“The IMD MBA is more a leadership develop program than an MBA program. Ours is designed in line with our institution’s vision: to develop leaders… It’s extraordinarily insightful for those who are interested in understanding themselves, what people react to in themselves, and how they can handle people, difficult situations and complexity better. They understand how to synthesize, analyze, and present and argue, cajole and convince and drive change. These are important skills that you actually need to practice. For that reason, a lot of our program is experiential.”

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Seán Meehan, Dean of the MBA Program at IMD, discusses what makes the IMD MBA unique, the school’s admissions process, career opportunities and more.

Program Highlights (5:33) | Admissions (22:41) | Scholarships (41:30) | Careers (45:10)

About Our Guest

Dr. Seán Meehan is the Martin Hilti Professor of Marketing & Change Management and the Dean of the MBA program. He joined IMD in 1997 after working for Arthur Anderson and Deloitte, where he was Director of Marketing. Seán got his PhD in Marketing from London Business School.

What is relatively unique about the IMD MBA? What are its key advantages?

• Industry-focused general management MBA from a school that is consistently top-ranked in Europe and worldwide for ROI; over 70% of graduates go into industry
• 1-year MBA that starts in January
• Only 90 students are admitted each year from ~40 countries,
• More experienced class: the average work experience is 7 years
• There’s a 2:1 student to faculty ratio
• Strong focus on personal leadership development through a combination of classroom interactions, experiential learning and psychoanalytical coaching
• Also emphasizes entrepreneurship, globalization and digitalization
• Instead of an interview, IMD applicants participate in an assessment day which includes a 1-1 interview with admissions, individual presentation and group activities, lunch with IMD participants or alumni, and depending on the time of the year, a possibility to attend a class. The assessment days take place on campus in Lausanne or abroad.
• IMD is looking for candidates with strong analytical and communication skills and team-oriented leaders who want to shape the future
• IMD has 9,000 executive education participants each year, and MBAs have increasing opportunities to connect with these senior executives
• IMD is based in Lausanne, Switzerland and has over 350 MNCs
• A global meeting place situated in the center of Europe in one of the world’s fastest growing science and technology hubs
• The IMD MBA in a Tweet: “We develop leaders who have a desire to make a positive impact in the world”

Touch MBA’s IMD MBA Fast Facts

Program Highlights (5:33)

• IMD established in 1990, as a merger between IMI and IMEDE business schools
• 1 intake/year in Jan
• Length: 11 months
• Campus in Lausanne, Switzerland, which is located on Lake Geneva
• 90 participants/intake
• ~40 nationalities/intake, class is ~96% international
• All students participate in 8-week international consulting project
• Rankings: #1 Forbes 2017 for International 1-year MBAs, #24 Financial Times 2018, #35 Economist 2017
• Accredited by AACSB, EQUIS, AMBA

Admissions (22:41)

• 4 rounds from Feb – Oct
• Candidates encouraged to apply as early as possible
• Avg GMAT: 680, GRE: minimum 75-80% on Quant and Verbal
• Avg age: 31 (25 – 34), Avg work experience: 7 (4 – 9), 3 years min work experience required
• TOEFL / IELTS required
• Interviews done by Admissions Staff

Financing (41:30)

• Full-time MBA Tuition: 85,000 CHF
• Recommended budget: 36,000 CHF
• 38% of participants awarded scholarships, ranging from 10,000 – 85,000 CHF
• Average amount awarded is 30,000 CHF
• Students can apply for up to 85,000 CHF in loans with Prodigy Finance

Careers (45:10)

• Full-time placement report? Yes
• 82% of graduates had jobs within 3 months of graduation
• Average Salary (Bonus): $ 113,025 ($23,588)
• Percentage increase on pre-MBA salary: 84%
• Industry: 71% Industry (23% tech/media, 22% manufacturing, 5% consumer products), 22% Consulting, 7% Financial Services.
• Geography: 77% Europe, 2% Americas, 19% Asia, 2% Africa/Middle East
• 100,000 alumni worldwide in working in 140 countries; 40 alumni clubs in 30 countries
• 1-2-1 sessions with experienced career coaches who prepare you to meet global recruiters and interview successfully
• Student visa expires once program ends. Companies that hire in Switzerland provide students with work permits

Get in Touch

• Connect with IMD MBA students through the MBA department 
• Watch IMD’s Leadership journey

Show Notes

• The IMD MBA
• Professor Seán Meehan, Dean of MBA Program
• Lemanic Arc – the health, wealth and technological valley
• See profiles of this year’s IMD MBA Class 

Subscribe

• iTunes | Overcast | YouTube | Soundcloud | Player.fm | Spotify