Lehigh Disrupts One-Year MBA Model

Lehigh University’s College of Business and Economics

So what’s the catch?

There are obvious questions that arise when it comes to one-year programs. Is it watered down? Is it respected in the field? Can you really get all you need to learn in just one year as opposed to two?

The dean sees all of these as valid questions, but her confidence in the program overrides them all. “We are giving you the same rigorous, analytical education that you would find in the top tier of two-year programs and accelerating it into a one-year program,” she says in a promo video about the new program.

In the interview with Poets&Quants, she also further addressed the question: Is one year enough?

“There was a time in education where our goal was to cram students’ heads full of facts. But business education has evolved. This is not nearly as necessary today because factual information is available at the touch of your smartphone; you don’t need to memorize the way you did before. What you need to do is learn to think. So, yes, I think in one year we can teach students how to look at issues, problems, and situations and begin the creative thought process.”

“I’m not saying there will be no facts,” she adds. “I’m saying it speaks to the heart of where management education needs to be going. We have moved from a hierarchical business world to a world where networking and creativity are the prized attributes. The market is seeking students who dare to challenge the status quo and become free thinkers. That is how we designed this program.”

But she does caution that it’s not for everyone. “This isn’t for someone who wants to party,” Phillips says with a laugh. “It is a fast-paced, rigorous program. It’s also not for those whose learning style is to acquire knowledge bit by bit at a prolonged pace. This is an intense intellectual exercise where you learn quickly and act quickly. If you don’t feel comfortable doing that, then a two year program is better for you. But if you are a fast learner, not looking at the MBA as a step out of work force for social reasons, then I’d say consider Lehigh’s one-year.”

Lehigh will welcome its first class for the one-year MBA in January 2017. Application submissions and enrollment are underway.

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