Full-Time MBA Curriculum
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The CIMBA full-time MBA curriculum focuses on the practice of business management and includes a foundation of core courses in key functional areas of business. This international MBA program not only prepares you with technical business skills, but also includes leadership development seminars, team-building activities, and one-on-one coaching. You will also have extensive interaction with CIMBA’s unique leadership technology system.
You will complete a consulting project, which allows you to apply what you are learning in your courses and the leadership development program to a real issue. You can choose to either be placed in a team to work on real-world issues with an Italian company or create a self-development project.
Half of your courses will be taken with the part-time MBA students on the weekends. During the week, you will complete the other courses and engage in the leadership development program. Most of the courses meet for four full days and require both pre- and post-work.
Full-Time MBA Courses
The final course of the program is an integrative strategy course and is completed during a three-week session at the University of Iowa. This course uses an online business simulation in which you compete in teams to become the highest-performing company. In total, you will complete 20 required courses (58 credit hours). The coursework includes the following classes and is part of the knowledge pillar of the educational philosophy.
Seminars & Workshops
In addition to the academic courses, you will also participate in other seminars and workshops that enforce the CIMBA education pillars of process and behavior.
LIFE (Leadership Initiative for Excellence) is a three day training in leadership development that is based on the latest research in neuroscience. LIFE is a highly interactive, intense, and experiential workshop that is available to managers from around the world.
After completion of the LIFE workshop, you will take psycho-metric and biometric assessments to identify strengths, areas for improvements, and your style in working with others. This will be followed by individual coaching sessions that last throughout the remainder of your program. These will help you further implement the new mental and behavioral changes you want to introduce in your personal and professional life. You will also learn and practice managerial coaching techniques.
After a seminar describing the “what, why, and how” of mindfulness, there will be an opportunity for you to practice various mindfulness practices on a daily basis with the entire CIMBA community. Mindfulness is a modern, science-based system shown to increase focus and stress regulation.
The CIMBA MBA program stands out for its strong emphasis on personal development experiences rooted in neuroscience and social psychology, especially focusing on behavioral aspects. In CIMBA’s Leadership Competency Workshops (LCWs), you will learn about the latest social psychology and neuroscience research and concepts that are relevant to leadership development. These workshops guide students to effectively manage their own emotions and understand those of others. The LCWs utilize a mix of teaching methods, including neuroscience research, case studies from CIMBA alumni, videos, interactive practices, and the use of personal measurement technology. Past workshops have included:
- System 1 and System 2 Thinking
- Social Awareness
- Self-Awareness
- Self-Regulation
- Threat and Reward Circuitry
The Kepner-Tregoe (KT) Problem Solving and Decision Making (PSDM) is a two-day workshop that teaches a step-by-step process that helps people rapidly and accurately resolve a wide range of business issues. Used in organizations worldwide, PSDM helps people at all levels in an organization efficiently organize and analyze information and take appropriate action. It also helps you tap into the know-how of individuals, develop consensus, and gain commitment while resolving issues by using a common approach and language. PSDM processes provide a framework for individual and group problem solving and decision making that can easily be integrated into standard operating procedures. Upon completing the Problem Solving and Decision Making training, you will receive a valuable certificate from Kepner-Tregoe signifying your knowledge and accomplishment.
The Kepner-Tregoe (KT) Project Management (PM) process provides practical, step-by-step methodologies that result in the successful management of projects, regardless of size or complexity. The KT Project Management Process teaches you to logically define, plan, and implement projects. It provides a common language that allows you to better communicate project needs, uncover and resolve project issues, and manage the project.
During this seminar, you will learn tips for effective presentations and have the opportunity to practice what you have learned. Understanding your audience and your goals of communication with this audience are the prime focuses of this workshop. You will also utilize CIMBA’s innovative online peer-feedback tool About My Speech.
In a world of flat, lean organizations and new forms of global partnerships, effective negotiation strategies and skills are essential for success. From an organizational perspective, the negotiation process is a key element in value creation. In this two-day seminar, you will actively examine negotiations with external parties and negotiations within organizations. Our primary emphasis is on negotiation strategies that enable you to create value that enhances long-term relationships. The program will also address cultural differences affecting negotiating styles.
Consulting Project
Our full-time MBA students are placed in consulting teams at the end of the first semester, after completing the core MBA curriculum. Each team is composed of three to five students who come to the project with two to seven years of work/consulting experience and a mix of international experience and multidisciplinary backgrounds. Our MBA consulting teams have made a difference for dozens of corporations and have worked with privately held firms, non-profits, government agencies, and entrepreneurs.
Depending on the scope of the project, the teams typically work for about five months and spend approximately 1,000 to 1,500 hours. Previous projects have addressed market research and analysis, timeliness, efficiency, quality, and cycle time issues, providing clients with significant business process improvements and decision analysis.
Frequently Asked Questions
Projects typically start at the beginning of January (after returning from winter break) and finish at the end of May (before departing for the U.S. summer session).
Students will meet with the assigned person or representative of the company once every two weeks - either face-to-face or via Zoom. Throughout the week, students are expected to meet with their teams to complete daily and weekly tasks. Each student dedicates about 1,000 to 1,500 hours to the project.
Students will deliver updates and share insights on the projects together with the assigned person or representative of the company. Typically, our consulting teams will travel to the company location to meet with organization leadership at the start and conclusion of the project. Throughout the project, students are guided throughout the consulting process by our professional consultant, Scott Newton.
Past projects have focused on:
- Brand development and protection
- Technology assessments
- New market entry
- Quality improvement initiatives
- Social accountability and policy
- Supply chain and logistics
- ERP implementationsg
- Asset allocation
- New product development
- Internet channel marketing
- Health care management