While most Americans celebrate their country’s independence, a group of educational pioneers will begin their studies of accounting and marketing.
The inaugural class of MBA@UNC offered by the University of North Carolina’s Kenan-Flagler Business School officially begins July 4, 2011.
But don’t expect to see them assembled in a Chapel Hill classroom. They’ll be studying from wherever they are – whether from their home bases of California, New York, Florida and North Carolina or from the cities around the world where their work takes them.
UNC Kenan-Flagler created the new MBA program in an online format to meet the needs of working professionals who want to earn their MBA from a top-ranked business school from anywhere in the world. MBA@UNC provides the same rigor and quality of UNC Kenan-Flagler’s on-campus MBA programs using an innovative technology platform and immersion experiences. UNC Kenan-Flagler professors teach the courses, which are based on the rigorous curriculum of the residential MBA program.
“We are extremely proud of the inaugural class, who are both pioneers and our partners in shaping the future of global business education,” said Doug Shackelford, MBA@UNC associate dean. “We carefully selected them based on their academic credentials, career success, diversity of experience and fit with the UNC Kenan-Flagler culture.”
“Many outstanding working professionals around the world want to continue with their careers and pursue an MBA degree without compromising on quality,” said Susan Cates, executive director of the program. “MBA@UNC provides a one-of-a-kind combination of high quality and flexibility.”
In the class of 19 working professionals, almost half come from a scientific or engineering background and 28 percent are women. They average over 8.5 years of work experience in a variety of industries and organizations, including Bank of America, Harrah’s Entertainment and Tribal Casino Gaming, Lockheed Martin, Morgan Stanley, Pfizer, Tata Consultancy Services Limited, U.S. Army, U.S. Navy, U.S. Marines and Wells Fargo.
Many already have advanced degrees, including PhDs and JDs, and graduated from top universities, including Carnegie Mellon, Harvard, Johns Hopkins, Northwestern, Notre Dame, Cambridge, U.S. Naval Academy and UNC.
“We kept this first class small as we focused on quality and our determination to provide an exceptional educational experience as we learn the intricacies of high-quality online education,” said Cates. “The quality of this class and the applications that we are receiving for future classes confirm that there is a meaningful market of exceptional candidates for MBA@UNC.”
For more information, visit http://onlinemba.unc.edu/ and watch a video at http://onlinemba.unc.edu/about/video-library/.
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Media contact: Allison Adams, , 1-919-962-7235