My boyfriend was recently accepted into the McCombs fulltime MBA program. We live in Canada, but he is an American (originally from Texas). He's debating his decision because I have another year of school before I could move with him, he owns property here, this is where his son lives, he has a flexible and reasonably paying job already etc. The question is should he stay here and work while completing an online MBA (possibly Fuqua Cross Continental, Thunderbird, or Cornell-Queens) or go to McCombs? Would his job opportunities be more limited with an online degree? Also the Cornell-Queens and the Fuqua CCMBA seem extremely expensive, and I wonder if the programs are worth it. His background is in engineering (he has a masters in environmental engineering) and he would like to get away from the physical task of engineering and more into management.
Personally, I'd go to McCombs. That said, I didn't have a child living in another country when I went to grad school so it's hard for me to say.
The Cornell /Queens EMBA is a cohort learning model with several videoconferencing session locations including Austin Texas and 6-Canadian (AB, QC, ON, and BC) locations. Yes it is expensive (most top tier are), however upon completion; the graduate receives a MBA from both Cornell (Johnson) and a MBA from Queens (triple accredited). I’m from Texas also, and UT-McCombs is a top business school; however, I would also personally consider the CQEMBA. BTW, it’s (Cornell /Queens) not an online MBA (a combination of on-campus residential sessions and multi-point, interactive videoconferencing sessions with videoconferencing sessions held on weekends in selected cities across North America) which includes Canada and even Austin Texas. Approximately 40% of class time is spent during three residential sessions. The sessions vary from 7 to 15 days in length, and are split between the Cornell University campus in Ithaca, New York, and the Queen's University campus in Kingston, Ontario, Canada. Moreover, with prior industry experience, the EMBA may be more suitable. Of course, McCombs also offers an EMBA. Just my 2-cents… Johnson at Cornell | Cornell-Queen's Executive MBA - Program Format Texas MBA Full-Time Program | McCombs School of Business | The University of Texas at Austin Texas Executive MBA Program | McCombs School of Business | The University of Texas at Austin
Simply put, YES. That's not necessarily relevant to his situation though, because it sounds like he has a good idea of what he wants to do post-MBA, which is managing engineers. A lot of MBA grads are looking to enter fields like investment banking and management consulting, and those industries prefer to recruit from the full-time student ranks. Some people successfully make the jump with a part-time degree (my wife did, for example, moving from training and organizational development into management consulting), but most people stay in their original fields and move up the career ladder - which is exactly what it sounds like your boyfriend is trying to do. In his case, a part-time or Executive MBA is should give him the boost he wants. If he decides to go that route, one program he should seriously consider is Indiana's Kelley Direct program. It's about half the cost of the Fuqua CCMBA or Cornell-Queens programs, but is still delivered by a top-25 business school with a solid reputation. Pay the extra $600 to get your degree from the IU-B campus (a no-brainer, in my opinion), and you're earning the same degree as Kelley's full-time students without giving up two years of earnings. The ~$57K cost is still expensive, but in comparison to other EMBA programs, it's a bargain. Your boyfriend also should see if he can get sponsored by his employer for an executive program. He had to get letters of recommendation, so presumably his superiors are aware of his ambition. He might be able to work out an arrangement where he trades a commitment to stay with his current employer for a number of years post-degree in return for the employer paying his way to b-school. He'll never know if he doesn't ask. Best of luck!
