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Executive Master’s in Business Administration (EMBA)
Next start:
October 2026
Format:
hybrid
Total Courses:
13 (45 credit hours)
Tuition:
TBDWhy Get Your Executive Master’s in Business Administration?
City University of Seattle provides an Executive Master’s in Business Administration (EMBA) for the professional who has already found success and is looking to advance to the next stage. This program works for VPs and directors ready for enterprise-level strategy.
Graduate degrees often focus on small management tasks, but the CityU EMBA focuses on the entire organizational system instead. Business leaders in the Seattle metropolitan area face unique challenges, guiding their organizations through rapid tech cycles. We prepare you to steer through that noise with clarity.
The Baldrige Performance Excellence Framework anchors the CityU EMBA. This model serves as the gold standard for organizational success among top-tier companies. You gain the systems thinking lens needed to drive organizational excellence.
Modern business moves fast, and every decision has an impact on the enterprise. Learn to manage those impacts effectively. Plus, our curriculum ensures you see the levers of power within your organization. You understand how to pull them to create sustainable value.
This 21-month journey respects the reality of an executive’s life. You can stay in your position while applying new frameworks to your current organizational challenges. Your company sees the benefit of your learning long before graduation.
You move through the curriculum with a curated cohort of senior peers. These professionals challenge your assumptions through shared experiences. Our Mixed Mode delivery includes in-person sessions twice per quarter on Fridays and Saturdays, combined with synchronous online learning. You also participate in high-impact immersive events.
CityU stands as the only university teaching the Baldrige Framework as the backbone of an executive MBA program. We focus on the Identity Reboot process to help you move from a tactical manager to a visionary executive. Plus, learn how AI-enabled decision-making creates a lasting edge.
Our advisors reach out to you directly to keep your momentum high. You’ll also have a dedicated mentor throughout the entire 21-month program. We stand with you from your first day through your graduation walk. Our team recognizes the professional risks and deep personal investment you bring to this program and are here to be your strategic partner at every turn.
Skills You’ll Gain
This program builds advanced executive capabilities through 45 credits of study to sharpen your edge as an executive:
- Strategic foresight: See a market shift coming before your competitors do.
- Resilience: Develop the mental framework to lead through crisis.
- Organizational systems analysis: Apply the Baldrige criteria to find where your organization creates value.
- Risk navigation: Manage enterprise-level risk in dynamic environments.
- Ethical leadership: Lead with integrity in complex global environments.
- Culture shaping: Build organizational cultures that drive performance.
- Data-informed decision-making: Use emerging tech and analytics to support human strategic insight.
- Cross-functional leadership: Align the entire enterprise for maximum efficiency across departments.
Program Highlights
Baldrige Performance Excellence Framework
Master the methodology used by award-winning organizations to drive results.
Executive mentoring
Pair with an experienced leader for one-on-one coaching for the full 21-month duration.
Three immersive events
Attend domestic and international events where theory meets the boardroom.
Systems thinking and AI-enabled decision-making
Use a curriculum that puts AI tools into every strategic course.
Leadership development tailored for senior roles
Move beyond management basics to master enterprise-level influence.
Course Requirements
We built the curriculum around executive-level skills rather than academic checkboxes. You will move through core courses tailored for leaders who need to apply new ideas on Monday morning. Your learning creates value immediately, so you don’t have to wait until after graduation to see a return on your time. Highlighted courses below, for full course requirements please refer to the current catalogue.
Core Executive Courses
Strategic management and high-level financial choices are at the core of your studies. You’ll also look at how organizations behave at scale and explore global business strategy.
Our faculty will guide you through operations management using a systems lens. We link every course back to the Baldrige Framework, so rather than learning isolated concepts with no context, you get an interconnected, deep grasp on how the world’s best organizations actually run.
Leadership Labs
Go beyond reading case studies with leadership labs. Learn from real scenarios where you’re diagnosing problems, proposing solutions, and defending strategic decisions before peers who will challenge your thinking. You’ll work through enterprise planning, cross-functional team dynamics, culture transformation initiatives, and change management at the executive level.
Immersive Events
Three times during this program, you will leave the screen behind for immersive experiences that stretch your strategic view. These events put you in the same room as industry giants.
Dig into organizational best practices and see exactly how elite companies function. You get to sit with executives and analyze real performance data to witness what true excellence looks like in the field.
Capstone: System-Level Strategy Project
For your final project, you’ll grab a real challenge from your current workplace and apply the Baldrige Framework to it. This allows you to spot performance gaps and build a legitimate strategic roadmap.
The work you produce creates immediate value for your firm. You could optimize messy operations or build a plan to enter a new market. Some students even choose to lead a total cultural shift.
The entire program is built around systems thinking and AI-enabled decision-making. You’ll learn to see organizations as interconnected systems where every decision influences multiple functions. Discover how to use data and emerging technology to make smarter, faster strategic choices without losing sight of the human element.
Career Opportunities
An EMBA degree works as a career accelerator. For the senior leader, the return on investment includes the chance to sit in rooms where the most important decisions happen. You gain leadership capabilities that translate to boardroom success.
Our graduates move into senior roles across many sectors. This executive MBA program works for those targeting C-suite roles and senior director roles. Executives in 2026 require a rare blend of tech literacy and human-centric wisdom. This degree provides both to facilitate your success.
