Basics of the Program

Who is this program designed for? How long does it take?
This program is designed for busy professionals who want to continue their education while meeting their existing professional and personal responsibilities. Courses run sequentially for six weeks at a time, allowing you to focus on a single course. You may start in the program at the beginning of any six-week course. The expected completion time for the MBA degree is two years.

How do residencies work?
During the course of your program you will complete two short, intensive residencies at our Poultney campus: One at the start of the program and another after the first year. This is a time for you to get to know the GMC faculty and your fellow students while working closely with them. Residencies include workshops, seminars, and foundational courses that are continued through distance learning methods. Informal social interaction is encouraged through receptions and other events.

The residency provides you with the opportunity to establish relationships with faculty and other students in the program. It also is a forum to meet and explore sustainable business issues with leaders in sustainable business who participate in the residency.

How do the courses work?
You will communicate with your advisor, professors and classmates primarily through the online classroom environment. The initial residency includes a thorough tutorial on how to utilize the distance learning platform. The online classroom is accessible through a common web browser, where you will find class materials and interact with professors and students. The courses are based on an asynchronous model. That is, as long as requirements are completed by the deadlines during the week, the specific days and times of day you work to complete course requirements are up to you.

What supplies will I need?
You will be expected to purchase common textbooks and have access to business software, including word processing, spreadsheet, and graphic presentation software; you'll also need access to a computer and broadband Internet access.

What research resources will be available to me?
You will have access not only to our outstanding business and economics faculty, but also to GMC's Griswold Library. Library resources include more than 24,000 on-line book titles; robust electronic research tools including Lexis-Nexis Academic Universe, JSTOR, Proquest Research Library, and Oxford Reference Online Premium; more than 1,000 current and back-filed periodicals; Interlibrary Loan services; and the 72,000-volume main collection. Reference and research assistance from professional library staff is also available.