SANTA CLARA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Starting in January, Santa Clara University’s Leavey School of Business will offer the first fully online version of its nationally recognized MBA program. The new offering responds to the demands of busy working professionals with a program steeped in the mindset of Silicon Valley, with cutting-edge curricula and unparalleled networking opportunities in the nation’s birthplace of innovation.
With the online MBA, students will have the flexibility to complete the 70-unit program from home, on their own schedule, while keeping in regular contact with classmates and the professors and Silicon Valley professionals teaching in the program.
“A Santa Clara MBA has long been a means for many early to mid-career professionals to advance their position, take on leadership roles, or ratchet up their business skills for today’s fast-moving industries,” said Caryn Beck-Dudley, dean of the Leavey School of Business. “But it’s not always possible to come to our campus twice a week. We are delighted to be offering a fully online, robust MBA option for those students, which blends the University’s mission for social impact with a unique opportunity for a full immersion into the Silicon Valley mentality.”
“This new MBA program allows us an exciting opportunity to bring the best of Silicon Valley—its mindset of embracing disruption, visionary leadership, and world-changing solutions—to students across the entire United States,” said Nydia MacGregor, faculty director for MBA programs. “This is where students can really ‘disrupt’ their own careers for the better.”
Similar to the current on-campus program, the online MBA will allow working-professional students to complete the program in two years if they so choose.
The online MBA also includes a unique skill-building component called the “Silicon Valley Professional Dashboard” (SVP Dashboard), designed to foster the ability to adapt and thrive in rapidly changing environments. Each student’s SVP Dashboard tracks a set of skills, practices, and mindsets vital for professional success in Silicon Valley. Students can observe their progress toward “Silicon Valley Professional” status as they accomplish steps including:
- Taking courses
- Attending networking events
- Making company site visits
- Listening to guest speakers
- Engaging in a pitch competition
- Consulting with mentors.
This unique feature allows students to receive recognition for their progress, and to plan elective courses according to their own career needs.
“If there’s one thing that characterizes Silicon Valley, it’s that change is always just around the corner—be it a new product iteration or the complete upending of an industry,” said Beck-Dudley. “We’ve built this curriculum and the Silicon Valley Professional Dashboard to give our students maximum flexibility and preparedness for change.”
Networking for online students will be enhanced by two three-day, on-campus residencies emphasizing leadership and doing business in Silicon Valley, as well as other opportunities to network with the on-campus MBA students.
The online program is currently available to U.S. students only. For additional information, visit https://onlinemba.scu.edu
Santa Clara University is in the process of seeking approval for the Online MBA program from its institutional accrediting body, the WASC Senior College and University Commission (WSCUC). Santa Clara is able to accept applications for the program but cannot make admissions decisions or begin instruction for the program, until it has WSCUC approval.
About the Leavey School of Business at Santa Clara University
Located in the heart of Silicon Valley, one of the most dynamic business environments in the world, the Leavey School of Business combines academic excellence in the 450-year Jesuit tradition, with an energetic, innovative spirit that typifies the region. For more information, see www.scu.edu/business/.
About Santa Clara University
Santa Clara University, a comprehensive Jesuit, Catholic university located 40 miles south of San Francisco in California’s Silicon Valley, offers its more than 9,000 students rigorous undergraduate curricula in arts and sciences, business, and engineering; master’s degrees in business, education, counseling psychology, pastoral ministry, and theology; and law degrees and engineering doctoral degrees. Distinguished nationally by one of the highest graduation rates among all U.S. master’s universities, California’s oldest operating higher-education institution demonstrates faith-inspired values of ethics and social justice. For more information, see www.scu.edu.
