So you want to get an executive MBA from Rider University. The first thing Paul Benchener, the program’s architect and director, will ask you is “Basically, why do you want to do this to yourself?”
An MBA is no joke, and Benchener likes to make sure people understand the time commitment — all-day Saturday, and pretty much every Saturday, for a year and a half. It is not cheap — Rider’s EMBA is $55,000, a standard price for an advanced degree. And it is not for the timid — you will be in the program with about 24 other people who will push you.
The EMBA at Rider began in 2005, graduating its first class in 2007. The fifth iteration of the program starts this Friday, August 13. Rider has had a general MBA program for years, but a more tailored program was suggested by Rider president Mordechai Rosanski as a way to capitalize on the Princeton area’s pharma and tech sectors.
The program operates like a business. The classes take place in a conference room and thrust students into real-world-style situations. There is even an international trip included in the price.
The program concentrates in leadership skills, but there are four overall sectors of business knowledge: management, integrated business, strategic management, and “advanced topics,” which include IT management, corporate performance evaluation, governance, and product development.
The program is built specifically for working executives, which is why all classes happen on Saturday. “These are people who can learn something on Saturday and apply it Monday,” Benchener says.
As for the people who enter the program, Benchener says he has found three major types — those who majored in something without a business background, from English majors to Ph.D. scientists who now have to manage people and have no experience; those who specialize in one area but want to broaden their knowledge base; and, most commonly, those who look at themselves and realize “everyone above me has an advanced degree, and if I want to move up, I need one too.”
For more information, contact the Rider Office of Graduate Admission at 609-896-5036.
