FAQs

Each of our Executive MBA programs are designed for working professionals who want to pursue their MBA without sacrificing earnings and career progression. The major difference between the different programs are the location, schedule, and structure of class meetings.

The Weekend Executive MBA Program’s hybrid model combines in-person class residencies with virtual class weekends, offering working professionals flexibility while maximizing the personal transformation and skills development gained through an immersive, residential learning experience. Ambitious working professionals from around the country can integrate the MBA into their busy work and personal lives. Students often find that the weekend residencies allow them to focus on the program without distractions and the monthly class schedule offers greater flexibility for work and personal commitments between classes. In addition to selecting from a wide array of electives, Weekend MBA students can choose a concentration in strategy and leadership, strategy and entrepreneurship, finance or marketing. Applicants must have a minimum of five years of work experience; and students typically enter the program with an average of 12 years of experience.

The Evening Executive MBA meets weekly on campus in Chapel Hill. Working professionals with at least two years of work experience (five years preferred) who live within the metro area and who want the benefit of more regular class meetings can complete the Evening MBA while balancing their work and life responsibilities.

Yes. The UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School offers a portfolio of programs that enable students with a range of backgrounds, objectives and scheduling requirements to access UNC Kenan-Flagler’s top-ranked MBA. Whichever program you choose to pursue, you’ll receive the same degree.

Our MBA programs for working professionals will allow you to earn an MBA while working full-time, without sacrificing salary or career progression. On average, our Executive MBA students are about nine years older than our full-time MBAs. Though core coursework is similar across our MBA programs, professors in our MBA programs for professionals adapt their approach to take advantage of the real-life experience their students bring to the classroom, often asking students to bring in their own work challenges to study and problem-solve. As a student in the Weekend Executive MBA program, you’ll be able to turn to your cohort to seek solutions for challenges you currently face at work and you’ll be able to apply the knowledge and skills you acquire immediately in your career.

After graduation, you can take additional elective courses for a nominal fee. This allows you to update your skills and knowledge throughout your career.

Yes. All UNC Kenan-Flagler MBA programs – Full-Time, Online, and our three Executive programs – are fully accredited by AACSB International (Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business), the premier accrediting agency for business schools.

UNC Kenan-Flagler’s Executive Development programs offer non-degree business courses and seminars lasting a few days to several weeks. These highly ranked programs take an innovative approach to leadership development, business strategy and skills acquisition for executives.

Yes. The innovative online MBA@UNC makes the UNC Kenan-Flagler MBA accessible to working professionals who are unable to make regular visits to the Chapel Hill campus for in-person coursework.

In addition to UNC Kenan-Flagler, more than 215 universities and colleges around the world offer Executive MBA programs and are members of the Executive MBA Council.

No. The Weekend Executive MBA program is designed to be effective wherever you live in the country. Immersive residency weekends—where you’ll convene in Chapel Hill for several days of intensive coursework and relationship building—are held twice per term, and in the middle, you’ll participate in one virtual class weekend, which means less travel and more schedule flexibility. Between monthly classes, you will progress through the program through a combination of independent and collaborative group study and via asynchronous online learning.

UNC Rizzo Center, home of the Weekend MBA program, is conveniently located just 20 minutes from the RDU airport.

Yes. Over the course of the program, Weekend Executive MBA students have unlimited access to our dedicated working professionals career coaches. You can use these 1:1 sessions to review your development, provide guidance and make important connections between your coursework and your career objectives.

One of the things that sets our Weekend Executive MBA program apart from competitors is the broad selection of electives offered (more than many other top-ranked Executive MBA programs). As an MBA student you may take up to 12 elective courses, which accounts for about 40% of your total credit hours, giving you the ability to really tailor your coursework to your goals and interests. Some students use their electives to focus on areas where they’d like to improve, and others opt to add further depth to their strengths or interests by completing a concentration. In addition to a broad selection of Weekend Executive MBA electives, there are also opportunities for Weekend MBA students to take electives in one of our other MBA program formats.

We offer several different formats with different schedules for exactly this reason. Many of our students regularly travel for work and find that our Executive MBA programs provide plenty of flexibility to pursue their MBA without impacting those work-based travel demands.

We believe that one of the primary advantages of an Executive MBA is the wealth of knowledge, experience and leadership perspective our students bring to the classroom. It’s important to us that each cohort includes a diversity of backgrounds across a range of industries. That said, we also know from experience that the connections and relationships students make while in the program are meaningful and valuable well beyond graduation. We set the cohort size at 50 because this seems to be a sweet spot—sizable enough to include a rich diversity of voices and expertise and intimate enough to facilitate strong and lasting relationships among students and faculty. The size also allows the Weekend MBA program team to get to know each student, which not only helps us support the program but also puts us in a position where we can facilitate serendipitous connections between students on the fly.

No. In fact, it’s just the opposite: our full-time faculty teach across our MBA program formats and opportunities to teach in the Weekend Executive MBA program are coveted. Faculty members enjoy the caliber and expertise of executive MBA students and love engaging with the real-world, current workplace challenges executive MBA students bring to the classroom.

