Lausanne, October 30th, 2025 – EHL Hospitality Business School announces the launch of its fully redesigned, AACSB-accredited MBA, available from August 2026. The new program now opens its doors to professionals across a broader range of service sectors—from hospitality, tourism and leisure, to luxury, finance and tech—while preserving EHL’s distinctive DNA: human-centric leadership and sustainable value creation. The goal? Empowering professionals to lead people-centered businesses and thrive in the experience economy.
Globally, the MBA is making a strong comeback. In 2024, international applications rose by 13.2%[1], while job postings targeting MBA graduates surged by 35.6% — even as global job listings across all sectors declined by 10.8%. In this volatile context, both professionals and employers are turning to the MBA as a strategic asset. Today’s MBA is no longer just an academic credential — it’s a powerful tool for career security, transferable skills, and organizational impact.
EHL’s new MBA is designed to meet this shift head-on. Delivered over 18 months in a hybrid format, the program blends online learning with immersive residential weeks in Lausanne and Singapore, offering a global, hands-on experience. Participants develop 12 future-ready competencies — from human-centric leadership to innovative customer experience design — through a curriculum that mirrors the complexities of the real world. This model ensures graduates gain deeply embedded skills rooted in hospitality excellence, academically rigorous and immediately applicable across a wide range of service industries.
But this transformation goes beyond market trends. It reflects a deeper evolution in career paths: increasingly hybrid, cross-sector, and non-linear. Focused on transversal competencies rather than traditional disciplines, the MBA is built for mid-career professionals seeking to strengthen their leadership, enhance both managerial and interpersonal capabilities, and advance their careers without having to pause their current responsibilities. The program offers the flexibility and depth needed to turn professional experience into a lasting impact.
Participants can tailor their journey through a range of specializations, including Shaping Hotel Management Strategies, Finance, Real Estate & Investment Strategies, and Leading Luxury & Retail Experiences, with other options to be considered in the future. At the heart of the program is a commitment to human-centric learning to accompany the individual leadership journey of each student: personal development is integrated throughout the curriculum, from modules to immersions, with customized activities and coaching. Applied projects embedded in the program allow participants to test and refine their skills in real-world business contexts.
Ranked #1 by QS in Hospitality & Leisure Management (2019–2025), EHL is taking a leading role in redefining the modern MBA. Accredited by AACSB and NECHE — symbols of academic excellence and global recognition — the new program combines intellectual rigor, global perspective, and a profoundly human approach to prepare leaders for the complex challenges of the service economy.
“This new MBA equips professionals to combine strategic thinking, critical analysis, and human-centric leadership. With its focus on future-ready skills, it’s a reimagined MBA for a world in transformation,” says Dr. Nicole Hinrichs, Associate Dean of Degree Programs at EHL.
Whether advancing within an organization, pivoting to a new role, or launching a venture, graduates of EHL’s MBA will be ready to redefine excellence in the hospitality industry and beyond, and shape a sustainable, experience-driven economy centered on people.
[1] According to GMAC (2024) – Graduate Management Admission Council