Business - Executive - MBA

Overview
Experiential. Transformational. International. The globally-ranked Smurfit MBA provides an unequalled opportunity to unlock and develop your leadership potential, accelerate your career and build your global network.

One of the world's most vibrant capital cities, Dublin is a hub of business, finance and innovation, and provides a culturally diverse home for our MBA.

Benefit from an outstanding and challenging academic curriculum, delivered by an international faculty within an intimate classroom setting. Immerse yourself in case studies, action learning, international study trips, integrated projects and global virtual teamwork.

Expand your horizons with a dedicated careers service and an active network of 3,800 MBA Alumni worldwide. Engage in Smurfit's MBA Leadership Development programme, and focus on the skills necessary to communicate effectively, understand yourself better, and lead diverse teams and organisations anywhere in the world.

Curriculum & Learning
As an EMBA participant, you will build on your previous experience and gain practical skills in Finance, Strategy, Marketing, Accounting, Economics, Human Resources and Leadership among other disciplines. The programme is structured over 2 years during which time you will complete 12 core modules, 4 option modules, a major project and the opportunity to take modules in locations across the globe.

Most optional modules are usually taken in year 2 semester 2 and the summer term. In recent years we have also added an option that may be taken at the end of year 1 as well to allow participants to spread their learning. The list of options evolves over time based on student feedback and the identification of new areas of interest.

Year 1:
Foundation Week
•Preparing the Ground
•Introduction to Finance, Marketing and Strategy
•Case Studies
•Business Simulation
•Communication Skills
•Team work

Autumn Trimester
•Financial Reporting
•Perfomance-driven Marketing
•Competitive Strategy
•Leadership and Organisation Behaviour

Spring Trimester
•Operations and Supply Chain Management
•Management Accounting
•Corporate Finance
•Strategies for HR

Summer Trimester
•Global Business Environment

Year 2:
Autumn Semester
•Leading the Innovative Enterprise
•Investment Management
•Global and Corporate Strategy
•Business and Society

Spring Semester
•Options (including study tour)
•EMBA participants take 4 options during programme

Summer Term
•Capstone Project
•EMBA Global Immersion week option
•Possible block option in early summer

MBA Leadership Development Programme - planned series of seminars, workshops, psychometric assessment and optional business coaching

MBA Careers Development – planned series of seminars, workshops, employer events, speaker events and career mentoring

Extracurricular Activities - MBA Clubs, MBA Blog, Social and Networking Events

** Please note that the content is subject to change yearly

*Note that on-campus teaching is delivered under prevailing public health guidelines. In the event of a required change to planned delivery, further information about alternative delivery methods (including online delivery) will be confirmed with prospective and incoming students.

•A university degree*
•A minimum of three years' quality professional experience (excluding summer placements, part-time or temporary work experience).
•
A valid score on the Graduate Management Admissions Test (GMAT)

Full-Time MBA: preferred minimum score of 600. Please note that we look at applications on a holistic basis, and a high GMAT score does not guarantee admission. The average GMAT for our current MBA class is 646. If you have any questions in regards to your application we recommend that you contact the MBA Admissions team.

Executive MBA: GMAT score of 520 or above required.

GMAC Executive Assessment (EA): EA score of 151 and above is required for the FT MBA. A score of 149 and above is required for EMBA and Modular programmes.
More information on the EA available here.
For both the MBA full-time and EMBA, apart from meeting the minimum overall GMAT/EA score, candidates must also do reasonably well in the quantitative component of this test.

Alternatively to the above, candidates for both the full-time and EMBA can submit a valid GRE Test Score. Indicative equivalencies are available through GRE

NB: Please note that scholarship competitions may require earlier submission of a GMAT score, which may vary from those noted above. View our Scholarships page for more details.

English Language Requirements: All applicants are required to demonstrate a high level of competence in English language. If English is not your first language you must present with the minimum standard in a recognised English language test, as outlined below. The exception to this rule is if you have completed your primary degree or an entire third level qualification through English, in a majority English speaking country.**
An average IELTS score of 7.0 over all components and a minimum of 6.5 in each band on the Academic Version.
OR
A minimum score of 100 is required in the Internet based TOEFL (iTB) with minimum score 24 in Writing, and minimum score 20 in Reading, Listening and Speaking components.
For all proficiency tests the results must normally have been issued within two years prior to the start of your programme.
OR
UCD has approved the use of the Duolingo Test of English (DET) for the 2022/23 and 2023/24 intake. A DET score of 120 will be accepted with at least 100 in each subscore.
Through our rigorous selection process we endeavour to manage expectations so that the candidate's aspirations for the programme and career objectives are aligned with what the programme can deliver.

*If you do not hold a university degree equivalent to NFQ Level 8 please contact Admissions for further advice on the non-standard admissions process.

**List of majority English speaking countries:
Australia, New Zealand, USA, Canada, UK, Ireland, Antigua and Barbuda, The Bahamas, Barbados, Dominica, Grenada, Jamaica, St Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago, Belize, Guyana.

Applications are assessed on a rolling basis. We encourage all interested candidates to submit their applications as early as possible in order to be best placed for any scholarship offers and to avoid disappointment. We receive a high volume of applications and competition for places on the MBA programme is intense.

International candidates are also advised to apply as early as possible to ensure sufficient time for processing visa applications, booking flights etc.

Candidates are required to Apply Online via the UCD applications system. The application fee is €50.

Candidates are required to submit an online application form which asks for basic details and short questions on why you are applying for our MBA.

The following supporting documentation should be uploaded to your online application account:

Curriculum Vitae

GMAT/EA official score report or confirmation of scheduled GMAT test date

English language official test report or confirmation of scheduled test date (if applicable)

Copies of official final transcripts of degrees and /or professional qualifications (degree certificates are not normally required but may be requested)

Two completed Recommendation Forms from current or former employers or clients if you are self-employed. For authenticity these must be signed by hand and scanned prior to submission. Please scan and upload these along with your application.

All eligible candidates deemed suitable to be considered for the MBA or EMBA programme will be interviewed. Candidates are interviewed by one or in some cases more of the following:
MBA Programme Director, Head of Admissions, Careers Manager, Alumni.

International candidates are normally interviewed via telephone or Skype.

Following the Admissions interview, a final application review takes place and candidates will be notified via telephone and email.

2 years part-time.

Delivery Options/Class Hours:
Two delivery options are available, participants choose their stream to suit individual circumstance

Semesters: 12 weeks of lectures plus the official UCD examinations session

Midweek
Monday & Thursday evenings 5.30pm - 9.45pm

Weekend
Friday afternoon & Saturday morning, 2pm - 6.30pm, 9am - 1.30pm.

Career Opportunities
Graduates of the Smurfit MBA are highly sought after to take up roles across all types of organisations. They are hired into a variety of commercial roles in Ireland and abroad.

Over the past few years, our Full Time MBA class have secured roles in a large number of organisations, including: McKinsey, Google, Accenture, Microsoft, Kellogg's, EY, Workday, Deloitte, ABB, Grant Thornton, WebSummit, Hilti, PwC, Amazon, Oxfam, Hubspot, Facebook, LinkedIn, Salesforce, Mainstream Renewable Power, KPMG, Ammeon and Trivago.