Each week we collect MBA news from around the world to give you a quick overview of the latest trending topics from leading business schools.
In your MBA News You Need digest for the week of November 18th, we highlight the continued success of the Georgetown McDonough Class of 2019, the news that all three Berkeley Haas MBA programs received STEM designation, veterans’ resources at Chicago Booth, a new search fund speaker series at Dartmouth Tuck, and when to visit the Michigan Ross campus.
Georgetown McDonough Class of 2019 Reports Continued Success
Georgetown McDonough MBA graduates continue to excel. The Class of 2019 reported a record average starting salary of $124,119—6 percent more than last year and a 15 percent increase since 2016. Graduates also earned an average signing bonus of $30,737, which amounts to a very impressive compensation package.
Beyond compensation, 95 percent of the Class of 2019 reportedly received job offers from some of the world’s top employers within three months of graduation. Those employers included Amazon, American Airlines, Bank of America, Deloitte, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, KPMG, JP Morgan Chase, Microsoft, PwC, and Salesforce. The companies reflect the most sought-after industries for graduates: consulting (35 percent), financial services (27 percent), technology (14 percent), and real estate (7 percent).
“We are proud of our latest career successes beyond our record salary placements,” said Doreen Amorosa, associate dean of McDonough Career Services. “The true ROI of the McDonough MBA is that it prepares our graduates for a lifetime of success, providing them the knowledge, tools, and network to make a difference for years to come.”
To read the full report, view the McDonough news story and download the PDF.
All Three Berkeley Haas MBA Programs Receive STEM Designation
STEM designation is essential for international students studying on an F-1 visa, as it allows them to apply for a 24-month visa extension after graduation. Now, current Berkeley Haas MBA students can enjoy those benefits. They are among the first business schools to receive a STEM designation for all three of their MBA programs (Full-time MBA, MBA for Executives, Evening & Weekend Berkeley MBA). Best yet, the designation was retroactively extended to December 2018.
The programs received STEM designation after a campus review of how they were categorized under the National Center for Education Statistics’ Classification of Instructional Program’s (CIP) code. UC Berkeley found that the Berkeley Haas MBA is “a general program that focuses on the application of statistical modeling, data warehousing, data mining, programming, forecasting, and operations research techniques to the analysis of problems of business organization and performance.” Thus, the three programs were adjusted to become “Management Science” programs and STEM-approved.
To learn more, read the news release on the Berkeley Haas website.
Chicago Booth Highlights MBA Resources for Veterans
Chicago Booth’s commitment to diversity and inclusion extends to military personnel and veterans. Not only are these individuals welcomed with open arms into Booth, but they have many resources available to them, including opportunities for financing, student clubs, and career support.
- Financing: Active military and veteran candidates can waive their application fee. Additionally, they have access to a $10 million scholarship pool just for veterans. That’s not to mention the Yellow Ribbon Program, which offers up to $30,000 in benefits or the Carlton Fellowship and Global Innovator Fellowships for veterans outside the U.S.
- Community: There’s also a thriving military community, which includes the Armed Forces Group (AFG), a student association that puts on events throughout the year.
- Career Support: Veterans have access to specific resume workshops, career coaching, and interview preparation to help with their future careers.
Learn about all the resources available to veterans at Chicago Booth here.
New Search Fund Speaker Series at Dartmouth Tuck
Aspiring entrepreneurs are well aware of the difficult path ahead of them. That’s why two current Dartmouth Tuck MBA students—Ryan Turk and Jim Prial—launched the new Search Fund Speaker Series, dedicated entirely to the topic of search funds. The idea is to help teach entrepreneurial-minded students through guest speakers and coursework how to raise capital and gain investment in their venture.
“The search fund model requires performance in both roles [investor and operator],” said Prial. “That challenge, along with the responsibility inherent in leading people, was what got me so interested in search funds.”
When done correctly, a search fund can be a win for everyone—investor and start-up—so Turk and Prial set out to help as many students as possible. They did this by organizing their seminar series into two tracks: eight public seminars with industry veterans and a more intensive track, which included additional independent research and reflection.
“The goal is to take a Tuck student who doesn’t know a lot about search funds, and by the end, get them to a position where they are fully equipped and fully networked to go out and start a fund—whether immediately upon graduation as I would like to do, or after several years of additional management training in another operating company as other searchers do,” says Turk. “That’s my dream.”
Michigan Ross Discusses When to Visit Campus
The best time to visit the Michigan Ross campus is during the school year.
If you want the opportunity to sit in on a class and get the best vibe of the school as a whole, it needs to be in session. That means visiting between September and April via the weekly on-campus Visit in Person (VIP) program, Diversity Weekend, interview day, or Admitted Student Weekend.
However, there are a few things to keep in mind before you sign up for a visit:
- Visiting gives you a better sense of the school and your fit, but does not play a role in the admissions decision.
- If you are unable to visit campus, you can gain insight into the program in many other ways, including webinars, regional events, and student ambassadors.
- To get the most out of your campus visit, plan ahead. Plan who you want to meet and schedule a brief meeting, schedule your visit around events, and leave some time to explore Ann Arbor.
