Executive MBA – Strategic Leadership (EMBA-SL)
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PROGRAM OVERVIEW
In a marketplace of moving targets and evolving landscapes, your ability to create organizational agility and a clear path forward is key to your success as a leader. Learn how to define not only where your organization is headed, but how you’ll get there with our Executive MBA – Strategic Leadership (EMBA-SL) at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Our program will prepare you to make an immediate impact through coursework curated for executives, a horizontal program design that offers a holistic perspective on business competencies and an approach to learning that encourages lifelong leadership development.
An MBA in One Year
Anchored in four residencies with an average of five out of office days per quarter, tied together by distance learning and completed in under a year—your EMBA works within your schedule, not against it.
Applied Learning
Earn your degree in a way that uses your workplace as a significant part of the educational experience, coupled with a cross-disciplinary, activity-based approach to projects and learning outcomes.
Immediate ROI
Focusing on the critical strategic leadership skill sets executives need to be wildly successful, you will gain immediate personal and organizational return on investment with an 11-month long action project.
Accelerated Change
Each aspect of your EMBA is carefully designed to provide the tools you need to increase your impact in your organizations, professions and communities. Join us for a truly transformational experience.
DESIGNED FOR EXECUTIVES
Haslam’s Executive MBA – Strategic Leadership (EMBA-SL) is a graduate program designed for executives and entrepreneurs who value lifelong learning and strive to develop into more adaptable and transformational leaders focused on driving positive change.
The program maintains an intimate cohort, around 30 students, so students can form meaningful and lasting relationships with their peers, professors and mentors. EMBA-SL graduates also represent leading organizations, including E&Y, Google, Honeywell, Pilot Flying J, the U.S. Army, the U.S. Navy and Wells Fargo & Co.
Recognized as a 2025 Veteran Ready Business, UT offers a broad range of resources to support students in the military and their families pursuing their educational goals.
20
Average years of professional experience among EMBA-SL students
14
Average years of professional leadership experience among EMBA-SL students
TESTIMONIALS
“It’s all integrated. There is an end learning goal for you, whether it’s a residency session or a distance learning… all the disciplines come together.
To me, that’s one of the biggest advantages of the EMBA – Strategic Leadership.”
Stephen Soltis
Director of Finance – High Security Group, ASSA ABLOY
Class of 2022
VIDEO TESTIMONIALS
PROGRAM STRUCTURE
We created the Executive MBA – Strategic Leadership to offer the advanced leadership and business principles executives and entrepreneurs need, in a format that is conducive to the personal and professional demands of industry leaders.
Our experiential and applied learning approach employs your workplace as a significant part of the learning process while pairing the accessibility of asynchronous modules with immersive residential periods and leadership development. EMBA-SL participants complete their degree in a single year and exit the program prepared to take on the next level of leadership to revolutionize their industries.
RESIDENCE PERIODS
Throughout the 11-month program, students complete four residence periods, each lasting approximately nine days. During these immersive learning experiences, EMBA-SL students attend classes, engage with faculty advisors and leadership development coaches and collaborate on team projects with peers.
Our residence periods provide an opportunity to gain a deeper understanding of program principles and create valuable and lifelong connections with the supportive community of Haslam faculty, mentors, and alumni industry leaders who invest in your education and leadership growth.
Academic Year 2026*
- Optional Excel Bootcamp: January 16, 2026
- Residence Period 1: January 17-25, 2026
- Optional Human Centered Design Bootcamp: May 1, 2026
- Residence Period 2: May 2-May 10, 2026
- Residence Period 3: September 14-24, 2026 (International)
- Residence Period 4: December 3-11, 2026
- Graduation: December 12, 2026
*Dates are subject to change.
DISTANCE LEARNING
Our program incorporates distancing learning sessions using the Zoom platform and Microsoft Teams to bring valuable course content to students in an accessible and interactive format.
Between each RP you will participate in both Synchronous and Asynchronous Distance Learning (DL) sessions, complete relevant and applied assignments and work on your Organizational Action Project (OAP).
ORGANIZATIONAL ACTION PROJECT
The workplace is at the center of the learning experience for EMBA-SL students. Under the guidance of a faculty advisor, students complete an organizational action project (OAP) that addresses an issue of major importance in their organizations.
The OAP serves as a culmination of the advanced leadership and business principles EMBA-SL students explore, and students will work with their corporate teams to implement deliverables that serve the organization throughout the year.
For additional information about the program structure and OAP, schedule a virtual enrollment consultation.
LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM
All EMBA-SL students undergo individualized leadership training with a dedicated executive leadership development coach. Coaches are drawn from faculty, staff, and community business leaders and professionals with decades of advanced leadership experience. Matched by industry or interest area, you and your designated coach will work together to cultivate your advanced leadership toolkit. Our commitment to our students’ development extends well past graduation. For example, we provide a full year of coaching post graduation.
The foundation of the Leadership Development Program is built upon a series of robust diagnostics. These include an executive 360 degree feedback assessment, personality inventories, and conflict management styles. Using the insights provided by these, each student develops an individual Leadership Development Plan.
Peer-to-peer relationships also contribute significantly to your leadership development throughout the program. Students spend a year in frequent communication and collaboration with other business leaders and alumni of the program, exchanging ideas and best practices. As an EMBA-SL student, you will work with participants in the healthcare and supply chain EMBA tracks to expand both your perspective and network of contacts. Alumni often cite these relationships with their classmates as one of the most pivotal aspects of the program, and one that endures long after graduation.
