A new professional master of business administration (MBA) program will replace UBC’s part-time MBA by January 2018. Students will be able to apply to to the program starting in the spring of 2017.
“The current [part-time] program structure and design leads to a less-than-optimal learning experience for students,” said Kin Lo, the senior associate dean of students at the Sauder School of Business.
UBC’s current part-time MBA program consists of 50 credits that are completed over the course of 28 months. The new program will consist of 42 credits that will take 24 months to complete.
Previously, part-time MBA classes would take place on Friday afternoons, as well as Saturday’s and Sunday’s every other weekend. However, it has been observed that students found this type of schedule too intense, as most of them are working professionals.
Thus, in the new professional MBA program, the Friday afternoon classes have been cut and the program simply runs throughout the weekend. In order to make up for the time lost due to the schedule change, they have created a new element — residencies. There are a total of three residencies where students take time off from work and are on campus for eight days. Throughout those eight days, students will be listening to lectures and doing case studies, group projects and experiential activities.
“Part of the benefit of having those residencies is for the students to make better connections amongst themselves, because they are spending that time continuously in residence,” said Lo.
The master program is meant for students who are working and want to advance in their career.
“The ideal students are those who have been working for five years or more, and are currently working,” says Kin Lo. “They are seeking to advance their careers, looking for a promotion, for more responsibilities in the organization they are working in or looking for changes in their careers as well.”
The program’s goal is to create graduates who are business leaders and can act as effective team participants, are able to communicate with stakeholders and make good business decisions.