HEC Geneva

Age: 17

History: HEC is part of the Faculty of Economics and Social Sciences, at the University of Geneva, which is 95 years old. The business school has been around since 1994. It has its roots in the Geneva Academy, which was created in 1559 with humanist John Calvin as its guiding spirit and Theodore de Beze as its first rector. Back then, the institution taught law and theology, but it has now moved on to econometrics and international relations. The MBA has been offered since 1992.

Address: The two MBAs are taught in different areas of the city of Geneva, in Switzerland. The International Organizations MBA Programme (IOMBA) is situated just a few minutes’ walk from the Palais des Nations, the UN European Headquarters. The Executive MBA is located in the main campus of the University in the Geneva downtown area.

Ambience: Free-thinking and very international. Full-time MBA students could find themselves studying near the UN European Headquarters (Place des Nations), in completely renovated state-of-the-art classrooms overlooking Lake Geneva, the Alps, and the botanical gardens.

Vital statistics: HEC offers two MBAs in English – the international organisations MBA (IOMBA) and an executive MBA. The IOMBA is a full-time, 13-month course taught in English and specialising in the management of international organisations, NGOs and social entrepreneurship. The programme aims to train professionals to pursue careers in the fields of international governmental and nongovernmental organisations, and companies that work with these institutions. A three-month assessed internship is part of the programme at HEC and students have free access to language laboratories. The Executive MBA programme is a two year part-time programme, though for professionals who work in local and multinational companies in the surroundings. 14 specialisations are offered in the second year, ranging from management of telecommunication to project management.

Added value: Politically, Geneva is where it’s at – the world's biggest concentration of IOs and NGOs can be found here, from the International Civil Defence Organisation to the Inter-Parliamentary Union. HEC students also have access to Switzerland's largest humanities library in Geneva. Geneva is also the European headquarters of multinationals in the chemical, pharmaceutical and retailing industry.

Easy to get into? You'll need an undergraduate degree, three years of work experience, good GMAT or GRE scores, and English fluent (or have strong TOEFL scores) to get onto the IOMBA.

International connections: The IOMBA has double degree programmes with universities in India, Italy, Korea, Japan and the USA.

Glittering alumni: Eric Stobbaerts, former director of Medecins Sans Frontieres, Spain; Alexandru Cristea, McKinsey & Company, Zurich.

Gurus: Gilbert Probst, organisational behaviour and change management; Susan C. Schneider, management across cultures; Marwa Daoudy, Dynamics of conflict and negotiations; Anthony Beattie, how organisations are governed; Wayne Cascio, Managing People in Global Markets, Vinnie Aggarwal, Co-Director.

Student profile: Average age on the full-time MBA is 31 with a male to female ratio of 2:3; on the part-time MBA the average age is 36, with a ratio of 3:1.

Cost: The International Organizations MBA is €40,500.

Who's the boss? Professor Bernard Morard is the Dean of the faculty of Economic and Social Sciences.

Prospectus: +41 22 379 8120; www.iomba.ch; iomba-hec@unige.ch