FACULTY
Haslam College of Business faculty are internationally recognized for their cutting edge research and innovation as consultants and practitioners. The strength of our EMBA-SL faculty is defined by their ability to translate abstract academic theories into an applied learning experience that allows you to relate and apply course concepts in your own professional experience.
Larry Fauver
James F. Smith, Jr. Professor in Financial Institutions, Kinney Family Faculty Research Fellow, Professor
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Michael (Lane) Morris
Associate Dean of Undergraduate Studies & Student Affairs and John W. Fisher Professor of Innovative Learning
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Georg Schaur
George A. Spiva Scholar, R. Stanley Bowden II Faculty Research Fellow, Graduate Programs Director for Economics, Professor
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Wendy Tate
Cheryl Massingale Faculty Research Fellow, William J. Taylor Professor in Business
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CURRICULUM
Our curriculum is one of the most distinctive elements of the Executive MBA – Strategic Leadership program. We focus on five core functions and 28 leadership competencies executives need to be successful in their organization. As an EMBA-SL student, you will engage in courses and conversations that frame executive-level leadership in the context of advanced business principles.
Rather than offer a sequence of independent courses, our horizontal approach to the EMBA-SL curriculum means that you will study an integrated series of competencies designed around your goals as an executive-level leader. We take an interdisciplinary approach in our instruction, reflective of actual business operations, that is structured to prepare leaders to make more strategic, holistic business decisions.
CORE EXECUTIVE FUNCTIONS
Engage People
Executive MBA – Strategic Leadership graduates will be able to more effectively leverage the collective activity of teams and organizations through conflict management, transformational leadership, and fostering collaboration.
Align Systems
Executive MBA – Strategic Leadership graduates will be able to align their systems through technical credibility, financial management, technology management, efficiency and process capability and human capital management.
Focus on Results
Executive MBA – Strategic Leadership graduates will be able to focus on results through accountability, decisiveness, entrepreneurship, problem solving, customer service and stakeholder engagement.
Create Agility
Executive MBA – Strategic Leadership graduates will be able to create agility through creativity and innovation, cultural vision, persistence, external awareness and strategic thinking.
Build Collaborations
Executive MBA – Strategic Leadership graduates will be able to build collaborations through political savvy, building partnerships, influence and successful negotiations.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
The Executive MBA – Strategic Leadership takes less than a year to complete, starting in January and ending in December.
The 2026 program fee will be finalized by the UT Board of Trustees in June 2025. The current program fee is $85,000.1
The program fee payment schedule is:1
- Program deposit – $2,000 (paid to confirm attendance)
- Spring semester 2026 – $29,000 ($2,000 program deposit will be applied, leaving a $27,000 balance)
- Summer semester 2026 – $28,000
- Fall semester 2026 – $28,000
Tuition may also be paid in a lump sum at the start of the first semester. Contact us about accommodations for company billing requirements or yearly educational tuition reimbursement caps.
1The current program fee may increase for 2026.
The program fee for the Executive MBA – Strategic Leadership is expected to be $85,000.1 The program fee includes:
- All university tuition and fees
- Books and materials, including course-specific software
- Technical support for all software
- Local transportation to and from classes and special events during residence periods
- Breakfasts, lunches and most dinners
The program fee does not include:
- Laptop computer
- Airfare to and from residence periods
- Lodging during residence periods
1The current program fee may increase for 2026, subject to final approval by the University of Tennessee Board of Trustees.
EMBA-SL applicants should have:
- Significant amount of professional work experience; 7-10 years of leadership experience preferred
- Bachelor degree from an accredited institution; 2.7 min GPA (exceptions may be considered based on relevant work experience)
- Business acumen to contribute actively to the learning process
- A professional role that enables the day-to-day application of EMBA-SL curriculum
- Strong recommendations and robust employer support
UT is proud to support military members and veterans in achieving their educational goals. As a 2025 Veteran Ready Business, we offer resources and guidance through the Veteran Success Center to help service members take their next steps toward an MBA. Prospective students can schedule an enrollment consultation here for more information.
The EMBA-SL has one start date a year, at the end of January.
The following are required to complete and submit an application:
- Resume
- Two professional references
- Application essay
- Transcripts (Transcript requirement details)
- $60 non-refundable application fee
GMAT/GRE requirements are waived for candidates who meet the qualifications to apply for the EMBA-SL program.
Yes. Many Executive MBA – Strategic Leadership students partner with their employers to succeed in the program. In addition to time off, students will need access to key resources at work including:
- Critical organizational processes
- Customers for interviews
- Financial statements
- Human resource metrics
- Management oversight and review of main thesis project
Faculty members sign non-disclosure agreements when necessary.
Many employers provide funding for Haslam’s EMBA students. The list of corporate sponsors is long and varied.
KEY DATES
Applicants are considered on a rolling admissions basis, and candidates typically receive a decision within two weeks of submitting their completed application. We accept applications until the first day of classes, so please reach out to our enrollment team to get started today.
MAKE AN INFORMED DECISION, TODAY
Are you ready to commit to becoming a more strategic leader with the Haslam College of Business? Request more information or contact an enrollment advisor to learn more about the Executive MBA – Strategic Leadership.
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