The University of Kentucky and University of Louisville will accept up to 40 students in the degree program to prepare mid-level executives at profit, non-profit and government organizations for senior leadership positions. The 17-month program starts in August.

Students will attend classes every other weekend, allowing them to keep their existing jobs. About half of the classes will take place in Louisville and half in Lexington, with courses offered in three- to four-week terms that alternate between the two campuses.

The program’s 46-credit-hour curriculum includes 22 course hours on management, six on current business issues, four each on accounting, economics, finance and marketing and two on quantitative methods. Total program tuition is $67,500.

Early admission deadline is May 1 and final admission deadline is June 1.

“We’re seeing a lot of interest in this degree,” said Vernon Foster, UofL’s executive director of MBA programs and career management. The two schools have received nearly 200 inquiries from prospective students since the program was unveiled in July, he said.

Executive MBA graduates are highly sought after in the workplace, said Joe Labianca, director of UK’s Don & Cathy Jacobs Executive Education Center and Gatton Endowed Professor of Management.

“Employers value these programs very highly,” he said. “Typically, graduates can recoup their tuition in three years, even if they attend without financial assistance from an employer.”

UofL and UK officials have said the program will allow students to learn from the best business educators in the state and will boost Kentucky’s business climate by providing an advanced education to emerging leaders who might otherwise leave the area.

The program is scheduled to go before UofL’s Faculty Senate for final approval May 7.

For more details, see http://execmba.biz/ or contact Foster at 502-852-2855 or Labianca at 859-257-3741.