Executive MBA - Stephen M. Ross School of Business

The Michigan Ross Difference

At Michigan Ross, we believe fundamentally in the importance of not just giving you world-class knowledge but also giving you the skills and confidence to leverage that knowledge immediately in your work.

Michigan Ross pioneered action-based learning more than 20 years ago and continues to be a world leader in this most effective method of advanced business education. Since 1992, Michigan Ross students have executed more than 1500 consulting projects for more than 750 organizations worldwide.

The Executive Multidisciplinary Action Projects course (ExecMAP), the culmination of our commitment to action-based learning, is often the highlight of EMBA students' experience at Michigan Ross. Through ExecMAP, you'll gain new experience to leverage in your career, and you'll hone and perfect your skills applying classroom knowledge to the real world.

Action, Relevance, Results

You'll select a project from a variety of options* and then work with your team over four months to apply academic concepts and critical thinking to solve a sophisticated and complex issue. Project types include:

Market entry strategy
Corporate growth
New business venture
Complex financial modeling
Product launch
Risk assessment

At the conclusion of the project, you'll present your team's analysis and recommendations to both the sponsor and Michigan Ross faculty. Corporate partners around the world laud the innovation Michigan Ross students and faculty bring to their organizations via ExecMAP. Recent teams have enabled breakthrough science to reach the consumer marketplace, initiatiated growth opportunities for technology startups, and developed strategies to create jobs for women in war-torn countries.

Career Catalyst

The variety and nature of projects gives you the ideal opportunity to gain new experience to leverage in your career. Students often use ExecMAP to explore a new industry or function. Some use it to enhance their global business knowledge. Others use it to explore entrepreneurship.

As a student, you also have the opportunity to sponsor a project yourself. By doing this, you can gain the benefits of EMBA ExecMAP consulting on a project at your organization, or you can use ExecMAP to launch a startup of your own.

Project Sponsors

Sponsors include multinational corporations, small businesses and startups, international incubators, and nongovernmental organizations. Recent sponsors include:

Barnes Aerospace, Connecticut
Bay Area Discovery Museum, California
Cameron Health, California
Carbon Disclosure Project, U.K.
Carlyle Group/Sinorgchem, China
Chiasma, Israel
Clean Air Task Force, Massachusetts
Enterprise Ireland, Ireland
Habitat for Humanity International, Slovakia
Herman Miller, Michigan
Intel, California
Microsoft/MSN, Washington
United Bank and Trust, Michigan
Woodward Inc., Colorado and China
Yozmot HaEmek Technological Incubator, Israel

* Travel is required for some projects but not all.

"The once-a-month format is a huge differentiator."
Earning an MBA while staying on top of work and family commitments seemed like a tall order to Ryan Majkrzak, MBA '13, but Ross’ once-a-month format made it possible.
"I was able to apply Ross tools to my work right away."
Matt Denninger, MBA '13, is a senior marketing manager for Advanced Energy Industries Inc.'s solar energy business. He says the tools he's gained at Ross already have enabled him to apply strategic change within his company.
"I'm gaining the business skills I need to manage change in healthcare."
Betty Chu, MBA '13, is a physician and medical staff president. She says she knew that to be a successful leader and change agent, she had to expand her education beyond medicine.
"Faculty are very focused on practical, real-world application."
Preston Young, MBA '13, says the Ross EMBA program is teaching him to see management and leadership strategy from entirely new angles.
"I'm tackling our toughest issues with confidence now."
Tessa Myers, MBA '13, says she's at a point in her career where she's striving to contribute more value to the organization and take on more strategic responsibility over larger areas.
"My new position came as a direct result of the program."
Prasanna Kumar, MBA '11, says he pursued an EMBA program to give him the skills and credibility to take his career further. In just a short time, the Ross experience delivered.
"Every part of the curriculum touched on an important aspect of my work."
Luke Nachtrab, MBA ’11, describes how he looked at 25 of the top EMBA programs and chose Ross because of its strong emphasis on strategy and general management.
"I got a comprehensive set of tools I've been able to apply immediately in my work."
The general management curriculum gave Larry Pemble, MBA ’11, knowledge he says he’s putting to use across his organization.
"I'm a stronger consultant to my clients and better business owner."
Keisha Strong, MBA ’11, says the Ross EMBA is helping her make real world impact. As a consultant, she’s helping clients leverage her new knowledge for global expansion.
"The FBI is run like a business."
FBI agent Jeff Brown, MBA '11, knows how to tackle bad guys. But the Ross EMBA Program has taught him to tackle finance, accounting, and other business fundamentals.
"Ross gave me great problem-solving tools."
Mike Carscaddon, MBA '08, has nailed a solid foundation in international operations at Habitat for Humanity International. The Ross EMBA Program gave him the data-driven outlook needed for his nonprofit.
"The monthly format was ideal."
John Chang, MBA '09, became a doctor in order to help people. But a contentious meeting with hospital administrators made him realize his profession is evolving — physicians now need a head for business.
"Ross made me a more effective leader."
As a doctor and professor, Edith Mensah-Osman, MBA '11, is leveraging her MBA to lead the business side of research.
She calls the Ross EMBA Program the best gift she's ever given herself.