This MBA program is aimed at:

• Managers responsible for the overall direction of a company or division,
• Professionals involved in the development, analysis, and optimization of business models and processes, and
• Anyone with a leadership role in a staff or support unit.

This MBA program enables participants to:

• obtain business management skills and holistic competencies in the most significant functional areas of a company,
• prepare for a senior management position,
• master complex financial, strategic, and international challenges, and

Do you still lack the necessary leadership experience?

In that case, you can complete the MBA program in two steps:

• Complete our MAS in Business Administration program (60 ECTS credits).
• Once you have acquired the necessary leadership experience, add the MBA Executive Leadership Module (30 ECTS credits), which will enable you to earn the MBA title.

Strategic, innovative thinking, the ability to make decisions, flexibility, empathy, and authentic leadership are essential characteristics for any manager. However, a person is neither born with these skills nor can they be learned from a textbook. To be a modern leader in today’s complex business environment, you need to combine what you bring to the table as an individual with the tools and methods we can show you. In addition, you need the experience you gain in your everyday professional life and the personal development you go through as a participant of our program. Our MBA program will help you reach your full potential as a manager.

Our MBA program consists of a range of Business Administration modules (which you will complete together with the participants of the MAS in Business Administration program) and the Executive Leadership modules. Once you have passed the Business Administration modules, you can move to the Executive Leadership modules, provided you meet the admission criteria.

The modules of this program cover the main topic areas of a company:

Core Subjects of the Business Administration Modules (45 ECTS credits):

• Introduction to business administration, presentation techniques
• Corporate finance
• Business law (including examples of legal cases) and economics (including aspects of macroeconomics)
• Strategic management (including the development of a real business plan)
• Marketing management (including the development of a real business plan)
• Operations and project management (including an overview of supply chain management, quality management, the world of digital transformation, and modern project management methods)
• Human capital management and leadership (including reflection on leadership behavior, targeted employee development, and current leadership concepts)
• International management (including international market analysis, planning, and implementation of internationalization strategies)

Core Subjects of the Executive Leadership Modules (30 ECTS credits):

The Executive Leadership modules help you consolidate what you have learned and focus on the topic of “leadership”.

• Leadership and management (including boot camp, practical management, and ethics)
• Strategic leadership (including strategic foresight, stakeholder management, and corporate governance)
• Financial leadership (including financial leadership from a top management and a board perspective, steering management, and risk management)
• International leadership (including leadership clinic and intercultural communication)
• Crisis management (leadership simulation week with a crisis management scenario)

Master’s Thesis Module (15 ECTS credits)

The Master’s thesis will enable you to face a current challenge in your company using a scientific, practically relevant approach. You will be supervised in your efforts by an expert specialized in your chosen topic.

In addition to all the content this program provides, the focus will be on you as a person and a leader. Throughout the program, we will support and challenge you in your personal development.

The program to become a Master of Business Administration is characterized by methodological diversity. In addition to traditional teaching methods, lectures, presentations, exercises, case studies, and working on practical case studies, great importance is attached to the practical transfer of the knowledge and skills acquired.

Classes in the basic modules are usually held on Friday afternoons and Saturday mornings. In the advanced modules, classes are held all day on Friday and Saturday. In addition, there are external seminars and individual extended teaching blocks.

Many of our participants, as mothers or fathers with young children, face the challenge of balancing family and career.
MBA & Family – We're here to support you!

To be admitted to the program, applicants must meet the following requirements:

• They must have graduated from a university or university of applied sciences and have at least five years of professional experience (no major interruptions and a workload of at least 60% (i.e., four days a week)).
• Professionals without a university degree must have at least five years of professional experience (no major interruptions and a workload of at least 60% (4 days a week)) and corresponding continuing education certificates (e.g., from a college of higher education and training (höhere Fachschule) or the examination for the advanced federal diploma of higher education (höhere Fachprüfung mit eidg. Fachausweis/Diplom)).
• Leadership experience: at least four years as a line manager. Individuals with as little as two years of management experience may be admitted if they currently hold a line manager position. In exceptional cases, applicants with a project management position may also be accepted.
• Minimum age: 26 years

The ultimate decision concerning admission lies with the Head of Program.

Applications will be considered in the order in which they are received.

In addition to the official registration (see link below), we require mandatory proof of your previous and ongoing leadership experience, which can be uploaded via the following link: https://www.zhaw.ch/de/sml/weiterbildung/fuehrungsnachweis-mba/