Degree Programs Executive MBA

Executive MBA

A focused and residential MBA program that prepares high-performing professionals for significant leadership roles.

Next Intake: March 2026
18 months

Experience unparalleled academic excellence delivered in a manner that maximises focus and minimises disruptions.

Our Executive MBA program brings together the sharpest minds in business, each with at least five years of management experience, to delve into the latest management frameworks, insights, and knowledge.

Designed with the executive's needs in mind, the program is condensed into 10 on-campus, 4-day residential weekend modules, with one Asia module, over 18 months to minimise disruptions to your responsibilities and schedule.

To discover how to push boundaries, you need to cross borders, which is why a key feature of the program is an immersive international trip to Asia.

Why an Executive MBA at Melbourne Business School?

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#1 Executive MBA in Australia

Melbourne Business School
Financial Times, 2024

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#1 University in Australia

The University of Melbourne
Times Higher Education, 2025
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World-leading Faculty

Study under some of the best academics in the world to enhance your approach to leadership challenges.
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Focused Residential Learning

10 on-campus, 4-day residential weekend modules, with one Asia module, over 18 months.

Student Experience

People come to Melbourne Business School because they want to study with the best.

Be inspired by lectures, guest speakers and class discussions about the latest case studies and research — then put the theory into action through live projects and other applied exercises. Our smaller class sizes ensure accessibility and personalised attention throughout your studies.

We offer opportunities for self-development via a wide range of electives, co-curricular activities, and host regular industry networking events.

Our campus is just four tram stops from the centre of Melbourne with vibrant communal areas, food options and accommodation.

What You'll Study

Invest in your executive capability by exploring the logical and rigorous approaches to business strategy, analysis, and management knowledge from various fields, including accounting, economics, finance, information management, marketing, operations, as well as the social and behavioral sciences.

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Diagnose managerial problems

Gain a deeper understanding of the complex challenges facing organisations and find innovative solutions.
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Develop winning strategies

Learn evidence-based ways to analyse and develop an enterprise-wide strategy.
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Understand the broader context

Reflect on the cultural, social, moral and political environment that shapes business practice.
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Hone interpersonal skills

Take ownership of your learning experience by collaborating with small and large peer groups.
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Deepen your self-insight

Apply your own management experience in class discussions to enhance self-confidence, flexibility, and ethical sensitivity.

Subjects and Structure

Executive MBA - Course structure

Download the timetable for 2026 / 2027.

Subjects

Leadership

Effective leadership is about being approachable, visible and courageous in a way that earns trust and provides useful direction for your workplace.

To achieve this, learn how to manage yourself appropriately, lead a team effectively, develop relationships quickly and understand the ways to manage conflict by developing a valuable leadership presence and style.

Financial Management

Knowing how to value an asset, choose a shareholder-valued project or ready a budget are only some of the financial issues facing managers today.

To understand financial management, learn how to financially approach: cash flow, time value of money, shares, bonds and projects. You will gain an understanding of capital markets, the effects of information asymmetry in the financial system, diversification and transfer of risk, the capital structure problem and more.

Managerial Ethics and Business Environment

Leaders are required to use moral reasoning to analyse and solve the ethical problems that confront them daily – but for some it can be a difficult process.

To effectively reason in any situation, progressively master each of the Four Stages of Learning – Knowledge, Static Problem Solving, Dynamic Social Problem Solving and Leadership – by focusing on two common forms of moral reasoning, Kantianism and Utilitarianism.

Financial Accounting

Accounting is the basis for performance measurement, business contracting, operating, investing and the financing decisions that managers make.

To interpret this information correctly, learn to assess: a firm’s intrinsic value, ROE, the balance sheet, various income statements, cash flow statements, the shareholder equity statement and how each work to distinguish an organisation’s financing, investing, and operating activities to external people.

Managing People

Even if you have been a manager for more than a year and have developed the skills to manage a team, people can still be difficult to manage well.

Discover how the world's best leaders manage their teams to understand the relationship between managing people and organisational outcomes in order to make the decisions that lead your team to successfully completing their tasks.

Marketing

Customers determine an organisation's success, but without an offering that is both appealing to them and delivers on business goals, your organisation is at risk.

To understand the right marketing mix, learn to identify and manage critical market-based assets and ways to: undertake strategic analysis, position products, create marketing plans, understand marketing data, segment and target markets, and contribute marketing to strategic management.

Data Analysis

Data is ever present in each facet of business, creating a need for managers to understand how to harness data in order to make informed and valuable decisions.

Introduce yourself to the fundamental data analysis skills and techniques required to interpret and compute business data, probabilities, uncertain events, statistics and more to solve all the problems challenging decision-makers today.

Business Strategy

When the time comes, every manager will need to contribute to formulating the business strategy – developing the competitive advantage of their functional area.

To understand how to strategise with the firm in mind, learn ways to make the right critical choices, identify which products to run and which market segments to compete in, as well as analyse: internal resources, the external environment, firm capabilities, and the conditions necessary to reach competitive advantage.

Managerial Economics

Without the right analytical and economic reasoning skills, you will never be able to solve the more complicated business problems.

