Full-Time MBA Program Overivew

Lehigh’s Full-Time MBA program is built for professionals looking to advance or pivot their careers. The curriculum offers four concentrations and the option to complete an internship with a program extension. Beginning each summer, students can graduate in as little as one year and get back into the workforce sooner.

On this page:

• Why a full-time MBA
• Program rankings
• Class Profile

About the Program

The Lehigh full-time, one-year MBA program is designed for professionals who wish to either pivot their careers toward a business-related area, or accelerate their career growth within their chosen field. Its rigorous curriculum includes the functional areas of business and embraces the shared value model that recognizes various stakeholders in today’s high-tech, modern societies. Students will fully immerse themselves into the program by temporarily stepping away from their profession to focus solely on their studies.

The one-year duration of this full-time, cohort model, when compared to the traditional two-year MBA full-time model, significantly reduces the opportunity costs of those who forego their current employment to attend.

A Dedicated Mentoring Team

You will be assigned a mentoring team prior to arriving on campus. Your Personalized Team of advisors include:

• FT-MBA Program Faculty Advisor – Your Academic Link to Program Success
• Industry Mentors – Your Access to Building New Networks

Degree Completion in 12 or 18 Months

The program can be completed in 12 or 18 months depending if you choose to obtain a summer internship.

The 12-month track is the most common, and the fastest path to degree completion. Students my opt to extend their program to 18 months if they wish to pursue an internship.

STEM-Designated Degree

The Full-Time MBA contains an interdisciplinary curriculum that includes STEM fields, which qualifies the program as a STEM-designated degree. All international students on an F1 visa are eligible for 12 months of post-completion Optional Practical Training (OPT). Additionally, students in STEM-designated fields, as recognized by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, may be eligible for a 24-month OPT extension, if their employment meets specific criteria and they apply within the final 90 days of their post-completion OPT period.

Academic Standards

To receive a master’s degree from the College of Business, a student must achieve a grade-point average (GPA) of at least 3.0 in graduate courses taken at Lehigh. A student may not receive more than four grades of C or lower.

A student whose GPA is below 3.0 after 12 hours of study is placed on academic probation and must earn at least a 3.0 GPA in subsequent semesters until the required minimum cumulative GPA is reached or be dropped from the program. Master’s degree candidates have six years to complete all required courses. Homeland Security, may be eligible for a 24-month OPT extension, if their employment meets specific criteria and they apply within the final 90 days of their post-completion OPT period.

Professional Development & Career Readiness

Central to this program is an intentional and continual focus on personal and professional development. Beginning with an intensive array of professional development programs and job search workshops during orientation, our career services team continues to build these opportunities throughout the program with on-site Career Trek visits to East Coast business centers such as New York and Philadelphia, as well as participating in highly visible small-business consulting projects through Pennsylvania’s number one Small Business Development Center.

Two distinctive co-curricular tracks—Career Readiness and AI Readiness—complement the program by building professional skills and technological fluency from day one. This structure reflects direct employer feedback emphasizing the need for strong analytical capability, AI adaptability, and effective communication.

Lehigh Full-Time MBA Program Rankings

Choosing a graduate program is a serious investment, and the strength of the program behind it matters. The Lehigh FT-MBA is both globally and nationally ranked by the field's most trusted evaluators including Poets&Quants,  U.S. News & World Report, and QS.

2025 Full-Time MBA Class Profile

The 2025 full-time MBA class reflects the caliber and range of professionals the program attracts. With an average of 4 years of work experience, a 3.63 average GPA, and academic backgrounds spanning business, engineering, medical-, behavioral- and computer-sciences, this is a cohort of graduate students ready to sharpen their leadership and broaden their perspective.