What is the EMBA program all about?
The overriding goal of the NPS Executive MBA Program is to educate officers to make strategic decisions under
conditions of uncertainty. The EMBA was developed to meet the professional military education (PME) career needs
of the Navy’s future leaders, those officers who plan to continue their careers through the senior ranks. In the EMBA’s
two-year course of instruction, students will acquire the latest Defense-focused knowledge and management skills in
financial management, acquisition, program management, policymaking, and change management. The program is
designed to build on the management skills an officer develops during his/her early career, and then leverage those
real-world experiences in an executive graduate degree program which delivers the critical analytical and decision
making skills needed to address the resource management challenges facing the Navy’s senior leadership.
Are EMBA graduates Navy subspecialty code?
All Navy officers who earn the EMBA degree will be assigned a 3100 subspecialty code: Financial Management Defense focus. This code identifies the officer as qualified through the EMBA education to perform resource &
acquisition management tasks.
Are Naval Reservists eligible for the EMBA?
The EMBA is funded for active duty Navy officers. If you are a reserve officer and have been recalled to active duty
for an indefinite period, you may be considered.
Which group of officers is the EMBA for?
The EMBA was originally developed for Unrestricted Line (URL) officers whose operational commitments and career
assignments often make it very difficult to attend a full-time resident master’s degree program. Active duty officers in
the aviation, surface warfare and submarine communities are the principal source of EMBA applicants for selection.
The primary EMBA target group is essentially active duty Navy LCDRs and CDRs who have completed a Department
Head tour and are preparing for more senior assignments in the future. Other Navy officers in the restricted line and
staff corps communities are also encouraged to apply for the program, and will be considered on a space available
basis for all new classes.
Are civilians eligible for the EMBA program?
Supervisory Civilians (GS13 and above or NSPS equivalent) who apply will be considered for admission into the
program on a space available basis with officers having priority.
How senior do I have to be to apply for the EMBA?
The EMBA program is appropriate for senior Lieutenants through Commander. To be eligible to join the program,
officers must have completed a Division Officer tour and be recommended for the EMBA by their commanding officer.
In general, the more senior you are the better your chances are of being selected for the program.
Am I eligible for the program if I already hold one graduate degree funded by DOD?
While priority is given to those who have not received a DoD funded degree, final acceptance into the program will
also be based on BUPERS decision.
What does the EMBA cost?
The EMBA is a part-time graduate degree program that is fully funded by Navy. EMBA students only pay for course
books and materials. All tuition is covered, and the individual officer’s command bears the cost of the one-week TDY
trip to NPS in Monterey, CA (travel, per diem and miscellaneous expenses) for orientation and the first course in
Managing Teams. The cost per course is $2,000 for civilian students that will be receiving command funding.
What are the prerequisites for admission?
To be eligible for the EMBA, you must have a bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution with a grade point
average of 2.6 or better. The application process requires that you submit a letter requesting entrance to the program,
with an accompanying forwarding endorsement from your commanding officer. The command endorsement is
needed to ensure that the command recognizes that you will be attending EMBA classes one day each week during
normal working hours, and that TDY funding will be required to pay for the orientation trip to NPS that is required at
the start of EMBA studies. The application letter, command endorsement and accompanying transcript can all be
submitted by fax or email.
How are the classes organized and how long do they last?
EMBA students are accepted into the program on a semi-annual basis as members of a “cohort” of 25 students. NPS
generally keeps the number of sites (individual Video Tele-Education classrooms which link back to NPS) down to
three for each coast. For example, Norfolk-Pensacola-Jacksonville is one possible combination of sites for an east
coast cohort of 25 students. On the west coast, for example, another combination could be San Diego-NAS LemooreNAS Whidbey Island or some variation of that type. Each EMBA cohort goes through all classes together as a
learning team, which means eight quarters of instruction over a 24 month period. If you begin classes in Spring QtrMarch 2005, your cohort would complete classes and graduate End of Winter Qtr - March 2007. You take two classes
each quarter, during duty hours one day each week for the duration of the program.
Is the EMBA program accredited?
The Naval Post Graduate School is accredited by the Western Association of Schools & Colleges. In addition, the
NPS Graduate School of Business and Public Policy is accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools
of Business (AACSB), the premier accrediting association for schools of business.
How are EMBA selections made and when do applicants find out if they are selected?
For each semiannual cohort rollout process, NPS encourages all interested officers to apply as early as possible.
