As applications surge for executive MBA programs across the country, the Graduate School of Management is taking its successful program for working professionals to the San Francisco Bay Area.

With one of only three nationally ranked MBA programs in Northern California, the management school is now recruiting students for the fall of 2005. The new program will be offered through weekend classes at the San Ramon Valley Conference Center, 35 miles east of San Francisco.

Although the UC Davis program will bring to 10 the number of executive MBA programs offered in the Bay Area, it will be strategically located in the Interstate 680 and Interstate 580 corridor, known for its software and telecommunications industries. And it will also be distinguished by its use of regular, full-time professors as instructors.

Applications to executive MBA programs have increased over 50 percent from 2003, said Maury Kalnitz, managing director of the Executive MBA Council. His organization fosters the development of executive MBA programs and has 220 member universities offering more than 260 programs, including UC Davis.

According to the Application Trends Survey conducted by the Graduate Management Admission Council in partnership with the Executive MBA Council, more than half of executive MBA programs responding to the survey have experienced increases in applications for 2004.

Graduate School of Management Dean Nicole Biggart said the school's market research found a significant demand among both employers and working professionals for a high-quality executive MBA program in the East Bay. "We've been asked repeatedly to provide an MBA education in the area," she added.

James Stevens, assistant dean for student affairs at the management school, said he expects to enroll about 50 students for classes beginning September 2005.

Classes in the Bay Area MBA program have been scheduled so students won't be traveling to and from the teaching site in peak traffic hours. They will meet every other week, Friday afternoons and evenings and all day Saturday. In the summers, the school plans to offer intensive residential courses, field courses and others involving international study.

The program's schedule and location also make it convenient for students to fly in from other major Western cities. Stevens said the school has plans to promote the program outside of the Bay Area to enrich the diversity and breadth of the student body.

Students will move through the program as a cohort, enabling them to bond and, as they work collaboratively, to enhance their leadership and team skills for greater effectiveness in competitive markets, Biggart said.

The curriculum will mirror the school's existing MBA program, offered in Sacramento since 1994. Students will be required to take six core courses, three courses designed to ensure a breadth of management knowledge and 15 electives -- allowing them to focus their studies in such fields as technology management, finance and marketing.

Students typically take two classes each quarter and would graduate in three years but could accelerate their studies by taking additional courses. The total cost of the program would be between $65,000 and $75,000.

The dean said the program will create greater visibility for the management school in the Bay Area and cement the growing relationship with the business community and alumni already in the area. More than half of the school's graduates live and work in the Bay Area.

The school also offers a daytime MBA program and teaches an undergraduate minor in technology management on campus. In its ranking of MBA programs, U.S. News & World Report places the daytime program 29th overall and 14th among programs at public universities.