Enhance your skillset to predict what agreements will arise from negotiations with customers or partners, position your firm to do better in negotiations, set the right price, choose product offerings for different market segments, predict the actions of competitors and form strategies to enter different markets.

Managerial Judgement

We suffer from strong biases that hinder good decision-making in management and leadership – and that's because of our sensitivity to various levels of threat.

Based on state-of-the-art neurobiological research, discover how to develop a realistic perception of others, understand biases in decision-making around interpreting information, and appreciate the positive and negative roles that emotions can play in guiding decisions.

Global Business Economics

Even a modest understanding of economics can help managers make more informed decisions and predict the economic business environment.

Learn to understand economic terminology, make informed judgements on questions of economic policy, describe the forces governing the long-run growth and short-run fluctuations in GDP, explain business cycle fluctuations, evaluate the motivations of central banks in conducting monetary policy, of governments in conducting fiscal policy, and more.

Industry Studies in Asia

Fly to Asia for a field-study where you will apply the skills you have developed in preceding modules to organisational challenges in a developing economic setting.

You will walk away with new research skills and an understanding of how to conduct business in a foreign environment, the cultural forces affecting HR management, negotiations and strategy, globalisation and the relationships between the macroeconomic, political and cultural systems of an economy.

Operations

In a competitive global environment, companies face increasing pressure to exceed customer expectations along multiple performance measures, such as cost and quality.

To meet those expectations effectively, learn how to design, manage and continuously improve business processes, develop internal capabilities with sustainable competitive advantage, identify and analyse bottlenecks to form response strategies, leverage inventory, and develop sustainable solutions.

Negotiations

Negotiation is a decision-making process – and the art of securing agreements – in which two or more people must determine how to divide a resource.

To deepen what you already know and have experienced as a young executive, discover how to create a common vocabulary around negotiation principles, critically examine and refine your skills, and identify the practises that lead to optimal outcomes for a spectrum of negotiation problems.

Strategic Consulting for Social Impact

The leadership and strategic challenges of social enterprises and not-for-profits deal with social problems within the community as well as ways to generate cash flow.

Apply your new MBA consulting and strategy skills to address the real-time challenges of a social enterprise by examining how to effectively provide significant benefit to a social enterprise, and resolve the social, management and operational problems in the way of success.

Mergers and Acquisitions

The merger and acquisition pathway to growth has constantly maintained its importance in large firms for well over a century.

Examine the history of mergers and acquisitions and develop an understanding of the elements required for M&A transactions, the reasons behind the continuing levels of such activity and the impact of regulatory considerations on a deal. You will gain practical knowledge on how to go about managing a merger or acquisition.

Corporate Strategy

Without the right management skills required in diversified firms, the delivery of corporate strategy can be a difficult endeavour.

Gain a clear understanding of the differences between corporate and business strategy, the practical application of corporate strategy through diversification, mergers and acquisitions and internationalisation, and how value can be created through corporate economics, capabilities, performance, accounting and marketing.

Innovation

Across all industries and for all managers, the need to understand the most critical and strategic aspects of managing innovation and corporate renewal is growing.

Discover how to develop the leadership skills required to effectively develop and drive innovation, strategic initiatives and radical changes within an organisation. You will learn how to build lasting competitive advantage and prosperity through innovation within any industry, as opposed to short-term optimisation strategies.

Integrative Business Capstone

Gain an overview of the fundamental aspects of innovation management as part of a general management program at the master level.

You will cover strategic, organisational and procedural aspects of managing product, process, and business model innovation in different industrial and competitive environments. This will help you understand the most critical aspects of innovation management and the implications for all major industries including services.

Residential Stay

10 on-campus, 4-day residential weekend modules, with one Asia module, over 18 months. During the four-day modules, students will stay on campus at Melbourne Business School from Thursday to Sunday.

This format lets students fully immerse themselves in the program, without the distractions of work and home.

Download a brochure

Explore further details about the class profile, learning approach and more.

Our Faculty

Associate Professor Dr Andrea North-Samardzic

As you take on increasingly complex leadership roles, our Executive MBA will help you excel in today's rapidly changing business landscape. From the comprehensive management frameworks to an expansive diverse network of peers and nuanced decision-making skills, these 18 months will represent a pivotal investment in your professional development and career growth.

DR ANDREA NORTH-SAMARDZIC
Associate Professor
Associate Dean Executive Degree Programs

Meet With Us

The best way to learn more about studying at Melbourne Business School is to attend an upcoming information session.

We hold sessions monthly, providing a comprehensive overview of everything you need to know about the program, along with an opportunity to participate in a group Q&A session. After this, if you need more specific information on subjects and study materials, campus life or assistance with your application, please book a one-on-one session. We are available to meet in person at our Carlton Campus or online.

Opportunities

Melbourne Business School Executive MBA students on international study
Industry Studies in Asia is a field study-based subject that allows students to obtain insights into cross-cultural challenges and apply their new research skills to a real-world problem.
group of alumni having a discussion in a lecture theatre at Melbourne Business School
Melbourne Business School works with some of Australia's most recognised organisations and philanthropists to provide a range of scholarships that encourage diversity, provide opportunity and reward talent.
Students graduating
Your career never stops advancing when you join Australia's most influential business network. As soon as you graduate from the Executive MBA, you will become a part of an extensive global Alumni network.

