Graduate Business Education

Programs In And Around Coral Gables

The decision to go back to school may be a difficult one. But for many in the business community, it provides a path to career advancement – and a sharper business brain. Fortunately for Gables residents and workers, you don’t have to uproot your life to pursue a post-graduate business degree.

University Of Miami

The Miami Herbert Business School has several MBA programs. The full-time MBA program, which has been in existence for over 70 years, is a two-year (21-month) program. There is also a seven-month accelerated program and an 18-month accelerated MBA in real estate.

The full-time program currently has the largest cohort of students since 2014, with over 90 students; it had 50 during the previous academic year. “MBA programs are a little bit countercyclical, meaning when there is a downturn in the economy, people go back to school,” says Dr. Henrik Cronqvist, vice dean of graduate programs for the Herbert Business School. Another reason he thinks the program is growing is the brand recognition. “Our full-time MBA program is ranked #49 in the U.S. by Financial Times,” he says.

For those who can’t go to school full-time, there is the profes- sional MBA. Classes are taught on weekends and Monday evenings with working professionals in mind. While most programs have one intake that starts in August or September, the professional MBA has two: One in July and one in the January.

The school has two executive programs: The Miami Global Executive MBA and the Executive MBA for Health Management and Policy. The former is tailored to established professionals, small business owners and family business executives. The latter is tailored to fully employed healthcare professionals who are seeking leadership positions in the industry.

The Miami Herbert Business School also offers specialized master’s programs where you can earn your degree in less than a year. These master’s are offered in accountancy, taxation, business analytics, finance, health administration, international business, leadership and, most recently, sustainable business. “These are for students who do not have a whole lot of experience after undergrad, but want to go for their master’s degree to specialize in one particu-

PROUD TO BE RANKED NO. 2 IN THE NATION FOR INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS FOR THE SECOND CONSECUTIVE YEAR*

*U.S. News & World Report Best Colleges 2021 lar field,” says the vice dean.

FIU Business is a driving force in shaping the leaders who create and grow the businesses that fuel Florida’s economy. Globally recognized as a center of excellence in business education, FIU Business graduates students who are actively recruited by all Fortune 500 companies – and 75% of our 62,000 alumni live and work in South Florida. FIU Business supports a vital, vibrant business community through resources that include incubators, partnerships, executive training and cutting-edge research.

One of the many perks of pursuing a business degree at UM is the alumni network. “I think to be able to tap into that network for your professional career is important,” says Dr. Cronqvist, “and it’s a global network.”

Tuition is $2,170 per credit hour, so the overall cost varies per program. Visit bus.miami.edu for more information.

Kellogg School Of Management At Northwestern University

Northwestern University has a satellite campus in downtown Coral Gables that offers an executive MBA degree. According to their website, the Chicago-based university chose a campus in Coral Gables because “the city is bustling with global commerce, attracting corporations from around the world and serving as a bridge between the United States and Latin America.”

Florida International University

Though not in the Gables, the FIU Business program is worth the drive beyond our city limits. They offer full-time, part-time and online programs, as well as healthcare and executive MBAs. “We’re the largest producer of graduate degrees in business in the state of Florida,” says Dr. William Hardin, associate dean of the Chapman Graduate School of Business.

The Miami EMBA offers the same rigorous curriculum as the Chicago program, with high quality faculty and the same access to their global campus network. Designed so that non-Miami residents can earn a degree through the program, classes meet only once a month from Thursday to Sunday afternoon. With its “campus” just four miles from Miami International Airport at 95 Merrick Way, traveling business students are put up in the Hyatt Regency Coral Gables. The program also allows students to travel to the Evanston campus in Chicago – or any other campus – to take elective courses not offered in the Gables. Classrooms are equipped with the latest technology and the campus has private study rooms, conference areas and lounges.

The Miami EMBA program has two start dates: In September and January. The annual tuition cost is currently $108,918, bringing the two-year total to $217,836. This includes courses, books and supplies, meals, accommodation at the Hyatt, career services and a lifelong access to elective courses on an auditing basis. The only thing not included in tuition is airfare for traveling students.

To contact the Kellogg Coral Gables campus, email emba-admissions@kellogg.northwestern.edu or call 305.442.7780. Visit kellogg.northwestern.edu for more information or to apply.

The full-time international MBA is a 12-month program with classes Monday through Friday. According to Dr. Hardin, 30 to 50 percent of the students in this program are international, and the demographic skews younger than other MBA programs. “The median experience level [of our MBA students] is about eight years,” he said. “If I were to look at our [full-time] MBA, it might be four or five years.”

The executive MBA, also called the professional MBA for executives, is 16 months long and geared toward those with 12 to 15 years of experience in the workforce. “They may be a division manager, they may be a senior executive. They’re someone with managerial responsibility,” says Dr. Hardin. “They may be doing well, but to really get to the next level, they need kind of a broader perspective.”

The trend lately, however, is the specialized master’s programs. They’re popular because they are shorter, less expensive and more focused on one specific area. They have nine different specialized master’s degrees, including ones in health information and analytics, finance, and accounting. “It allows someone to get a quick, cutting edge exposure to what’s going on in those industries,” says Dr. Hardin. Among the strongest is the master’s in real estate.

The school is recognized both nationally and internationally for its graduate programs. The online MBA program was No. 3 in the U.S. in 2020 and the master’s in marketing program was No. 6 in the U.S. in 2019, according to QS World University Rankings. In 2020, the international MBA program was ranked eighth and the online master’s in business program was ranked 22nd by U.S. News & World Report

Tuition varies per program and ranges from $14,315 to $52,000 for Florida residents. For more information or to apply to any of FIU’s business graduate programs, visit business.fiu.edu. ■