultural and social fabric and consumer preferences. -
Course Number: GM-8311Credit Hours: 3.00
The first half of this course introduces accrual accounting concepts including revenue recognition, matching, and asset and liability valuation. Topics covered include the recognition and measurement of accounting events, the preparation and analysis of financial statements (balance sheet, income statement and statement of cash flows), the use of international financial statements, and an introduction to intercorporate investments.
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Course Number: FR-4015Credit Hours: 3.00
This is an introductory course for beginning language learners. No prior knowledge is required. Students study language fundamentals such as pronunciations, vocabulary and grammar. The emphases are: a) establishing a solid foundation in pronunciations; b) building up vocabulary and sentence patterns in communicative contexts; c) introducing writing systems and preparing students to read characters. In addition, cultural and social information that go along with language use are also included in the teaching.
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Course Number: FR-4020Credit Hours: 3.00
This course is a continuation of Fundamentals I and II. It aims to help students further develop communicative skills in listening and speaking, with an additional emphasis on reading texts. The emphases of this course are: a) building up more vocabulary and grammatical structures for communications purposes, b) integrating the linguistic and cultural knowledge acquired in Fundamentals I and II with the new knowledge, c) introducing business content and terminology in instructions and activities.
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Course Number: GE-4015Credit Hours: 3.00
This is an introductory course for beginning language learners. No prior knowledge is required. Students study language fundamentals such as pronunciations, vocabulary and grammar. The emphases are: a) establishing a solid foundation in pronunciations; b) building up vocabulary and sentence patterns in communicative contexts; c) introducing writing systems and preparing students to read characters. In addition, cultural and social information that go along with language use are also included in the teaching.
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Course Number: GE-4020Credit Hours: 3.00
This course is a continuation of Fundamentals I. It aims to help students further develop communicative skills in listening and speaking, with an additional emphasis on reading texts. The emphases of this course are: a) building up more vocabulary and grammatical structures for communications purposes, b) integrating the linguistic and cultural knowledge acquired in Fundamentals I with the new knowledge, c) introducing business content and terminology in instructions and activities.
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Course Number: GM-8406Credit Hours: 1.00
Participants completing this course will learn about fulfilling the changing professional and social expectations around responsible business management. Session s will address evaluating the changing demands of society on managers and corporations and the associated risks and opportunities. The course will also explore current and cutting edge business strategies for squaring social, environmental and ethical responsibilities with competitive demands.
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Course Number: GM-8473Credit Hours: 1.50
This course provides a simulation experience that draws on multiple functional areas, theories, and skills including, strategy, finance, cross-cultural communication and negotiation, business communications, and team building and leadership. You will be given information about an industry and information about two companies from that industry. One of the companies (the acquirer) is considering an acquisition of the other company (the target). You will be assigned to either a target or acquirer team to undertake the simulation exercise.
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Course Number: GM-8210Credit Hours: 1.50
This course investigates the nature of foreign exchange markets and hedging instruments; international financial markets and the transmission of funds; balance of payments; alternative international monetary arrangements and institutions; and the respective adjustment mechanisms in response to fiscal and monetary policy changes. The course also examines how countries grow successfully and the causes of economic crisis.
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Course Number: GM-8203Credit Hours: 1.50
The second module of Finance picks up where the Financial Management course leaves off. It examines corporate finance issues from managerial and strategic perspectives, and extends the concepts covered in the previous module to cross-border settings. Topics addressed include: financial derivatives such as options, forwards and futures; real options; foreign exchange risk management; and cross border valuation.
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Course Number: GM-8486Credit Hours: 1.50
This course provides practical insights into those factors, both external and internal, which impact leadership effectiveness. Topics covered include characteristics, charge and competencies of leaders, the achievements of exemplary leaders, leading across cultures, leading through challenges, and the relationship between leaders and followers.
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Course Number: GM-8505Credit Hours: 3.00
This course is designed to introduce the basic concepts of marketing management. The key focus is on identifying the marketing problems and decisions faced by organizations and to illustrate the application of marketing concepts to managerial decision making. Key concepts such as segmentation, target marketing and positioning are addressed. Tools for linking marketing strategy,
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Course Number: GM-8000Credit Hours: 3.00
This course offers an introduction to the fundamentals of the international business environment and its three major aspects: (1) the institutional framework and policy management of international economic relations, (2) risk assessment and strategic analysis of nation-states, and (3) the operational and organizational concerns of the transnational enterprise.
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Course Number: GM-8506Credit Hours: 1.50
This course focuses on the unique issues related to marketing strategy implementation. It examines how the international market environment affects the design and implementation of a successful marketing strategy in global markets. The course is designed to provide the participants with an enhanced concept of the following: the international dimensions of marketing; conceptual frameworks to analyze the environmental uniqueness of each market with emphasis on the cultural, economic and political elements; and, the development and deployment of relevant marketing metrics.
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Course Number: GM-8470Credit Hours: 1.50
This Global Strategy course will offer a broad-brush picture of the inherent tensions that global organizations encounter in formulating and implementing strategy such as localization versus standardization, and centralization versus decentralization. The treatment of issues transcends the typical multi-domestic or international framework to address concerns of a transnational nature. The emphasis is on practically relevant tools of global strategic analysis and conceptual frameworks designed to improve understanding of strategy making in the global context.
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Course Number: GM-8472Credit Hours: 1.50
This course is an integrative course that covers advanced strategy and finance. The course draws on multiple functional areas, theories, and skills. Our objective is to provide you with a rigorous and practical course that provides a deep understanding and familiarity with several key management areas. In strategy, we will discuss joint ventures, partnering, mergers and acquisitions, and strategic alliances.
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Course Number: GM-8725Credit Hours: 1.50
This course will provide a practical overview of international business law that can be utilized by international business managers. Topics to be covered include legal systems, nationality, intellectual property, outsourcing, and international litigation. Each session will be a combination of lecture and class discussion.
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Course Number: JA-4015Credit Hours: 3.00
This is an introductory course for beginning language learners. No prior knowledge is required. Students study language fundamentals such as pronunciations, vocabulary and grammar. The emphases are: a) establishing a solid foundation in pronunciations; b) building up vocabulary and sentence patterns in communicative contexts; c) introducing writing systems and preparing students to read characters. In addition, cultural and social information that go along with language use are also included in the teaching.
