The new Accelerated MBA at the GW School of Business is a flexible program designed to allow students to complete a MBA degree at their own speed. Students may choose between two years of full-time study or one year of full-time study and two years of part-time study.
The AMBA program is offered in a cohort format during the first year, which covers the majority of the core MBA curriculum. Those cohort courses are offered at a full-time credit load (nine credits in fall and spring, six credits in summer), allowing students to complete more credits in that first year than would normally be the case for a part-time student. This is accomplished by running those cohort courses in a condensed, five-week format. The courses run back-to-back, and they are held on Wednesday evenings and Saturdays (usually 9:30 a.m. – 3:30 p.m.).
Starting their second year, students may shift into a part-time format (if they wish) to complete their electives. Because the electives will be offered in the normal, 14-week format, we shift the recommended course load down to between six and 7.5 credits per semester, which is the normal course load for a part-time student. Students will have one final cohort course in the fall of their second year (MBAD 6288), and they have to take one final core course when convenient (MBAD 6223) — but the second year and beyond is primarily about completing electives (or certificates, if desired).
AMBA Roadmaps
Here are two sample roadmaps depicting full-time and part-time program options for completing all 55.5 credits:
Full-time
Year 1 | Full-time | 9 credits in both Fall and Spring; 6 credits in Summer
Year 2 | Full-time | 13.5 credits in Fall; 12 credits in Spring; 6 credits in Summer
Part-time
Year 1 | Full-time | 9 credits in both Fall and Spring; 6 credits in Summer
Year 2 | Part-time | 7.5 credits in Fall; 6 credits in either Spring or Summer
Year 3 | Part-time | 6 credits in Fall, Spring and Summer
This visualization demonstrates in greater detail how an AMBA student may progress through the three-year, part-time program option.