Senior Vice President pathways in tech and healthcare are common outcomes for our alumni. With the CityU EMBA degree, you get the strategic credibility to lead in global organizations and the knowledge to apply enterprise-grade systems logic to achieve mission statements.
If you want to grow your own business, the Baldrige Framework gives you a clear roadmap for scaling up. You can move beyond managing people to start shaping entire industries.
The 2026 business world needs leaders who can handle messy complexity with confidence. Whether you work at a Seattle tech giant or a global nonprofit, the EMBA prepares for executive-level growth in industries seeking strategic leaders. Higher earning potential and leadership credibility follow those who master these enterprise-level capabilities. Your legacy as a leader begins with the frameworks you apply today.
Job Growth
12%
per year
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects the continued growth of 12 percent in the field.
Alumni Employment
74%
employed
74% of CityU alumni are employed in a field related to their degree.
Salary Growth
86%
of alumni
86% of CityU alumni saw a salary increase within two years of graduation. The average salary increase was 58%!
Career Support & Networking
Join a global network of 63,000+ CityU alumni, with graduates at leading companies worldwide. Through CityU Connect, you’ll have access to mentorship, career services, and a community dedicated to helping you advance.
Our graduates put their skills to work at leading employers across the Pacific Northwest and beyond.
Apply Today. Graduate Sooner.
10-week quarters for most programs allow you to complete your degree faster. Apply today for FREE.
Next start date:
October 2026
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Personalized Support From Enrollment to Graduation
Time is a non-renewable asset. CityU gets that. Our staff handles the bureaucratic noise and administrative friction so you can stay locked in on your growth as a leader.
From enrollment to graduation, you receive white-glove advising. This includes simplified registration and proactive outreach. Expect our advisors to get in touch with you directly, and we prioritize keeping you synced with the university community.
Our advising team understands the high pressure of a senior-level career. Whether you are returning to school after a long pause or balancing a global travel schedule, we’re here to be your ally to help you cross the finish line and secure your legacy.
Our faculty work as practitioners who understand the Purpose Mindset and what you want to build. Weekend sessions include guest lecturers sharing insights from their executive roles. Sessions are structured to respect your time, and every minute in the classroom provides a return on your investment.
Tuition & Financial Aid
The CityU EMBA provides elite executive education at a total program cost of $53,460. This price includes all teaching resources and materials. We believe high-impact leadership should stay attainable for the dedicated professional. You receive a world-class education without the excessive fees associated with many private institutions. This transparency allows you to plan your investment with confidence.
Our executive students use a mix of funding strategies for tuition and fees:
- Employer sponsorship: Many organizations fund the EMBA because the student brings immediate value.
- Reimbursement: We work with your HR department to help you maximize your employer-provided benefits.
- Financial aid eligibility: Our team helps you find federal and private financial aid opportunities easily.
Advisors work with you to navigate financial options efficiently so you can focus on your studies. We ensure that you understand all available funding strategies before you begin.
Tuiton Estimator
Our tuition calculator can help estimate your tuition for this program, including scholarships and financial aid.
Ways to Save on Tuition
You may reduce the cost of your program with these options.
Financial Aid
Complete the FAFSA to find out if you qualify for federal student aid, including loans and grants. Many students use these financial aid opportunities to cover a significant portion of their program costs.
School code: 013022
Military Tuition Benefits
CityU supports veterans and active-duty service members pursuing degrees. We accept military tuition benefits, VA benefits, and military partnership programs to help reduce costs for those who have served.
Transfer Credit Options
You can transfer up to 12 graduate credits from accredited programs toward your requirements. This reduces both the time to complete your degree and your overall tuition expenses.
Scholarship Opportunities
CityU offers a variety of scholarships to help make education more accessible.
Life at CityU: Student Perspectives
Join the CityU EMBA program, and you join a Brain Trust. The cohort model allows you to learn from your peers and instructors alike. You build deep professional relationships with senior professionals and peers bringing diverse backgrounds in business and tech. Learn to appreciate the different perspectives that come from varying industries. This experience with diversity strengthens your ability to lead cross-functional teams.
The Mixed Mode format allows for meaningful in-person collaboration. Imagine a session where a tech director and a healthcare executive solve a supply chain crisis together. These guided discussions and live sessions provide a platform for testing ideas.
Our leadership labs provide a space to test frameworks against your actual workplace challenges. Like you, your peers in the cohort already understand complex trade-offs and the messy reality of executive decision-making. Through these shared experiences, you’ll build a powerful network that spans the entire Pacific Northwest.
Your Next Steps
We made the path to your EMBA simple:
Connect with an Advisor
Confirm your eligibility and discuss your goals for the October 2026 start.
Submit Your Application
Our application process works for busy professionals.
Plan Your Start Date
Confirm your spot in the October 2026 cohort to begin the 21-month journey.
Begin Your EMBA Journey
Step into your first immersive event. Start your journey toward systemic excellence. We are ready to support your rise to the next level.
Explore your path to find the best option for you. Compare the MBA vs MSML degrees or see if our traditional Master of Business Administration fits your current career stage. CityU helps you reach your highest potential.
