A weekend UT masters program in the Dallas-Fort Worth area is moving to Uptown Dallas from the UT Southwestern Medical Center this fall.

The Texas MBA at Dallas/Fort Worth program allows full-time professionals in DFW to advance their career by learning business management on alternating weekends and earn the same degree as graduate students in the McCombs School of Business. The program has signed a seven-year lease with the Centrum, an office building owned by the real estate company Cawley Partners and Oaktree Capital Management LP. 

“UT Southwestern has been a great home for our program for the past nine years,” assistant dean Joe Stephens said in an email. “However, recent growth in the DFW market … helped justify our move. The new facility provides fully dedicated space and flexibility for McCombs to offer additional engagement opportunities with not only our students and alumni but also the greater DFW business community.”

Stephens said they will duplicate the same technology, breakout and collaboration spaces in Dallas that they have in the graduate school in Austin. The office building is located near Old Parkland Campus, where many McCombs alumni have offices. Uptown is a trendy area where business professionals and entrepreneurs enjoy networking, Stephens said.

“Our alumni network is strong with more than 30,000 members in the Metroplex, so this location will allow us more outreach, recruiting and networking opportunities,” Stephens said. “We’re going to be in the midst of Dallas’ epicenter of excitement.” 

Addie Ludwig, vice president of project leasing for Cawley Partners, said a courtyard, floating conference lounge and rooftop deck area with Wi-Fi and study spaces were added. 

“I think that the Centrum, since all the renovations were done (in 2017), really has a community atmosphere with a lot of life, and I think that their use is going to … add to that,” Ludwig said. 

Claire Mitzner, a business administration graduate student in UT’s DFW program, said she is looking forward to the opportunities the new location will offer working professionals such as herself. 

“It’s located in a rapidly growing area of Dallas, is surrounded by local businesses, and most importantly, is right next to some really great coffee shops, which we all know is the fuel for success in any graduate program,” Mitzner said in an email.