The AMBA Program Demystified
By Lilian Ng (AMBA '09) and Charles Lo (AMBA '09)
Issue date: 5/1/09 Section: Features
Charles and Lilian are the AMBA Student Council Representatives.
Formerly called the Twelve Month Option (TMO), the Accelerated MBA (AMBA) program takes students with technical backgrounds from quantitative fields and helps prepare them for positions in management. With its first graduating class in 1996, AMBAs bring much specialized industry knowledge and contribute diversity to the Johnson school community. Though all AMBAs have at least a Master's degree, some students have only a couple of years of work experience. Others have pursued a PhD or MD degree or have worked extensively in their fields. This year's AMBA class has five MDs and eleven PhDs. In addition, the program attracts a higher ratio of international students as compared to the two-year program with typically over ten countries represented. As a whole, the program makes up roughly 20% (50-60 students) of the residential MBA graduating class each year.
Some benefits of the AMBA program include the accelerated one year curriculum and the associated savings in foregone salary and tuition. However, drawbacks include the lack of a summer internship that can help students transition from their technical backgrounds into a management setting. The Management Practicum for Scientists and Technologists was established in 2005 to help bridge this gap. While the Practicum is not mandatory, it provides an opportunity to integrate theoretical business fundamentals learned in core classes into a dynamic, hands-on management consulting project supported by companies, such as Microsoft, Intel and Citi. The Practicum runs through the fall semester and culminates into a two week on-site internship during winter break. Several AMBAs have also participated in the Sustainable Global Enterprise Immersion in past years.
For AMBAs, the summer semester is an intense one. Most of the core classes are condensed into the summer and have traditionally started right after Memorial Day weekend. This year, however, through discussions with AMBA focus groups, the start date of the AMBA 2010 program has been moved up to mid-May to provide more breathing room as well as to allow for added interaction between the AMBA classes and two-year program students. Another change to the summer program is the displacement of two core classes-MLO and Operations into the fall semester-and the option of taking an elective during the summer such as Cases in Business Strategy or Corporate Financial Policy. The electives are aimed at helping students be better prepared for fall job interviews. The summer semester is not solely filled with course work, but also includes other activities like career management and development activities: PAR workshops, a trek to New York City, and case interview preparations.
Formerly called the Twelve Month Option (TMO), the Accelerated MBA (AMBA) program takes students with technical backgrounds from quantitative fields and helps prepare them for positions in management. With its first graduating class in 1996, AMBAs bring much specialized industry knowledge and contribute diversity to the Johnson school community. Though all AMBAs have at least a Master's degree, some students have only a couple of years of work experience. Others have pursued a PhD or MD degree or have worked extensively in their fields. This year's AMBA class has five MDs and eleven PhDs. In addition, the program attracts a higher ratio of international students as compared to the two-year program with typically over ten countries represented. As a whole, the program makes up roughly 20% (50-60 students) of the residential MBA graduating class each year.
Some benefits of the AMBA program include the accelerated one year curriculum and the associated savings in foregone salary and tuition. However, drawbacks include the lack of a summer internship that can help students transition from their technical backgrounds into a management setting. The Management Practicum for Scientists and Technologists was established in 2005 to help bridge this gap. While the Practicum is not mandatory, it provides an opportunity to integrate theoretical business fundamentals learned in core classes into a dynamic, hands-on management consulting project supported by companies, such as Microsoft, Intel and Citi. The Practicum runs through the fall semester and culminates into a two week on-site internship during winter break. Several AMBAs have also participated in the Sustainable Global Enterprise Immersion in past years.
For AMBAs, the summer semester is an intense one. Most of the core classes are condensed into the summer and have traditionally started right after Memorial Day weekend. This year, however, through discussions with AMBA focus groups, the start date of the AMBA 2010 program has been moved up to mid-May to provide more breathing room as well as to allow for added interaction between the AMBA classes and two-year program students. Another change to the summer program is the displacement of two core classes-MLO and Operations into the fall semester-and the option of taking an elective during the summer such as Cases in Business Strategy or Corporate Financial Policy. The electives are aimed at helping students be better prepared for fall job interviews. The summer semester is not solely filled with course work, but also includes other activities like career management and development activities: PAR workshops, a trek to New York City, and case interview preparations.
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Russian Wives
posted 3/21/10 @ 5:47 AM EST
Good information. Thanks for the post.
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