Isabelle Bajeux-Besnainou, dean of Carnegie Mellon University Tepper School of Business, and Vincenzo Vinzi, dean of ESSEC, signed memoranda of understanding June 7 in New York, establishing a new dual-degree program. Hechler Photographers
Two years is a long time to be out of the workforce. It’s why the ROI for full-time MBA programs needs to be as high as it is.
It’s also why rivals to the MBA exist in the world of graduate business education. And on Wednesday (June 7), two elite business schools on either side of the Atlantic announced a partnership to offer a new one.
ESSEC Business School in France and Carnegie Mellon University’s Tepper School of Business in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania will offer a new dual-degree program that gives graduates a pair of elite credentials at the end of two years: a Master in Management from ESSEC, ranked among the world’s best schools for that program, and a Master of Science in Business Analytics from the Tepper School, likewise a leader in that specialization.
TOTAL COST COMPARES FAVORABLY WITH COST OF A FULL-TIME MBA
Lisa Kulick photo
Beginning with the first cohort in fall 2024, students in the new double-degree program will study in the Paris suburb of Cergy while enrolled at ESSEC and in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania while enrolled at the Tepper School. They will be given the choice of which campus to begin at; they will pay tuition at the institution where they are studying, which is currently listed as €39,620 ($42,712) for EU nationals and €46,000 (about $50K) for non-EU nationals for ESSEC’s MiM, and $36,126 for each of two semesters for Tepper’s MSBA. With the addition of fees and cost of living, the estimated total price compares favorably with the cost of an elite MBA program from a top-ranked B-school on either side of the Atlantic.
ESSEC’s MiM was ranked third by The Economist last year in one of that magazine’s last-ever rankings, and sixth by The Financial Times; ESSEC’s overall ranking by FT is 9th in Europe. Trustworthy rankings of business analytics programs do not currently exist but Tepper’s full-time MBA ranked second in that specialization this year by U.S. News, and doubtless the new program will be taught by many of the same faculty.
“ESSEC Business School is thrilled to establish this exciting partnership with the Tepper School of Business, a collaboration that signals our shared commitment to excellence, innovation, and global engagement,” says Vincenzo Vinzi, dean and president of ESSEC, who sat next to Tepper Dean Isabelle Bajeux-Besnainou to sign a pair of memoranda of understanding in New York on June 7 establishing the partnership.
MORE COLLABORATION TO COME BETWEEN THE 2 SCHOOLS ?
The new dual-degree program “leverages the strengths and expertise of these two prestigious institutions to foster innovation, cross-cultural exchange, and excellence in business education.” ESSEC’s MiM program “provides a solid foundation of general management knowledge and aims to equip the next generation of leaders to handle the major challenges facing businesses, organizations and society”; Tepper’s MSBA is designed to help students “sharpen their business expertise and creative problem-solving skills by analyzing data to make smarter decisions for their company or organization.” Because the latter is a STEM-designated program, ESSEC students who graduate from the MSBA program may be eligible to work in the U.S. for a certain amount of time under the Optional Practical Training initiative.
“The partnership between the Tepper School of Business and ESSEC is a transformative step forward in shaping the future of business education,” says Tepper Dean Bajeux-Besnainou. “By joining forces, we will position our students for a truly global experience that prepares them to navigate the complexities of an interconnected world.”
“ESSEC is proud to have a powerful global network of business leaders and to offer unparalleled opportunities to our students, faculty, and the broader business community,” Vinzi says. This partnership will provide invaluable access to a multicultural environment, increased knowledge-sharing, and interdisciplinary collaboration, contributing to our common overarching goal of preparing leaders for impactful careers.”
What’s more, the schools noted that because the partnership “facilitates academic collaboration and student exchanges, building students’ understanding of the evolving needs of the global business landscape,” it may lead to more collaborative academic ventures. Currently being explored are a two-week executive education program focusing on luxury business, exchange programs for students to study at ESSEC’s campuses in France, Singapore, and Morocco and on Tepper’s campus in Pittsburgh, a joint postgraduate program at ESSEC’s Singapore campus and the Tepper School’s Pittsburgh campus, and a study-abroad program, the schools announced.
DON’T MISS THE P&Q INTERVIEW WITH ESSEC DEAN VINCENZO VINZI and MEET CARNEGIE MELLON TEPPER’S MBA CLASS OF 2024
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