Executive Master of Business Administration, MBA

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The Executive MBA, designed for professionals with significant work and management experience, consists of fourteen courses in a cohort-style, modular curriculum. The curriculum is focused around two related emphases: leadership development and strategic decision-making. The transformational leadership emphasis includes courses like Leadership Intelligence, Talent Management, and Leading Change in Organizations, as well as a leadership self-development project that spans the entire 17 months of the program. The strategic decision-making emphasis includes courses like Financial Statement Analysis, Strategic Marketing, and Operations and Supply Chain Strategies, and culminates in an integrative, applied-learning capstone project. Incorporating experiential and project-based learning, the Executive MBA includes a multiple day intensive off-site experience which guides students in exploring team and leadership dynamics and a 10-day international learning journey that includes in-country consulting projects and business visits with executives and government officials.

The Executive Wine MBA offers our EMBA curriculum to wine industry professionals, featuring projects and assignments focused on wine businesses, and faculty with backgrounds in wine industry research and practice.

Executive MBA Required Courses (30 units)

The Executive MBA consists of the following speciﬁc courses, taken by all Executive MBA and Executive Wine MBA students.

BUS 516E - Operations and Supply Chain Strategies Unit(s): 1-3
BUS 519E - Innovation, Design, and Technology Leadership Unit(s): 1-3
BUS 530E - Financial Statement Analysis Unit(s): 1-3
BUS 540E - Talent Management Unit(s): 1-3
BUS 546E - Global Business Environment Unit(s): 1-3
BUS 547E - Public Policy, Regulatory Issues and Civic Leadership Unit(s): 1-3
BUS 552E - Leadership Intelligence Unit(s): 1-3
BUS 554E - Leading Sustainable Enterprises Unit(s): 1-3
BUS 560E - Strategic Marketing Unit(s): 1-3
BUS 570E - Financial Markets and Business Strategy Unit(s): 1-3
BUS 581E - Research in Strategic Planning Unit(s): 1-3
BUS 590E - Leading Change in Organizations Unit(s): 1-3
BUS 591E - Strategy in Practice Unit(s): 1-3
BUS 592E - Business Plan Unit(s): 1-3

Admissions Information

The Executive MBA is a self-support program that is run in conjunction with the School of Extended and International Education. Some special admissions requirements and application procedures apply.

For detailed information and applications, please visit the EMBA web page. The Executive MBA programs (EMBA, Wine EMBA, hybrid version of the Wine EMBA) launch annully (either in the fall or spring).

Information on how to apply can be found on the MBA Admissions web page. The first step in the application process is to submit a resume to the MBA Admissions Manager at mba@sonoma.edu. Information will then be provided on how to complete the application process. Applicants are encouraged to apply early!

To be admitted to the EMBA program, a candidate must meet the requirements of both the University and the Department of Business Administration. In addition, all candidates for the Wine EMBA will be expected to have completed 20 units of wine-related coursework, 24 months of wine industry work experience, or any combination thereof, before being admissible to the Wine EMBA program. This requirement may be met by completing the first two levels of our online Wine Business Management Certificate offered through the Wine Business Institute’s Professional Development programs.

University Requirements

The requirements for admission to graduate study (work beyond the bachelor’s degree) at Sonoma State University are in accordance with Title 5, California Administrative Code. For admission, students must:

Hold an acceptable baccalaureate degree from an institution accredited by a regional accrediting association or have completed academic preparation as determined by an appropriate campus authority;

Have attained a grade point average of at least 2.50 (A = 4.00) in the last 60 semester (90 quarter) units attempted;

Have been in good standing at the last college attended;

and Have earned a minimum score of 550 on the paper version or 80 on the computerized version of the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) for those applicants who have not spent at least three years of school at the secondary level (or beyond) where English is the principal language of instruction.

International students must meet the admissions criteria set forth by the graduate department. Students in the Executive MBA programs are required to gain practical experience by a) completing an internship course, b) working for eight or more months during their MBA program, or c) combining an internship course and work for a total of eight or more months during their MBA program. International students may be authorized for Curricular Practical Training (CPT) to be eligible for off-campus work or internships in a position directly related to their field of study.

Department of Business Administration Requirements

An individual may apply for admission to the EMBA program with or without an academic background in business administration, but must have achieved a 2.50 GPA in the prior 60 semester units (90 quarter units) attempted. Applicants are expected to have a minimum of eight years of professional work experience, including significant management experience, prior to starting the program. Military service can be counted toward professional work experience. Applicants with strong career growth and 5-8 years of professional experience may be requested to take the GMAT or GRE. The department considers the candidate’s application, academic background, work experience, interview, and performance on the GMAT or GRE (for those with less than eight years of professional experience) in evaluating high promise of success in the program.

A candidate who is not accepted may appeal to the Graduate Programs Committee for admission reconsideration. Such appeals are not routinely granted.