2018 Top Executive MBA Programs for Government and Nonprofit Professionals

According to a Center for Creative Leadership white paper, both business and government professionals share the same management challenges: managing and motivating subordinates, personal leadership, organizational operations, and performance, balancing multiple work priorities, talent management, boundary spanning, and influencing.

In the nonprofit sector, issues consistently hounding nonprofit professionals, according to a WIPFLi survey, include government regulations and tax reform, organizational growth, funding, revenue, fundraising, staffing and volunteer management, and membership and recruitment.

If you’re a professional in the government and nonprofit sector in search for leadership training to assist you in tackling the above challenges, we’ve compiled a list of the EMBA programs known to attract executives in your field:

Top EMBA Programs for Executives in the Government and Nonprofit Sectors

Auburn Executive MBA

In the top spot with 24% and 5% of its total student population from the government and nonprofit sectors is Auburn University’s EMBA from the Raymond J. Harbert College of Business. This 21-month program combines classroom instruction and online learning with an international study trip that’s already included in the $62,000 tuition.

What graduates are saying:

Mike Skoak, Instructor at Maneuver Captain’s Career Course, US Army, Fort Benning, Georgia

“It’s very easy to balance my job, even physical training in the morning with the requirements, the school work. I never really feel that overwhelmed in trying to juggle all that with a family on top of it.”

Michelle Collins, Executive Director of Primary Care, Phoebe Putney Health System, Albany, Georgia

“Gone are the days that the CEO of the hospital only has an MBA. You’re going to see physicians with an MBA or nurse practitioners with an MBA. I know that that is what I want in my career. I want to move up in administration, and the only way to be competitive in the job market is to get this MBA.”

UC Irvine Executive MBA Program

Second on the list with 14% of its students from the government is the UC Irvine Executive MBA Program from the Paul Merage School of Business. The program ranks #10 overall in Ivy Exec’s 2018 EMBA Ranking for the U.S. West region.

It’s a 21-month long program and combines classroom and experiential learning. Classes meet four weekends per quarter on Friday afternoons and the whole day on Saturdays. The program includes immersive global training where students get to meet C-suite executives in their host countries. Countries students recently visited for their residentials include India, Israel, China, and Hong Kong.

What graduates are saying:

Steve Yahner, Military Veteran

“The first half of my MBA, I was still working in the Army. I was a deputy commander of an organization. Moreover, the organizational behavior class, and just the business ethics class, I think, immediately had an impact on how I looked at things.

I’ve done marketing, finance, and accounting, and each of those is showing me what that industry is like or a little glimpse of what that field would be like, and whether that’s something I would be interested in pursuing my career in. So given that exposure to all the different layers of the business world has just been fundamental for me in finding my second career.”

Rutgers Executive MBA Program

Taking the third place with 12% of the total student population from the government sector is the Rutgers Executive MBA program at the Rutgers School of Business. It’s ranked #5 overall in Ivy Exec’s Best EMBA U.S. Northeast for 2018 and holds the region’s #1, #6, #7, #6, and #8 positions for the life balance, curriculum, prestige, global experience, and career advancement categories, respectively.

The program combines classroom and experiential learning, and classes meet bi-weekly, with four week-long residencies. A 10-day immersion in Shanghai and Beijing is likewise included. The return on investment is an average 53% salary increase post-degree against total average tuition of $103,000.

Columbia Business School Executive MBA Program

Bagging fourth place with 7% of its student population holding executive positions in the government is the Columbia Business School EMBA program. In the U.S. Northeast region, it ranks #2 in all of the following categories: prestige, career advancement, curriculum, and global experience. Not surprisingly, it holds the #2 overall position in Ivy Exec’s 2018 Best EMBA in the U.S. Northeast.

Classes in New York happen on weekends, while those in the Americas meet in blocks of five to six days once a month. Global immersion opportunities in Latin America, Silicon Valley, Toronto, Shanghai, and Cape Town are offered. The program is a combination of classroom and experiential learning.

What graduates are saying:

JD Dolan, Veteran and Entrepreneur

“I come from a background where I was involved with a very small, very elite special operations group within the U.S. military. Columbia is like a larger version of the same: an elite group that is very welcoming and provides many opportunities for outreach within the community, and the growing business network that is New York City and the nation. I think the Columbia network is unmatched, both nationwide and worldwide.”

Cornell Metro NY

Also on the list with 8% of students from the education, government, and nonprofit sectors is the Cornell Metro NY EMBA. The learning environment for this rigorous 22-month program is 100% in-classroom. Classes meet bi-weekly on weekends, and global study modules happen during the program’s fourth term. Graduates have reported an impressive 102% salary increase post-graduation.

A recent Global Business Study Initiative took Cornell EMBA Metro NY students to Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro in Brazil where they visited companies such as Natura, Embraer, Petrobras, BNDES, Globo, and FIESP.