Career Services

Careers business partners session in lecture theatre

By partnering with leading organisations, our Career Services can connect you to top-tier firms in Australia and around the world.

Careers coaching session at Melbourne Business School

Our career coaches will help you develop your job-hunting skills, maximise your future opportunities and increase your chances of success.

Investment

Program Fee

The Executive MBA program fee is $128,880 (2026) inclusive of tuition fees: $118,224 and residential fees: $10,656.

Residential fees include:

  • Residential accommodation (in Melbourne and overseas) for the duration of the program
  • Meals on class days


Other Costs

The program fee does not include travel costs associated with the field study module in Asia, including airfares, airport transfers, visa charges and travel insurance. Students are also responsible for some meals on class days of the module in Asia, as well as incidental expenses incurred during the module, such as telephone, laundry, car parking and other personal charges.

Students located outside Melbourne are responsible for their own travel costs to and from Melbourne for modules based at Melbourne Business School.


FEE-HELP

FEE-HELP is available for tuition fees to eligible Australian citizens and certain permanent residents.


Self-financing

Students who pay their own fees are often able to claim tuition expenses as a self-study tax deduction, provided the degree is relevant to their job. Check with your financial adviser to find out if you are eligible.


Company Sponsorship

Many students share the cost of studying with their employer. Melbourne Business School is happy to provide a business case to share with your employer about the benefits of studying an Executive MBA to the organisation. Please contact us for more information.



Entry Requirements

Admissions Criteria

To be considered for entry into this program, you must have:

  • An undergraduate degree*, AND
  • At least five (5) years of documented full-time management work experience.

*Applicants without formal tertiary qualifications should contact us to discuss alternative entry criteria.

You must submit:

  • An up-to-date curriculum vitae (CV)
  • Four personal statements relating to your goals and how you can contribute to the program
  • Evidence of all qualifications completed and incomplete including academic transcripts with grading schema.
  • A valid passport or verified document showing current citizenship / residency status
  • The names and contact details of two professional referees

Please note: this program is not available to international students who require a student visa to study in Australia as it does not meet the onshore study requirements and is not registered with CRICOS.

English language requirements

All applicants to the University of Melbourne must satisfy the English language requirements. This may be achieved in a number of ways, including recognised previous study taught and assessed entirely in English or an approved English language test. If you need to undertake an English language test, you must meet one of the scores* below:

  • IELTS: Academic English test with a minimum score of 7.0 overall and with no individual band less than 6.5
  • TOEFL: Minimum score of 102 (written score minimum 24 and no individual score lower than 21)
  • Pearson: 72 + written communicative skill of 65 and no other communicative skill below 64
  • Cambridge: N/A

*Accepted tests: IELTS (Academic English Only); TOEFL Internet-based test; Pearson Test of English Academic; Cambridge English: Advanced/Certificate of Advanced English (CAE). If a test displays N/A, it means it is not accepted for this course.

About selection

When assessing applications, the Selection Committee will consider your previous studies, academic performance, professional history, references and your personal statements. The Selection Committee may request additional information to clarify any aspect of an application, according to the University’s Academic Board rules regarding selection instruments. You are also welcome to supply additional information that you believe will strengthen your application.

Meeting the published entry requirements for this course does not guarantee selection.

If your application is shortlisted, you will be invited to attend an interview, which will also be used to assess your application.

Additional information

It is a university requirement that applicants provide evidence that they meet the published entry requirements. Uncertified documentation does not provide this evidence; however, we accept uncertified documents for the purpose of selection and reserve the right to request your original certified documentation at any time.

Entry Requirements

  • At least five years of management experience
  • An undergraduate degree
  • English proficiency
  • Two confidential professional referees


For more information, visit our application FAQ's page.

How to Apply

Application Process

Apply

  1. Meet with us to find out more about the School and program.
  2. Review entry requirements and eligibility.
  3. Gather your supporting documentation.
  4. Submit your application by the application closing date.


After you apply

All communications related to your application, including requests for additional information and application outcomes, will be sent to the email address you registered for your application. We may also contact you by phone if needed. To avoid delays, please upload requested information as soon as possible.

Interview

Shortlisted applicants will be invited to attend a compulsory interview conducted online or in person on campus (at request). The interview will last approximately 20 to 30 minutes.

Outcome

The Selection Committee reviews all applications and makes the final decision. Outcomes are typically provided via email within four (4) weeks of receiving a complete application.

Application Deadlines

Closing dates for the Executive MBA program (2026 intake) are as follows:

Early Round: 28 April 2025

Round 1: 23 June 2025

Round 2: 18 August 2025

Round 3: 13 October 2025

Round 4: 1 December 2025

Round 5: 19 January 2026

The deadline for all applications is 11.59pm AEST.

Late applications may be considered on a case-by-case basis. Please contact us for further advice.

Outcomes are provided approximately six (6) weeks after the round closing date.

Apply Now

March 2026
Round 2 applications close 18 August 2025
APPLY

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