The right MBA program is as much an opportunity to learn the tools of your trade and find your niche as it is about building a professional peer and alumni network. There’s no more sure-fire method to sow the seeds that may sustain you (cue booming omniscient Wizard of Oz voice) FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE than within MBA clubs. We took a look at the best MBA clubs that Boston’s business schools had to offer.
Best MBA Clubs in Boston
Boston University Graduate School of Management
Boston University Graduate School of Management offers a plethora of student organizations through its Graduate Student Council, which “strives to develop global unity, diversity and further enhance the perception of the BU MBA from both an academic and a corporate perspective.” Organizations for BU MBAs include the Graduate Entrepreneurship Club, MBA Asian Business Club, Women’s MBA Association, and the Leadership and Organizational Transformation Club. Here are two clubs that jumped out at us from the rest:
The MBA Marketing Association Club assists its members with the challenging transition from academia to the marketing profession. The club explores internal decision-making informed by data analytics to consumer-facing storytelling through branding, social media and creative communications.
LAMBAA welcomes all students interested in the emerging markets of Latin America and the increasingly important American Latino/a marketplace. It collaborates with students and encourages US and Latin American business people to create a network for the purpose of sharing knowledge and building long-term relationships.
Sawyer School of Business at Suffolk
Sawyer School of Business at Suffolk hosts a wide array of organizations for its MBA students to explore common ground on topics ranging from entrepreneurship to international finance to marketing. Here are two clubs that rule the roost at Sawyer:
The International Business Club assists student in acquiring knowledge about important topics in the global business environment, including but not limited to: the national differences in political and legal systems, the international trade strategies of different countries, how global production, outsourcing, and logistics are influenced by new emerging technologies and information systems.
The Entrepreneurship Club strives to provide a platform for members to access resources, network with key entrepreneurs in the community and share ideas amongst each other. The club aims to support members in developing their entrepreneurial ideas or companies and together strive towards becoming successful entrepreneurs.
Harvard Business School
Harvard Business School’s reputation as an incubator for brilliant thinkers and one low-down presidential stinker precedes itself. MBAs will most certainly want to run, not walk, to one of the school’s dazzling array of student clubs, which range in scope from general management/operations and real estate to family business and venture capital. Here’s the cream of Harvard’s student club crop:
The Bitcoin club facilitates education on Bitcoin and other digital currencies; increasing the use of Bitcoin at HBS; encouraging collaboration and innovation using Bitcoin across the Harvard community; and exploring new applications of Bitcoin technology to other forms of digital transactions.
The Investment Club seeks to improve understanding of investment management; help its members develop practical investment skills and test them in the markets; and create superior access to career opportunities in the investment industry.
D’Amore-McKim School of Business at Northeastern University
D’Amore-McKim School of Business at Northeastern Is home to a fascinating collection of clubs that investigate a wide swath of business world concerns, including entrepreneurship, investment, marketing, and “net impact.” These two organizations are a must for Northeastern MBAs:
The 360 Huntington Fund is a student management investment fund that invests monies donated to the Northeastern University endowment. The Fund provides an opportunity to experience practical issues related to portfolio management, security selection, and money management.
The Supply Chain Management Club (SCM) assists current students interested in logistics and supply chain management. The NUSCO sponsors presentations by professionals in logistics and supply chain management and field trips to facilities at such area companies as UPS, Massport, Wal-Mart and Bose. SCM is open to all interested students.
Simmons School of Management
Simmons School of Management’s many clubs create a tight-knit community that extends past the Ivory Tower walls, well into MBA students professional lives. Here are two Simmons clubs that can do no wrong:
The Collegiate Entrepreneur Organization (CEO) aims to educate and enhance the lives of budding entrepreneurs through workshops, outreach events, speaker series, networking events, and mini ventures.
The Management Liaison facilitates a relationship among management students and the faculty that give rise to opportunities for students to develop skills valued in the workforce and provide a place where students with a common interest can interact and participate in events.
MIT Sloan School of Management
MIT Sloan School of Management is one of the most forward-thinking MBA programs in the world. So, the staggering assortment of clubs made available to Sloan MBAs should come as no surprise: entertainment/media, entrepreneurship, finance, management consulting, marketing, net impact, operations management, tech club, venture capital, and quantitative finance. Here are two clubs that incoming Sloan MBAs would be advised to investigate upon arrival:
The Sloan Coders Club provides an accessible forum for MIT Sloan students and the broader MIT community to learn the basics of programming, and start building apps, websites, and services; engage in activities to build knowledge, such as hack-a-thons and hosted talks; and better understand issues of software architecture, promoting better informed business leaders interested in the technology space.
Sloan Women in Management works to increase opportunities for all women at MIT Sloan through networking events, speaker series, professional development workshops, and mentorship programs. This past February’s Breaking the Mold Initiative aimed at creating a safe space for open dialogue about unconscious biases, with the expressed purpose of helping participants develop approaches to managing these biases in the classroom, workplace and board room.