The Master of Business Administration, though more than a century old, has stood the test of time as a foundational business degree. It can encompass different focuses and take on different forms, but the MBA is still the truest test of business readiness for today’s entrepreneurs, changemakers and leaders.

This year, the SMU Cox MBA reached a milestone: 75 transformative years of preparing the next generation of business leaders. Although it has evolved and expanded over the years, its core mission remains the same: to be at the forefront of business education and to equip students to succeed and make a difference in the real world.

Having launched its MBA in 1949 to help post-World War II veterans transition into business leadership jobs, SMU Cox was an early adopter of the program during a time when people wanted to build America’s industries and economy.

“I think a lot of the reasons why [our MBA] started to help veterans transitioning out of the military and back into the private sector still hold true today,” says Debbie Macedonia, the Cox School assistant dean of Full-Time MBA and master’s admission.

“The MBA is an industry-neutral degree that takes all these different elements of business and helps shape business leaders who find those intersections,” Macedonia says. “What are the advantages and the synergies and the complexities between operations and marketing and finance and strategy? I think today it’s about honing a skillset for leadership and business decision-making that really helps students make those changes in their jobs.”

Then and now, the Cox MBA focuses on leadership, business analytics and experiential learning. According to Shane Goodwin, associate dean of graduate programs and Executive Education, the school’s emphasis on academic rigor, research and relevance has remained consistent, but its interactions with corporate partners and the community have evolved to reflect an applied approach to business today. “What helps students to be prepared later in life is a lot more akin to leadership and development,” he says.

Macedonia says the dynamic nature of the MBA makes it applicable to leadership in many industries and sectors, more so than niche graduate degrees.

“It’s not just about your next job; it’s about growing your entire career,” she says. “Long gone are the days where getting a master’s in business is about managing one business or just being an entrepreneur or starting a business or being a manager. We’re also looking at industry-wide solutions; we’re looking at global solutions… We have certainly worked with small businesses but also multinational corporations. I think that growth of scope is a big difference-maker in what an MBA can do over time.”

While the Cox MBA has evolved over its 75-year lifespan, it continues to put a rigorous focus on leadership, business analytics and experiential learning. Credit: Unbridled Venture Project

Expanding offerings and growing scope

What began as one program 75 years ago has now grown to include six different STEM-designated MBA formats:

  • Full-Time Two-Year MBA: The Cox School’s flagship graduate program. A traditional full-time MBA geared toward individuals with around five years of work experience; ranked No. 26 by Bloomberg Businessweek and No. 34 by U.S. News & World Report in 2024–2025
  • Full-Time One-Year MBA: Accelerated MBA for students with around five years of work experience who are ready to jump into leadership positions quickly
  • Professional MBA: Part-time evening MBA tailored for working professionals; ranked No. 16 by Fortune in 2024
  • Executive MBA: Weekend MBA designed for seasoned professionals who want to advance their leadership capabilities; ranked No. 35 by Fortune in 2024
  • Online MBA: 24-month part-time MBA that’s entirely online for those who need flexibility; ranked No. 12 by Fortune in 2024
  • MBA Direct: Extended 33-month MBA offered online for people early in their careers

The beauty of offering six specialized offerings rather than just one, Goodwin says, is that SMU Cox can meet students and lifelong learners where they are on their timeframe—something that wasn’t possible in 1949. And for aspiring business builders, the Cox School also provides three different centers and institutes dedicated to entrepreneurship. Students who seek to be innovative in an entrepreneurial space have a wide avenue for that at the Cox School.

Today, the majority of Cox MBA enrollees are working professionals in the Professional MBA program, and the Online MBA follows closely behind in terms of enrollment.

“Students are looking to keep their jobs and get their education alongside their work experience more often,” Macedonia says. “The range is a minimum of two years of work experience to apply for the Professional MBA program, but generally students who are admitted have an average of about five years of work experience by the time they start their studies.”

One of SMU Cox’s most innovative and creative additions was the MBA Direct program, according to Macedonia.

“We were seeing this demand for students fresh out of undergrad who wanted to start that MBA experience earlier, but also want a job—the have-it-all generation,” she says. “And we think, ‘why not?’ We can deliver that to them, and they can have their coursework in the evenings and still have that job during the day. Over that longer period, they can have both the work experience and the degree to then launch forward into leadership roles.”

Many universities now offer similar MBA programs, but the SMU Cox network is one major offering that sets it apart. This network ranges from peers in the classroom to professors to alumni to business leaders regionally and globally.

A Full-Time MBA consists of one-third academics and two-thirds everything else, Macedonia says, and SMU Cox has a unique blend of top facilities, network and alumni connections, and vast industry resources.

“We have a wonderfully engaged alumni network, and we give our students access to that network. … Students who do that research [before applying for an MBA] see themselves here and see themselves being a part of our community for the long term, for the rest of their careers as alumni.”

MBA programs across the nation are concerned with academic rigor and research, but not all of them lean into the relevance aspect that SMU Cox prioritizes via connections with corporate partners and the business community at large—an important part of making an impact post-graduation. Now, hundreds of students gain access to this network through Cox MBA programs each year.

In addition to academic rigor, SMU Cox also prioritizes its connections with corporate partners and the business community at large to offer students access to a world-class network. Credit: Unbridled Venture Project

Past-honoring, future-looking

In 75 years of the Cox MBA, the school has put great importance on evolving how students learn and prepare for success, but SMU Cox has also evolved how they view the future of business education as a whole. MBA programs must be forward-looking to make a true impact in a world filled with change and opportunities. SMU Cox addresses that issue by focusing on the meta skills students will need regardless of their chosen industry.

“These include analytical thinking and creative thinking as well as resiliency, flexibility, agility, lifelong learning, curiosity, technology fluency,” Goodwin says. “Those are the kinds of skills that you might say, ‘Well, wait a minute, that doesn’t sound like an MBA,’ but they are. That comes out in what we call our experiential learning. When we’re doing global projects, we’re taking students and we’re actually working with companies on real projects. We’re not just taking them on some sightseeing tours.”

Because the MBA is an industry-neutral business degree, as Macedonia notes, the responsibility lies with the SMU Cox faculty to give students a skillset that “stands the test of time and helps our students lead in the industries that our future generations need to focus on,” like space, technology, robotics, AI, healthcare and beyond. The industries evolve, but the core principles from 1949 remain the same.

As focuses shift with a changing business world, so does the Cox MBA curriculum. According to Macedonia, the Cox School retools its curriculum and reinvents some coursework about every four years to ensure students are learning the most relevant topics.

“We’re constantly evaluating that in a way,” Goodwin agrees. “Faculty members are constantly thinking about their classroom.” The goal at SMU Cox is to give students a lifetime guarantee they will learn problem-solving skills that can be applied anywhere.

Goodwin says he thinks the most successful business schools will put a heavy focus on rigor and relevance and have deep connections to their business partners, who help them better understand which qualities and skills future leaders should possess.

“If we don’t have that feedback loop, we’re not going to be relevant any longer because students won’t come to us if they don’t feel like they’re going to be getting the employment outcomes they need,” he says.

That’s why the Cox MBA places such significance on meeting individuals where they are in life so they can learn the skills they need on their terms. Today, it’s essential to remain a lifelong learner much more than it was decades ago. People are living longer, technology is continually morphing, and business demands are expanding.

Whether that demand is coming from employers or from students, SMU Cox is all ears, Macedonia says.

“By listening and responding to the needs of our business community and students, we strive to evolve, innovate and remain relevant in a changing world.”