The UCLA-NUS Executive MBA is a part-time, 15-month dual degree program offered by the UCLA Anderson School of Management (University of California, Los Angeles) and NUS Business School (National University of Singapore). Unlike a joint degree program, this is a double degree program, with participants graduating with two MBA degrees and into the alumni network of each university.
The program is structured in a modular format that consists of 6 intensive in-country segments, each lasting 1-2 weeks held at 3-month intervals, over a period of 15 months. Participants spend a total of 45 to 75 in-country days (excluding travel time), depending on their choice of electives. Segments are held in different cities in 4 countries: two sessions in Singapore, two in Los Angeles, one in China, and one in India.
The UCLA-NUS EMBA offers a general management curriculum – participants complete a total of 18 courses (12 Core courses and 6 Elective courses), with the flexibility to choose from a wide range of Electives that are delivered during and in-between segments, in a variety of formats.
The entire program is taught by both UCLA Anderson School of Management and NUS Business School faculty members. Visit our Faculty page.
The calendar for the UCLA-NUS Executive MBA program consists of 6 intensive segments (in country, approximately 1-2 weeks) every 3 months. Courses are conducted in residence at NUS in Singapore and UCLA in Los Angeles, and in key cities in China and India (typically in a hotel).
Participants complete 2 to 3 courses during each segment. Typically, courses comprise case studies, readings, quizzes, and/or assignments that participants will have to prepare for and work on before the course commences, in the evenings, or after classes. A typical day in a segment lasts around 10 hours, and may include lectures, guest speakers, roundtable and panel discussions, company visits, other immersive learning opportunities, as well as social and networking events scheduled outside of class hours.
A wide range of electives is also available, which can be taken up during each segment (with additional in-country days) or in-between segments to reduce out-of-office days.
Like the other Executive MBA programs at UCLA and NUS, the UCLA-NUS Executive MBA is demanding and rigorous. It employs the same faculty base, rigorous grading standards, and confers the same MBA degrees as each school’s other MBA programs (full-time, fully-employed and executive programs).
Content on UCLA-NUS Executive MBA includes more global issues and strategies to serve a participant population that has global management experience and leadership potential. Unlike traditional Executive MBA programs which usually have a regional focus, the flexibility and innovative format of the UCLA-NUS Executive MBA attracts participants from around the globe.
Yes. There are a number of opportunities to discuss various issues facing your company, although it is important to note that these opportunities vary depending on the professor and the course. For instance, a course may require your learning team to use your company as an example for the selected topic to work on, or the flexibility to use any company suitable for the topic.
Some professors assign pre-course assignments, others assign post-course assignments – these may be individual or group-based. One or more exams during each segment are common. Class participation also is an important factor. The exact weight of each of these items will be determined by the professor for each course. Some courses are more exam-based, while others require term papers. Typically, class participation makes up 20 to 40% of the final grade depending on the particular course.
Yes. Up-to-date case studies are employed along with other teaching techniques such as analytical methods, simulations and conceptual tools from economics, statistics, behavioural sciences, and other academic disciplines.
No. All six residential segments must be attended and completed in order to graduate. In rare situations, however, where participants are unable to attend one residential segment, they could join the next incoming class and wait until the following year to attend the next segment. This is at the discretion of the program’s Academic Directors and will, eventually, affect your graduation date.
There is no minimum age requirements or limits, but we do require a minimum of 8 years of work experience post Bachelor’s. The average age of participants in the Executive MBA program is 39 and the average number of years work experience is 15 years. The age of our candidates ranges from early 30s to 60s. We also take into consideration the quality of the candidate’s work experience and focus on their ability to contribute to classroom discussions. Please visit our Class Profile for more details.
Although each applicant will be assessed on their unique qualities, some characteristics that the admissions committee looks for include:
For a more detailed outline of the school’s admissions policy, visit the Admissions page.
Yes, certainly. We have a list of willing participants and alumni who have volunteered to talk with interested candidates. Visit our EMBAssadors page.
The transfer of credits from any other institution is not accepted due to the unique design of the program curriculum.
Yes. An admissions interview is required as part of the application process. Upon receipt of your complete application, the program office will contact you to schedule a 1on1 interview. This provides prospective candidates the opportunity to elaborate on and personalize their application. Admissions interviews are conducted by UCLA or NUS, and can be in person or by video conference for those applicants residing outside Singapore and the USA.
No. Full face-to-face participation is required across all 6 in-country segments. Some components of the courses are delivered online, for example, core courses employ a blended learning format, where 25% of course content is delivered online, with the remaining 75% is delivered face-to-face. Electives are available in a range of flexible formats: in-person, dual mode, blended learning, and online. Get more details here.
No, any documents provided by the applicant are considered unofficial. Please reach out to your school to have the documents sent directly to the UCLA-NUS admissions office. Please email Vanessa at vanessa.esguerra@anderson.ucla.edu if you require assistance.
Many schools have adjusted their transcript delivery service methods since COVID-19. Please try contacting your school to see if they can send your official documents directly to UCLA. If they can’t email your documents to us, they can be mailed to the following address.
Attn: Vanessa Esguerra
Executive MBA Admissions Manager
UCLA Anderson School of Management
110 Westwood Plaza, Marion Anderson Hall (MAH), G6.42
Los Angeles, CA 90095
Please email Vanessa at vanessa.esguerra@anderson.ucla.edu if you require assistance.
You can either email your own translated version to your school and have them forward that over to emba.admissions@anderson.ucla.edu, or you can request a certified translating service to directly send us an official translation.
If they only issue documents in English, please have them email us directly, confirming they only issue documents in English only and do not issue documents in the native language.
If your previous school does not have your diploma/degree certificate on file, please email your scans to your school and have them forward these scans directly to us. The email sender should have an official email signature, an official title, the name of the office sending this transcript, and the name of the institution/address of the institution.
No. Since we have our own internal evaluation system for each country, we do not accept outside evaluations such as WES. Any evaluations would not be considered an equivalent copy.
Yes. All participants and alumni have access to both schools’ career development support. UCLA Anderson School of Management and NUS Business School provide dedicated and personalized career services to UCLA-NUS Executive MBA participants. These services are specifically aimed at upper mid- and senior-level career professionals and directly address the skills needed to enable our participants to develop lifelong career management skills and take control of their career trajectory. More information here.
All participants have access to a dedicated career coach available for confidential, one-on-one career counselling. Assistance is provided through:
In addition, a variety of web-based career management resources, job portals and networking events are also available. Current participants and alumni enjoy immediate access to both UCLA Anderson School of Management and NUS Business School’s online alumni directories, two powerful resources for job searching and connecting with alumni both locally and globally. With numerous search options available, these alumni directories are two of the Executive MBA’s most important networking resources.
The first difference is that typically participants in an Executive MBA program learn while they work – they do not need to stop working to earn their MBA degree and do not need to live where the program is located. The part-time, modular structure allows participants from all over the world to join the program. It is ideal for executives who travel extensively and are unable to attend regular weekend programs. Click here to view the UCLA-NUS EMBA’s career-friendly program structure. Second, the class profile of the Executive MBA program is significantly more senior, with participants having more extensive experience than those in traditional full-time MBA programs. Learning from other senior peers is a core benefit of an EMBA program experience.
Yes, all enrolled participants will receive an “e-mail-for-life” account from both schools, which can be used not only during the program but also following graduation.
