Global MBA

Live and Learn In Three Countries

Some MBA programs boast international faculty. Others attract a student body from diverse regions. Still others offer students an opportunity to spend a week or more studying abroad. Our MBA program has long featured all of these crucial ways of experiencing the world beyond our borders. But we believe that to prepare managers and leaders for the global marketplace, there is a need for an option with even more significant exposure to a variety of cultural, political, and social settings.

That is why we are launching our new Global MBA, bringing exceptional students from China, India, and the United States together in a two-year, full-time program. This unique partnership between Tongji University’s School of Economics and Management (SEM-Tongji) in Shanghai, China; Xavier Labour Relations Institute (XLRI)in Jamshedpur, India; and Weatherhead will feature

• Integrated program design
• Extensive exposure to three varied cultural, economic, and political settings
• In-depth experience in three of the world’s most important economies
• Interaction with top faculty from all three institutions
• Opportunities for project work in all three countries
• Class and project experience in multinational teams

* We are now accepting applications for fall 2013

The Global MBA will allow students to directly experience classrooms and cultures in the United States, China, and India. Students will go far beyond a tourist’s experience of these countries and economies by participating in substantial company-based projects on teams drawn from their cohort group.

Each cohort will be comprised of 20 students from Weatherhead and 20 students from each of the two partner organizations, SEM-Tongji and XLRI. These students will be taught together in lockstep and mixed in teams for projects. Students will spend one semester at each school before returning to their home school for the final semester.

This level of experiential learning at multiple international locations is a feature that sets our program apart from the rest. The Global MBA is ideal for individuals seeking a top management role, because it addresses the need to engage directly with areas of significant economic growth around the world.

This program will allow students to truly immerse themselves in a culture, and in a new way of doing business. Multinational student teams will engage deeply in special projects for multinational organizations in each location. This is an unparalleled opportunity for experiential learning across cultures and industries. 

- Simon Peck, associate professor of marketing and policy studies and faculty director of the Full-Time MBA program at Weatherhead

The Global MBA curriculum will be integrated across the three campuses for a seamless experience, covering core MBA skills and knowledge while drawing upon each partner school’s areas of international renown. The curriculum is organized into five themes.

Language of Management
Students must understand the way business communicates through financial and management accounts. This theme explores the fundamentals of accounting and finance and includes mastery of concepts in finance relating to valuation and risk management.

Management Analytics
Modern managers use analytical skills across various functional disciplines to solve issues of project management, appraisal, market analysis, and strategy. These analytical skills include basic statistical analysis, econometric modeling, and forecasting. This theme also includes operations management techniques (such as linear programming), simulation, and behavioral analysis including change management.

Strategic Thinking
Students will develop critical and strategic thinking skills and master core conceptual material relating to markets, competitive positioning, and strategy. They will explore sustainable value, entrepreneurship, and business planning and associated managerial challenges. Functional disciplines such as economics, marketing, and psychology, as well as core strategic management approaches are also covered in this thematic area.

Managing Teams and Leadership
Students will learn about the management of high-performing, internationally diverse teams. They will strengthen their capacity for effective leadership, entrepreneurship, and change management and learn about international human resource management issues.

Global Environment
This theme provides a thorough exposure to the social, legal, and economic environment of the three partner schools. Through interaction and dialogue with executives, students will learn of the challenges facing today’s global firms and discover the importance of integrated thinking to address these challenges. Project work immerses student teams in corporate sites, and students learn by doing as they address significant business problems.