With the Fall application season right around the corner, there is much news to report in the Singapore MBA scene. Chicago Booth decides to move its top-ranked EMBA program to Hong Kong with the last “Singapore” class graduating in 2015, after being in Singapore for 15 years… which although a blow to Singapore’s education hub aspirations, should open up opportunities for NUS, NTU and SMU in the EMBA space… The NUS / UCLA Anderson EMBA ranks 3rd in the inaugural Economist EMBA rankings…. the only other Asian MBA EMBA program ranked is HKUST / Kellogg… INSEAD launches a Masters in Finance degree on its Singapore campus… As always, my comments are in italics.
School News
Chicago Booth Moves Its EMBA Program to Hong Kong (Bloomberg July 23) – here’s the Asia One piece
The UCLA Anderson / NUS Executive EMBA Program Ranked 3rd in Inaugural Economist Rankings (Economist July 18)
Nanyang Business School Hires New Dean (NTU Website) – Dean Kumar spent nearly 3 decades at USC Marshall and most recently, spent 2 years as Dean of Korea Advanced Institute of Science & Technology’s MBA program.
NTU’s Nanyang Business School Launches Nanyang MBA Business Advisory Council (NTU Website July 16, 2013) – the council includes 10 senior business leaders in Singapore and is part of the school’s renewed focus on being “industry relevant.”
SMU Signs 6 MOU’s with Top Indian Universities for Masters and Executive Education (The Hindu July 17)
INSEAD launches Masters in Finance Degree (Insead Website) The post-experience degree is “designed to provide experienced financial industry professionals with the competitive skills to advance their careers and make greater contributions to their organisations—while they continue working.”
Useful Admissions Tips
How do B-Schools Factor IR Scores into MBA Admissions (Business Because) – looks like the IR score will become more important to business schools, especially for those planning careers in consulting.
“With only a year of information, the initial surveys reports MBAs that go into Consulting, Operations, and Finance have higher IR scores than the MBAs who go into human resources, marketing, or general management. In the middle of a conference call with GMAC – it was announced that top consulting firms like McKinsey and Bain have taken interest in knowing an applicant’s IR scores.”
The Truth About MBA Applications (Bloomberg Business Week June 13 2013) – Wow! 57% of candidates surveyed used consultants during the admissions process. Candidates should at the very least get a family member or colleague or friend to read and edit their essays.
“A survey of more than 350 business school applicants by a group that represents MBA admissions consultants found that 57 percent used consultants during the admissions process—far more than previous studies have found. And 38 percent were asked to write their own letters of recommendation, with some groups—including international applicants and those in finance—reporting far higher numbers.”