Approximately six weeks before classes commence, all applicants for each cohort (for example, those officers who
have applied for an October cohort on the east coast) are screened by a team of faculty. Using the application criteria
(degree, grade point average), officer’s designator (URL, restricted line and staff corps) and seniority, and requested
cohort site (existing location or new site), the group recommends each officer for selection, waiting list, or nonselection. The top 25 officers in each cohort are then notified by email with a follow-up priority delivery letter and
course materials for the NPS orientation that will begin approximately one month later.
When are the next EMBA cohorts being started and where?
The next EMBA cohorts are being planned to start classes in late March and September (Which includes the one
week orientation and two-credit class at NPS). Two new cohorts are in the rollout plan every six months, one for the
east coast (Norfolk Fleet Concentration Area/FCA and satellite sites) and the other on the west coast (San Diego
FCA and satellite sites). Again, each cohort is limited to 25 students. In FY06, the current plan is to again form four
new cohorts to bring 100 new EMBA students into the program.
What days are normally used for EMBA instruction?
To avoid most Federal holidays, Mondays are not an EMBA day for classes. Normally, NPS tries to keep classes
running from Tuesdays through Fridays. East coast classes generally run between 1000-1800 local time, and on the
west coast from 0800-1600 local. As all classes are taught from the NPS VTE suites in Monterey, the actual start and
finish times may vary slightly. As the program continues to grow to a maximum enrollment of 200 students under
instruction, NPS will look for new opportunity to shape the class time frames to meet the Fleet's needs.
What do I do if I have to miss a class for TDY?
The NPS faculty teaching in the EMBA are extremely accommodating to students who have to go TDY for training or
other operational commitments. Any class that a student misses is available on the video streaming website the same
day, so an officer can review the material that was covered and listen to the in-class discussion that took place.
Potential EMBA students must recognize, however, that frequent absences from class to meet mission requirements
are not compatible with the instruction methodology of the program, and should not apply if they are not confident that
their work schedules will support the required commitment to classes and the necessary preparation beforehand.
Is there a service obligation in connection with the EMBA?
The EMBA carries the same service obligation as other Navy and DoD-funded graduate programs. Currently Navy
policy is that completion of the EMBA entails a three year service obligation that begins after graduation. This policy
may be reviewed by Navy leadership at some point in the future, but for now the Service obligation remains at three
years.
What if I become detailed as an individual augmentee while enrolled in the program?
Accommodations have been made on a case by case basis for officers who have received orders to individual
augmentation.
If I am interested in applying for the EMBA, what should I do?
The first thing to do is to follow the application instructions shown on our Admissions page, which let you apply online.
This information becomes part of the data base for the next EMBA cohort and helps NPS to track each officer and to
evaluate potential new sites based on the number of officers applying from one area. Then we recommend you meet
with your Commanding Officer to discuss the EMBA and request command support for the two-year program,
particularly with respect to the need to be available to attend classes during working hours and submit you final
EMBA application package. And finally, spread the word to your peers and encourage each of them to take a look at
the EMBA and decide if it is right for them!
If I know I will be deployed within the 2 year shore duty, will I be able to complete the EMBA
program?
Unfortunately there is no good way to make the EMBA work if you have to deploy. Most EMBAs, including the NPS
offering, are based on a cohort model in which students begin studies with a learning team and complete the
consecutive courses together with that group. The fundamental concept being team learning and team projects which
enforce that theme throughout. Therefore, sea duty does not match that building block for the program. You cannot
start the program, then deploy (which means probably nine months out of the curriculum) and come back in to
complete studies. The team concept is broken when you step out and the courses change frequently (in terms of
updated content), so it becomes a real loss of academic continuity if you have to drop out.
What is the cost for the orientation week in Monterey?
Commands are responsible for funding TDY travel to Monterey. Lodging has been secured at the Navy Lodge in
Monterey, CA. Current rates are $ 68.00/night . Standard procedure for the One week orientation: Students check in
on Sunday & Depart after Noon on Friday.
Is it possible to transfer any credits from another institution into the EMBA program?
There is no mechanism (or charter) to transfer any credits from another institution into the EMBA program. As is the
case with most executive MBA programs, the NPS offering brings students into a cohort and requires that they take a
set line-up of courses together. In the NPS EMBA, we have a total of 54 credit hours, and that equals 2
classes/quarter for 8 quarters. There is no option of "validating" courses.
What is the dress code for class?
The attire is BUSINESS CASUAL. The appropriate uniform for military personnel may be worn. but civilian attire is
strongly encouraged. [Jeans and denim, sandals, slippers, t-shirts, athletic shoes, and shorts are not acceptable for
class wear.] Slacks and trousers, skirts, blouses, sweaters and polo shirts are acceptable.