In spring 2019, University President Mark R. Nemec, PhD and Ïã¸ÛÁùºÏ²Ê¹ÒÅÆDolan School Dean Zhan Li, DBA traveled to China. Their mission: to expand the University’s footprint and raise international brand awareness of Ïã¸ÛÁùºÏ²Ê¹ÒÅÆ.
“The result of that trip is our partnership with Golden Education, which allows us to provide a high-quality MBA program to professional students,” said Dean Li. “Offering high-quality education on the global scale has been a vision of the Jesuits, a vision that is almost 500 years old. Our MBA in Shanghai amplifies that vision.” Golden Education is one of the largest management training companies in China.
A degree from a U.S. institution is highly regarded in China, but not all students have the time or money to go abroad, explained Dean Li. The Ïã¸ÛÁùºÏ²Ê¹ÒÅÆMBA program in Shanghai, led by Ïã¸ÛÁùºÏ²Ê¹ÒÅÆprofessors, allows students to continue in their professional careers while pursuing the degree in the evenings and weekends. While the program has a focus on finance, students will also take the same marketing, management, and leadership classes that Ïã¸ÛÁùºÏ²Ê¹ÒÅÆMBA students take. The Shanghai students are scheduled to take the final class in the program – the Wall Street Immersion course – on campus in fall 2021.
The Shanghai MBA program began with a cohort of 35 students in September 2020.
“The launch of this program is a tremendous accomplishment for the Dolan School of Business, and we’re particularly excited about the variety of backgrounds students represent, from finance to engineering and law,” said John McDermott, PhD, chair of the Finance Department at Dolan School.
One of the benefits of attending graduate school is the opportunity to develop a network, and having an accomplished, competitive cohort working together will foster that network. That’s important for students as well as for Fairfield. “We’re creating a brand for ourselves in Shanghai,” said Leanne De Los Santos, assistant dean of graduate programs at the Dolan School, who interviewed each of the applicants. “These high-caliber students are all professionals, and many work at big companies. Their success is our success, as they will refer others to the program.”
The next cohort of MBA students in Shanghai will begin in spring 2021.
