Ask the APD: Full-time MBA Program Director Erik Helzer discusses Carey’s expansion to Washington, D.C.

The Johns Hopkins Carey Business School recently announced several new additions to its program offerings at the Baltimore location, including a full-time dual PhD/MBA program in collaboration with the Bloomberg School of Public Health and a new Accelerated MBA program for Hopkins graduate-level students and recent alumni. Additionally, Carey will offer a new Master of Science in Management, or MiM, in Baltimore.

In addition to these exciting changes, Carey announced that it is expanding its Full-time MBA program to the Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg Center in Washington, D.C., beginning in fall 2026, bringing business-of-health expertise, a tech-focused approach to what’s next in business, and an award-winning experiential learning curriculum to benefit degree-seekers and businesses alike.

We sat down with Full-time MBA Academic Program Director Erik Helzer to ask some questions about the expansion to D.C. and what new and prospective students can expect.

Why is Carey’s Full-time MBA program expanding to D.C.?

Washington, D.C., is one of the most influential cities in the world. In our country, D.C. is the hub of industry, government, and policy, with direct ramifications for the rest of the world. It is also home to large employers in desirable industries, which translates to wonderful experiential learning and career development opportunities for our students. 

At the same time, within the university, the Johns Hopkins Center in Washington, D.C., is a junction for trusted academic experts, leaders, policymakers, and students.—The Carey Business School, School of Advanced International Studies, and the newly-founded School of Government and Policy, among others. By co-locating with other outstanding Hopkins schools, we can continue Hopkins’ rich tradition of interdisciplinary scholarship and equip our students with a business perspective enriched by a holistic understanding of the complexities faced by the organizations they are preparing themselves to lead by pursuing an MBA at Carey.

Our school’s tagline is “build for what’s next®” –what an incredible environment for us to write the next chapter in the life of our program and our school.

As APD, how do you feel about the Full-time MBA expanding to D.C.?

I’m excited about growing the program in D.C.! I see incredible potential for the expanded curricular and co-curricular opportunities we can provide students through the D.C. location. At the Hopkins Bloomberg Center, students will have access to programming, courses, industry exposure, and thought leadership from across Hopkins and the world. I am energized to lead an MBA program in a major global city where policies that affect business and society are negotiated and enacted daily. 

Carey is still committed to Baltimore, as we know from not only the enduring programs at the Baltimore location but the announcement about the new programs in Baltimore. Baltimore will always be integral to the life of our program, and is an essential component of our continued commitment to excellence in the business of health.

In what ways will the expansion to D.C. impact everything else that’s going on at Carey’s Baltimore location?

I see this as an expansion of our portfolio, which means more opportunity, more discovery, more rejuvenation for the Carey Business School in Baltimore and D.C. We will be proactive and intentional about facilitating access to opportunities in both locations so that students, corporate partners, and faculty will be able to benefit from this expanded portfolio. Our D.C. presence will have ripple effects throughout Carey that will elevate student experience throughout the program and the school.

How else do you see the expansion benefiting students?

Having the Full-time MBA in D.C.  will greatly expand career opportunities and engagement with organizations in both the private and public spheres. Our students will be living and learning at the nexus of where real global change can be made.

When I step inside the Hopkins Bloomberg Center, I can’t help but feel awed by the institution of Johns Hopkins University, and I feel grateful to be a part of it. The building is a hub of so many truly excellent schools that make up this rich ecosystem of knowledge creation, innovation, and direct real-world impact for good. Some of the greatest minds in the world fill that building every single day. This enriched intellectual environment that sits in the geographical epicenter of business, government, and policy connects me to the deep purpose in the work that we are doing daily. That kind of inspiration benefits me, and will benefit our students as well.

What would you like to say specifically to current students about this expansion?

If anything, it will open up more opportunities for current students if they choose to engage with the D.C. offerings. Our program will work to facilitate access to the D.C. location for our current students who would like to take advantage of what D.C. has to offer.

This is a really good approach to the growth of our program and our school. We expect this will make a Carey education even more visible and prestigious, which adds lasting value to the degree.

Plus, as the students who study in D.C. graduate, they will be part of a much wider and more diverse alumni network than at any other point in our school’s history. I think this will provide both expected and unexpected opportunities well beyond their time as students at Hopkins, and will empower them to be strong forces for change.

This expansion marks an important inflection point in the life of our MBA program and the Carey Business School. This is an investment that allows us to write the next chapter of our story as leaders in business education and practice.