Not necessarily. The Evening Executive MBA program is best suited for students with at least two years of work experience (five preferred) who learn best with short but regular contact with faculty and classmates. The Evening MBA program’s weekly class meetings extend into late evening hours, which works better for some students than others, depending on work and family obligations. Whereas all students in the Evening MBA program live close enough to drive in for weekly classes, about 30% of students in the Weekend Executive MBA program live in proximity to Chapel Hill. The Weekend Executive MBA Program is best suited to students with at least five years of work experience who thrive in an immersive setting. The immersive, residential class weekends in Chapel Hill (two per term) mean you can really concentrate on the work and engage deeply with peers and faculty; you’ll have the added flexibility of one virtual class weekend each term. This schedule also means you need to be self-directed enough to keep up with coursework between your sessions. So, our advice is to consider your learning style and life and work obligations. And contact us to learn about how students balance their lives with both programs.

Most students spend 12 to 20 hours per week in individual study or team meetings, in addition to class time.

Students communicate through email, video and conference calls, face-to-face meetings, and a variety of apps and collaboration tools between classes.

Yes. An important element of the weekend immersion experience is the opportunity to focus on your coursework and on making connections with faculty and the other members of your cohort. While in residence, you will stay at our executive conference facility, the Rizzo Center, where you’ll find hotel-style accommodations, superb culinary offerings, and a fitness center. The Rizzo Center is located just a few minutes from main campus and Franklin St. in Chapel Hill.

Our MBA programs are designed so that busy, driven professionals can pursue their MBA while balancing their career and family commitments. Classes are scheduled so that you will have the flexibility for work travel and other personal commitments between class meetings. Our cohort model also means you can find support during particularly busy times. While the program is rigorous, our students are quick to tell others that it can be done and that time flies! If you’re interested in speaking to a current student about work-life-school balance, email our admissions team and they can connect you with someone who can share their first-hand experience.

No, we do not accept transfer credits. All students in your class begin the Weekend Executive MBA program at the same time and complete the coursework as a cohort.

Yes. The interview gives us an opportunity to learn more about you and your qualifications and gives you a chance to learn more about the Weekend Executive MBA. We encourage you to schedule your interview at a time when you can visit a class and meet our students and faculty.

The Weekend Executive MBA program is designed for driven, seasoned professionals, so most applicants have been away from school for many years. If you are concerned about the currency of certain skills (such as statistics, economics, or accounting), you may want to take continuing education courses to refresh those areas before applying. You will also need to be proficient in Microsoft Word, PowerPoint and Excel, including financial and statistical functions. Your academic background, work experience and standardized test scores (GMAT, GRE or Executive Assessment) are all things we assess to determine whether you will be academically successful.

Yes! In fact, we encourage anyone who’s interested in applying to the Weekend Executive MBA program to sit in on a class. We structure these visit opportunities so you also have time to connect with current students before and after the scheduled class. Class visits offer the best way to experience the environment at UNC Kenan-Flagler, see how immediately relevant the curriculum is, witness the caliber of students you’ll be in class with and understand the strength of our cohorts and faculty. Additionally, we hold various webinars each month that allow you to learn more about our programs, including special career topics and student and alumni panel discussions. To register for a class visit or see our webinar schedule, visit our Admissions Events Calendar.

We take a holistic approach to evaluating applicants’ ability to succeed in the program and beyond. Executive MBA applicants often have the career trajectory and professional accomplishments that give us greater insight into their future potential, and that demonstrate their ability to succeed in quantitative coursework.

As such, Executive MBA applicants are not required to submit a GMAT or GRE score.

The first step in the federal aid process is to file your FAFSA application on their website. Once received the application will be reviewed and a loan offer will be emailed to you. In most cases your loan offer will contain two federal loans; Unsubsidized Direct Loan and the Direct Graduate Plus Loan. Loans are set up to cover tuition in full for each installment and are offered throughout the program.

All billing is handled through the Cashier’s Office, which is where all financial aid is disbursed. Student loan funds will be credited directly toward any outstanding tuition balance due.

Student loan applications will not be processed until an applicant is admitted to an academic program, but they can begin the process at any time. The FAFSA becomes available each year on October 1st and can be completed on FAFSA’s website.

All U.S. citizens and permanent residents are eligible for Direct Loan funding so long as they meet the basic eligibility requirements: not currently in default on an outstanding student loan, not currently filing bankruptcy, no drug convictions, etc.

No. Students can borrow as much or as little of the maximum loan amounts available to them.

Yes. Financial aid budgets include cost of living estimates for each student and these are updated for each academic term based on reasonable living expenses for the Chapel Hill area. Students can choose to increase their overall indebtedness to include these estimated living expenses, if they would like.

Some student loan lenders offer private loans to international students that may or may not require a U.S. co-signer. Additional information for this loan is available under Full-Time MBA Private Education Loan (may or may not require a co-signer).

Most lenders will defer repayment of student loans for borrowers who enroll at least half-time at an accredited college or University (UNC Kenan-Flagler Executive MBA Programs fall into this category). Be sure to continue making your student loan payments until you have been notified that your outstanding loans have been deferred.

IRS Publication 970 covers tax benefits for education. This publication typically addresses most general questions that students have and the IRS website is user friendly for searching on other topics. Keep in mind that Financial Aid Officers are not trained accountants and, therefore, are unable to answer tax questions.